Sinner and Saint

The Transfiguration

Transfiguration Sunday – 2012

Mark 9:2-9

 

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

            At the beginning of the Epiphany season we heard God the Father’s voice from heaven as the Holy Spirit descended upon His only-begotten Son standing in the Jordan River. Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness and in doing so, sanctifies the waters of the world for Holy Baptism. God the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

            In preparation for Lent we hear the same voice from heaven – this time from a cloud on the mountain where Jesus is transfigured; that is his appearance was changed to something exalted and glorious; something heavenly. His face and clothing were “glowing.” On this transfiguration Sunday, three days before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the eternal Son of God manifests the glory that is his from eternity. God the Father says, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)

            Our Father speaks and tells Jesus’ us to “Listen to Him.” When the word of God is heard in this world, it is important for all people especially all Christians to Listen to Him. But one of the first reactions that we as children may ask is “Why?” Why should we listen to Jesus?

            The truth is that we would learn the reason why if we would listen to God and His Word. We learn by listening that is hearing, seeing, speaking, and reading the Word of God. Sound plays a very important part in many of our daily activities. The phone rings, cars have horns, Sirens send out an alarm and message of help being on the way. God’s word alerts us to be alarmed at this world’s messages and to hear His message of hope.

            Hear God’s Word: “After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’.” (Mark 9:2-7)

            We can only imagine what was running through the minds of Peter, James, and John. The amazement that they must have had seeing Jesus transfigure. To see Jesus with all his glory standing with Moses and Elijah. In all of this wonder and shock the Father says to these dumbfounded men to listen to His Son. When God speaks we should listen.

            Here we are given a command from the Father. A voice came out from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My chosen, listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7) The disciples of the Lord are to listen to Jesus because they will hear God. Instead of questioning God by asking “why?” we should respond like the boy Samuel. “Speak, for your servant listens” (1 Samuel 3:10). This is what the Lord expects – He commands the hearing of the Word, not some idle prattle about doing deeds like building three booths as the disciples suggested. He doesn’t want mere lip service from his people. It is one thing to hear God and another to listen.

            To neglect listening to the Word of God is a sin, for God the Father has spoken and He expects to be heard and obeyed. To shut your ears to what the Son says is to shut your ears to what the Father says, for the Son and the Father are One along with the Holy Spirit. To ignore Scripture, the inspired inerrant word of God, or to ignore it as something that took place in the past that has little meaning to our time and life, is to reject the Word that became Flesh. It is to reject Jesus Christ himself.

            The Father bore witness to whom Jesus was saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7) What the Son of God has to say is important. You might wonder what is the content of Jesus words that we are to hear? The answer is His Exodus. “And behold, two men talked with Him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His exodus, which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31)

            The Exodus of Jesus would take place after the Passover when He would depart from the Holy City and be led outside the gates to the cursed place where crosses were planted in the ground. Here the Exodus of the Incarnate Son of God would take place as the Lamb of God atoned for the sins of the world and passed through the darkness of the Day and the red sea of His shed blood. At Jesus’ death, His spirit departed from His Body that was broken for you and me.

             But Christ’s Exodus didn’t end there, for He descended into hell, rose from the dead and departed from the tomb. Risen in flesh and bone, with body and spirit re-united, the glorious and victorious Jesus ascended into heaven and resumed His place at the right hand of the Father. Christ returned to the promised land of Paradise.

            The Father speaks, “This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7) Peter, James, and John were witnesses to the glorious transfiguration of Jesus. They would be called, also, to journey with Jesus for the first part of His exodus. In doing so they would be witnesses to the humiliation of Christ as “He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8) The disciples would hear the Son of God speak the Word and then watch the events unfold that God was permitting. What they saw disturbed them – the Son of God assuming the posture and calling of a slave with a towel and basin to wash their feet as He cleansed their souls – Jesus praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemane—the guards taking their Master into custody in the darkness of night. At such times, a faith that is based upon what one sees is a lost cause. Therefore, Peter, James and John are told, “This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!” and thus they “walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

            The disciples would hear the Lord Jesus speak the Word of God and then get it all backwards in their lives. So do we. They will hear Jesus say to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priest and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 20:18-19) and the disciples would fall asleep when Jesus needed them most, they would draw the sword to save Jesus, then deny Him and fall away as He continued His Exodus. We are no better! We fail our Lord too, we boast about what we accomplish; we try to earn our own forgiveness; we end up denying God until we need him.

At such times, a faith that is based upon self – be it our emotions, our reactions, our deeds or misdeeds – is without hope. Therefore, Peter, James and John hear the voice from the cloud, “This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!” and therefore “in this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice of our sins” (1 John 4:10).

            As Peter, James and John were in the Presence of the Lord, Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration, so also you are in the Presence of the Lord on this day when angels and archangels and all the company of heaven laud and magnify the Crucified, Risen and Ascended Christ. And just as it was good for the three disciples to have been there, so it is good for you to be here today. But as they had to return to the valley below, you do as well. As Christ went with them, he goes with you. As the voice of the Father spoke to them, so also we hear “This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7)

            You too must return to lives lived where “nations will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7). It will be important to hear Jesus say, “I AM with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). You are returning to stations and vocations where you will often fail and fall short of the glory of God. Every Sunday you will do well to come to this place and hear Jesus’ forgiveness won for you and to know that you, because of Your Baptism into Christ—are a part of His exodus and have been crucified with Christ and share in His Resurrection.

            Dear Baptized, when visited with suffering, disease, pain, grief, injury or declining health, it is important to abide by that Voice which says, “This is My Son, My Chosen; listen to Him!” and hear the glorious Son of God say, “When I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may also be.” (John 14:3). Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Wash and be cleansed

Epiphany 6, 2012

2 Kings 5:1-14

“Wash and be cleansed”

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

            “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Looks can be deceiving.” In the sculptor's words...the façade that we present to the world does not always reflect our inner selves and the old adage that “what you see is what you get” does not necessarily hold true for people. The reason that these sayings exist and why we know them is that people do judge by what they see. Looks do play a significant role in how we judge what we are looking at. If you look at a house and see water stains in all the ceilings…you might reconsider buying that house. If you see a car for sale with a large puddle of oil underneath it may raise some questions about that car. In other words…when it comes to us humans…“seeing is believing and believing is seeing.”

            “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram.He was a valiant soldier.” (2 Kings 5:1)

            Naaman was the General of the Syrian army…one of the most powerful armies the world knew at that time. Naaman was famous for his military victories and the conquests he had completed. The world was at Naaman’s feet…he had everything: success, power, respect, and wealth. Naaman was at the height of his career and seemingly had everything he wanted. The world craves for the success that Naaman had.

            As we said before…“don’t judge a book by its cover”…because…“looks can be deceiving.” Naaman had everything, that is true, everything including leprosy. There was no cure in Naaman’s time. Naaman was terminally ill with no hope of recovery. Even though Naaman was a great man…his leprosy would have also required him to be quarantined…alone…away from his family, friends, and people. Naaman would be all alone. All of his success; his victories, conquests, and wealth would do nothing for him now…and he would trade all of it to be healed. The riches of this world are meaningless when you realize that they do not last, do not bring happiness, and cannot save you.

            God had a plan for Naaman just as He has plans for you. “Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aramreplied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents [approx. 750 pounds… by today’s standard $402,480.00] of silver, six thousand shekels [approx. 150 pounds…by today’s standard $4,132,800.00] of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:2-6)

            Naaman saw his only chance for healing and took it. Naaman would go to the King of Israel for help. This is significant. Although there was a peace treaty between Israel and Syria…they still had border skirmishes for control of different areas. The Israelites and the Syrians did not get along…and the girl that served Naaman’s wife was a captive. But that girl had faith in the true God and selflessly shared her faith with those that kept her captive. Here we see once again…God working in mysterious ways.

            “As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!" When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel ." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” (2 Kings 5:7-10)

            To say the least the King of Israel was not pleased to see Naaman or read the letter from the King of Aram. The King of Israel, Joram, was not faithful to God. Joram’s thoughts were that the King of Aram knowingly sent his General to Israel because he wouldn’t be able to heal his servant. King Joram thought that once Naaman found out he wouldn’t be healed that this would be an insult to the General and the people of Aram and would lead to war. Unlike the servant girl that told Naaman of God, Joram did not have faith that God would heal Naaman or the wisdom to send Naamn to Elisha.

            Elisha heard what was going on and sent for Naaman. Naaman immediately went to Elisha’s house without haste. Naaman was simply looking for a cure and would do anything to get it. Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman…and told Naaman to “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” (2 Kings 5:10)

            As desperate as Naaman was…he was also a proud man. “But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:11-12)

            Naaman had traveled hundreds of miles just to be healed. He brought many valuable gifts with him to give for his being cured. Naaman was an important man. Surely the prophet would at least meet him and speak with him face to face…surely the prophet would do something impressive to cure him…surely the prophet could have sent him somewhere important to bathe in a river…but none of these are what the prophet did. All of this offended Naaman.

            “Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” (2 Kings 5:13-14)

            Like Naaman we get offended by God. Surely God can help us with our daily lives and problems by meeting us face to face or by giving us an important “sign” from heaven. Surely God can use His angels and pastors to do something impressive for us. Surely God could come up with something better than plain water, wine, and stale wafers. But God doesn’t. God uses the plain waters to baptize, plain ordinary wine and stale wafers to give us faith, forgiveness, and strength. But only their look is ordinary…for with God’s very Word these ordinary things become extraordinary. Just as God would use the muddy Jordan river to cleanse Naaman, He uses plain elements to cleanse us from our sin.

            “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Looks can be deceiving.” As you have been given faith, forgiven, and strengthened by ordinary things…that God made extraordinary the same applies for you. Though you may be ordinary or simple to the world…God makes you extraordinary. You are His beloved child. You have been made perfect in Christ. You are marvelous, wonderful, and beloved in His sight. Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

It's a hard knock life

Epiphany 5, 2012

Job 7:1-7

“It’s a hard knock life”

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

            How many of you can recall the story of Little Orphan Annie. As the name suggests it’s about a red-headed orphan named Annie, and her fellow orphans. Annie and the other orphans describe their “hard knock life” with these words: “From all the cryin' you would think this place's a sink! Ohhhh!!!!!!! Empty belly life! Rotten smelly life! Full of sorrow life! No tomorrow life! No one cares for you a smidge When you're in an orphanage!” As many of you know Annie’s life would go from rags to riches.

            Our Old Testament lesson is about a man who went from riches…to rags…to riches…the man named Job. Job is a man who is wise, rich, and good. Then suddenly terrible things happen to him. His ten children are killed. He loses all his wealth. And he becomes ill with a painful skin disease. On top of all this his friends tell him that he is to blame for his own problems and abandon him. His wife even suggests that he curse God and die. Though Job was a righteous man with a firm faith…his faith was on the brink… the pounding away by the Devil, his wife, and his friends were taking their toll.

            “Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man? Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss till dawn. My body is clothed with worms and scabs; my skin is broken and festering. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again.” (Job 7:1-7)

            That certainly sounds like a hard knock life. Here in our text Job turns his complaining from his friends to God. Job complains that all of his hard work is for nothing. He shows signs of depression as he suffers from sleeplessness. He is ridden with a skin disease that constantly breaks out in some places as it heals in others. Other places in the book of Job speak of Job having fever, anxiety, weeping, nightmares, putrid breath, failing vision, rotting teeth, and looked beaten and exhausted. Job suffered from physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish. Job certainly had a hard life.

            It’s a hard knock life for us too because as we have learned life is hard.  This sinful world is full of hard lives. A mother holds back the tears as her 10 year old son was found dead in Chicago this past week. Life is tough. Children grow up in neighborhoods where their friends and family are shot in drive-bys by gang members. Life is hard. Losing a loved one in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Life is hard. Worrying every time your parents go to the hospital that they may die. Life is hard. Losing a child at birth. Life is hard. Having a husband or wife come back from war after losing their limbs. Life is hard. Watching a loved one battle through cancer, suffering great pains, and hoping the Lord would take them from such misery. Life is hard.

            Our lives are filled with all kinds of hardships. There isn’t one of us that haven’t felt the burden of living in this sinful world. We have members that have suffered from cancer, continue to suffer from cancer, and have lost the fight with cancer. We have members that struggle emotionally with the loss of loved ones to death. We have family and friends that have lost their jobs and homes. We suffer through physical, emotional, and spiritual pains ourselves: broken limbs, surgery, pinched nerves, migraine headaches, cancer, diabetes, worry, depression, anxiety, doubt, hoplessness and so many other ailments. Life is hard.

            Where do we go for help in this hard; sinful world? Some look to drugs and alcohol. Others look to work or hobbies. We look for some kind of distraction…to take our mind off of things. We look to others and ourselves...but they can only offer so much.

             “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” While these beautiful words were written to describe Lady Liberty…they would do well to describe the Church.

            As Christ Jesus speaks to all of us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Job would learn that in the promised Savior there is rest. There is rest for all in Christ Jesus…as he welcomes all who are weary and burdened. Christ Jesus welcomes all who are sick and diseased, all who have sinned great and small, the young and the old, the rich and the poor; everyone. He welcomes them here.

            Jesus gives rest to us here in this place through His Word, His body, and His blood. Jesus gives rest here in this place by giving us brothers and sisters in Christ to weep with us, hold us up, help us, and rejoice with us. Jesus gives rest to us here in this place as He makes us children of God in the waters of baptism and heirs of life in heaven.

            Here in this place God does call out saying “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.”

            This world is filled with “hard knock lives” because of sin…and all of us are affected. While each of us lives with different burdens and pains…it does not mean that God doesn’t love you. Sin is the reason we suffer. Yet we ought to learn this from Job: God redeems amid and even through suffering. Let me repeat that. God redeems amid your suffering and often God redeems through your suffering. God acts in ways we will never understand for one purpose…to bring you closer to God; to build faith in you; to save you.

            In the midst of suffering…of any kind…cling to Christ your Redeemer. While the problems and suffering you may have in this world may last a lifetime…our Lord promises that in heaven: “He will wipe every tear from [your] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

            This life is a “hard knock life.” But it’s going to get better. It’s going to get better on the last day when our Lord gives us rest for all eternity in heaven. Amen.

 

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.