Transfiguration (Life Sunday) January 21, 2018
Transfiguration & Life Sunday
Matthew 17:1-9
January 21, 2018
“Keep Following…Christ Gives Us Hope in Suffering”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Every January we observe Life Sunday. That’s primarily because of the date. It was on January 22, 1973 that the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case Roe v. Wade and essentially decriminalized abortion. This is one of the most important issues of our particular time as Christians. There are others also. But when our nation says it’s okay to murder babies in the womb—we must speak and act against it.
Another related issue is following closely behind, and that’s assisted suicide. Already five states in our union have legalized it. So you see what’s happening here—at the beginning of life and the end of life we are content to murder. Yet where would that ever stop? At what point will we just stretch those out to even the middle of life? If you think that’s a stretch or a scare tactic, I think you’re just naïve.
Now I’m going to come back to these two, abortion and assisted suicide, toward the end of the sermon. But first we must get there. By looking at Jesus’ transfiguration, we will see there’s a better answer. There’s always hope in our suffering. Hope in our suffering. Not in abortion or euthanasia. There’s no hope in murder. But there’s hope in suffering. There is hope!
Now if you would please. look at the picture on the sermon insert this morning. That picture will speak more and better words than me. That’s a picture of Jesus’ transfiguration. On the bottom are the three disciples that Jesus brought with Him, Peter, James, and John. You can see that they are frightened and covering their faces because of the glory coming from Jesus. Just above Jesus is Moses. You can tell by the staff and the two tablets that he’s holding—the ten commandments. Just to the right of Jesus is Elijah.
Now comes the best part. You see that Elijah is pointing at something. They are standing on the Mount of Transfiguration but Elijah is pointing to another mountain, Mt. Calvary. There stand the three crosses, the tallest of which is waiting for Jesus. And this isn’t just some artist’s imagination. St. Luke records that Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about His “exodus”—in other words, His death on the cross.
So bear with me as I give you a quick rundown of what has happened here. Just before this Jesus had told His disciples for the first time that He was going to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die and be raised. To this Peter had said, “Never!” They didn’t want to talk about suffering or death. Then they go up the mountain and, lo and behold, what is Jesus talking about again? His death! And even Moses and Elijah are in on it this time.
So now to this Peter says, “Hey, let’s just stay here. It’s nice right here. We like it here. Stop talking about that suffering and death stuff. I’ll build some tents here and we’ll just enjoy it right here.” To this God interrupts Peter and says, basically, “Zip it! This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”
Now then after going down the mountain Jesus says a second time that He is going to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die. And again—the disciples don’t want to hear it and don’t get it. In fact, they won’t get it until after it’s all over. To the last day they will keep trying to stop Jesus from going to His suffering. Peter will even cut off a soldier’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane. And Jesus will put the ear back. They want to avoid the suffering. But Jesus goes into it willingly and joyfully.
Now here’s how you and I are exactly the same as the disciples. We want to avoid the suffering at any cost. We’re always wanting to keep safe and comfortable—always wanting to stay right where we’re at, scared to suffer—always longing for some bygone days that we say were “good”, where all was well—always looking to stay comfortable rather than move forward into the unknown. Instead of moving forward in faith, we say, “If only I could just get back to where I was.” Or, “If only I could go back to those days when everything was easy,” we say. Or, “if only I could just stay right here where everything is alright.”
We’re all like Peter. “Jesus, just let me stay right here and I’ll be happy. Let’s build some tents right here. I don’t want to get any older. I don’t want to work any harder. I don’t want to change anything. I don’t want to suffer.”
What does Jesus say to that? He says, “Come on, brother, follow Me!” Do you remember the time when Jesus told someone to follow Him and they said, “Okay, but first let me go and bury my father.” What does Jesus say? “Leave the dead to bury their own dead!” Ouch, sounds harsh. But it isn’t. The issue isn’t burying his dad. It’s his heart. He doesn’t want to go suffer with Jesus. He’s got excuses. And then another comes up and says, “I’ll follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at home.” And this time Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Now take that picture and put yourself in the picture right by Jesus. And you and I are saying, “Jesus, I don’t want to go through any suffering. I’d rather just stay right here where I’m comfortable. Where everything is alright. And Jesus is pointing you to His cross and saying, “Come on. Follow Me. That’s where we’re going. Beyond that cross and suffering is all the glory of heaven. You’ll see. There’s hope. I’ve been to the cross for you already and I rose from the dead for you. I have a place in My Father’s house prepared for you. Come on and follow Me. Suffer with Me. There’s hope.”
What suffering would you like to avoid? Maybe you’re getting older and it scares you and you don’t want to go through that suffering. Maybe you’ve got an illness that you don’t want to suffer with. You may be full of shame and guilt and you don’t want to deal with it. You just wish you could stand still or turn back the clock rather than suffer the consequences. You may not want to suffer for telling the truth to people—you just want everyone to like you—you don’t want to go and die on that hill where you tell someone that right is right and wrong is wrong.
I don’t know what suffering you’re looking at. What cross lies ahead of you. It’s unique for each of us. But for every one of us Jesus is there standing with us saying, “Follow Me. There’s hope in this.” In Romans 5, St. Paul says that suffering produces perseverance.” But don’t stop there. Then he says that perseverance produces character. And then character produces hope. That’s where we’re headed. Hope. There’s hope in your suffering.
You are baptized into Jesus Christ. Remember our theme for this year of 2018, “I am baptized into Christ!” That means we have already died with Him and risen with Him. So whatever suffering is lying ahead of you—it certainly isn’t going to kill you. You’ve already died! And you’re already raised with Jesus. Jesus says, “You’re baptized. Follow Me and we’ll get through this suffering. There’s joyous hope on the other side.”
And you have His promise and also His Supper—His body and blood. This is your food for the journey. All through your suffering Jesus is saying, “Here, take my body and my blood which I gave and suffered for you. Let it be your strength and your hope to endure. I am with you.”
Friends in Christ, you don’t need to be Peter saying, “No, Jesus, I don’t want to. Let me just stay right here. Let me be comfortable.” You have Jesus. You have hope. You have forgiveness for all your sin. Move forward. Keep following Him. Keep following Him. Do the right thing. Suffer for doing good, as St. Peter says elsewhere. You have nothing to be afraid of. Is God is for us, who can be against us? If Jesus has died and risen for us, how can we not follow Him?
Now then, finally, I come back around to these two ever important issues of our day—abortion and euthanasia. The essence of both of them is hopelessness. They feed on hopelessness. They feed on avoiding suffering rather than going through suffering with hope. A woman is pregnant and, for many and various reasons, doesn’t want to go through the suffering of bearing and delivering and raising a child. Or maybe not her, but the father doesn’t want that suffering or maybe the grandparents don’t want that suffering. So they look at it as hopeless. Their only hope, they think, is to kill the baby and stay right where they’re comfortable. Avoid the suffering at any cost. But what happens? This only brings more suffering. The pain of it. The guilt and shame. Spending years after trying to make up for it with no hope.
Or euthanasia, assisted suicide. A man or woman nearing the end of his life and doesn’t want to suffer any longer. Or doesn’t want the family to suffer any longer. The only hope, he thinks, is to end his life. But what happens? Only more suffering. Because ending a life never brings hope. He leaves a family and friends wondering why he would choose to leave them early and why they couldn’t be there for him in his most needful hours.
Abortion and euthanasia work on the same basic level. They promise hope but they can’t deliver. They say they’ll give hope through death—but hope never comes through murder. At the root of it—it’s unbelief. It’s us trying to avoid suffering rather than trusting Jesus and following where He leads and knowing there is always hope for the one who follows Christ.
There is hope in suffering. Keep following Jesus. There’s always hope. And you may be tempted to say, as I am at times, “Ah, it’s hopeless. We’ll never do anything about abortion. We’ll never stop the coming swing of assisted suicide.” But what does Jesus say to that? He says, “Keep following Me. There’s hope. You’re baptized. Your place is prepared. Keep following. There’s hope.”
And you may be tempted to say of your own suffering and trials ahead of you, “Ah, it’s hopeless. I’ll never make it through it.” But what does Jesus say to you? “Keep following Me. I am your hope. Here is My promise. Here is My Baptism. Here is My Supper. Here is your inheritance. Keep following Me. And I will go with you through this cross and suffering to the glory that lies ahead.”
Take heart, friends. There is hope in Jesus. Amen.