Sermon – 02/11/18
(Transfiguration of Our Lord)
Text – Mark 9:2-9
Theme – “Jesus Only”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There’s this rather famous phrase from the Lutheran Confessions: “the Law always accuses”. By that we mean to say that no matter how hard we might try, no matter what our intentions, no matter our motivation, our works are never, ever, going to be good enough. Indeed, the Law of God will never be satisfied by what we do. And so, when we try to look to our works, to our efforts, we will always be terrified because our failures and shortcomings will always be evident, even to us – let alone to God. No, the only place for us to find spiritual comfort is in the Gospel. Not in the Law and what we do, but in the Gospel and what Christ has done for us in His life, His death, His resurrection.
And yet, even among us Christians, there is a strong desire to return to the Law. We like to have some sense of participation in our salvation, and we think we can find it in the Law. But the problem is if we bring people back to the Law – instead of leaving them with Christ for them – then they are left to flounder under its accusations. Remember, the Law always accuses. That is, if we bring people back to the Law in the sense of “Jesus has done His part, now you do yours”, then they will end up in despair because we can never do our part.
A few years back, a vicar gave me his sermon to read. I went through it and brought it back to the man, telling him that what he had written was true but it was not finished. It was all Law, I told him. There was not one mention of Jesus and what He had done for us – no Gospel – not anywhere in the whole thing. But, the vicar answered, the people already know that. What they needed, he said, was to be told how to live. That vicar had forgotten the words from our Lutheran Confessions: “the Law always accuses”. It cannot comfort or save. When push comes to shove, when a person has to stand before the Lord, when we need hope and encouragement, we can never find what we need in our actions, in our works, in our love. It is only “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” that will do.
Jesus took three disciples with Him that day – Peter, James, and John. He took them, the so-called Inner Circle, up on a mountainside because He had something He wanted to teach them. Something which they had to see in order to believe. St. Mark tells us that Jesus took these three disciples up a high mountain – a mountain not unlike Mount Sinai, where Moses ascended to see God and receive the Ten Commandments. On the Mount of Transfiguration that day, Peter and James and John also see God – but they see Him in the person of Jesus Christ. They see this Man that they have known and followed for quite some time now, but they see Him in a new and different light. For, as Mark writes:
…He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
Six days earlier Jesus had to rebuke Peter for trying to stand in His way of going to Jerusalem, where Jesus had told the Twelve He was going to suffer and be killed and be raised again on the third day. Peter thought he knew what Jesus, the Son of God, should do and how He should act. Peter thought he knew what the glory of God was and how God should act in accordance with that glory. But Peter was wrong. Jesus shows him His glory up on the mountain, although Peter still doesn’t quite understand it. Interestingly, St. Luke tells us in his account of this event that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were talking about Christ’s suffering and death in Jerusalem, about Jesus accomplishing the mission for which His Father had sent Him. But, like six days earlier, Peter does not want to hear any of that talk now either. Instead he wants to stay right where he is, soaking up the glory and wonder of the Transfiguration.
It is then that the voice of the Father thunders from heaven, saying exactly the same thing we heard a few weeks ago at the baptism of Jesus: “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well-pleased.” But this time God adds the very important sentence: “Listen to Him!” At that voice from heaven, St. Matthew tells us that Peter and James and John hit the deck, they fall face-first into the dust and dirt, cowering and shaking in fear. But then Jesus comes to them, He touches them, and He tells them not to be afraid. And, as St. Mark tells us, “when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus”.
James, John, and especially Peter needed to hear that heavenly voice, they needed its instruction to “listen to Jesus”, they needed to see no one except Jesus. In his little speech before the Father’s interruption, Peter had said to Jesus: “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters…” Peter was there, he saw the shining face and blinding white clothes of Jesus, he heard Christ’s conversation with Moses and Elijah, and yet Peter could not focus on Jesus alone. He wanted to talk about Moses and Elijah too, he wanted to offer some work of his own to Jesus, he ignored the discussion of the upcoming suffering and death of Jesus. In short, for Peter, it was NOT “no one except Jesus”.
Instead, Peter wanted to put Jesus simply on a level with Moses and Elijah, as if Jesus were only their equal. Peter wanted to talk about what he would do for Jesus (building Him a shelter), rather than what Jesus would do for him. Peter wanted to remain there, rather than let Jesus go down the mountain and resume His march to Jerusalem and the cross. Like that vicar and his sermon, Peter lost his focus on Jesus alone and what He does for us, and instead wanted to talk about what we do for God.
Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the old covenant, when God and man each had a part to play. It’s a covenant that appeals to our human vanity and our common sense – after all, it only makes sense that you give for what you get, and we like to think we can hold up our end of the deal. But, since the Law requires perfection, it is a covenant that we can never keep; it’s one that we always break, since we sin over and over again, each day of our lives in our thoughts and words and deeds. But Peter can’t quite shake the Law’s hold upon him: he wants to do something for Jesus, as if that matters and counts and is enough. If he builds the three shelters, maybe then he can stay there enjoying the wonders and glories of God. But it is not enough – not even his devotion and service to God can earn Peter the right to stand in God’s presence. That is exactly what that heavenly voice impresses upon him when it thunders: “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well-pleased. Listen to Him!” – and so down goes Peter to the ground: he can’t stand before the purity and holiness of God, not even with his offers to serve Jesus and do something for Him.
Likewise, we need to realize that our Christian life – our love and good works and devotion to the Lord – these things cannot enable us to stand before God either. Our sin is just too great, too heavy, too terrible for that. Sin demands punishment. Sin demands death. Sin demands hell. And there is just no way that Peter, or we, can overcome our sins ourselves. We need Jesus. We need to look to Him, to listen to Him, to trust Him – and Him alone – for our forgiveness, for our salvation, for our life.
In our lesson, when the voice of God caused Peter, James, and John to crumble and fall into the dust, conscious of their sin and unworthiness, terrified by what they know they deserve from God, it is only after Jesus comes to them that they are able to stand. Jesus comes to them, we are told, He touches them and says: “Get up; don’t be afraid.” So it is with the Gospel. When Jesus comes to us in that Word, preached and taught; when He comes to us in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; when He speaks to us in the absolution -- when Jesus touches us with these things, He takes away our fears and He enables us to stand.
Our fears are gone, because in the Gospel our sins are gone. That Gospel tells us what God has done to save us. The Gospel tells us of how the Father, in His infinite love and grace, sent His Only-Begotten Son into our world, to take on our human flesh and blood, to live under the Law in our place and keep it for us. The Gospel tells us of how that Son lived that perfect life and then went to the cross to pay the price for our sin – for ALL sin. The Gospel assures us, it comforts us, it gives us peace and life and salvation and holiness – for it gives us Christ’s holiness.
As Christians, we can now stand before the Lord without fear – not because of anything that we have done, but simply because of what Christ Jesus has done for us and given to us in the Gospel. You are cloaked and covered with the righteousness of Christ Himself, given to you at your baptism. You do not need to be afraid anymore. You do not need to cower in the dust and dirt, you do not need to wallow in the filth of your sins, you do not need to try to earn a place with God by your deeds. Jesus has done it all for you. In the Gospel, Jesus says to you, just as He did to those three disciples: “Get up; don’t be afraid.” He repeats that same comfort and assurance to you, over and over again in His Word. And He seals that gift to you, as you come to the communion rail at His invitation, giving you to eat and drink the very Body and Blood which have purchased this forgiveness for you.
We need to always focus on the Gospel, on Jesus Christ and Him for us in His life and death and resurrection. We need to cling to Him alone, as He comes to us in Word and Sacraments. We need to see “no one except Jesus”. But like Peter, we often get distracted. Peter wanted to talk about what he would do for Jesus; likewise, we sometimes get caught up in our sanctification, in our deeds of love to God and neighbor. But none of these things is the Gospel. Whenever we talk about what WE do, that is the Law. And, as we are told, the Law always accuses. It always points out our failures and mistakes, where we have fallen short, where we have sinned against God.
Now, I am not denying that the Law has a place for us Christians, serving us as a guide in a God-pleasing life. But as important as it is to know how to lead such a life, that sanctified Christian life is NOT to be the focus of the sermon, or of our faith. No, the focus must always be on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, on what He has done for us and what the Holy Spirit gives to us in the Gospel. It must always be “Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus”. We need to see no one, except Jesus.
Peter was right when he said to Jesus that day: “Lord, it is good to be here…” But not for the reason that he thought – not so that he could serve Jesus, building Him a shelter so that they could stay up on the mountain. No, it was good for Peter to be there so that he could hear the Father’s words: “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well-pleased. Listen to Him!” It was good (and necessary) for Peter to have God re-direct his wayward gaze back to Christ, and Christ alone. It was good (and necessary) for Peter to have Jesus come to him, touch him, and raise him up forgiven and cleansed. For it is only in Jesus -- only in the Gospel -- that Peter had any hope.
And so, it is also good (and necessary) for us to be here today. Not so that we can bring our service to God, as if we were doing Him some great favor. But rather it is good for us to be here so that we too may hear Jesus as He comes to us in the Gospel; as He touches us in His Word and Sacraments; as He raises us up forgiven and cleansed, able to stand in the presence of God, clothed in His righteousness. It is good for us to be here so that we “see no one except Jesus” because He is all there is, He is all you need, and He gives you everything you could ever desire. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.