February 22, 2004 — Transfiguration/Last Sunday after the Epiphany
Christ Lutheran Church, Columbia, MD
Pastor Jeff Samelson
Luke 9:28-36
Wake Up and See the Glory
I. Christ’s True Nature
II. A Taste of Heaven
III. The Source of All You Need
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Word of God for our study this Sunday is found in Luke 9:26-38:
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen. (NIV)
This is the Gospel of our Lord.
Dear Waiting and Waking Disciples of our Glorious Lord:
What, in your life, have you missed because you just couldn’t manage to wake up in time? The bus? A flight? Breakfast? The chance to say goodbye to someone special, or to see a once-in-lifetime event?
There are many things in life that we miss, or come close to missing, because we’re asleep, or just plain sleepy. Maybe it’s an experience we don’t want to miss. Maybe it’s an obligation that we can’t forget about. Maybe it’s an opportunity that we don’t want to let pass by. Whatever it is, it’s worth waking up for, and so we’re thankful — eventually, anyway — when a mother, or a spouse, or a friend takes the trouble to make sure we don’t give in to that voice that’s telling us to stay in bed. Sometimes we’re even thankful for an alarm clock that won’t let us roll over and go back to dreamland. “Wake up!” we’re told, “You don’t want to miss this!”
Peter, James, and John were very sleepy, Luke tells us. Their bodies and minds both were telling them to keep their eyes closed, their heads down, and their breathing slow. But something woke them from their slumber that night on a high mountain in Galilee — and you can be sure that they were thankful for the rest of their lives that something was knocking on the door of their unconsciousness and saying, “Wake up! Wake up, and see the glory!”
I. And that’s what they saw, of course — they saw Jesus in all his glory — and Moses and Elijah standing there with him. Can you imagine what a shock that must have been to those three disciples? When they started drifting off, they were with Jesus, whom they had seen do some amazing things but whom they had only ever seen as a man, and here they were, waking up and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and seeing a transfigured Jesus, his face shining with the light of heaven and his clothes radiating the glory of God. I mean, that would have been quite a sight and mental adjustment even if Jesus had told them in the middle of the day, “I’m going to be transfigured now; get ready,” but here this is what they were waking up to. It’s no wonder they were confused and afraid. No doubt they were remembering what happens when sinful men come face to face with God’s holy power and glory: they die.
But that didn’t happen, and that’s because there was a reason why Jesus had brought them there that day — this transfiguration was more for their sake than his. They needed to see his glory.
What Peter, James, and John woke up to see was a revelation. It was evidence. It was an experience. It was power. It was Jesus as no one had ever seen him before. And most of all, it was a real, live, in-your-face demonstration of who Jesus really was.
Because Jesus’ transfiguration set aside once and for all any notion they could have had that this man, Jesus, was just a man. The glory they saw in, surrounding, and coming from Jesus was God’s glory, but it was his own glory. Earlier, Peter had confessed their faith that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God — and now they saw the proof. Jesus was so much more than just a teacher or a prophet gifted by God — he was God himself in human flesh. Throughout his time on earth Jesus had set aside his divine power and glory, but for this brief moment he took it up again. There could be no question any more that Jesus was God as much as he was man.
That was confirmed, of course, when they heard — and we hear — the Father speak from the cloud and say, “This is my Son.” You can’t get any greater confirmation than that. But the Father also wanted the disciples to understand that Jesus was God’s special servant to carry out his work and his plan of salvation, so he added, “whom I have chosen.” Jesus had more than a secret identity — he had a mission to fulfill. Both were revealed there that night on the mountain — there was good reason to wake up and see the glory.
II. And there was another good reason to wake up — kind of like smelling the coffee or bacon and making sure you get up for breakfast when there are pancakes hot off the grill or cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. Peter, James, and John woke up in time to get a taste of heaven.
Peter wanted it to last, of course — he wanted heaven to remain a bit longer on earth, and so he suggested, without really thinking, that they could put up three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah — so they could stay longer, and this moment wouldn’t be lost. Peter wanted the experience to last, and he undoubtedly had lots of questions to ask, but that wasn’t why Moses and Elijah had come, and they went back to heaven even as he spoke.
Still, as foolish as his shelter suggestion turned out to be, one thing Peter said was absolutely true — and probably would have qualified for the understatement of the year award: “It is good for us to be here.” Well, yeah, of course — even the slightest taste of heaven is a good thing, something to be savored, celebrated, and treasured.
And that wasn’t only true for those three disciples then — it’s true for us disciples today, too. You woke from your slumber this morning and have come here to see God’s glory, and it’s good for you to be here, because you, too, are getting a taste of heaven. Now of course, your experience here in worship hardly compares to theirs in terms of the wonder and the spectacle of it, but in at least one respect what you have is better: Peter and the others woke up to a once-in-a-lifetime event that could only be repeated in their memories; but you can repeat your experience of Christ’s glory and your taste of heaven over and over and over, every week for the rest of your life.
Because here in our worship we are in regular and constant contact with Christ. No, we don’t see him as the disciples did, but he is here with his people, and he comes to us in his Word and Sacraments. We touch his glory and taste his heaven as he serves us with his gospel and as we serve him with praises, gifts, and lives. And it’s not just an individual thing, either, just as we won’t be alone in heaven. As we’ve been learning in our “Come, Worship Christ” Bible class, when we use the songs and words of the liturgy in our worship we are joining together not just with each other, but with all the saints and angels who are already gathered around the Lord’s throne. It may be just a little taste of heaven we have on Sunday morning, but it is good for us to be here — it’s good to wake up and see the glory!
III. That’s what Peter said. He, James, and John woke up and saw Christ as he really is, they saw heaven come down to earth for a brief moment, and in Christ’s transfiguration they saw one more thing — they saw everything they needed for what lay ahead of them.
And anyone who wakes up and takes a good look at the God-man Jesus Christ, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, will see the same thing. And it’s more than just a man and more than a dazzling light: you will see the source of all that your heart and soul need for this life and the next.
Now probably the last thing those three disciples could have imagined during and just after the transfiguration would have been that pretty soon this same Jesus would be hanging, bleeding, dying, and disfigured, on a Roman cross, but that was what Jesus had come for. He came to meet their and all people’s greatest need — he came to give his life as payment for all the world’s sins. In other words, what the disciples saw, and what anyone else sees when they consider the transfigured Christ, is the source of their salvation.
And I can picture someone thinking, “Oh, man, why can’t we just focus on the good things and the glory today? Why do we always have to bring the cross into it and talk about sin? We get it already — sin and grace, law and gospel, death and life, damnation and salvation, Satan and Jesus — we’ve got it, we’ve heard it a hundred times, so let’s get on with it. Why can’t we just focus on the glory?”
Well, we talked about that last week, didn’t we? The difference between real discipleship and counterfeit Christianity is not an appreciation for Christ’s glory — the difference is the cross. There is no purpose to the Transfiguration or any other event of Jesus’ life on earth if we keep the cross out of the picture. The reason the Father chose his Son and sent him was simple: to save the people of earth from their sins. And if we try to look at Christ — transfigured or not — without his cross, well, then we’re a lot more clueless than Peter was. He at least had the excuse of not knowing yet where Jesus was headed.
And so we view the call to “wake up” as first and foremost a call to repentance. Recognize and confess your sins, and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Confess your open sins — losing your temper, cheating on a test, breaking traffic laws, stealing office supplies from work, internet pornography, disobeying your parents or telling off your boss — and repent also of your hidden sins — greed, laziness, hatred, envy, unbelief. Repent of all your sins because each and every one of them is capable of sending you to hell, and repent because you know how your sins grieve your loving Lord. Repent of your sins, and turn again and again, every day, to Jesus. Count on what he achieved with his cross and empty tomb — the complete and final victory over all our enemies — sin, death, and Satan.
And then on the other side of repentance you will see the glory of your forgiveness in Christ. Our greatest and most urgent need is met in Jesus Christ, God’s Son — we are no longer headed to hell, but to heaven, all because of him. What his Father chose him to do, he did — he saved us.
And when we consider that, and all he’s done for us, in gratitude and love we want very much to do what the Father told Christ’s disciples to do: “Listen to him.” We listen to him not because we have to, but because we want to, and because we recognize him as the Word of God made flesh. That’s why we love to read our Bibles so much, and why we find there all the wisdom and knowledge our hearts and souls need — because we find Christ in all his glory in the Scriptures whenever we wake up enough to see him there. We love to listen to him.
We also shouldn’t forget that, even though his primary concern is for our eternal welfare, Jesus is still very interested in helping us in this life. There was a very practical and compassionate reason why he brought Peter, James, and John along that night. The time of his suffering and crucifixion was drawing very near, and with that, and beyond it, some very hard times for Jesus’ disciples. By giving these three a glimpse of his glory and a taste of the heaven that awaited them, God strengthened their faith and encouraged their hearts for everything that lay ahead.
He does the same for us when we wake up and see the glory. We know Who it is we’re standing with — and perhaps even more, we know that it is the glorious and victorious Lord of Heaven and Earth who is standing with us against our enemies. With that knowledge, we have more than enough confidence and courage to face anything life or the world might throw at us. The sight of Christ’s glory that we have here, in these verses and in all of God’s Word, really puts things into perspective, whether it’s outright persecution or simple frustration, devastating illness or minor discomfort, heart-rending grief or an everyday disappointment.
You know, we even find strength and encouragement in the midst of our failures and stupidities. Look at Peter and how Jesus treated him. In his grace and love, he overlooked Peter’s foolish suggestion about the three shelters, just as he didn’t let any of Peter’s other, and many, failures disqualify him from discipleship. Jesus forgave him every time and picked him up when he fell. Knowing that Jesus does the same for us is a source of tremendous confidence — no matter how wrong we are and no matter how dumb the things we do, no matter the temptations we give into and no matter how ungrateful we may act, God will forgive us, his disciples, restore us, comfort us, and strengthen us, for Christ’s sake. When we wake up and see Jesus in his glory, we see everything we will ever need.
Of course, our sinful natures do their best to keep us groggy when it comes to God’s glory. Satan certainly wants us to keep rolling over again and going back to sleep. But with the Holy Spirit’s help, working through the Word and Sacraments, we can and will wake up and see Christ in all his glory, as Peter, James, and John did that night on the mountain.
But what is it that we’ll be waking up for and not missing? Is it all about the experience? Some people think it is — they think of Christ’s glory only in the context of what they sense and feel, and the difference it makes in their daily lives. Is it all about obligation? Some people think it is — they think of Christ’s glory only in the context of how it reminds them of what they need to get up and do — for him, for themselves, for other people.
But neither of those perspectives is exactly right. It’s much better — and more correct — to see each glimpse of Christ’s glory as an opportunity, not just to be served or to serve, but to bring both together, just as in our worship here God serves us with his Word and Sacraments and we serve him with our praises and gifts.
And so when we wake up and see the glory — here every week, every day in our devotions, and every time our faith intersects with our thoughts, words, and actions — when we wake up and see the glory, instead of just sitting back passively to soak up the experience and instead of just feeling an obligation to go to work, we will be waking up to one opportunity after another to bring them all together — endless opportunities to learn, opportunities to be forgiven, opportunities to worship, opportunities to be strengthened, and opportunities to say “thanks” to God with our lips, our labor, and our lives, because in Christ God has loved us, saved us, forgiven us, fed us, strengthened us and stood by us.
It is good to be here, isn’t it? It is good to be here. That’s what we will say, every time we wake up and see the glory. Amen.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
