Celebrating the Transfiguration of Jesus
Luke 9:28-36

† I.H.N. †

May the peace of God, our Father who raised Christ Jesus from the dead, transform you in a way others can see… and may that transfiguration cause others to worship Him.

• Shutting Peter up!

As I read and re-read Luke’s recounting of the Transfiguration, I tried to imagine what was going through Peter’s mind. He wasn’t having the best day…

He fell asleep on Jesus’s discussion with Moses and Elijah.

Then Peter managed to put his mouth into action prior to thinking or even asking what Jesus wanted to do…

Then he was terrified by the storm cloud surrounding him after he screwed up…

In between all that – he had to deal with seeing Jesus differently than he would ever see him…. Revealed in all of His glory, revealed as God.

I get all that. I can fall asleep kind of quickly, I can get scared by storms, and I can, as most guys can, put both feet in my mouth with room to spare…

But what I didn’t understand was how one thing happened. Luke describes it in a straightforward phrase, “They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen!’

Somehow Jesus got Peter to shut up about the most outrageous miracle Peter haver seen to that point.

Peter, the one who couldn’t shut up – silenced…

What he saw – was that incredible… so powerful… and the promise with it so intimately personal – it changed him.

Peter had to wait until after the resurrection to share the story. We do not; we get to celebrate the transfiguration of Jesus! We get to celebrate His being revealed in all His glory… to us.

• Reactions to the glory of God – First – Fear

There are two reactions to God’s glory being revealed. The first is simple – it is fear.

In Adam hiding after eating the avocado and Moses at the burning bush, you see that. As described in the epistle, you also see it when the people of God saw Moses reflecting the glory of God…

They wanted no part of it; it terrified them, much as hearing God the Father’s voice terrified Peter, James, and John. Collapse in fear level terror. Solomon and the people of God knew that fear at the dedication of the temple, just as Isaiah knew.

Simple reason, without Jesus to explain the difference, all we got is that God is pure and perfect and hates sin…and we’ve sinned.

Even the reflected glory of God in Moses’ face was enough to terrify the people of God. As Paul wrote about – they cannot understand the truth – the truth that would set them free – that God loves them and would save them from everything…

And without that knowledge – collapsing in fear is pretty much what you get.

• Reactions to the glory of God – second peace

Compare that kind of fear to the reaction of Peter, James, and John. Seeing Jesus in all His glory, along with the two of the three greatest heroes in the Old Testament, they … they fell asleep?

No terror, nor fear, no collapsing or losing control of their bodies… they rested. They had found that kind of peace in the presence of Jesus.

Imagine that – being so restful – so at peace, that you could sleep through a miracle of epic proportions?

That is the difference that Jesus makes in our lives – because of Him, we can be comfortable in having the fullness of God’s glory revealed all around us.

By the way – this isn’t just my idea – this is what Martin Luther said,

Thus it was that the three apostles who saw Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor were not afraid of them, because of the tender glory in the face of Christ [Luke 9:32]. Yet in Exodus 34[:29–35], where Christ was not present, the children of Israel could not endure the splendor and brightness in the face of Moses, so that he had to put a veil over it.^[1]

I love the way Luther phrases it – they weren’t afraid – because of the tender glory in the face of Christ…

And that was before Jesus headed to the cross and died for their sin, and for ours. It was before He instituted the Lord’s Supper – the place where we weekly encounter the glory of God, the love and compassion that are demonstrated as God gives us the Body and Blood of Christ.

IN our interactions with Jesus, whether it is studying His word, prayer, or the sacraments of Baptism, Absolution, or the Lord’s Supper – we see the glory of God so different than the people of Israel do…

We see the glory of love demonstrated to us as Jesus served, healed, taught, and looked forward to the cross for the joy set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2)

Knowing this, we can rest – and even sleep.. peacefully!

• Now, what do we do?

Now the challenge happens, as we wake up and realize we are in God’s presence…

We could be like Peter – and simply do what makes the most sense… except we don’t have to build tabernacles or temples. We have a perfectly nice one here. 

Hopefully, we don’t need the storm clouds to come out and the sky to crack open with the voice of the Father…

We just need to hear – and treasure what Jesus has to say to us…

Treasuring His love and glory enough to just do it…

Like loving enemies and praying for those who persecute and oppress us…

Or going and making disciples of nations, baptizing them and teaching them to treasure all God has established…

In both cases, the goal is the same – to help people experience the glory of God – the kind that comes as they see the tender glory of Christ’s love for them, as they enter into His presence, as they realize what the cross and empty grave mean…. as they respond to you, as you tell them…

The Lord is with you!

Well – that is true – but I said you would be telling others this – and hearing them respond back…

Reassuring you of the glory of God and the peace that surpasses all understanding – for you dwell in Christ… and share in His glory! AMEN!

^[1] Luther, Martin. 1999. Luther’s Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I. Edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann. Vol. 35. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.