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The sermon for February 5 was based on Matthew 17:1-9.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Journeying with Jesus must have had its down times for His called
disciples. They kept close to the Savior Who was continually harangued
by an assortment of people -- some wanting food from the Man Who could
feed thousands with an armful of loaves -- some desiring to have their
bodies healed of afflictions by the Man Who performed many such signs --
a few seeking to taunt and trap the Man Who was doing the things that
only God could do -- a remnant come to hear the Scriptures and the Words
of Jesus. Swarming about the Lord God and His disciples were the crowds
composed of common folk and upper crust, sick in body and sick in soul,
harlots and hotheads, the fascinated and the scheming, the Pharisee and
the faithful.
The disciples, in the midst of all this, were attempting to learn (not
just from an academic, theoretical perspective, but from an
experiential, personal view point) just what it meant to be a follower
of this Jesus Who had approached each one of them and said, "Follow
Me."
The lessons did not always sink in -- or, at least, it seemed that they
were often learning by doing the wrong thing and being corrected by
Jesus. Peter especially took his lessons in this trial-and-mostly-error
manner. One minute he was on the right track -- almost in the next
breath Jesus was correcting him.
The combination of dealing with people and of being corrected by God
could be more than a bit depressing and most certainly tiring. Imagine
what might have been going through one of the disciple's minds as he lay
under the stars after a long day of walking, of dealing with people, and
of being disciplined by the Lord. "This life is a difficult one and not
a little strange. Who is this Jesus? Why am I going through with this?
Where is Jesus leading me? This life is busy, exciting and filled with
opportunities, but there are down times -- so many valleys that I tread
through. Is this the way that it is going to be for the rest of my
life?"
One day Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain where they
would have a tremendous revelation of Jesus the Christ. High enough to
be in the clouds, how blessed they were to be there on the Mount of
Transfiguration. It is no wonder that one of them said, 'Tis good,
Lord, to be here. Our Lord Jesus - the Son of God from eternity and the
Son of Man born of Mary - was transfigured showing the Glory that was
His from all eternity. These three disciples gained a glimpse of Glory
while they were still in this world. In the midst of the this world's
life, these three - Peter, James and John - had a mountaintop
experience.
That's all fine and good for them, but what about the others? What
about you and me? Well, dear people, please picture this church building
-- in particular, this room -- this sanctuary as the mountain that Jesus
has invited you to ascend with Him today. This room has been consecrated
by the Word and for the Word; it has been set aside as a place where
God's people are invited to gather and hear of hope despite all the
valleys of darkness in life and in death.
It is where you children can enter into the presence of the living Lord
simply by standing with your parents as together we begin in the Name of
the Triune God Who has come into our lives through Baptism and Who
graciously reveals Himself wherever His people have gathered in His
Name. When you sing your "amen" to the Invocation, you are simply
saying, 'Tis good, Lord, to be here."
We confess that we poor, miserable, wretched sinners are not worthy to
be in the presence of the holy, perfect, righteous, sin-hating God.
We declare our sin and confess the Savior Jesus, the Incarnate Son of
God Whose Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension was for
us men and for our salvation. Therefore we stand outside the holy of
holies and say with the faithful centurion, "Dearest Jesus, only say the
Word and Your sin-sick servant will be healed." When the announcement
of God's complete, total, gracious, free forgiveness in Christ is
proclaimed by the called undershepherd and steward of the mysteries of
God, then you and I are prepared and invited to enter His gates with
thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4). Ah, it is most
certainly true to say, "'tis good, Lord, to be here."
Following the words of entrance, the singing of all glory to the Holy
Trinity, the three-fold petition of mercy, the singing of glory to the
Lord God Who reigns above and following the praying of the Collect for
the Day, we hear the Word ... the readings from the Bible. The Old
Testament is read and the people of God hear from Moses and the prophets
-- listening to what the Lord did through Elijah and others.
Jesus said to Peter, James and John, "Tell no one the vision, until the
Son of Man is raised from the dead." Following the Resurrection of our
Lord Jesus, these apostles proclaimed that this Jesus is the Christ ...
Crucified for the sins of all people of all times and Risen from the
dead. They did so by word of mouth and also by the written Word in the
form of letters. These apostolic letters are in the Bible and portions
of these letters are read in the Epistle Reading every Sunday. You and
I are able and privileged to hear the very Word of God. Truly we join
with Peter in confessing, Lord, it is well that we are here.
While the disciple was still speaking a bright cloud overshadowed the
three fishermen and a Voice from the cloud said, This is My Beloved Son,
with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him. When the disciples heard
this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. Listening to
Jesus is a blessed directive given to the Church by God the Father.
Therefore, at the reading of the Holy Gospel, we stand to listen to the
Savior and to hear of Him Who came into the world to suffer in our stead
and to die in our place. In listening to the Incarnate Word, we ought
to be filled with awe and wonder ... for these writings are the very
Words of God scribed with His finger through the calloused hands of the
evangelists.
Is it any wonder that the Church has, following these readings from the
Holy Scriptures has remained standing to declare what she believes,
teaches and confesses? ... to state, in the words of her creeds, what
the Bride of Christ declares to be her life, her hope, her peace, her
comfort, her Lord? ... for the individual Christian to stand and say
this is what I believe and I will suffer all things, even death, rather
than fall away from the Lord God Almighty Who has done great things for
me!
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no
one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. The
message of the Resurrection of Jesus is one that has gone forth from the
empty tomb and has been proclaimed to the ends of the earth and
throughout the centuries. The announcement that "Christ is Risen" has
gone forth and been received in the hearts of people when and where the
Holy Spirit wills. People have been brought into the Church and have,
from pulpits of all kinds, sizes and types ... from pulpits in caves,
cabins and cathedrals, the people of God have heard the Good News of
Christ incarnate, transfigured, crucified, risen and ascended. Faithful
undershepherds of Jesus and apostolic pastors have sought to tell the
people the Law that accuses and condemns, and the Gospel that comforts
and consoles ... that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal Life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).
That, dear friends, I pray, is what you hear every Sunday from this
pulpit. If you do not hear enough Law to frighten you and scare your
heart because of God's wrath against sin, and if you do not hear enough
Gospel to comfort and quiet your soul because of God's love for the
world, then please, for my sake, speak to me about this. As your
pastor, I want truly want to do what I have been called here to do ...
to speak the Word of Truth. Though I want to speak no falsehood, I am
not perfect. If I have misspoken or been unclear or been wrong or
uttered false doctrine, please let me know. It is from this very pulpit
that I want to declare my error and correct what I have said.
Beloved Luke, in his account of the Transfiguration, informs us that
Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. Prayer was and continues to be a
part of the Life of Christ; it is to be a part of the life of the
individual Christian as well as that of the one Church. What a blessing
it is for the Church to offer her prayers of praise, thanksgiving and
petitions before the throne of God and know that the Holy Spirit and the
Son of God intercede for us in our prayers to the Father. And what a
great blessing to be invited to pray the prayer that Jesus gave to His
disciples as we say the "Our Father," and know "that He is our
true
Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may with all
boldness and confidence ask Him as dear children ask their dear father."
Indeed, dear children, we declare ... 'Tis good, Lord, to be here.
Our Father's Voice from the cloud said, This is My Beloved Son, and the
Son's Voice says, This is My Body; This is My Blood, as He breaks bread
and takes the cup of wine. For those of His disciples who are prepared
for worthy reception of the Lord's Supper and who have been received as
confirmed members of the congregation, there is the invitation to come
to the Holy Eucharist. Bound by our promise to one another and out of
caring, pastoral, Christian love for all people, "we do not intend to
admit to the Sacrament and administer it to those who do not know what
they seek or why they come" (LC, V).
When on that holy mountain, immersed in the holy cloud and having heard
the holy Voice of the Father, the disciples fell on their faces, and
were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise,
and have no fear." Here, kneeling before this holy altar and having
been touched by Jesus in, with and under the bread and the wine, we are
hearing Him say, Rise, and have no fear. Here, with the invitation to
rise and have no fear, we stand before this baptismal font and having
heard the good word of the Benediction, ... where, with His face shining
upon us and being gracious to us and granting us peace, ... truly we
have been blessed by the Lord God Almighty. Thus we add our "amen" and
say, "'Tis good, Lord, to be here."
Truly who wouldn't want to be here every Sunday to hear the Word read by
the called reader? Dear people, why wouldn't we want to have the Lord's
Supper every Sunday? Who would ever want to leave this holy place?
"'Tis good, Lord, to be here." Maybe we ought to do as Peter suggests,
Lord, ... if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and
one for Moses and one for Elijah. Perhaps, but maybe that is not what
God wants of and from His people right now.
The hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, in his sunny perch high above the dark
and dangerous forest below, looked at the butterflies and enjoyed the
feel of the gentle breeze in his hair for a long time. At length,
however, the cries of his companions below reminded him of what was
still ahead of him ... a business below that required his personal
attention and commitment.
Peter, James, and John were given a special revelation ... the
Transfiguration of Jesus and it was given to them because there was much
ahead for them and they were not going to stay on the mountain forever.
Such participation was a good thing for they were to go down into the
valleys of the shadow of death. They told Jesus that it was good that
they has been there for that event. The Lord was preparing them for
what was ahead. All three of these men who witnessed the height of the
Transfiguration also were witnesses to our Lord in the Garden of
Gethsemane. They didn't go out alone against the world. Jesus would be
with them later, following His Death and Resurrection and said in His
promise, Lo, I am with you always to the very end of the age. Even
after His Ascension, He is still with them -- with us, not just in
spirit, but in reality. Christ lives in His disciples -- disciples then
and disciples now.
When we gather together in the Name of the Lord who comes to us through
Word and Sacrament, it is good to do so. We are forgiven of our sins,
assured of that forgiveness, reassured of our Lord's love, strengthened
in our faith, declare our confession of the faith to God and to one
another, and proclaim Christ's Name as we await His Second Advent. When
we stand after the Holy Communion or when we arise from these pews and
exit this holy place, our steps do not take us to our eternal glory, but
rather back to our stations in life -- mother, father, son, daughter,
student, worker, or whatever. We have loved ones to care for and often
they have to care for us. There are diseases to live with and burdens
to bear.
Following our visit here we are directed to the work that is to be done
in the Kingdom of our Lord, assured that He is with us no matter what
the situation we might find ourselves in and no matter where we are. We
will walk through valleys of the shadow of death. Satan will be ready
to accuse us and to attempt to snatch us away from Christ. There will
be troubles and disappointments and challenges. In the face of such
battles on the planes, war in the trenches and valleys where the forces
of darkness overhang us, you and I need to be frequent travelers to this
mountain where we have assembled today in the Name of the Lord. Amen.
The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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