The Transfiguration of Our Lord-February 03, 2008

Preached at Providence Lutheran Church, Holland, Ohio

by Pastor Dennis R. King

"The Glory of the Mountain meets the Needs of the Day!"

(Matthew 17:1-9)

The Grace and Mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all.

Imagine, if you will for a second, two basketball teams meeting for the championship in their division. (Note: Some may not have to imagine as hard as some others.) The game is close all the way and with moments to go your team is down only by a point and they have the ball. The crowd is on their feet, the clock is moving, and the ball is up. The buzzer sounds. The ball bounces high into the air, hits the rim again, and bounces up and in. The winning players go crazy on the floor, and you are excited for them. The student body is overjoyed and no one from your school wants to leave. They want the glorious moment to last forever. Each of us have glorious moments like that in our lives which we wish would go on forever.

Peter, James, and John experienced one of those glorious moments in their lives as they stood on that mountain near Ceaserea Phillippi. For before them the Lord was miraculously transfigured. They witnessed him in all of His glory and saw Him in a way they had never even dreamed of seeing him. They were overwhelmed in awe and reverence. They might have exclaimed! "O Lord, this event is too significant, too beautiful, and too extraordinary!" And as the Lord turned to go, they might have begged "O Lord, Jesus, can we stay! We do not want to leave! We are not ready to go!" In the midst of life they sought to preserve a fleeing moment of glory. Yet, no altar could contain this moment. No church could keep it intact. They could inscribe it in a ritual and carve it into a tradition but nothing could stop it from passing.

This great happening gives us a vision to see beyond the turmoil of the valley in which we live. It helps us catch a glimpse of the King, Jesus Christ, in all His Beauty and Glory.

Christ is a rare jewel, but men know not His value; a sun that ever shines but men perceive not His brightness. He is a garden full of joys, a hive full of honey, and a star ever bright. He is a fountain ever full, a brook which ever flows, and a rose which ever blooms. He is a foundation that never yields, a guide who never errs, and a friend who never forsakes. No mind can fully grasp His glory for His glory is a reflection of the Glory of God! There is in Rome an elegant painting entitled, "The Aurora" It covers a high ceiling. Looking up at it from below, your neck grows stiff. You become dizzy. The figures become indistinct. The owner has placed a large mirror near the floor. You may now sit at your leisure, look into the mirror, and without fatigue, study the painting that is above you. In Christ, as in a mirror, we may behold the Glory of God. This vision of Christ's Glory was the fulfillment of promises and prophesies which God has given to His people ages ago. Isaiah had said, "Your eyes will see the King in His Glory." (Is.33: 17.) Two distinguished Old Testament people appeared. Their presence showed the fulfillment of prophecy and the continuity of God's revelation. "There appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. The Gospel of Luke tells us that these representatives of the prophets, and law, "spoke of His departure, which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke9:31.) This is not as some might think a séance-concern about the afterlife. Everything here is centered on Jesus Christ, the incomparable Christ! Christ is enthroned forever. God, Himself, declares this is My Son, My Chosen. Listen to Him. In this mountaintop experience we see Christ as the one who rules forever without fear of palace revolts, military coups, and assassination plots. No president tells Him how to act or what to say. No constitution relegates His position to that of a figurehead. No enemy can ever hope to conquer Him, and no citizen goes without His knowing it.

In this text we see Jesus, the Christ, as a reflection of God's Glory, as the fulfillment of God's prophecy, and as the eternal King, God's Son. No wonder Peter, James, and John want to save this glorious moment and memorialize the occasion.

One might wonder too if Peter forgot for a moment the other disciples, the great world beneath, and the generations yet to come. Was he thinking of creating a little Heaven of his own? How narrow and insignificant this proposed Heaven would be, compared with the one seen later by John who beheld "A great multitude, which no man could number." Peter would not be the only follower of Christ who would be satisfied with a little three-booth Heaven. This spirit exists even among us today. This spirit is the death warrant of missionary enterprises. What can be said of the Christian who is satisfied knowing he has gained Heaven, even if the rest of the world is perishing? God does not make the mountain tops to be in habited. They are not for the homes of men. We ascend the heights to see beyond the turmoil of the valley in which we live. There we see the Christ in all His Glory, but we are not to tarry there. The streams take their rise in these uplands, but quickly descend to gladden the fields and valleys below. We are to take these crystal waters to quench the thirst of others. The glory of the mountain is to meet the needs of the valley. The mere sight of Christ, glorified in the Transfiguration, does not do the saving work of God's Spirit. It was not until Jesus started down the mountain. And spoke, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead," that God's plan of salvation moved toward its fulfillment. Jesus came down from the place of glory assured of God’s presence and with a new power to serve. In the valley He was confronted with the desperate scene of the epileptic boy, the anxious father, and the ineffective disciples. No wonder, Jesus expressed disappointment. "How long shall I suffer because of you, o’ faithless generation?" What a contrast between this wretched scene of human anguish and the mountaintop experience of divine glory! Jesus brought all His spiritual powers into the situation of human need. He helped the anguished father to grow spiritually, "I believe, help my unbelief." He healed the epileptic boy. He gathered His faltering disciples to Him and spoke words of courage and healing to their spirits. So, all the glory of the mountain meets the needs of the valley. The glory of that shining hour becomes the dynamic of service in the valley of human pain and suffering.

Jesus did not choose Peter, James, and John for their mountaintop experience because He loved them more than the others and wanted to show them special favors. They were the three best scholars in the school of Jesus and were prepared for promotion. They had made good in the lower grades so to speak and were ready for greater revelations. The favor they received carried with it great responsibility. They were not primarily selected for privilege, but for service. We might do well to ask ourselves if we are as willing-hearted, and as well-prepared to serve as these three disciples.

Those who are Christ's servants listen to His Word and carry His Word down into the valley to meet the needs of the people. Peter explains the importance of getting God's Word to the needs of people. He said, "We heard this voice borne from Heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain. We have the prophetic word made sure. You will do well to pay attention to this word until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God"(2Peter !:18-21.) God's Word spoken on the mountain top brings His saving light and life to the valley below.

We do not see Jesus today. The physical sight of His humility has been taken from us. Yet, He speaks to us in the Law and Gospel. St. Paul connects God's Word, his preaching, and the Gospel, as he writes to the Corinthians. "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For it is God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ,"

We may not be able to do many big things in life. We may not be able to preach like Peter or teach like Paul but what God in Christ wants us to do is to listen to Him. To listen to Him and do the little things, in the spirit of love, which bring His Word to the needs of the valley in which we walk. That is what is important. There is a story about Jesus returning to Heaven. The angel Gabriel questions Him about what plan He has given His disciples to carry on His work. Jesus after a brief silence replied, "I gave them no plan, Gabriel. I am simply counting on them." He has given us His Word to meet the needs of the valley. We can keep His Word to ourselves and have our own mountaintop experience but it will soon fade for God's Word is like running water you cannot keep it in a bucket. If you try to capture running water in a bucket, clearly you do not understand it. You will always be disappointed, for in the bucket the water does not run. To have running water you must let it go and let it run. To have God's Word is to pour it out to all God's people. To have God's word is to pour it out to the brokenhearted and those in conflicted. To have God's Word is to pour it out to those who are neglected or in sorrow. To have God's Word is to pour it out to meet the needs of a valley in tears.

The purpose of the Transfiguration is to gloriously help us to see the Son of God so that the valley below might be flooded with good news and servants of a Savior.

May your monumental moments, with the Master, make you mighty in your valley! Amen!