Category: Lent

Let us pray:

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

⁴⁶ “Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?

 ⁴⁷ “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

 ⁴⁸ Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

 ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

 ⁵⁰ “And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.

 ⁵¹ “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

 ⁵² Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say,`If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’

 ⁵³ “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”

 ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.

 ⁵⁵ “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say,`I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.

 ⁵⁶ “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

 ⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

 ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 ⁵⁹ Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

An editor of prominent journal that discusses topics of religion and public life was arguing that churches should not cancel services. In a time of isolation, loneliness, financial hardship, and fear, church is the one thing that should remain open. I wish it were that easy. Surely, the Word of God is always essential to our lives, but it is especially needed during times of trial. For that is God’s desire for us in trial to draw us closer to Himself, by turning us to His Word.

Yet out of love we wish to prevent an exponential spread of this disease out of love for our neighbor. And so, we are able to adapt; we are still able to get the Word of God out through internet, phone, or letter. We are still able to have the word of God at home, but we’re missing out on corporate worship, which is a hardship. It’s difficult to know which is the right way to proceed. Should we continue to gather? Is it enough of a precaution to come in smaller groups, or does that bring too much risk? I think we’re taking the right approach with the suspension of services for a time, and the offering of communion to each one to decide for themselves weighing their need for their Supper, their risk level for yourself and others you are in contact with, and with what exposure they are comfortable with. So, in regards to what the editor wrote, I don’t agree with him about the cancelation of services, but he does make a very good point in the article. He writes, “the massive shutdown of just about everything reflects the spirit of our age, which regards the prospect of death as the supreme evil to be avoided at all costs.”

There is something worse than death. And this is something the world needs to know, and what we need to be reminded of. For our current events have turned us to our earthly needs, the needs I mentioned above such as loneliness, financial hardship, sickness and death. And rightly we have been taking these needs to God in prayer, but we must also remember that there is something worse than death. That something is spiritual death and eternal death. That is separation from God through unbelief now in life, and for eternity in hell. But then at the same time, greater than any of our earthly gifts is Christ and His Word from which we have eternal life.

But this separation from God is a threat to take seriously. This was the dreadful condition of the Pharisees.

They did not understand Jesus words. Jesus spoke the truth about Himself. He preached and fulfilled the Old Testament, for the entire Old Testament was about Jesus. And the Pharisees who knew the Old Testament didn’t see it. Abraham saw Jesus, that is, Abraham believed the promise of Christ. But the Pharisees didn’t see Jesus. They didn’t understand the promises of the Old Testament, and they did not understand Jesus’ words. Do we have a different nature than they? No, this is the common condition of our fallen nature. And so because of our sinful flesh, we are susceptible to unbelief, not to mention that the devil continuously tries to blind us and shroud us in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief.

The Pharisees also differed with Jesus in regards to their doctrine. The doctrine of the Jews placed their hope on two things, their ancestry and their works. They believed that being a physical descendant of Abraham made them God’s people. However, Jesus stated the fact that they do not belong to God, for they do not share the faith of Abraham.

But then the Jews also believed that their justification before God was through the Law. And so they saw no need for a Savior. They saw no need for repentance, for they weren’t looking for forgiveness and salvation. It was an offense for them to hear that keeping Jesus Word gives eternal life. They belong to the devil, for they are liars and they teach falsely, like the liar and deceiver, the devil.

This is the worse thing possible. To be separated from their Creator, to reject the One who would save them. They deny the Word that gives them eternal life, instead they remain in their sins, subject to death, under God’s judgment, and death shall be for them the entrance to torments that never end with the one to whom they belong, the devil.

If you want to talk about a threat, a pandemic, this is it. Yet do we take it as seriously as the coronavirus? We should take it more seriously. Do we recoil at false doctrine as we should? Do we shelter ourselves in God’s Word, when the devil and his lies are everywhere around us leading us to misbelief, despair and other shameful sin and vice. Do we take such extensive measures against secularism that tells us that this on earth is the only life there is and that we’re good, and that we ought to believe in ourselves and that we don’t need a God or a Savior. Do we daily sanitize ourselves of our filthy sins each and every day through repentance? Or do we think that our sins pose little threat to us?

We need to keep this perspective.

But, with such a great danger as being separated from God is and how dreadful such a thing is, we need not fear. For God has not given us a spirit of fear.

For Jesus is true God and our Savior. And His Word gives us eternal life. He promises, “If anyone keeps My Word he shall never see death.” This Word that Jesus is speaking is not the Law, but the gospel. Moses came with the Law, Jesus comes with grace and truth. His Word is the good news of what He accomplishes by His coming into the world. It is filled with promises of forgiveness won by His shed blood. It is a message of the demolishing of the separation between us and God by His atonement for our sins. His Word speaks of eternal life. And so the keeping of this Word is not our doing the Law. Rather, it means keeping in our hearts through faith, this gospel word for you.

See how precious this word is to us. Jesus has the “words of eternal life”, as Peter confessed. Jesus said, “My words are spirit and life.” In them is life for us. This is life connected to God, as His people, now and forever. And see how Jesus so closely ties the Word to Himself. Christ is the content of the word. In the word are the gifts of His righteous life and innocent suffering and death. To keep the word is to keep Christ. To consume the Word is to consume the Bread of Life. To drink of the Word of God, is to drink of Christ, the Water of Life, who refreshes us in this valley of the shadow of death.

Through this Word, we are saved from spiritual death, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. And through faith in this Word, we become united with Christ and He lives in us. This spiritual life is what Jesus talks about earlier in John’s gospel, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn 5:24). This joining to Christ through faith in His Word is the first resurrection. And thus the second death, or eternal death has no power over us (Rev 20:6).

And thus through this Word, we are also saved from eternal death, eternal separation from God’s love. Abraham believed in the word of the Lord, and is now in eternal life. So also, you through faith in Christ’s Word have eternal life. And so the bite of bodily death is also gone! This death that the world so fears! Certainly for the unbelieving, death should bring much terror, for through it they enter into eternal torment. But for us who keep the Word of Christ through faith, death nothing more than a nap. Death is the passing from this land of the dying to the land of the living, our Promised Land, where the Church triumphant gathers with her Lord in glory.

We wonder what the worst that might from this coronavirus pandemic. Maybe it’s death, maybe it’s a collapse of the economy, or the beginning of an increase of restrictions or our freedoms after all this passes.

We will continue to serve and love our neighbor. We will continue to serve in our vocations, for as long as God chooses to keep us here on this earth. But we need not fear any of the evil we encounter on this earth, not even death. For we have Christ’s Word that gives us eternal life. Even to die is gain!

Thanks be to God, who has granted you faith in Christ, that you now have life with God through Him. His Word is the cure and protection from the worst things: death, spiritual, bodily, and eternal death. The world so desperately is seeking a vaccine and cure to the coronavirus. If only they would see their greatest threat, and also the cure, which is Christ in His Word.

May God grant many to know Christ. And may God keep us steadfast in His eternal-life-giving word. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, by Your Son You fed five thousand men in the wilderness with five loaves and two fish, showing that you nourish our bodies: We beseech You to nourish also our souls with Your gospel, that by the redemption of Your Son, we may be freed from sin, and be led with believers from every nation to our eternal inheritance by Your merciful Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

Grace to you and peace, from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

⁸ Thus says the LORD: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;

 ⁹ That You may say to the prisoners,`Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness,`Show yourselves.’ “They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.

 ¹⁰ They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them.

 ¹¹ I will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated.

 ¹² Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.”

 ¹³ Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted.

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

In the desolate place, Jesus fed the many who were hungry and faint. He had mercy on them. They needed food. Where there was very little to nourish them in this desolate place, Jesus gave them a feast. Miraculously He fed the multitude out of five loaves of bread and two fish.

This miracle is a sign, or indication, that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. But this feeding is not the feeding that is prophesied in Isaiah.

Let’s examine the prophesy Isaiah puts before us. Pictured before us is Israel returning to their inheritance. God’s servant will go and say to those imprisoned Israelites in exile, go free. They who are in darkness, come into the light. They who hunger in desolate places, will now have pasture from which to eat. They shall return to God. The mountains will not prevent them. God will make His mountains into roads. The highways in the valleys will be lifted up. They shall come from all over the earth. He who has mercy on them will lead them. He will give them plentiful pasture, and water for them to drink to sustain them on the way. They will return with singing and great rejoicing, because they are comforted and have received God’s mercy.

But what exactly is pictured? What is God prophesying here?

He’s speaking about the acceptable time, the day of salvation. At the time of Isaiah, the day was yet to come, but for us the day has already come. The Father hears the prayers of the Son. The Son of God became man and though He was without sin, He was able to sympathize with weaknesses of man, and thus He prayed to the Father on behalf of all mankind. And so the Father hears, and He plans out the day of salvation. He sends His Son to be the covenant of the people. That means He will be the personal bond which unites Israel and its God in a new fellowship.

So this return prophesied in our gospel reading is not a return to the land, but a return to God, who created us, but from whom we have lost communion. But on the acceptable day, the day of salvation, the Father gives up His Son to draw us to Himself and accept us for the sake of Christ alone. This is not a two-sided agreement, that we do our part and God does His. Rather Christ has made all things right between us and God. He has accounted for our sins, paying the price for them. He is the righteousness that justifies us with God. He is the bloodied, beaten, and crucified Mediator that creates peace between us and God.

This is meaningful for us only when we know what our spiritual situation is. We were in exile, separated from our Creator on account of our sins. We were in darkness, alienated from God, not knowing Him as our gracious God, but only our Judge, from whom we hide in the darkness.

We are hungry and thirsty in this wilderness. There is that innate longing for something that is missing, something lasting, that which we lost, the relationship with God. But we cannot satisfy it. Even the crowd Jesus fed had the answer before them–there was Jesus who is their righteousness and life. But they wanted from Him only satisfaction for their bellies. So also, in this wilderness, there is nothing to give us what we lost. In this wilderness, we try to fill our longings with whatever we can find, we even try to produce our own righteousness to make us right before God, but this is a delusion. It fails.

Furthermore, our spiritual situation can be compared to captivity. We can perhaps relate to this most of all these days. We’re stuck at home. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s a blessing to be home, but yet, we are limited on what we can do outside the home. We leave only for necessities. But how much greater is the captivity under sin and the devil. Our wills were completely bound to the devil. We were slaves of sin. We think we were free, but we were not. We could not budge from their grasp, not an inch to the left or to the right.

The way to God, is fraught with mountains and difficult terrain. There is no way we can make our way to Him.

But then because of Christ, what happens!? By His saving work, and through the preaching of His gospel, what wonderful things now happens for you. You in captivity: “Go forth.” You are free! Free from sin and Satan! You in the darkness, “Show yourselves, live in my light and life, and see that I am gracious to you!”

“The way to Me has been opened. Jesus is the Way. Through Him I have drawn you to Myself.” My mountains have been made into roads, the highways in the valley have been lifted up. There no longer anything separating you from Me. You are Mine, and I have claimed people from all four corners of the earth to be Mine as well. I have drawn all of you to Myself through My Son, who was lifted up on the cross. And while you remain on the earth, though it will be difficult, suffering the evil of the world, war, disaster, and famine, He will be with you. He who has mercy on You, will lead you. He is your Good Shepherd. He is also the Bread of Life. Eat of His Word, and partake of His body and blood, for He satisfies your hunger, for He is the righteousness by which you have peace and communion with Me. He will lead you beside still waters, upholding you in the grace of your baptism, and refreshing you in my grace.”

And so we go led by our Lord, feasting on Him, and living in our baptism, until we enter the glorious presence of God in heaven. And so we go, with believers from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

[Pause]

It hasn’t been long that we’ve been away from church, but I’m really looking forward to when we can leave the walls of our house, and we will come from the north, the west, the south, and east, and join together within the walls of our Father’s house, to gather in His most gracious presence, and partake of the Bread of Life, in Word and Sacrament, receiving from Him, His forgiveness, righteousness, and refreshment! It will be a joyful day!

And this is a foretaste of heaven, isn’t it? Gathering together with one another in God’s most gracious and glorious presence. And so we sing and rejoice, for the Lord has comforted us and has mercy on us! He has united us to Himself, and we shall be with Him forever. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, You have sent Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh, that He might overcome the devil, and defend us poor sinners against the adversary: We give thanks to You for Your merciful help, and we beseech You to attend us with Your grace in all temptations, to preserve us from carnal security, and by Your Holy Spirit to keep us in Your Word in Your fear, that we may be delivered from the enemy, and obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen

Grace to you and peace, from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

¹⁴ And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

 ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

 ¹⁶ Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.

 ¹⁷ But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.

 ¹⁸ “If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

 ¹⁹ “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

 ²⁰ “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

 ²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.

 ²² “But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.

 ²³ “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

 ²⁴ “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says,`I will return to my house from which I came.’

 ²⁵ “And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.

 ²⁶ “Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

 ²⁷ And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

 ²⁸ But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

These are Your Words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth, Your word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

The demon possessed the man. He had control. He tormented him, and there was nothing the man could do about it. But then along comes Jesus, and Jesus exerts His power over the demon and sends him away. The text doesn’t make this to be some difficult task for Jesus. He simply casts the demon out. Jesus later says that He casts out demons by the finger of God. He barely has to lift a finger.

But it’s no wonder. God is the almighty Creator. He created the devil and the demons, though they are corruptions of the perfect creatures that God had originally made them.

But why doesn’t God, by His great power, just get rid of them. Their intentions are pure evil toward us. Jesus calls the devil “a murderer”, and the “father of lies.” He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour us. The devil and his demons desire to bring chaos and destruction. Certainly the devil is seeking to cause the greatest amount of death, destruction and evil through COVID-19. Most of all the devil seeks our eternal destruction separating us from God’s Word and destroying faith.

So with all this evil that the devil and his demons cause, why won’t God just shoo them away, or judge them? He could. There were the demons possessing the two men in the country of the Gergesenes. One of the demons cried out, “Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt 8:28). They knew that He is the future Judge. Even then they feared the last judgment and condemnation. They dreaded their fate of being locked forever in the torment of hell. They knew the day would come, but they were hoping for that day to be averted, or to delay it. And Jesus did not give the demons the torment beforehand, but allowed them to continue to roam the earth, with their first stop being the herd of swine upon which they wreaked havoc.

Now, if God did cast away far from the earth the devil and his demons, there still would be no shortage of evil in the world. We and this fallen world are able to create enough evil as it is with all our sins that we commit towards God and against our neighbor.

But, despite that, why doesn’t God, by His divine power annihilate the devil and bring His evil to an end?

God does set out to defeat the devil. Casting out demons is an attack against Satan’s kingdom, but it is not their defeat. Though we can say that the exorcism is a sign of what was yet to come. The defeat was promised in the Garden of Eden. The woman’s Offspring would crush the serpent’s head. And the woman’s offspring defeated the devil by His death, as the book of Hebrews says, “through death He destroys Him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14).

The devil and his demons are defeated. Yet they continue to roam the earth. They remain active, though, as ones whose condemnation is sealed.

Why? God is not waiting for them to repent, for they are condemned to hell. But God seems to keep them around to accomplish is will, which ultimately makes a fool out of the evil one. God turns their evil into good. They unwittingly become servants of God.

Take for example, Joseph. Surely the devil was involved in the evil plot of his brothers. Yet, though they meant evil against Joseph, God meant it for good, namely the preservation of the line of the Messiah.

And then there’s the Israelites. God used the evil of other nations who through their idolatry served the devil. Through them, God chastised his people, and brought them back to Himself through repentance.

And then there’s Job. The devil believed that Job believed in God only because of the abundance of blessings that he had. So the devil afflicted Job greatly, but this only showed the strong faith that God had given Job. God, through Satan, humbled him, that He may exalt Him.

Then there’s Paul, who had a thorn in the flesh, “a messenger of Satan,” he called it. Though Paul prayed to God that it be removed from him, God would not, because God used this evil of the devil to keep Paul humble, so that he would not boast in the great revelation that he had been given, but that he remain humble and continue to rely in the grace and strength of God.

Sometimes, God uses the evil of the devil for judgment upon a person or a people. Those who persist in their obedience to the devil, God gives them over to their uncleanness, to the lusts of their sinful hearts. This will be their own punishment, and will add to the severity of their judgment.

Ultimately, we see God’s turning of the devil’s evil works into good, in fact our greatest good, at the cross. The murderer sought to destroy Jesus in death. But Jesus willingly entered into death’s grip, for this was how He would destroy the devil and deliver us from the evil of the devil.

The devil has been defeated in us believers. Luther’s baptismal rite includes an exorcism, a casting out of the devil, which is fitting. For the unbeliever is held under the power of Satan. Satan rules in his heart. But when God brings us to faith in the gospel, He casts out the devil for Christ to reign in us. By the forgiveness won on the cross, which is yours through faith, the devil is stripped of all his power. With what can he now accuse you? If God justifies you, or declares you righteous through faith in Christ, how can the devil condemn you? And though you die, yet shall you live. The only kind of death you have now is a blessed death, a death through which you enter into eternal glory, and your body sleeps until the Day of Resurrection.

And certainly the devil still is roaming and active, and though he intends evil, God turns it into good. We have this promise in Paul’s letter to the Romans, which goes, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28).

Through the trials and threats that the devil instigates among us like this virus spreading about, God draws us closer to Him, offering us forgiveness, comfort, and assurance of His gracious providence. He causes us to hear His Word, to keep His gracious promises dear in our hearts, that we may be blessed now with His peace, and also blessed eternally.

Furthermore through days like this, even in days where the devil attacks more aggressively with greater threats, and greater danger to our lives, with Christ as our Lord and Redeemer, we endure these days with hope and peace and love for our neighbor. These make for good occasions to share the hope that is in us. And in this way that which the devil intends for evil is made into something through which God is glorified in the world.

Everything that the devil tries against Christ and His Church is foiled! This must drive Satan mad! He is made into a spectacle. What fool! Through the works of the devil, God chastises us, draws us closer to Himself, comforts us with His gospel, and makes His name exalted on the earth.

Yes, Satan is our dangerous foe in the world, but Christ is on your side. He has claimed you in baptism. Scripture says, “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20). We know that Satan is defeated. Christ now rules in us. And you who have suffered the evil of the devil in life, will be vindicated on the Last Day. Then on that day, the devil and his demons will be locked away for good in eternal shame, and you shall be with your gracious Lord in perfect peace and joy. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

Sermon – Matthew 17.1-9 (Transfiguration – 2020)

O merciful and everlasting God, heavenly Father: We thank You that You have revealed to us the glory of Your Son, and let the light of Your Gospel shine upon us: We pray that You would guide us by this light that we may walk diligently as Christians in all good works, ever be strengthened by Your grace, and conduct our lives in all godliness; through the same, Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;

 ² and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

 ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

 ⁴ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

 ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

 ⁶ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

 ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”

 ⁸ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

 ⁹ Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Hear Him

Dear fellow redeemed,

It was quite a sight that Peter, James, and John had on the mountain. Jesus’ appearance changed before them, and He displayed His divine glory and brilliance. There are the two natures in Christ. It is not the character of human flesh to shine like the sun, and to emit light. We can enter into a pitch black room, and our bodies will produce no light. It will be pitch black. But the body of Christ, which is a real human body, shines like the sun, because He is also true God. The fullness of the divinity dwells in Christ. The early church fathers used to give this picture, and our Lutheran Confessions make use of it, it is like fire and iron. Iron does not have characteristics to glow. It produces no light. But it is the character of fire to glow. So that when fire is joined to the iron, it causes the iron to glow and emit light. So also, because of the union of the divine and human natures in the person of Christ, the divine attributes of His divinity, such as majesty, is communicated to His human nature, such as His body. Christ did this whensoever He willed during His humiliation, such as we see in our gospel reading. And since His ascension, His divine majesty always and fully is being revealed through His flesh.

And Peter, James, and John were in awe of Christ and His glory. They loved this sight!

It is interesting to note that they weren’t afraid of Jesus. Three years earlier, much less caused Peter to flee Jesus’ presence. Jesus gave them the great catch of fish, and Peter seeing the divine power of Jesus fell down at Jesus’ knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). But now they see not just the works of His divinity, but also His divine radiance, and they are not afraid. They have come to know not only of His glory, but also His grace and meekness. For John also testified of Him, being “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). And they know that He has come in mercy for the benefit of sinners.

But they see their friend, their teacher in such glory, and speaking also with Moses and Elijah, who represent the entirety of the Old Testament. They want this to last. They want to remain in the presence of His glory.

So Peter, still showing respect to His Lord, requests the will of His master “if you wish.” But it is Peter’s desire that he build three tabernacles, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

Peter much preferred this sight over the words that Jesus spoke six days earlier, that He would “go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Mt 16:21). Peter wished to remain in the glory, but tried to prevent Jesus suffering. Of course Peter didn’t learn his lesson. Peter wanted the mountaintop glory, but not Jesus’ suffering on the top of Mt. Calvary. And when Jesus was being judged under Pilate, Peter denied Jesus. And when Jesus was on the cross, Jesus and the disciples abandoned Him.

But on that mountain, the Father intervenes and turns Peter’s attention to where it should be directed: to His Word. He says, “Hear Him.” “Mark this vision you see now, remember who this is before you, this is My beloved Son, begotten from eternity. Hear His Word. He speaks of suffering, humility and death. Do not object to Him. Do not dismiss Him. Hear Him, and trust upon His Word.”

Like Peter, we want to dwell in glory. We want to see it and experience it. This desire ordered in the right way is a good desire. We want to be in heaven with Jesus. That is good. We should wish to dwell in the presence of His glory. This is was the good intention of God in creating us. But the desire for glory in sinful human hearts is easily turned bad.

There is the desire to have a connection to God’s glory, through means other than His Word and Sacraments. There’s that desire to have that mountaintop experience. Some actually go to the mountaintops, or else look for experiences in creation and seek in the beauty of creation, a connection with God. God’s creation declares the glory of God, but it gives no indication of how we stand before Him. In fact, when we think about it, being held accountable to this glorious Creator is very frightening.

Another place where the desire for experiencing God’s glory goes wrong is seen in some styles of worship. God’s Word is to be preeminent. “Hear Him” is God’s command. Music is to serve the words. But for many the music is played for the purpose of eliciting emotions, getting a person to feel God, and feel His love apart from the words. It is often the case that there is a lack of substance in the lyrics, which goes to show that they don’t matter much.

But how else does this desire go wrong? What do we wish to see in our every day lives. A happy life! We have a plan for our lives, that everything would go swimmingly. We seek to build our little kingdom here on earth. And of course, we don’t want things to go bad. We pray to God for blessings, and our daily bread. Jesus tells us to pray for this. And certainly, we are blessed with so many things by God in our lives here on earth. And we give thanks to Him for it. But it goes bad when this becomes the glory in which our hope, confidence, happiness, and comfort is grounded. For these things come and go like a mist.

Life is good, everything with God is good. Life is bad, God’s glory has departed from me. Well, this isn’t how we are to see it.

We operate our lives so much on what we see and experience, and what we want to see and experience. But when it comes to God, and our status before Him, His will for us, we ought to close our eyes and hear Him.

God’s glory on this earth wasn’t only found on that mountaintop. It was also found on another mountaintop, on Calvary. God’s glory was revealed in the crucified Christ. We can’t see it with our eyes, but God calls us to hear Him who was crucified, and there in Holy Scripture we learn, this is God’s atonement for our sins. He is defeating the devil. He is winning salvation for the world!

We need to close our eyes, and open our ears and hear Him, because we don’t see glory in our own lives, for Scripture says, “In this world you will have trouble,” and “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

But we have the confidence

God is with us. That through faith, we are His children. His glory will not destroy us, for we are forgiven.

This word is sure. This is what Peter speaks of in our epistle reading. This is not the word of man. This is the word of God, and they have seen with their own eyes His glory. What they have heard, what they have seen, they reported. And this Word, which is God’s Word is sure! Peter was sure of it, and was willing to die for it. And we too, must be willing to bear our cross, and suffer, but we know that we have the glory of being God’s children, righteous, and forgiven, and that when our time here comes to an end, we will enter into glory, where we will live in the light and brilliance of God’s glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.