Sermon Tone Analysis
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Glory Revealed.
Glory Understood.
Glory Lived.
2.27.22 [Luke 9:28-36] River of Life (The Transfiguration of our Lord)
Everybody calls it “their big day” but even for the most conscientious and careful bride and groom, the wedding day can turn into quite the production.
Getting ready, getting hitched, and then getting to know all of what you married into—all in one day—can be a whirlwind.
Your wedding day is supposed to be fun, memorable, and wonderful—and it should be.
Yet, typically it is anything but peaceful.
And even when “their big day” goes off without a hitch, it’s hard for a bride and a groom to get any quality time together during their nuptials.
That’s probably at least part of the reason why it has become commonplace for newly married couples to go on a honeymoon together.
Away from family and friends and away from familiar places, they get to know each other better.
Spending a few days, maybe a week or more together is great.
If it goes well, typically, the couple would prefer to not come back to real life.
You can understand that, right?
Perhaps Peter has some similar feelings in Luke chapter 9. Luke 9:1-6 Peter and the other disciples go out on a mission for Jesus.
They proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and heal people.
Then they come back to report to Jesus and he wants to get away with his disciples for a little while.
But the crowds know about Jesus—his teaching and his healing—and so they follow him, too.
And Jesus wasn’t quick to turn away crowds that wanted to learn more about the kingdom of God.
(Lk.
9:10-17) So he taught them, and then miraculously fed 5,000 men plus women and children.
And it was great, but the crowds always seemed to be there.
Jesus acknowledged that this wasn’t good for his disciples, either.
So he took the 12 off privately to pray and to teach them.
He asked his disciples about those crowds.
(Lk.
9:18) Who do the crowds say I am?
The disciples replied: (Lk.
9:19) Some say John the Baptist.
Others, Elijah, or an Old Testament prophet.
Ok, but (Lk.
9:20) what about you, my disciples?
Who do you say I am?
Peter pipes up: (Mt.
16:16) You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Peter was right.
Or at least his words were right.
But God wanted him to understand what his confession really entailed.
So eight days after this whole who do you say I am? conversation, Jesus took Peter and the Zebedee boys up on this mountain.
And as Jesus (Lk.
9:29) was praying, his divine nature was no longer hidden from their eyes.
(Lk.
9:29) The appearance of his face changed.
His clothes, too.
(Lk.
9:29) They were like a flash of lightning.
Two men appeared in glorious splendor—Moses and Elijah.
They’re talking with Jesus.
It must've been overwhelming & incredible, frightening & unforgettable all at the same time.
And Peter doesn’t know what to say.
But that wasn’t the kind of problem that typically stopped him from opening his mouth.
So he says: (Lk.
9:33) Master, it is good for us to be here.
Let us put up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
Let us get to work and serve you three and let’s keep this glorious experience going.
And while Peter is offering to jimmy up some tents, he’s interrupted and covered by (Mt.
17:5) a bright cloud and a voice from that cloud.
And the voice is God the Father telling Peter, James, and John (Lk.
9:35) This is my Son, whom I have chosen.
Listen to him.
And just like that the transfiguration of Jesus is over and done.
It’s an overwhelming and incredible and unforgettable story.
But one these three disciples kept to themselves until after Jesus’ resurrection.
This account of Jesus’ glory is unlike anything else in his life and ministry.
So special that only three of his disciples got to see it.
And they still didn’t get it.
They wanted to hang on to it.
They wanted it to last forever.
They wanted to stay up on that mountain the way that newlyweds want to stay away on their honeymoon.
But we shouldn’t be too hard on Peter for wanting to hang on to this glorious moment for as long as possible.
We all do that, don’t we?
We get fixated on glorious spiritual moments and want to stay on the mountain-top too long.
Maybe it was your baptism or your confirmation or even your wedding day.
Maybe you had a moment when you witnessed your faith and you were able to lead them to Jesus.
Perhaps you really studied up on a story or book of the Bible, you began to really master some doctrine or teaching—maybe you even taught others about it.
At first it was a little frightening, a little overwhelming, but then it was just awesome and incredible.
Moments like these can be unforgettable.
But sometimes we’re too content to dwell in the past.
To talk about how we were confirmed.
How we once told someone about Jesus.
How we once taught this or learned that.
How we once did this, built that, helped over here.
Without realizing it, we are paralyzed by nostalgia.
Everything that seems important in life has already been done.
Like Peter we just want to bask in the glory of those days.
Maybe, sometimes, as a congregation—even though we don’t have a long history—we want to bask in the glory days of before COVID.
Sometimes we as Christians or as a congregation crave glory.
We want to see the new baptisms, the confirmations, the weddings, the big church events.
And those things are good.
But there are other good works of the church, other acts of Christian service that maybe don’t look so good and glorious.
It’s awesome to witness a baptism, but it’s even better to point someone who has sinned against you back to their baptism.
It’s awesome to eat cake at a confirmation, but it’s even better to review the chief parts of the Catechism long after your confirmation day.
It’s awesome to go to weddings, but it’s better to humbly love and serve your spouse long after they can no longer fit in their gown or tux.
It’s awesome to have a packed church on Christmas belting out Joy to the World, but it’s just as God-glorifying when two or three or just a few more are warbling through a tough hymn or wiping away tears.
So often, we as Christians and even as a congregation crave the glorious things and cringe at the humble service and sacrifice that set the stage for it.
But the foundation for glory is sacrifice.
In fact, to Jesus, sacrifice is glory.
That’s why he couldn’t stay on the mountain.
He had to bring his greatest glory (Lk.
9:31) to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
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