THE
LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
The
Baptism and Transfiguration of Our Lord
January
21, 2018
ST.
LUKE 9:35 & ST. MATTHEW 17:5
Listen
to Our Father's Beloved Son
In
the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Listening
is hard.
Listening
to your teacher is hard.
Listening
to your co-workers is hard.
Listening
to your pastor is hard.
Listening
to your spouse is hard.
It's
hard because we want to control what we listen to. We want to be in
charge and choose what we put into our ears.
So
your teacher is telling the assignment, but you'd rather focus on
what you going to do once school is done.
So
your co-worker is telling you the features of the latest product, but
you'd rather think about the bills you have to pay when you're done
with work.
So
your pastor is preaching the sermon, but you'd rather think about
assignments are due at work this coming week.
So
your wife is telling you that your newborn is doing something amazing
(again!), but you'd rather keep listening to what going on in
Washington.
Sound
waves entering your ears is easy, but we care more about ourselves
than anything else that is happening. We'll listen carefully if the
fireman is giving you instructions on get off the burning second
floor, but you want to save your life.
We
love ourselves and the words of others only matter if they pay
attention to ME.
In
other words, listening is hard because we're selfish.
When
it comes to listening to Jesus, we're selfish there, too. Case in
point: Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration.
ST.
LUKE 9:28–32
About eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter,
John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to
pray. 29As He was praying, the
appearance of His face changed, and His
clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30Two
men, Moses and Elijah, 31appeared in
glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His
departure, which He was about to bring to fulfillment
at Jerusalem. 32Peter and his companions
were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw His
glory and the two men standing with Him.
NIV
1984
Peter
was in a life-and-death situation. He was confronted with the glory
of God. Men cannot survive the glory of God. The Lord God is holy;
sin cannot exist with holiness. This is why sinful Adam and Eve hid
from God; they instinctively knew that sin and holiness cannot
coexist.
Yet
Peter, that sinful man, who should have remained silent and paid
attention to holy men speaking on the mountain, choose to listen to
himself. So he spoke.
ST.
LUKE 9:33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him,
“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.” (He did not know what he was saying.) NIV
1984
In
and of itself Peter's advice was fine. He wanted to build a church. A
house of God where we can receive His glory.
But
that wasn't the point. The point wasn't we do or what we build; it
was listening to Jesus and what He builds. To make sure that Peter
didn't miss Jesus, God the Father interrupted his pious intentions.
ST.
LUKE 9:34–35
While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they
were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud,
saying, “This is My
Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.”
NIV
1984
Listen
to Him. The holy men—Moses and Elijah—were speaking with Jesus
about His departure, They were talking about how Jesus would exit
this world, through suffering and death. This way of departure was
the reason for Jesus coming down to the earth. It would be a
disgraceful exit from this world. Criminals taunted Him, Pharisees
mocked Him, soldiers beat Him, women wept for Him, His own disciples
ran away from Him, including Peter, James, and John—abandoned by
His own and scorned by everyone else. Abandoned and scorned because
none had listened to Him. They hadn't listen when Jesus told them
what was going to happen to Him.
MARK
10:32–34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem,
with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while
those who followed were afraid. Again He took the Twelve aside and
told them what was going to happen to Him. He said, “We are going
up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief
priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and
will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and
spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise.”
NIV
1984
We'll
never know what it was like to live through those holy days of our
Lord's death and resurrection. But I'm certain that we would have
been just as hopeless at listening to Jesus and remembering His words
as Peter, James, and John. We wouldn't have connected the dots,
either.
I
make this guess based on how often we don't listen to Jesus right
now. Jesus told Peter, James, and John that terrible things would
happen to Him because of us; Jesus tells us that bad things will
happen to us because of Him. And when those bad things happen, like
when people who are supposed to listen to us, don't, we're surprised.
When we don't listen carefully to those we are supposed to listen to,
we get defensive instead of listening to Jesus.
When
we sin by failing to care for those we are supposed to care for,
listen to Jesus who tells you to repent and hear Him say, “I
forgive you,” through your pastor or your fellow believer, probably
the person you didn't listen to.
Let
His caring words ring out in our ears and in our mouths and in our
hearts. Jesus didn't come to earth to teach you the art of
communication, but by listening to Him carefully, you will become a
more careful listener in fits and starts because the more you listen
to Jesus, the more you will learn that life doesn't revolve around
you. You don't owe Jesus anything, but you are here to serve the
people who are within earshot: teachers, co-workers, pastors,
spouses.
You
are alive because Jesus died for you. You have hearing ears because
Jesus set aside His glory to carry the cross for you. You listen to
Him and others because He has made into someone who cares.
In
Jesus' Name. Amen.
God
demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.
Thanks
be to God!
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