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Bask in the Radiance of the Son!

             Everyone has a breaking point, and I think I finally reached mine.  I lived in the much warmer state of Tennessee all last year, but I was still fine with a cool fall.  I was alright with that first huge snow storm—I could still take it.  But I think that two weeks ago I finally reached my breaking point.   Perhaps you have recently done so, too.

             When I walked out the door last week on the way to church with a 10 day old baby in tow and the thermometer read six degrees below zero, I finally thought, “Ok, this is ridiculous.  Why am I living here in Wisconsin again?”  Then I thought, “Boy do I need a vacation!  I need some warmth.  I need some heat.  I need to dig my feet into the sand, recline in my lounge chair, and just bask in all the glory and radiance of the sun light.”  I would guess that you’ve had similar thoughts recently. 

            Well good news—I’m here to tell you that right now, right here, God is going to provide us with just what we need.  In the middle of a bleak and boring winter, in the middle of a perhaps drab and dreary life, God provides us today with some much needed Son-light.

            Today, with the disciples, we ascend the mount of Transfiguration and sneak a peak at all the glory and radiance of God’s very own Son, Jesus.  And today, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us encouragement that we can take from this special event.  He tells us to Bask in the Radiance of the Son!

Freedom to Access God

            While Moses was leading the people of Israel, every now and then those Israelites caught a glimpse of the glory of the Lord.  An example would be God leading his people as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night right through the middle of the Red Sea on dry ground.  But God’s glory became most evident to the Israelites when they stopped at Mt. Sinai.  Listen to these words from Exodus 19:  “Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.  Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire.  The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently.” 

            Can you possibly fathom seeing God’s glory on display as those Israelites did?  Can you comprehend being witnesses to miracles from God, or seeing Moses’ face glowing with radiance simply from being in God’s presence?  But although God’s power and glory were evident, one other thing was very clear—the Israelites did not have free access to their powerful and glorious God.  Though God was with them with his power and protection, they could not physically stand in his presence.  Not even Moses could stand face to face with God.  When he asked to do so, God replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence, but you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”  It was very clear that God was holy, and his people were not.  Therefore, they did not have direct access to him.

            But God set up a way for his people to gain access to him.  He established a covenant—a two-sided covenant/agreement with them.  This is how it worked:  God gave them numerous laws and rules to obey there at Mt. Sinai.  If the Israelites kept his laws and rules, then they could gain access to him and eternal life.  It was two-sided—if they obeyed, then God would be with them.  But, if they disobeyed, then God would punish and forsake them.   

            I think you know how the Israelites fared in this covenant with God.  They failed miserably.  In fact, before God had even finished giving them his law, they had already built an idol in the form of a golden calf.  And the next 1000 years of history in the Old Testament is a record of how the Israelites sinned and broke the covenant.  Through those sins, through that breaking of the covenant, the Israelites lost access to their God.  God was right—they could not stand in his presence and live because God is holy, and they most certainly were not.

            What about you?  Can you stand in God’s presence?  Do you have free and full access to God and his heaven?  Well God’s demands are still there.  His laws for obedience still stand.  Perhaps you remember the man who asked Jesus how he could inherit eternal life.  Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with al your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus was saying, “The rules still apply.  The covenant is in place.  If you want to go to heaven, you must obey God.”

            So how have you kept your end of the bargain?  How have you been doing with God’s covenant?  Do you love God with your whole heart?  Is he number one in your life—above your kids or your job or money?  Do you regularly honor his name?  Or do you take it in vain?  Or maybe you don’t misuse his name, but do you idly stand by while others misuse it at work or at home?  What about his Word?  Do you treat his Word with utmost importance?  Or does reading the comics or your e-mail come first?  Convicting as those questions are, that’s just the first half of God’s demands!

            What about loving your neighbor?  Do you show respect for your parents, or your boss, or the president at all times?  Have you harbored any hateful or ill feelings toward someone?  What about God’s gift of sex?  Have you used it outside of marriage—either physically or mentally or electronically?  Have you ever been greedy before?  Do you find yourself consumed with the thoughts and concerns of having more money?  What about your neighbor’s good name?  Do you like to spread gossip or to hear another’s dirty laundry being aired?  Or maybe you don’t spread gossip but do you always defend others when they are being talked about in the cafeteria or the break room?  What about possessions?  Have you ever looked at someone else’s stuff and just thought, “I have got to have that!  I really need to have what they have!”? 

            When we look in the mirror—the mirror of God’s law—we can only but admit, “I have failed!  I have broken the covenant.”  And when we seek access to God, he can only but say “No one can stand in my presence and live.  You are sinners.  You have nothing but hell to pay.  Access denied.”

            But then, with the disciples, we catch another glimpse of God’s great glory in the radiance of his own Son on the mount of Transfiguration.  It’s a glimpse of glory which tells us, “This is God’s Son.  He’s here in this world, and he’s here for us.”  Listen to what Paul says to the Corinthians about it:  “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.  But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.  It has been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.” 

            Did you catch it?  Did you hear the good news?  Paul tells us that the old covenant is gone.  Its glory has faded away, and anyone who abides by that two-sided covenant of obedience is missing the point.  It has been removed, because Christ has taken it away.   There is now a new covenant in place.  And here’s the best part—this new covenant is only one-sided.  It does not depend on you, or on your obedience to God (because we know we have already failed at that).  No, this new covenant depends only on God and his mercy.  This new covenant tells us simply that we are forgiven, that we are God’s children—no ifs, ands, buts, or contracts about it. 

            You see, God established this covenant through his own Son Jesus, whom we see today on the mount of Transfiguration.  There we catch a glimpse of his glory and power as true God, one powerful enough to live obediently and perfectly in our place.  There we see his power as true God to be able to carry and pay for all of our sins.  And there we also see him once again set aside his power for a time so that he could suffer and die in our place.  Friends, Paul clearly tells us today to Bask in the Radiance of the Son, for it is through him that our sins have been forgiven.  It is through him that the old covenant has been removed.  And it is through him that we now have freedom to access God.  Clothed with Christ’s perfection and forgiveness, we now can and will stand face to face with God forever in heaven.

Freedom to Serve God

            Before, God’s law was terrifying.  It did nothing but convict and accuse us.  It pointed out our wicked, wretched, and worthless state.  But because Christ has freed us from the curse and punishment of the law, we have a whole new freedom.  Listen to Paul:  “Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.  But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is in the Spirit.”

            Paul is telling us to Bask in the Radiance of the Son.  Christ has freed us from God’s demands.  He has taken the veil away.  He has removed the accusing mirror of God’s law that shows us to be sinners.  Now, we are the ones who act like mirrors, because Paul says we all reflect God’s glory.  You see God’s laws and demands are no longer something that we have to do; they are something that we get to do.  That’s a big difference.  Because we have Christ’s forgiveness, we have been given freedom to serve God.  Sure, we have been freed and are no longer required to obey God’s laws and commandments, but we will anyway.  We will because we want to.  We will because we are thankful for our freedom from sin.  We will because by doing so we reflect God’s glory and perfection to all those around us in the world.

            Then Paul goes on to give us some practical examples of this.  He continues into chapter four of Corinthians, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.  On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 

            Jesus Christ, whom we witness as both true God and true man on the mount of Transfiguration today, has taken away all of our sins.  He has given us freedom to access God and to be with him forever in heaven.  He has given us freedom from God’s rules and regulations so that now we can serve him not because we have to, but because we are thankful.  So Paul says, since we have this ministry (this new life) through God’s mercy, Bask in the Radiance of the Son and reflect that glory to others!  And you heard some of the ways in which we can do that.  Renounce secret and shameful ways Paul says.  Whenever temptation comes knocking at your door, turn away from it! When shameful images fly across your TV screen, turn the channel.  When secret and sinful E-mails pop into your inbox, give them a resounding “delete.”  When fowl and filthy language is being used, walk away!  When you do so, you are reflecting Christ’s glory to a sinful world.

            Paul also says that we reflect God’s glory when we speak it in truth plainly.  So when your coworkers are involved in coarse and gross joking, tell them how disgusting that is to God.  When your family member is abusing God’s gift of sex, tell that person clearly how sinful lifestyles lead to hell.  And when you encounter people who are still trying to live by the old covenant and earn their way into heaven, reflect God’s glory brightly as you tell them about the new covenant of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus.  In other words, Bask in the Radiance of the Son because he has given you freedom to serve him joyfully with your lives by reflecting his glory to others.

            That’s what Transfiguration is all about.  On the mount, Christ gives us a sneak peak of his Son-light.  He reminds us that he is God’s true Son who has all glory and power to redeem us.  But just as quickly as it came that day, Christ put his glory aside again. And so, today we say farewell to Alleluia and to Christ’s glory as we follow him now through Lent on his humble path to saving us.  But remember this mountaintop.  Remember the little glimpse God’s glory that you saw today, because soon you will see God’s Son-light shine brightly and fully again in victory on Easter morning.  Then, we will sing resounding Alleluias.   Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (http://www.gracedowntown.org/) on February 18, 2007

             

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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