Christ Alone: A Meditation on Luke 9 for Transfiguration Sunday

And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him:

and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias;

 and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things,

and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be slain, and be raised the third day.

 

 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:

but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world,

and lose himself, or be cast away?

 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words,

of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory,

and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here,

which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

 

And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings,

he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered,

and his raiment was white and glistering.

 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:

Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease

which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep:

and when they were awake, they saw his glory,

and the two men that stood with him.

 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus,

Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles;

one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.

While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them:

and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying,

This is my beloved Son: hear him.

 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone.

And they kept it close, and told no man in those days

 any of those things which they had seen.

 

Transfiguration Sunday is a pinnacle of the Epiphany season, where the Church has historically meditated on what it means for the full divinity of God Almighty to be revealed in Jesus Christ.  While Jesus’ preaching, healing, and miracles are testimonies to Jesus’ full divinity and indivisible unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the vision provided to Peter, James, and John on that mountain was a foretaste of the beatific vision that awaits all who trust in Him.  Cleared from any earthly ambiguity, Jesus stood in the radiance, holiness, and power of God as Elijah and Moses conferred with Him about what was shortly to come at Jerusalem, and the Vicarious Atonement Jesus would accomplish for the salvation of the world.  Stunned by the vision, Peter misinterpreted it to mean that the glory of Moses and Elijah should be worshiped alongside Jesus, and the Father made it clear that Jesus alone was the beloved Son to whom we should give our full attention.  As the writer to the Hebrews would note, Moses was a faithful servant in the house and Kingdom of God, but Jesus Christ alone was the builder and master of that house.  While creatures have a relationship with their Creator, there is no parity between the saved and the Savior; created man is never God, though God became man in Jesus Christ.

 

In our age, it is important to remember that Jesus really is fully God, even as He is fully man.  At some times in history, emphasis of the one nature over the other has led to problems in understanding Jesus, but in our time which is dominated by Materialism, Secular Humanism, and a pervasive unbelief in the Word of God, the stronger temptation is to think of Jesus as little more than a man.  Perhaps some will think Him wise and moral, others might think Him a beacon of love and compassion, all of which are true.  But the reality of Jesus is that He is not just a good, wise, moral, and compassionate man:  He is the very Son of God, almighty in power, and the Word through which the whole cosmos was made.  His indivisible divine essence is shared with the Father and the Holy Spirit, sharing also in their divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence (all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present), just as He is one with them in perfect goodness, perfect love, and perfect righteousness.  The real Jesus who condescends to meet us in our humanity, who for a short while in His humiliation was made subject to earthly powers even unto betrayal and death on a Roman cross, is humiliated no more.  He has risen from the grave, conquered death, hell, and the devil’s demonic horde, and given the grace of forgiveness and life to all who will trust in Him.  The real Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father, intercedes for the saints on our behalf as both our High Priest and also our perfect sacrifice, and shall come again in glory for the final Judgement of the living and the dead.  The real Jesus is really God.

 

Knowing our human weakness and tendencies to worship everything other than the true God, this is a good meditation for us as we prepare to enter Lent, and walk with our Lord on His path to Calvary.  Jesus is not what pop-culture often portrays Him as, nor as many ostensibly Christian authors have tried to present Him as.  He is not a self-help scheme, nor is He some mystical goodie machine in the sky which can be activated by using just the right words, thoughts, or deeds.  He is never manipulated, deceived, or coerced, as if we could cut him a good deal on how we might live our lives, or broker some half-way position in how we follow Him.  He is not weak in mind, or heart, or body, as if we could out-think, out-love, outrun or overpower Him.  He is not our boyfriend or our drinking buddy, not a partner in crime nor in blasphemy.  He is the Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. 

 

Seeing this as clearly as the Apostles did by trusting in their witness helps us clear our heads of many misconceptions about Jesus, so that we might walk with Him in Spirit and Truth.  This is what gives hope to our faith, and wisdom to our knowledge, that our Savior is also fully God.  He has become one of us that He might die in our place, knowing all the struggles of fallen man, but He Himself has never fallen, nor ever will fall.  Our Savior is stronger than every temptation known to mankind, from the dawn of time to the end.  Our Savior is more powerful than any wickedness of man, from the lowliest thief to the most malicious dictator.  Our Savior is more powerful than the turning of the seasons, the rising and falling of empires, of epochs long forgotten and those yet to come.  Our Savior is more powerful than time, than space, than all the forces and bodies of the celestial heavens, spinning through a vastness we have only begun to glimpse.  Our Savior’s Kingdom transcends heaven and earth, without beginning and without end, and He is the Captain of the Heavenly Host who has defeated, trampled, and condemned all the forces of evil to an everlasting prison of fire.  Our Savior is not only one who desires to save us, but has shown forth His power to save all who will trust in Him.

 

As we move through this transition of seasons from Epiphany to Lent on our way to blessed Easter, may the saints remember by the witness of God’s Word and Spirit, that the Eternal Word has come to seek and to save the lost.  And not only that He has come to seek and to save, but that Jesus Christ is mighty to accomplish all that He has come to do, for God Himself has come down to be the Savior of the world which He created.  Our Saving God is not one among many, nor has He any peer of any philosopher, politician, theologian, scientist, or academic.  Our God alone is King of the Universe, and our God alone has come to save us with a Gospel that rings throughout eternity.  For only the Lord God Almighty could become our Savior, that we might live in Him by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  Let all other visions and deceptions flee before the Word and power of the Lord our God, who speaks through the cloud, from the tops of the mountains, across the plains and the seas, into the jungles and the forests and the deserts:  This is My Beloved Son—hear Him!

 

Amen.

 

Mercy as the Measure: A Meditation on Luke 6 for the 7th Sunday in Epiphany

But I say unto you which hear,

Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other;

and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

Give to every man that asketh of thee;

and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

And as ye would that men should do to you,

do ye also to them likewise.

 

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye?

for sinners also love those that love them.

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye?

for sinners also do even the same.

And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye?

for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again;

and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest:

for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

 

Be ye therefore merciful,

as your Father also is merciful.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:

condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:

forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

 Give, and it shall be given unto you;

good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,

and running over, shall men give into your bosom.

For with the same measure that ye mete withal

 it shall be measured to you again.

 

In the Gospel text from Luke 6, Jesus continued his teaching to His disciples while making a very fine point about the difference between divine and human approaches to injustice.  While it may seem as unnatural to us as it did to Jesus’ disciples when He spoke it, loving one’s enemies, doing good to those who abuse, refraining from striking back when struck, offering a thief more than they stole, and lending without any consideration of return, is exactly how God treats fallen humanity.  God might be expected to love those who love Him, but His extravagance is that He loves even those who hate and reject Him, knowing that there will always be those from whom He will never receive love in return.  And as will be demonstrated by Jesus through His death and resurrection, it is God who will offer mercy and forgiveness rather than judgment and condemnation.  From this revelation of the divine nature, Jesus commands His disciples to do likewise so that they might be children of God, for He knows that with whatever measure of mercy a person offers to others, that same measure of mercy will be extended back to him.

 

To say that this cuts against the grain of modern thinking would be severe understatement.  What person would not be enraged by the thief who breaks into their house, or the carjacker who pistol whips the driver before stealing the car, or the deadbeat who asks for money just to blow it again?  Who is not incensed by being treated rudely or condescendingly, by being lied to or manipulated by people in positions of power or authority?  What person will not fume with frustration when they are slandered, maligned, or misrepresented by those who hate him?  The anger which arises from injustice is not unnatural at all—and theft, abuse, skipping out on debts, and bearing false witness, are all demonstrable evils.  Human beings created in the image of God have something hardwired deep inside them that perceives the injustice of evil, and desires for justice to be satisfied.  When we are punched in the nose, we want to swing back, rebalancing the scales of justice for the wrong we have received… it’s the natural law written in creation and the hearts of all men, as inescapable as our own flesh.

 

And yet, fallen people rarely really want justice.  What they want more is revenge.  They don’t just want to punch the guy who punched them, but to brutalize them disproportionate to the crime.  It is a bloodlust that twists our inborn sense of justice into a pursuit of vengeance, no longer concerned with what is right, but rather with what might inflict pain.  This is the first great risk to fallen people seeking justice for a wrong done against them, because while fallen people may be wired to perceive injustice, they are inclined to take much more than they are due.  And yet, the far greater risk is that in pursuing justice against our neighbors who wrong us, we forget all the wrongs we have done to both God and men for which we so desperately need grace.  When we demand justice from our neighbor, even at our best, we are using the measure of the Law against them—a measure which we could never withstand being applied to us.  This is the great warning Jesus offers His disciples:  if they wish to be measured by God according to His grace and mercy, then they must also show grace and mercy.

 

This is a tough lesson, but it is one we must learn.  Jesus, the Eternal Word of the Father made flesh, comes to give mercy and grace even to the people who lie, cheat, steal, brutalize, defame, and eventually murder Him.  And of course, this is good news to sinners like us, because we all know deep down that none of us can withstand being judged by the perfection of God’s Holy Law.  What Jesus offers to us is exactly what we need, so that we might be transformed from fallen sinners who cling to a Law that is killing us, into a risen people who cling by grace through faith to Jesus.  This new people, born from above by water and Spirit, are a Gospel people whose sins are covered in the Blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world to save sinners who could never deserve salvation, and could never save themselves.  These Gospel people, children of the Living God, are people who offer mercy instead of justice, compassion instead of vengeance, all through the power of Christ who indwells and empowers them to live forever in Him.  This Gospel people isn’t working by their own power, as if they could overcome their own fallen nature, but instead work by the power of Jesus because they are grafted into Him like branches into a Vine, bearing the fruit that Jesus works through them.

 

This is both the challenge and the promise of Jesus’ teaching.  When we feel that old sinful nature rising up in us, demanding that the Law be applied to our neighbor and justice be done for a wrong committed against us, Jesus calls us to turn our eyes in faith and repentance once again to Him upon His Cross.  There, in the Cross of Christ we find the Law which should have been applied to us taken by Him instead, so that on Easter Sunday He might arise with healing and forgiveness in His wings.  There, in the Cross of Christ, we find the salvation we could never win by our own merit poured out over us so that we might pour it out over others.  There, in the Cross of Christ we see the power of God unto salvation for all who might repent and believe in Him, so that we would be empowered by Him to share that Gospel with everyone around us.  There, in the Cross of Christ, we become the Gospel people of God, able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.

 

Whose Praise We Seek: A Meditation on Luke 6, for the 6th Sunday in Epiphany

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain,

and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people

 out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,

which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

And the whole multitude sought to touch him:

for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

 

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said,

Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.

Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you,

and when they shall separate you from their company,

and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil,

for the Son of man's sake.

Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy:

for, behold, your reward is great in heaven:

for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger.

Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!

for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

 

As so often is the case in Jesus’ teaching, there is both caution and hope in what He offers his disciples.  Here on the plain, Jesus began his preaching in a similar fashion as that recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel (whether on the plain or on the mount, it’s likely Jesus gave this teaching in various places) and emphasized the hope He gave to all those who were poor, hungry, sorrowful, and hated by the world for His name’s sake.  The corresponding caution was given to those who found their current comfort in wealth, gluttony, frivolity, and being well regarded by those who rejected Jesus.  For His disciples, no matter how troubled or rejected they found themselves in this world, He told them to rejoice, for their joys in heaven would outshine all their sorrows.  Yet for those comfortable in their rejection of God and His Word, no matter how much wealth and prestige they accumulated in this fallen world, none of it would compare with the hellish destitution which awaited them.

 

It’s important to note, I think, that Jesus used those two polarized examples to teach the centrality of faith and grace, and not the accidents of wealth or joy or celebrity.  Simply being poor, hungry, sad, or rejected is no more virtuous and worthy of eternal life, than being rich, fat, happy, and prestigious is worthy of eternal perdition.  Jesus isn’t a Marxist, and He’s not trying to foment class warfare between the haves and the have-nots.  Instead, He presents and makes much clearer the ancient principle found in the 16^th chapter of Solomon’s Proverbs, that better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. There will always be wealthy people with integrity, just as there will always be poor people without it.  The key matter is not the presence of wealth or celebrity, but the heart before God.  A person with faith in God and His Word, now fully revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, is one who is blessed for eternity by the grace which covers all sins and works reconciliation with the Father for the sake of the Son, no matter what life in this fallen world would throw at them.  And conversely, a person without faith in God and His Word remains under the curse of his own sins, condemned forever by the Law which he is powerless to perfectly keep, no matter how comfortable his life may be in this fallen world.

 

In our own times and places, this should give us much to think about, as well.  Rather than looking upon either our own relative poverty or wealth, our own ignominy or renown, we must examine our hearts before God to ensure that our circumstances—regardless of what they may be—do not take our hearts away from faith in Jesus.  Life in this world is already short, as even a span of 80 years is only a blink of an eye compared with eternity, and the fortunes of each person will likely rise and fall many times across an individual lifetime.  Some may make and lose fortunes, while others may see different peaks and valleys of joys and sorrows.  As Solomon again reminds his readers in Ecclesiastes, there’s a season for everything under heaven, for good times and for troubling times.  Yet regardless of the temporary circumstances of life in this world, what endures forever is God and His Word, together with everyone who is gathered together with Him by grace through faith.  Whenever we are tempted to think that God has abandoned us because we’re experiencing pain, or that He’s approved of us because we’re experiencing pleasure, we are reminded by the Cross of Jesus Christ that He is always crucified and risen for us, that we might always have eternal life in His Name.

 

What a remarkable truth Jesus revealed in this, that God is for us no matter our situation in this world!  Rich or poor, fat or thin, sorrowing or joyful, applauded or derided, Jesus Christ died and rose again for us all, that everyone who turns and believes in Him might live forever, forgiven and free.  Jesus is not the Savior of only the poor or only the rich, but of every heart that would repent of evil and trust in Him, abiding in His Word of grace as a child of God and inheritor of His Kingdom unto ages of ages.  Jesus is not revealed as the archetype of any political or social class, and neither does He come to sow division or discord, but to unite all people in His grace by faith in Him.  Where our hearts cling to worldly treasures, comforts, or accolades, He calls us to give up such impotent idols, and receive from Him the treasures, comforts, and accolades of Heaven which He gives by grace through faith in His Eternal Word.  And for those who despair in their worldly troubles, He calls them to faith and repentance as well, that they may receive from Him all the glories of His Father’s Eternal Kingdom, all by grace through faith in Him.

 

Hear the Word of the Lord as it comes to you this day, that it may enlighten the dark areas of your heart which still cling to temporal things over the Word of Jesus.  And turning from those glittering baubles, hear the Gospel of our Lord which promises forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation which can come only by grace through faith in Him alone.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.

 

Thou Shalt Catch Men: A Meditation on Luke 5, for the 5th Sunday in Epiphany

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him

to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

And saw two ships standing by the lake:

but the fishermen were gone out of them,

and were washing their nets.

 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's,

and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land.

And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

 

Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon,

Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

And Simon answering said unto him,

Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:

nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

And when they had this done, they enclosed

 a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship,

that they should come and help them. And they came,

and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

 

 When Simon Peter saw it,

he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying,

Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

 For he was astonished, and all that were with him,

at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee,

which were partners with Simon.

 

And Jesus said unto Simon,

Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

And when they had brought their ships to land,

they forsook all, and followed him.

 

There are few things that Christians both in our time and across the ages have struggled to do and understand, like Evangelism.  The desire for Evangelism has prompted both better and worse movements in different times and places throughout Church history, and the fear of Evangelism has often done the same.  Some in their zeal have harmed or coerced others into a superficial allegiance to the Church, while others in their fear have refused to share the Gospel with even those desperate for it.  Yet regardless of our collective human failures in Evangelism over the centuries, it is still a command which the Lord Jesus gave to His people, and at its best has brought the Gospel into nearly every dark corner of the world.  In the story recounted by St. Luke above, we have several key elements of Jesus’ witness and teaching which inform our understanding of Evangelism, and help us understand how to receive this command while avoiding the errors toward which our fallen humanity inclines.

 

For starters, notice that it is the Word of God which draws the people to Jesus.  This is, of course, a double truth, since Jesus is Himself the very Word of God made flesh, and He was speaking the Word of God in Law and Gospel to the people, calling everyone to Repentance and Faith.  Jesus didn’t need the machinations of marketing, slick sales pitches, or diverse programming.  In fact, so many people came to hear the Word of God that He was surrounded near the water’s edge, and asked Peter if He could use His boat to gain a little separation.  This is a key truth which the Church of our day, and every day, needs to remember:  what calls people to Jesus is His Word, and it is His Word through which the Holy Spirit works to both convict and convert the heart of those who hear it.  This means that Evangelism is not dependent on how savvy we are with social media, technology, or business principles, because the Church is not founded on Facebook, Google, or Amazon.  Rather, the Church of Jesus Christ is founded only upon Himself and His Word, with all those who believe in Him becoming the living stones built upon Him.  Modernity, like Antiquity, adds nothing to, and subtracts nothing from, Jesus.

 

Notice also that Peter, James, and John, are not made disciples of Jesus by their own powers or preparations, but by the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ.  They were simple fishermen when the Lord arrived on their stretch of beach, and while there’s nothing to suggest they didn’t learn the fundamentals of the Scriptures as they were raised in faithful Hebrew households, observing the Law of Moses and the Prophets as best they understood them from the services in the synagogues and Temple, there’s also no indication that they went to any kind of advanced learning akin to what we might call today colleges and seminaries.  They would likely learn to read the Torah and thus have some literacy, but they were not scholars, lawyers, or members of any politically elite class.  What made them disciples of Jesus, was Jesus’ call to them by His Word.  They heard Him preach.  When He told them to push out into the deeper water, they obeyed Him.  When the miraculous catch of fish appeared, they marveled at the power and majesty of Jesus.  Jesus and His Word called His disciples, and would eventually make of them Apostles, sent to bear His Word to the nations.

 

Peter’s first response to Jesus and His Word is not unlike many who have encountered them.  He recognized his own sinfulness and unworthiness to be in the presence of Jesus, and begged Jesus to depart from him.  Yet Jesus persisted in His call to Peter, comforting him, and encouraging him in the grace that only Jesus could give.  Jesus knew that Peter was unworthy, just as He knows that all the world is unworthy.  The calling of Peter didn’t depend upon the worthiness of Peter, but on the Word and saving power of Jesus.  Jesus’ Word would strengthen Peter in his learning, recover him after his apostasy, and send him out as a rock among his fellow Apostles to Evangelize all who would hear the Word of the Lord and keep it.  It was Jesus who called His disciples, who made them Apostles, and made them Evangelists—bearers of His Word before the world.  And what the Lord has done through their witness, and the witness of Evangelists in every age after them, is the story of how this small group of peasants and fishermen in Galilee became what is today over two billion Christians of every tribe and tongue across the globe.

 

The response of Peter, James, and John, is one of faith.  They left their fishing boats behind, and became the fishers of men which Jesus called them to be.  While the Apostles were unique in their direct experience of Jesus during His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, but what is true of them is also true of us:  we live by every Word which proceeds from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth.  This Word is what sought us out on whatever mountain or plain or seashore it found us on, called us to faith and repentance, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, gave us a new birth from above.  This is the Word which gives us the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation from every dark enemy of the human race.  This is the Word of Life, the Light which pierces the darkness of a fallen world, and enlightens every heart and mind that will receive it.  This is the Word which seeks and saves, that raises us up to be bearers of His Word, and sends us out as Evangelists to be witnesses of that Word to everyone around us.  This is Jesus.  Hear Him, rise up in His Word, and tell the Good News He alone brings to every soul under heaven, just as He brought that Good News to us.  Amen.