The Feast of the Transfiguration
I Look for the Resurrection of the Dead Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In today’s Gospel, “*The appearance of Jesus’ face was altered and His clothing became dazzling white. And two men were talking with Him, Moses and Elijah*.” Dear Christian friends: Today is the Transfiguration of our Lord. Today is also the last Sunday of the Epiphany Season. From its beginning to its end, the Epiphany Season is all about the divine nature of our Lord Jesus—that Jesus is 100% God, from head to toe. Epiphany has also allowed us to see that the glory of God in Christ does not stand motionless. God’s glory in Christ moves. In particular, God’s glory moves toward you and me. · Epiphany began on January 6, when “*wise men from the east came… and worshiped the Child*” (Matthew 3:1, 11). There we learned that God’s glory in Christ has come for all people from all nations—including from the strange land of the Ozarks. · The next Sunday was the Baptism of our Lord (Luke 3:21), where Jesus poured His divine glory into the water so that His glory-in-the-water may then be poured onto you. Stated another way, Jesus uses Baptism to place His divine glory upon you, so that you are now rightly called a “*beloved Son in whom God is well pleased*” (Luke 3:22). · After that, Jesus went to the wedding at Cana (Epiphany 2, John 2:1-11). There Jesus showed us, among other things, that His divinity finds glory in drawing near to us in the happiest times of life. · But Jesus also went to Nazareth, “*where He had been brought up*” (Epiphany 3, Luke 4:16). There He endured rough treatment by those people who were closest to Him in life. In so doing, Jesus allowed us to think that His divine glory remains and even shines in the most difficult parts of our lives. · In last Sunday’s Gospel, “*all those who were sick with various diseases were brought them to Jesus, and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them*” (Luke 4:40). There Jesus showed us that His divinity receives glory by coming to us in our greatest weaknesses, in order that His strength may become ours. “*My grace is sufficient for you*,” says the Lord, “*for My power is made perfect in weakness*” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Today is the last Sunday of the Epiphany Season, the Transfiguration of our Lord. Today the theme of God’s glory in Christ continues, but with a change in direction. If the other Epiphany Gospels are about God’s glory coming to us, then today’s Gospel shows us how Christ Jesus our Lord pulls, draws and move us toward Him, into His divine glory. Stated another way, today’s Gospel gives us a picture of how it shall be for us at the end of our days: As Jesus was praying, the appearance of His face was altered, and His clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with Him, Moses and Elijah. 1. The first thing to notice is that Jesus’ body did not go away from Him when the glory of eternity was revealed in Him. His body did not disappear, but it changed in an indescribable way. “*The appearance of His face was altered*”—who knows how—“*and His clothing became dazzling white*.” Not only did Jesus keep His human body—however glorious it became—but Moses and Elijah also stood with Jesus in glory, “*talking with Him*.” Moses and Elijah also had glorified bodies, indescribably wonderful bodies, but bodies nonetheless. *This Gospel allows us to think that our God will NOT reject our bodies when we finally enter into His glory.* At the time of death, our bodies will be laid into the ground, but only for a moment. At the resurrection of all flesh on the Last Day, we will receive our bodies back. “*Our bodies will be sown in dishonor*,” says the Lord, “*but raised in glory; sown in weakness, but raised in power*” (1 Corinthians 15:43). The appearance of our bodies will be altered into something indescribably glorious, just as the appearance of our Lord’s face was altered in today’s Gospel. The picture of our Lord’s eternal glory in today’s Gospel is also a picture of you and me and all the baptized of Christ, for God has promised that “*we shall bear the image of the Man of Heaven*” (1 Corinthians 15:49). 2. We should not forget that Moses and Elijah “*were talking with Jesus*.” These guys were not super-saints. They were not even sinless. Moses was a murderer. Elijah constantly despaired that God would lose and His enemies would win. The fame of both these men rests only on the fact that God saw fit to call them and make them His own dear sons, so that He may do His work of salvation for them and through them. Stated another way, Moses and Elijah are no different than you and me. We have obtained a faith of equal value to theirs “*by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ*” (2 Peter 1:1). And there they are, “*talking with Jesus*.” *Today’s Gospel allows us to think that Jesus our God glories in having people be with Him in eternity.* He actually likes having us around! He wants it to be that way forever! By all means, Jesus loves to cause His glory to shine among us here on earth—we heard that message all through Epiphany. As I said earlier, today’s Gospel shows us how Christ Jesus our Lord also pulls, draws and move us toward Him, into His divine glory. Today’s Gospel wants us to know that the glory of Christ among us does not end. The glory of Christ shall be for Him more glorious when we stand with Him in eternity. 3. Finally, there is a very serious and practical aspect to today’s Gospel, which has absolute importance for every day of our lives. If most of this Gospel points us toward our future in Christ, the last part of it focuses our attention upon here and now: “*When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone*.” All the dazzle had disappeared. Moses and Elijah headed back to their eternal rest. Jesus, Peter, James and John all headed down the mountain. Peter had wanted to stay, but his request had been flatly denied. Why did it all end, there on the mountaintop? There was work to be done. · God the Father was not yet ready to receive His Son back into the glory of eternity. The cross still needed to be endured, where the body and blood of our Lord were given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Matthew 26:26, 28)—“*with His wounds we are healed*” (Isaiah 53:5). The grave still needed to be conquered, so that we, too, may rise from the grave (Romans 6:5)—“*death is swallowed up in victory*” (1 Corinthians 15:54). The old, evil foe still needed to be snapped onto a short leash (Revelation 20:1-2)—“*the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil*” (1 John 3:10). · As Jesus, so also with Peter and James and John. God the Father was not yet ready to receive these sons back into the glory of eternity, either. They were Christ’s witnesses, sent into the world so “*that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations*” (Luke 24:47). Jesus returned to His Father when His Father saw fit for it to happen. Until then, down the hill, toward Jerusalem and whatever might be waiting there. Peter, James and John all entered into heavenly glory in the fullness of their time, when God was pleased to draw them to Himself. Until then, down the mountain and back to work! What does this Gospel finally do for us? *This Gospel teaches us to take comfort in our everyday lives*, knowing that we shall endure here for as long as it pleases God—and that we shall enter into the full glory of eternal life exactly when it pleases God. Therefore we will not grow impatient and we will do nothing to hasten the process. After all was said and done, Jesus returned to “*the glory of the Father*” (Luke 9:26). Where the Christ goes, none of His people are ever far behind.
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