Mark 9:2-9

(Sermon Transcript March 3, 2003)

        People of God, growing up in Southern California, I remember once a year my parents would take us on vacation. And we would leave the Los Angeles metropolitan area and we would either go up to the redwoods on the north coast of California, or we would go to the magnificence and rugged beauty of the Sierra Nevada mountains on the east side of the state. And they were to me, and still are, places of majesty and wonder, places of refreshment and spiritual renewal, if you will.

        And I remember every time the vacation came to an end, it was with a tragic sense of loss that we had to leave that place of such incredible beauty and go back to the crush of LA. But leave we did.

        Today, not only is it Transfiguration Sunday, but it is also Lutheran Schools Sunday, where, together with the other 2500 Lutheran Schools in this country, we gather to celebrate what God does in those places. And like the redwoods, if you will, and like the Sierra Nevadas, these Lutheran Schools are places of sanctuary, places of relative safety as opposed to other environments which might not be so safe. These are places of growing, and learning, and acquiring knowledge. But it is also a place where you grow and learn everything in the light of what God has done, and continues to do, in this world, and in our lives.

        I would suggest to you that they are not here very long. Oh, it may seem long each month when you write the tuition check, but they are not here long. And before long, before you know it, you’ll turn around, and they will have graduated and have gone on to High School, and many to college, and as I’ve threatened you before, then on to marriage, and careers, and yes...driving! And it will happen before you know it.

        It’s no wonder that sometimes we hear Peter’s words coming from the lips of our parents and our children, coming at about the time of graduation, and if you’ll forgive my paraphrase of Peter’s words, permit me to say at the end of the time in the school, we hear a lot of people say, "Can’t we just stay?" It’s nice here. Let’s stay put.

        Well, that day when Jesus took Peter and James and John up the mountain, some non-descript mountain somewhere in Northern Israel that nobody seems to know the exact location of, although some folks have some guesses but that’s all they are. They went up to a place where they were alone, and something quite astounding happened. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t seen anything astounding before. After all, they had heard Jesus preach! And as we read in the scriptures, we find again and again that He preaches not as other men preach, but as one with the authority of God Himself, because in fact, He was. He was both fully human and fully divine. And when He spoke, people were astounded. They were struck speechless, the scriptures tell us, by the things He said. And the way He said it. And of course, Peter, James and John had seen that as well.

        And that’s not all. They had seen Him do some incredibly amazing things. There were the healings, the casting out of demons, the provision of food for thousands from seemingly limited resources. And suddenly, 5000 are fed, and 4000 are fed, in different times and in different places.

        And they were in awe. They had seen life given to the dead. And they had seen water turned into wine. They’d seen some pretty amazing things!

        What’s more, what Pastor who is worth his salt would not have given his very life to have for one day what the apostles had for three years! That is the ability to walk and talk, and discuss the great issues of life, to talk about God, WITH GOD in human flesh, every single day!

        The only thing I can say to the prospect of that would be.... WOW!

        And now, towards the very end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Peter, James and John, the "Big Three" of the apostles, if you will, go up to the top of a mountain, and there they see something that will stay with them until their breath that they draw, and confirm everything that they had previously witnessed, in spades.

        The Greek is kind of interesting if you read it. If any of you have seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", you know that "every word in every language comes from the Greek". Even if it doesn’t!

        The word that is used, as they watched Jesus being transfigured, let me just say it in the Greek here and get it exactly right...metemorwqh ("metamorphothe") . He morphed! He was metamorphosed, if you will.

        Something happened, because before, you see, He had always had the appearance of His humanity. That which was divine was voluntarily withheld, if you will. It was, as theologians say, His "state of humiliation".

        And now, for just the brief moment that they are there, they begin to see Him as He really and truly is. so much so that His radiance, His divinity, His light shines forth, it even changes the figuration and the configuration of the visualization of the garments that He wears!

        And we remember the words of scripture as they describe it in other places, this way that Jesus looks. Jesus once said (John 3:19-21) This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

        And then in Revelation, listen to this description of Christ! (Rev. 1:12-15) I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

        And then you might just begin to get an inkling of what they saw on the mountain top at His transfiguration. They saw the glory of God in Christ!

        It’s no wonder they later referred to it in their ministry. Remember these words from the Epistle of St. Peter. Peter writes We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.        For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (II Peter 1:16-18) Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  (John 1:12-14, 17)

        One wonders how often their thoughts returned to that mountain. For the life that lay ahead of them was not an easy one. In fact, we are told from history, that virtually every apostle save John, who died of old age in exile on a sunbaked piece of rock called Patmos, died of unnatural causes because of their testimony to the faith.

        And when their last hour came, I cannot help but think that they remembered the glory that was Christ’s on the Mount of Transfiguration, knowing that they too would soon see Him again that way.

        And if that weren’t enough, suddenly we see Moses and Elijah there having a conversation with Christ! And we learn from the parallel gospel text, that they are talking about His impending death and resurrection! But of course they are! But of course they are! For it was Moses who came to give the law. Here is the greatest of the lawgivers and the greatest of the prophets! Moses and Elijah! "The Law and the Prophets", if you will. And all of that was leaning only toward that which Christ was bringing with His Advent into this world! Through His life and suffering, death and resurrection.

        This was the fulfillment of all the prophetic promises, and the fulfillment of the law of Moses.

        For try as we might to keep the law, we cannot and we do not, so our faith cannot be based, and is not based, on keeping the law. But as St. Paul writes in Romans, But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (Romans 3:21)

        And as he writes in Ephesians (2:8-9) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.

        For the fulfillment of the law is what Jesus does. Not what we can do. And the acquiring of righteousness is not something that we can achieve, but rather it is the gift of God. We do not receive imperfect righteousness, but the perfect righteousness of His son!

        So there may be no doubt about the righteousness that we have before God’s throne of judgment. We stand acquitted of our sins, then and now. Not that we don’t continue to struggle. We are at the same time, as theologians say, "Saint and Sinner", simul iustus et peccator, as those who know Latin love to quote it, "at the same time saint and sinner."

        Sinner, yet forgiven. Unrighteous, yet righteous.

        Well, if that weren’t enough, suddenly a bright cloud appears. Not dark foreboding cloud, but a bright cloud. Of course, it would be. After all, it’s God! And a voice speaks. A voice undoubtably as it was described to us in Revelation that we just read, a sound like many rushing of rivers and waterfalls. An awesome voice. "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him."

        There is here both a blessing and a warning. For those who listen are blessed, and those who do not listen, are not. Listening to what Christ says, and seeing what He does, and believing in Him, is the key to eternal security. For there is no other name, the scriptures say, given under heaven by which we can be saved. (Acts 4:12) Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

        This is God’s solution to man’s sin, yours and mine. This is the path which God has provided, through which we come to the Father. And it’s a path of grace, not of works. It’s a path of forgiveness, not of condemnation.

        It is a path of love that God demonstrates to us through His son.

        I love Peter. He’s just a little bit too much like me. He always seems to engage his mouth before engaging his brain. And so consequently he says, "Hey, I’ve got a great idea, Lord. Let’s build three booths and stay put right here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah! In other words, why can’t we just stay here? Well, who can blame him?

        First of all, Jesus, Moses and Elijah need no shelter.

        Secondly, please understand that His mission is not done. The conversation He was having with Moses and Elijah was about His pending death and resurrection from the dead.

        There were yet things to be done, and without it, Jesus could not have said the words, "It is finished!"

        A lot of people misunderstand the nature of faith. Particularly in our kind of culture. We think of faith is something that is there just for our blessing. And indeed, we are blessed by the grace and gifts of God, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of eternal life. Make no mistake about that. But, if that’s all there is, if that’s all we are here to do is receive something from God, which is great and wonderful, then our faith is self-centered.

        For God also brings us to faith for the purpose of service. He says, I’m equipping you for the express purpose of being my representatives to the world. My ambassadors, if you will.

        And so what transpires is that not only is it necessary to be the recipient of God’s gifts, but always out of love for God for all that He has done for us, motivated by that love, and empowered by Him, then to move forward, and to serve.

        To serve in our places of work, to serve in our stations in life, to serve in every venue in which God places us, and to share the message of Christ crucified and risen.

        Here is our hope, and that hope is the light of the world.

        Think for a moment of the apostles. Not particularly an impressive bunch of guys. I mean, if you were Jesus, would you have picked them? Fishermen, a tax collector, a physician (which at that time was not the high exalted position they hold in this culture, but some guy who did a lot of work with leeches!)? Not very impressive.

        But, look what God does with them! You see, God does this all the time. He does not pick the powerful or the impressive. He picks the low and the humble, so that everyone knows that what is done through them is done because of Him and by Him, not because of them and who they are.

        Yet twelve apostles turned the world upside down with the faith of Jesus Christ.

        It always astounds me when I see the kids singing in church, or for graduation, or whatever it is. I always wonder, "What’s God going to do with them?" God always works with seemingly imperfect material, and our kids always seem to qualify. And by the way, so do their parents.

        So are we going to have before us, something that God does with someone is such fashion that maybe one of the children who sang for you this morning is going to be one of the great physicians and science researchers, one of the people in all the ages who will finally find a cure for all the various forms of cancer. Perhaps one of them will be a mathematician who will finally understand how God has put the world together into such a fashion that maybe we can understand the theory of relativity (finally!). Maybe someone will be of such talent, God-given, with his art, and will show us in no uncertain terms the astounding grace of God in visual form. Maybe one will be a musician, whose music will make all the music composed by someone like Johannes Sebastian Bach seem pale by comparison.

        That’s what God does in people’s lives. Some with more flair than others, some loudly, some quietly. but God works through His people to demonstrate His grace.

        So can we just stay on the mountain? Can we just keep the kids safe, sequestered in Our Savior Lutheran School? Safe from harm, safe from all the dangers of the world? No. We can’t. Anymore than you can.

        In just a little bit, we’ll leave this sanctuary. It’s the name of the space in which we are in. A place of safety, a harbor from the world. But we don’t get to stay. All of us have to go out the door. And all of us have to live in the world in which we live, and in the venue in which God has placed us. There, we shall be of service to Him. Just as He was of service to us. For He came to serve, and not to be served.

        So it is our privilege, and our estimable honor to come down from the mountain to leave the sanctuary, to leave the school, and to be His people in this place, and at the time appointed for us.

        In Jesus’ name, thanks be to God, who has given us grace, given us forgiveness, and given us the opportunity to serve Him. Amen.