In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

 Just a few days before the Transfiguration, Jesus had asked the disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"  After hearing the various answers, Jesus then asked, "But who do you say that I am?"  And Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Peter saw clearly in that moment.  It had been revealed to him by the Father who Jesus was, and Peter confessed the truth.  Jesus called him blessed.

 But then Jesus went on to explain to them what His being the Messiah and the Son of God meant.  Jesus would have to suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  When Peter heard this, all clarity left his mind.  He actually rebuked Jesus and said, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  Peter thought he was defending the honor of his leader.  Jesus would be always be a glorious winner, never a humiliated loser.  But Jesus' path led to a different place than Peter expected.  Peter was expecting a Messiah who would conquer Israel's enemies with a show of force and become an earthly king with earthly glory.  But Jesus had come to conquer bigger enemies than the Roman army.  He had come to conquer sin and death and the devil.  To attain this glorious, heavenly victory for Himself and for us, Jesus would have to suffer humiliating, earthly death.

 And so Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Jesus actually called Peter Satan!  For Peter was doing the same thing the devil did in the wilderness, tempting Jesus to skip the cross and the suffering and go directly to the glory.  But Jesus teaches here that there is no glory apart from the cross.  And so He says to His disciples and to us, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, will save it."

 That's not a message we really want to hear, is it.  Our sinful nature wants to hear messages about self-fulfillment and self-advancement; Jesus talks about self-denial.  Our old Adam wants to hear messages about life-enrichment and making the most of yourself; Jesus talks about losing your life for His sake.  Just like Peter we want Christianity to be all about principles for successful living and happiness and joy and health and wealth.  But Jesus rebukes us and says, "You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men."  "Take up the cross.  Die to yourself and serve others.  Repent of those sins you don't want to let go of.  Stop trusting in your own goodness and trust in Me alone.  Be willing to suffer for the sake of my teaching.  You may be ridiculed or rejected by the world, but you will be received and honored by Me and share in My glory in the world to come."

 Here on the mountain we are given to see a vision of that glory of the world to come.  Jesus gives us a foretaste of what's in store for us to strengthen us and to help us bear the cross.  He went up on a mountain with three of His closest disciples to pray.  While He was praying to His Father in heaven, Jesus' appearance was transfigured.  His face shone like the sun.  And His clothes became dazzling white.  What was happening was that His glory as God was shining in and through His humanity.  It is written that in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form.  When the Son of God became man, He had emptied Himself of His glory in order that He might bear our sin.  But here for a moment, that glory is no longer hidden.  It shines with all the light that Jesus has brought to our human nature to redeem it.  The Transfiguration shows that Jesus is both true God and true man in one undivided person.

 You might compare the unity of Jesus' divine and human natures to a hot and glowing piece of iron.  The human nature is the iron, the divine nature is the heat or the fire that is contained within the iron and that permeates it entirely.  The iron and the fiery heat are not separate things; nor are they mixing to form some new thing.  Rather, retaining their unique properties they are united as one thing, even as Jesus' deity and humanity are inseparably united for all eternity.  Here on the mountain then, the fiery glow of Jesus' divine nature is manifested in the "iron" of His human nature.

 St. Luke tells us that, as all this was beginning to happen, the three disciples were dozing off, just as we all too often become lethargic here in the presence of the Lord in divine service.  But when the disciples became fully awake, they saw Jesus' glory and Moses and Elijah standing and talking with Him.  Moses represents the Law.  Elijah represents the Prophets.  Their presence here shows that Jesus has fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets.  The whole Old Testament  points to Christ.  Everything that Moses and Elijah spoke of and did finds its culmination and goal in Jesus.  He is the Messiah foretold in ages past who would deliver His people and usher in the kingdom of God.

 And what were Jesus and Moses and Elijah discussing?  The Gospel says, "(They) spoke of His decease, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem."  In other words they spoke about Jesus' impending death.  Think about that!  In the midst of all this glory, the #1 topic of discussion among Jesus and Moses and Elijah was His inglorious crucifixion.  For it was only through the cross that the Old Testament promises of life and forgiveness would be brought to reality.  It was only through the cross that the glory of Christ would be eternally revealed in His self-sacrificing love.

 The word "decease" which the two prophets and Jesus spoke of is literally the word "exodus."  They were conversing about Jesus' exodus.  In the first exodus Moses led the people of God through the Red Sea out of slavery to the Egyptians.  But now Jesus leads you through the baptismal sea out of slavery to sin and death and the devil.  By water and the Word Jesus joins you to His atoning death so that you come out alive with Him on the Easter side.  Moses didn't make it to the Promised Land.  He only saw it from afar and died.  But Jesus, the New Moses, leads you through death and the grave all the way to the Promised Land of the resurrection.  It is written in Romans 6, "Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? . . .  If we were united with Him in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection."  The path to glory always runs through Calvary, for Jesus and for you.
 

 Peter, though, still didn't get it.  As Moses and Elijah were parting from Jesus, Peter tried to hold on to the glory by suggesting that they build three shelters so that everyone could stay.  Just like us, he didn't want to live in the valley or deal with the cross.  Never-ending mountain top experiences is what he wanted.  But while Peter was talking a cloud came and overshadowed them all.  And a voice came out of the cloud saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Listen to Him!"  "Don't listen to the prompting of your old Adam.  Listen to Jesus.  Pay attention to what He has to say.  He alone has the words of eternal life."  And when the voice had stopped, they saw no one but Jesus.

 The Blessed Holy Trinity–the Father who spoke, the Son who was transfigured, and the Holy Spirit who came in the form of the cloud–this one true God gave the disciples a glimpse of the future here on the mountain.  The Lord was telling the disciples, "In the days ahead, terrible things are going to happen. Things that will shake your confidence in me, and cause you to doubt and even deny me. But have no fear. I am no ordinary man. I am God in the flesh; the Lord come to save you. You will see me hang dead on a cross, but don't be afraid. I am the Lord, whom you will also see shining with resurrection glory.  Look at me now, and remember.  I am who I say I am."

 That's the message that Jesus also has for you today.  "The days ahead may prove dark and difficult for you.  You may even now be suffering, and you see no light at the end of the tunnel.  But don't lose heart.  Look at me and see how this all will end for you.  I am your light at the end of the tunnel.  Trust in Me.  Cling to Me.  I am who I say I am.  Your story will end in My glory if you don't give up hope.  For now you must live in the valley of the shadow of death, but the day will come when you will ascend the mountain to dwell in My presence forever in unspeakable joy and wonder.  Remember what I've told you.  Hold on to My promises.  When you look at Me you are really looking at yourself and beholding your own future.  For I baptized you into My body and joined you to Myself.  Therefore, if I am glorified, then you are glorified with Me.  I have clothed you with the glistening robe of My righteousness.   I took your humanity into Myself so that you might partake of My divine nature and be called sons of God."

 It is written in I John 3, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.  But we know that when Jesus is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."  Just beholding Christ will cause you to be like Him and to share in His glory.  Your perishable bodies of decay and death will be raised imperishable in perfection and majesty just like His.  The words of the Benediction will then be fulfilled, "The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you."  There will be no need in the new creation for a lamp or the light of the sun, for the glory of God will illuminate it and the Lamb of God will be its light.  As the disciples slept and then were awake before the Lord, so you will sleep in death and then awake in the resurrection to hold this vision bright, where you will have only perfect joy and peace and light and life.  You will need nothing more than to see Christ and worship in His presence.

 Until that final day, we come here to ascend this mount to behold the glory of Christ as He speaks to us and reveals Himself to us in words and sacraments.  If this were the mount of transfiguration, the consecrated bread and the cup on the altar would shine with indescribable light.  For our Lord is truly present there for us through His Word.  But what our eyes can't see, our faith can.  The body and blood of Christ shine with the glory of God to cleanse you of your sin and to fill you with His light and life.  And so we say along with Peter, "Lord, it is good for us to be here."

  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit