The Transfiguration is not the first time that Moses spoke with the Lord on a mountain! When Moses was hiding from the Egyptians, the Lord appeared to Him in the burning bush. The bush burned but it didn't burn up. It wasn't consumed. Can you imagine? I suppose we would turn aside and check out such a sight too! Now, nearly 1500 years later, Jesus stands atop the mountain shining in His glory and talking to Moses and Elijah. In both instances, Jesus' transfiguration and the burning bush, we have the answers to two questions: Who is God and what exactly is He doing?
Consider the burning bush. It burns and yet it doesn't burn up. This is more than just a fancy billboard to get Moses' attention! The burning bush is a foreshadowing of Christ. In the bush that burns but doesn't burn up, we have a picture of what the Christ will be like: true God and true man in one person. The divine fire that burns but does not consume the bush points to the way in which the Divine nature will be united to a human nature in Christ without destroying it. Here is the picture of the God who saves us: True God and true man. The mystery of the incarnation, of God becoming a man, is that He can do that without turning His human nature into cinders. Here is the mystery and the miracle: God in the flesh, on this earth. In Jesus' transfiguration we see the same thing clearly: the glory of the Son of God shines forth in the man Jesus for that Jesus is both God and man. There's no mistaking who this is. This Jesus is God. This God is a man. But for what purpose is He here? Are we all in trouble? What's He up to?
The Lord speaks to Moses from the burning bush that He will lead His people out of slavery in Egypt through Moses. The Lord is about to rescue His people form their enemies. After the burning bush, Moses goes back to Egypt and not too long after, the Lord sends His plagues upon Egypt until finally they throw the Israelites out and the Lord defeats His enemies. After He comes down from the mountain of Transfiguration, Jesus begins to tell His disciples (more than once!) that He is going to Jerusalem to suffer, to die and to rise the third day. After the burning bush, the Lord saves the Children of Israel. And this points ahead to Jesus, who after the Transfiguration goes to the cross to save all people. The Lord brings His people out of slavery in Egypt. In Christ, He brings all of us out of our slavery to the devil and sin, rescuing us from the evil one's kingdom and bringing us to His own promised land. So what is God up to? Why is He here on earth? To save! To rescue! To bring forgiveness, life and salvation! The Transfiguration of Jesus is the sign that Jesus is know going to be heading in the direction of our salvation. To Jerusalem. To Pilate. To Calvary. To the tomb and out of the tomb! The Lord is here. The Transfiguration leaves no doubt that this is indeed the Lord. And He's here to save us.
Of course, it is the Lord's power that inflicts the plagues of judgment upon Pharaoh, but it is Moses whom the Lord uses as His messenger. Just so it is Jesus alone who can suffer for the sins of the world, but it is through His chosen apostles and pastors after them that this Good News is preached and delivered. As Moses brought the people through the Red Sea, so our pastors baptize us, by God's Word bringing us from death to life. As Moses and the children of Israel at the manna in the wilderness, now we feast upon the Bread of Life, Jesus's own Body and Blood which don't run out and give us not just life but eternal life. In Moses' time, the Lord was faithful not just in delivering His people from Egypt but also in seeing them safely to the Promised Land. Just so our Lord who has died and risen makes sure we receive that salvation and by His Word and Sacraments carries us to eternal life.
The Transfiguration of Our Lord reminds us who God is and what He does. He is true God and true man who saves us from our sins. The Transfiguration, prefigured by the burning bush, reminds us that when it comes to our faith and religion, it's eyes and ears and faith off of ourselves and on our Lord who is the One who does all things for us. Moses wondered at the burning bush but it turned out to be the beginning of the Lord's salvation of Israel. The disciples wondered at their Lord shining in glory on the mountain but it turned out to be the beginning of our Lord's way to Jerusalem for the salvation of sinners. Now our Lord brings us to His holy mountain, Mt. Zion, His holy church, here to receive Him by His Word and to see a glimpse of what we shall be in the glory of everlasting life. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Showing posts with label Transfiguration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transfiguration. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
February 13, 2011 - The Transfiguration of Our Lord - St. Matthew 17:1-9
It is a constant temptation that we make religion into something all about ourselves. We begin to measure and calculate religion as to “what I get out of it.” Does it make me feel good? Am I living a good enough life? Do I really love the Lord enough? Do I have enough faith? Can I prove to others that I am growing in holiness? Do I tell enough people about Jesus? Does God love me because I try hard to be a good person? Me, me, me! When we lose interest in church because we don't seem to get something out of it, because it doesn't strike an emotional chord, or because we just think it's boring, we have made religion and faith about us instead of what it really is about: Jesus. That is why we have the Transfiguration today. Today we see Jesus shining in all His glory to remind us that it's all about Him. Who He is. What He has done for us. Eyes off of ourselves and onto Jesus today. Ears turned from listening to our sinful nature to hearing Jesus' Word. Mouths turned from complaining and grumbling or talking about ourselves to confessing Christ and His Word!
When Jesus is transfigured, He talks with Moses and Elijah. Moses the giver of the Law and Elijah one of the great prophets. The Law and the Prophets. Moses and Elijah point to the Scriptures which pointed ahead to the coming Savior. To see Jesus with Moses and Elijah means that He is the One who fulfills the Word, who fulfills the Scriptures. And He will fulfill them by going all the way to the Jerusalem and the suffering and death of the cross. Here, on the mountain, Jesus is strengthened in His purpose to go and do the work of saving sinners. It's all in the balance. If Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem, we're doomed. If He doesn't go to suffer and die, we have no hope. We can't hope in ourselves. Our hope and trust must be in the Son of God. If He doesn't fulfill what He came to do, there is nothing for us but to remain in our sins. But Jesus is strengthened for His mission. He is reminded once again by the Father's Voice that He has come to do the will of the Father. It will be hard. It will kill Him. He will suffer much. But He does it because He loves and obeys the Father. And He does it to rescue you from sin and death and a religion that is all about you.
When the Voice of the Father speaks it says, “Hear Him!” Peter, ever the example of the kind of religion we like to have wants to stay there with the bright and shiny Jesus and the prophets of old. “Lord, let us make some shelters, tabernacles, booths for you guys.” Peter wants to stay there. He wants to be where God's glory is shining and evident and easy to see. Peter doesn't want the dead God on a cross, He wants the bright and glorious one. So it is with so many Christians who worship by trying to have some feeling and somehow touch or experience God's “glory.” In many churches, worship is carefully crafted to bring about a deep and powerful emotional experience and response. And again, we see that in doing that, we've made religion about us. Peter has made this about Him. What he will do for Jesus. But the Father corrects all that with these words: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Hear Him because our faith, our religion isn't about our emotions but about Jesus and His Word. His saving Word that gives us life.
And what does Jesus say? The Father says to listen to Him and the very next words out of Jesus' mouth are to the frightened disciples saying, “Do not be afraid!” You've just seen the glory of God Himself shining in Jesus Christ and glaring from the cloud. That's enough to scare poor, miserable sinners. So don't be afraid. When we make religion about ourselves, we're constantly trying to find a way to make ourselves feel good. But when faith is centered in Christ, His Word says, “Don't be afraid.” There is true comfort because it is the Lord who says it. He is the One who brings true peace to us by the forgiveness of sins that He accomplished for us on Calvary. This “don't be afraid” extends to the font where the Word and water rescue us from death and the devil. It is heard in the Absolution which tells us not to be afraid of our sins. It is spoken with the Words of Institution so that we don't fear death because Jesus' Body and Blood overcome death. That is our religion! That is our faith! What Christ has done and what He delivers to us by His comforting Word. Here it is no longer about what we can do and how we live and how we feel. It is about the promises of God Himself to be our God and defend us from all evil even unto eternal life. The big deal isn't that we can feel good about Jesus but that Jesus saves us from sin, death, devil, hell and all things that are against us!
Now, after they come down from the mountain, Jesus tells His disciples not to tell anyone what they've seen until after He's been raised from the dead. After that, Peter tells us that because He was an eyewitness of the glory of Christ, the Word He preaches is sure. To hear St. Peter preach is to hear Christ. To hear our called and ordained pastors preach is to hear Christ. The Transfiguration of Jesus means, now that He has been raised from the dead, that the Word that is preached has all of God Himself standing behind it to make it so. Peter's words in His epistle remind us that the Word we hear preached is not made up (like the world thinks!) But Jesus was seen by eyewitnesses and they have passed down His Word faithfully since, especially as it's confirmed and kept for us in the Bible. Those two things always go together. The preaching and the Scriptures. The preachers must always preach what is in the Scriptures and the Scriptures serve to show us whether what is preached is a religion about us—bad!--or the faith of Christ, which delivers His salvation faithfully. Hear Him means hear Jesus. And that's what the Bible is all about. And that's what the Word preached and taught in His church delivers to us.
When Jesus speaks to them, the disciples look up and see Jesus only. What a picture of our faith! Jesus only. The Transfiguration is written down for us to rescue us from a religion that is all about ourselves to to turn our hearts in faith to “see Jesus only.” Only in Him do we have the truest comfort and the voice of God Himself telling us not to be afraid. With such a Savior who is God and man, we have the unshakable promise that now, in Christ, we too are God's beloved sons. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
When Jesus is transfigured, He talks with Moses and Elijah. Moses the giver of the Law and Elijah one of the great prophets. The Law and the Prophets. Moses and Elijah point to the Scriptures which pointed ahead to the coming Savior. To see Jesus with Moses and Elijah means that He is the One who fulfills the Word, who fulfills the Scriptures. And He will fulfill them by going all the way to the Jerusalem and the suffering and death of the cross. Here, on the mountain, Jesus is strengthened in His purpose to go and do the work of saving sinners. It's all in the balance. If Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem, we're doomed. If He doesn't go to suffer and die, we have no hope. We can't hope in ourselves. Our hope and trust must be in the Son of God. If He doesn't fulfill what He came to do, there is nothing for us but to remain in our sins. But Jesus is strengthened for His mission. He is reminded once again by the Father's Voice that He has come to do the will of the Father. It will be hard. It will kill Him. He will suffer much. But He does it because He loves and obeys the Father. And He does it to rescue you from sin and death and a religion that is all about you.
When the Voice of the Father speaks it says, “Hear Him!” Peter, ever the example of the kind of religion we like to have wants to stay there with the bright and shiny Jesus and the prophets of old. “Lord, let us make some shelters, tabernacles, booths for you guys.” Peter wants to stay there. He wants to be where God's glory is shining and evident and easy to see. Peter doesn't want the dead God on a cross, He wants the bright and glorious one. So it is with so many Christians who worship by trying to have some feeling and somehow touch or experience God's “glory.” In many churches, worship is carefully crafted to bring about a deep and powerful emotional experience and response. And again, we see that in doing that, we've made religion about us. Peter has made this about Him. What he will do for Jesus. But the Father corrects all that with these words: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Hear Him because our faith, our religion isn't about our emotions but about Jesus and His Word. His saving Word that gives us life.
And what does Jesus say? The Father says to listen to Him and the very next words out of Jesus' mouth are to the frightened disciples saying, “Do not be afraid!” You've just seen the glory of God Himself shining in Jesus Christ and glaring from the cloud. That's enough to scare poor, miserable sinners. So don't be afraid. When we make religion about ourselves, we're constantly trying to find a way to make ourselves feel good. But when faith is centered in Christ, His Word says, “Don't be afraid.” There is true comfort because it is the Lord who says it. He is the One who brings true peace to us by the forgiveness of sins that He accomplished for us on Calvary. This “don't be afraid” extends to the font where the Word and water rescue us from death and the devil. It is heard in the Absolution which tells us not to be afraid of our sins. It is spoken with the Words of Institution so that we don't fear death because Jesus' Body and Blood overcome death. That is our religion! That is our faith! What Christ has done and what He delivers to us by His comforting Word. Here it is no longer about what we can do and how we live and how we feel. It is about the promises of God Himself to be our God and defend us from all evil even unto eternal life. The big deal isn't that we can feel good about Jesus but that Jesus saves us from sin, death, devil, hell and all things that are against us!
Now, after they come down from the mountain, Jesus tells His disciples not to tell anyone what they've seen until after He's been raised from the dead. After that, Peter tells us that because He was an eyewitness of the glory of Christ, the Word He preaches is sure. To hear St. Peter preach is to hear Christ. To hear our called and ordained pastors preach is to hear Christ. The Transfiguration of Jesus means, now that He has been raised from the dead, that the Word that is preached has all of God Himself standing behind it to make it so. Peter's words in His epistle remind us that the Word we hear preached is not made up (like the world thinks!) But Jesus was seen by eyewitnesses and they have passed down His Word faithfully since, especially as it's confirmed and kept for us in the Bible. Those two things always go together. The preaching and the Scriptures. The preachers must always preach what is in the Scriptures and the Scriptures serve to show us whether what is preached is a religion about us—bad!--or the faith of Christ, which delivers His salvation faithfully. Hear Him means hear Jesus. And that's what the Bible is all about. And that's what the Word preached and taught in His church delivers to us.
When Jesus speaks to them, the disciples look up and see Jesus only. What a picture of our faith! Jesus only. The Transfiguration is written down for us to rescue us from a religion that is all about ourselves to to turn our hearts in faith to “see Jesus only.” Only in Him do we have the truest comfort and the voice of God Himself telling us not to be afraid. With such a Savior who is God and man, we have the unshakable promise that now, in Christ, we too are God's beloved sons. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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