Transfiguration Sunday 2/03/08 Text: MATTHEW 17:1-9 Title: Don't do something, Listen!

Transfiguration Sunday
2/03/08
Text: Matthew 17:1-9
Title: Don’t do something, Listen!
This morning is the last Sunday of Epiphany the season of light. And what better Gospel to finish the season with than Matthew 17:1-9, where we read in verse 2, “And he was transfigured, that is changed, not appeared to be changed, but literally changed before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” The brilliance of that moment must have really caught them off guard. But it is not until verse 5 that they are driven to the ground in fear, for that is when a voice from a bright cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” That drove them to the ground in fear, for it is then that they knew God was speaking to them.
Before we get into the meaning of the text for us today, let’s compare our Old Testament reading with the Gospel so that we can better see what Matthew wants his reader, that is us too, to learn.
• The six days in verse 1 parallel the six days that the cloud covered Mount Sinai before Moses ascended it (Exodus 24:16). God spoke on the 7th Day of each account.
• The high mountain (v. 1) parallels Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:12). To the people of the day God spoke on high mountains.
• The three disciples, Peter, James and John parallel the three men Aaron, Nadab and Abihu who were invited to worship with Moses in Exodus 24:1. It is interesting to note that these three men were later ordained as priests, just as Peter, James, and John became Apostles.
• Jesus' shining face in verse 2 parallels Moses' shining face after his encounter with God in Exodus 34:29. This is a particularly strong parallel. Moses' shining face was a powerful image for Israel. However, his shining face was just a reflection of God's glory, while Jesus' shining face reflects his inner glory.
• God speaks from a cloud in verse 5, paralleling God's call to Moses from a cloud in Exodus 24:16.
• In verse 5 God says, "Listen to him," paralleling "You shall heed such a prophet" in Deuteronomy 18:15.
• We see in verse 6 that the disciples are afraid paralleling the fear of the Israelites when they saw Moses' shining face when he came down the mountain. To see God or hear God’s glory is a fearful thing.
Saint Matthew recorded the events, so that his readers could see with out a doubt that this Jesus was the Messiah, the one that the Torah spoke of, the one they had rejected and murdered. You had to really have your heart closed to the message of God to not get Matthew’s message, but most of the people then did not get it, just as people today refuse to believe God’s Word. They wanted an earthly king then just like so many people today want an earthly king, a king that will rule over their enemies, who will bestow wonderful blessings on his subjects.
Over the centuries, the Christian church has, at the same time, loved this story and not known quite what to do with it. It is mysterious, way beyond our everyday experience. It is difficult to understand. At its core, it is simply a revealing to the disciples and Christians forever, of Jesus' identity. It is God's stamp of approval on Jesus and the path upon which he has set his feet, a path that he has just revealed to the disciples in chapter 16:21-23, a path that will lead to his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection freeing us from punishment and eternal death.
You might be wondering why Jesus picked these particular disciples to be with him at this particular time. Peter, by this time appears to be leader of the disciples, but boy does he run hot and cold as far as his faith is concerned. John is traditionally considered to be "the one whom Jesus loved", making him another obvious choice. But what about James, John's brother? Maybe Jesus brought him along because he knows that in a short time he will be the first of the Apostles that will die for the faith. We will never know why, that is until Jesus comes back and ends the world as we know it.
And then there is that strange command Jesus gives them as they descend from the mountain, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” Can you imagine witnessing something like what happened and then have somebody tell you not to tell anyone.
Let us take a look at our Epistle reading 2 Peter 1 verses 16-21 to see if we can figure out why Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone. Listen to what Peter says, “For we do not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Here is the big moment, “but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, (that is God), ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with on the holy mountain.”
If that is not enough, what more could a person want? Peter was there. What had been kept secret before was now out in the public arena. Peter goes on to tell them because we saw and heard this, we now know that what the prophets said about the Messiah were true.
We can now attest that the prophets’ words did not come from themselves but from God through the work of the Holy Spirit. What they said would happen did happen. This Jesus is the complete fulfillment of Moses and Elijah. That is why when the cloud lifted the only one there was Jesus. The other two had done what they had been sent to do. It is, as it were, Jesus turn. He was to do what the other two could not do, save us from God’s just wrath.
So what does all this mean to us today? I would put it like this. It is proof to us also that Jesus is the Messiah. The Transfiguration is like a railroad sign I saw one day on a lonely country road. Usually Railroad signs have just two big crossbars, but this one had written on it in big bold letters "Stop! Look! Listen!" I am sure that there was a reason for that sign being there. I am sure that somebody, maybe more than one had gotten killed at the crossing. What great advice!
And that is what the word of God does, for it keeps us from dying an eternal death, plus helps us to live our lives better. The transfiguration is our warning sign to stop, look, and listen.
Notice how God interrupts Peter as he is busy trying to take care of everyone. In Psalm 46:10 the psalmist said, “Be still and know that I am God…”. In other words, before you go blundering off in a direction that may not want to go later, stop and listen for God’s direction, his voice through the scripture. Take some time to collect your thoughts, ponder what you are getting ready to do before taking off.
After you have stopped, then take the time to look, but not just look around, but to look up for God’s help as the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help comes from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven & earth.” When you look up, you quit focusing on yourself and your desires and start focusing on the heavenly Father who loves you and wants you to be in him.
Then we are to listen, for it does no good to stop and look for God’s guidance, if we do not listen. That is why God the Father said, “Listen to him.” Do as young Samuel did in 1 Samuel 3:10. Just say, “Speak for your servant is listening”. God speaks to us, through the Bible, the Sacraments, through Godly counsel, and through our inner spirit. You might be asking, “How do I know if it is God who is speaking to me?” Does what you think God is telling you give him alone the glory? If it does then it is God’s direction.
http://leidancatienza.multiply.com/journal/item/11/STOP_LOOK_LISTEN
And how are we to know that what we have been reading this morning is the truth? Check it out in the Scriptures. For Peter tells us in verse 21 that, “For no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” How do you know that the interpretation that you are reading or hearing is correct? You go to the Scripture to see what other passages say about the same subject. It is God’s book and he revels himself in it. He tells us that in his book, the Bible. This is not the only scripture passage that attests to God’s revelation. There are six more that you can look at. I have included the references on the saintjohnlutheran.com sermon page website so if you are interested you can look them up.
There is one last verse I would like to talk to you about this morning. It is where, after the disciples had fallen down in fear that Jesus reached out and touch the disciples. That is powerful, for it is Jesus along that can calm your fears that can touch you, wherever you are at; whether in sickness or health, poverty or wealth. Wherever you are at Jesus can touch you if only you stop, look, and listen. Amen
1. Matthew 5:17–19
2. I Corinthians 2:9–13
3. I Thessalonians 2:13
4. II Timothy 3:16
5. I Peter 1:23–25
6. II Peter 1:20–21
7. II Peter 3:15–16

Third Sunday after Epiphany 1/27/08 Text: Matthew 4:12-25 Title: The Power of Jesus

Sunday: Third Sunday after Epiphany
Date: 1/27/2008
Text: Matthew 4:12-25
Title: The power of Jesus
This morning I want to spend some time looking at our Gospel reading. This particular text is about Jesus going to Capernaum by the sea, Galilee Lake to be exact, the preaching of repentance and the calling of four of his disciples. For most of my life I have heard that this text is talking about our being called to be fishers of people. I believe that, if most of you if you are like me, when the pastor, missionary, or evangelist starts talking about this particular text, we have in the past flipped our mental switch off and went somewhere else during the sermon. We do that for a couple of reasons. One is that we just do not get the connection between Jesus calling his disciples and his calling us, just average people, to be a fisher of men. After all they became disciples and later Apostles. Or we might have felt Jesus’ call in the past and do not want to be reminded of it. In other words this text makes us feel bad, for we all know how we fail at responding to Jesus’ call to be fishers of people. So, if you have flipped your mental switch off, flip it back on, for this morning I want to share with you another way of looking at the text. Before I get started I want to tell you that what I am going to say does not mean that we as followers of Christ are off the hook concerning the telling of God’s Word to those who do not know of it. We are still to tell others about Christ, for after all that is what Christians, the followers of Christ do. It is to be part of our DNA, so to speak. I just do not think that it was Matthew’s intent to tell us that we are all to be like the disciples. What got me to thinking that this particular text has a different message for us is that Jesus elsewhere in the Bible tells us to be the light and salt of the earth. That is, in our daily lives, we are to, by our actions and words show that Christ lives in us. He does not tell everyone that they are to stop and literally follow him. In other places in God’s Word we are told that God has called some to be pastors, others teachers, and so on. In other words not all are called to preach or teach. So, as I studied, thought, and prayed about this text during the week I started to see it in a different light. It is not that we could not infer from the calling of the disciples that we too are called, but that this particular text focus is not about what we are to do, but it is about Jesus. Let’s take a look, for I believe that as I go through the reading with you this morning you will begin to see what I mean by saying that the focus is on Jesus being the Son of God, the long waited Messiah. Remember, Matthew’s purpose for his Gospel is to show to the Jewish people particularly, but to those that don’t believe in Jesus, or are not to sure of him that Jesus is the promised and long expected Messiah. Remember how each of the past Sunday’s readings focused on Jesus being the light, the promised one, that came for the world. This is a continuation of that theme. But now it takes a new direction. Matthew has set up who Jesus is. There is no doubt that he is the promised Messiah, so he is ready to move on with the story of Jesus ministry. He starts off this particular account by recording that Jesus purposely went to the land of Galilee, particularly Capernaum by the sea. Why did Jesus do that? Some would say that he did it to escape being captured and killed and that might true, but Matthew says that he went there on purpose to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. It was no accident that Jesus went to Capernaum by the sea. For in doing so he did more than fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. In his going to Capernaum he makes an important transition. It is there that he starts to preach to the people the same message that the prophets of old preached, the message that John the Baptizer preached, the message of, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now it is important to know that in the Greek language the part that we translate as, “is at hand” when Jesus is speaking of the kingdom does not mean that it is an event that is going to happen in the future. In Greek grammar the word has a meaning of taking place now but not yet complete. In other words, it is as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come” meaning his kingdom exists now, but that we want to be part of God’s kingdom. As we go along in verse 18 we find Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee where he finds two fishermen doing what fishermen do, that is fishing. Later on in verse 21 we see he finds two more fishermen and calls them to be disciples. What is overlooked quite often is verse 19 where Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus will make them fishers of people. It is in the future that they will become fishers of people. They have to go through, as it were a training course first. They need to live with Jesus. They need to be taught by Jesus. They need to see Jesus being beaten and murdered. They needed to come to grips with their fear. They need to see Jesus after he rose from the grave. They needed to see him ascend into heaven. And last by not least they needed Jesus to give them the full measure of the Holy Spirit which was done on Pentecost day. You see, as I mentioned earlier, the focus of this text is not on the disciples. The focus is on Jesus doing what he does best. That is calling people to his side. Just like the two Sundays before we see Jesus seeking out people, special people, people that he has a particular job waiting. It is Jesus that is doing the calling. Matthew wrote this account to show us that when Jesus speaks things happen. He calls people to follow him and they do. He teaches and people listen. The sick come to him and they are healed. He is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God himself on this earth. Going back some into the text we see a wonderful prophecy being fulfilled. In verse 16 we see Jesus is the “great light”. He is the great and wonderful light that drove out the shadow of death. What does this mean? It means death is destroyed. What we see as death, as the end of life, is only a period of time. What we see as decay and corruption is really a time of sleep, for that is what Jesus calls the death of those who believe in him. It is not the end, but only a waiting period. When Jesus comes back those sinful bodies of his followers, wherever they are, will be raised up sinless. Those who have died in the faith will be joined forever with their souls, the souls that have been with God since they died. Wow, what an experience that will be. Bodies free of sin and disease. Bodies free of defects, bodies, where all the body parts work as they should, bodies in the company of Jesus, having eternal fellowship with him. And we received the guarantee of that happening when we were baptized in his name. So what does that mean for us, the people of Saint John? It means that we can trust in Jesus, for he in his coming to this earth fulfilled the prophecy and that in his healing of bodies, we too can have the assurance that when he comes our bodies will be perfectly healed, forever free of problems. That is what Matthew’s account means for us today. So what do we do with it? We live our lives as God wants us to do resting in the life saving grace of his love. It means that we forgive each other and work for the common good. It means that we are to be about his business showing the love of Jesus to the entire world. That is what it means to be a Christian. And so we need to be about his business, for he is the only true light of the world. Amen.