Sermon: Transfiguration - 2020

2 February 2020

Text: Matt 17:1-9 (Ex 34:29-35, 2 Pet 1:16-21)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

In His mercy, God does not permit us to see everything.  We cannot look into the future.  We don’t see the warfare around us between angels and demons.  We can’t see all of the bacteria around us, or the air, or electrical waves, or even things hidden by walls.  We couldn’t live day to day if everything were visible to us.

Indeed, most of the universe is hidden from us, but nevertheless, it exists.  As we say in the Creed, God is the “maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.”

And because He is merciful, the Lord hides His glory from us poor, miserable sinners.  For even a glimpse of God Almighty would be more than we could handle.  The people even became afraid of the face of Moses after he spoke with God on Mount Sinai, to the point where Moses had to wear a veil to keep his face from shining with the reflected glory of God.

And as much as we think that we would like to see beneath the veil, God knows that we are not really equipped to see such things as they are – especially the things of God.  

You see this very genuine reaction of terror from Peter, James, and John when our Lord Jesus Christ figuratively unveils Himself on the Mountain of Transfiguration.  Unlike Moses, whose face only reflected God’s glory, our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and is God’s glory.  

And the three disciples also saw something normally hidden to us: those who have departed this life.  Normally, they are part of the “invisible” – and we are told not to even try to communicate with the dead.  But Jesus allows Peter and James and John to see Moses and Elijah in a heavenly vision.  And they were talking to Jesus.  And in the midst of all of this, Jesus “was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.”

Transfiguration is the Latin version of the Greek word “metamorphosis.”  Both words mean to “change form.”  The ordinary Jesus that they knew so well, took on His hidden form: the form of the face of God.  And they perceived this now-revealed form as pure radiant energy, as a blast of light like the sun.  That is not something you would be liable to forget.  And indeed, St. Peter called this incident to mind in our epistle reading.

The earliest illustration of Jesus that we know of is the icon that we have on our altar.  The original is from the sixth century.  The two halves of our Lord’s face are intentionally different, reflecting His two natures: divine and human.  And this is what the disciples saw that fearful but joyful day of Transfiguration.  Jesus unveiled His face to show them the glory of God.  For He was soon to be crucified and put to death.  Peter, James, and John would have a vision of the divine Jesus to get them through a difficult time when their faith was to be shaken.

And even the Father’s normal silence was broken, as Peter, James, and John heard Him say, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him.”

Listen to Him, dear friends.  Listen to Jesus!  For He comes to you in His Word: the Word of His mercy, the Word of life and salvation, of forgiveness and eternal joy.  He comes to us robed in light, for He is the Light of the World, which we see through the eyes of faith.  

“When the disciples heard this,” says St. Matthew, “they fell on their faces and were terrified.”  Like the people who saw the glory of God on the face of Moses, their natural reaction was one of fear.  And we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  But Jesus comforts them in their fear, “Rise and have no fear,” He commands, touching them.

“And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”  Jesus only, dear friends!  The one who has come to comfort them, yes, and to save them – He becomes the only thing that they see.  The revealed truth is once more hidden.  Moses and Elijah return beyond the veil.  The radiant face of Jesus becomes their familiar Teacher once more.  And the voice of the Father will be found again only in the Scriptures.  The veil is put back in place – but Peter and James and John know what they saw.  They confess the reality that was revealed to them.  They have seen the divinity of Jesus!  And instead of dying, as Scripture says happens to those who see God, it will be our Lord who will die for them, even as they will live! 

Interestingly, St. Peter refers to this vision to convince his readers that the apostles “did not follow cleverly devised myths” in preaching of the “power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  For they were “eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 

They saw the light.  They heard the voice “borne from heaven” as they were with Jesus “on the holy mountain.”  And yet, dear friends, “we have something more sure,” says the holy apostle.  More sure than even the vision of the invisible, the lifting of the veil, the audible voice of the Father, and the radiant glow of the face of our divine Lord?  What could be “more sure” than that?  St. Peter says, “the prophetic Word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”

For even as St. Peter saw the transfigured light of Christ, he still points us to the Holy Word, that which the Psalmist called a “lamp to my feet” and a “light to my path.”  For “no prophet of Scripture,” says St. Peter, “comes from someone’s own interpretation.”  For the Word of God was given to the writers of the Scriptures, “carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

For in the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, we experience the Word of God, Jesus, the Word made flesh.  He is revealed in the light of the Scriptures, dear friends.  And Peter says, “you will do well to pay attention.”

Hearing the Scriptures read may not seem that great or profound to the naked eye.  But there is an underlying reality that we don’t see, but is revealed to the eyes of faith.  Reading and studying the Scriptures is not dramatic, but something supernatural happens every time you are exposed to the Word of God.  For when you hear and read the Word of God, you are indeed following the instructions of God the Father: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

Listen to Him, dear brothers and sisters, as if your life depends on it – because it does.  Listen to Him, for He has the words of eternal life.  Where else would you go?  Listen to Him, for His Word is a lamp to your feet, a light to your path, and they are the very truth revealed by the Holy Spirit.  Listen to Him, for He converses with Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, and fulfills both.  Listen to Him, because He gives you the free gift of forgiveness, of life, of salvation!

And when you listen to Him in His Word, and when you likewise experience Him in the Holy Sacrament veiled behind the forms of bread and wine, Jesus will touch you and command you to “have no fear,” and instead of the horrific things of this world of sin and death, when you lift up your eyes, you will see “Jesus only,” for Jesus only is your life and your salvation.  In His mercy, God will not permit you to see everything, but He will allow you to see everything that you need for eternal life – even Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.