IfWeCanJust

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Success is a goal often discussed, but not often achieved, at least depending on your standards of success. Browse the self-help section of any major bookstore, and you will see this high and lofty goal discussed in all sorts of terms, depending on what you want your life to be like. But what does it look like? And what does it take to get there?

For one thing, success is a moving target, and it fades quickly, as the next guy in line achieves more success than you, so you have to go out and succeed some more. Consider this: how many people on the street do you think can name the quarterbacks who led last year's Super Bowl teams? They were showered in praise and glory, being at the pinnacle of their profession, and now what? We derive amusement from “where are they now” sorts of reality shows.

Or consider this: Ben Affleck is the director of one of this season's most popular and successful movies, “Argo”, and yet the Academy declined to even nominate him for an Oscar for best director. By what measure is he successful? He has won the Critic's Choice, the Golden Globe, and a half-dozen others, but will not get even a chance at an Oscar.

Likewise, success in the Church is a moving target, and extremely elusive. What is “success” in the Church's world, anyhow? In the minds of a great many people, the success of the Church is defined by the number of backsides in the pew and the number of dollars in the offering plate. If you have a bigger congregation, which therefore rakes in bigger bucks, then you must be doing it right, and you must be successful. Otherwise, if your congregation is small and poor, then you must not be doing it right, and you need to get with the program.

So often, the talk of success in the Church is framed in terms of “how do we get X result in our congregation?” Whether X equals those who have left returning to the congregation or children in church or new people in the door, it does not really matter. The idea is that we will be successful when we achieve this goal.

And so, in many a parish, groups and committees and task forces are formed to study the problem, devise (or steal) a strategy, and implement the specifically targeted plan to make X thing happen.

But what happens when, as the poet said, “the best-laid plans o' mice and men / aft gang aglae”? What happens when you fail to reach those numerical goals? What happens when those who left do not come back, when your neighbors decline your invitation, when the children only show up to play with friends and eat the snacks? To many, this constitutes a failure. A failure of the program or strategy or gimmick, but a failure. This church is not successful because this thing did not happen according to our plans.

Such thinking is nothing short of idolatry. It makes a false god of the devil's lie, called IfWeCanJust. IfWeCanJust plan the right plan. IfWeCanJust formulate the right strategy. IfWeCanJust, IfWeCanJust, IfWeCanJust. But you cannot. This is not worship of God, nor is it a faithful witness to the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ and His transforming power in your lives. This is worship of religion, worship of the institution of the Church, worship of your own efforts and abilities. This is the church built on a vision of glory and fame and glamour.

Peter, John, and James saw a vision of glory, as you heard recounted in today's Gospel lesson. Theirs was no through-the-looking-glass vision. It was no dream or goal or hope. They got a vision of “knock you on your face” brilliance. What they saw was amazing, “dead people talking” amazing. No one has seen such glory and radiance since the Garden of Eden.

Peter, John and James saw a vision of the glory of the Lord displayed on that mountaintop. The miraculous thing was not the presence of Moses and Elijah, although that was certainly a big deal too. The big thing was that the Son of Man, the carpenter's son from Nazareth, was transformed before their eyes, and His face became whiter than anything on earth. He shone with the glory that only He possesses, in concert with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was transformed, as the caterpillar bursts out of the cocoon and is arrayed as the butterfly.

This vision of glory literally knocked the apostles to the ground. One can only imagine how it must have rattled their marbles to see and experience such glory on earth. And what is Peter's response? “Let's build some tents and stay here forever!” This is great stuff, Jesus! Let's keep things this way, and everything will be hunky-dorey. You've got Moses and Elijah here, and You are glowing like the sun. How about we capture this moment, freeze the frame, and just bask in the sheer greatness of it all? IfWeCanJust capture this moment and live in it forever, things will be great.

But what is going on while Peter is talking? St. Luke records that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were not just having a kaffee-klatsch. They were discussing Jesus' coming exodus. What exodus? Jesus was not in prison, and He definitely was not in Egypt. Where, one might ask, was He going? Well, just before they went up the mountain, Jesus had issued to the apostles a prediction of His coming passion, death, and resurrection. The exodus Jesus and the patriarchs were discussing was His impending death.

By this point, things are already in motion that will lead to Jesus' passion. Jesus is set on the path to Jerusalem, the path to the Passover and the path to the cross. As He predicted, Jesus must die. There can be no other way, no other glory. This vision on the mountaintop was temporary, momentary, and private. But His full glory would soon enough be displayed for all.

Our Lord Jesus Christ did not come to live in a tent on a mountaintop, surrounded by a few good men who do not want to fish anymore. Our Lord did not come to shine His brilliance on a few people and make them feel neat. Our Lord did not come to be packaged up into some program or gimmick or strategy. Our Lord came to die. He came to set His face toward Jerusalem and march headlong toward the cross.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came to die, that you might live. He came to redeem you from the bondage of your idolatry, even the bondage to IfWeCanJust. He came to knock down all the idols of this world, to wash away the false belief and unbelief from your hearts and minds, and to rule in you by His Holy Spirit. He came to give you peace by the blood of His cross, not by some program or scheme.

The vision of glory that the apostles witnessed on the mountaintop was fleeting. By the time Peter was done talking, the radiance was gone and they saw Jesus alone. And that is the point. See Jesus alone. The Father's voice sounded forth out of heaven: “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” Listen to Jesus, and nobody else. Do not listen to the pundits on the television. Do not listen to the pollsters and schemers. Do not listen to any apostle or angel or preacher who gives you anything but Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

What the Church proclaims does not change. Her message is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Church knows and speaks of nothing but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. There is no other message, no other proclamation, no other glory. The Church is and remains the place where the Word of the Lord goes forth into the ears and hearts and mouths of the people of God.

Now, what the Church looks like does change. When you look around you, for many of you this is your father's church, maybe even your grandfather's church. And this is your grandchildren's church. But the church in your midst looks much different than in days past. The people are not the same. The institutions are not the same. The ways of doing business are not the same. The majority of Lutherans on this earth is no longer in Europe, but Africa. There are more Lutherans in Madagascar – a country the size of Texas – than there are in the entire Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.

While we look different than the Church of our fathers, we hold to the same confession of faith, and we “teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.” (AC VII.1) We proclaim no other word than what has been handed down to us from the apostles.

IfWeCanJust is a lie, an idol which Satan would love to see perched in your heart. But IfWeCanJust must die. And so it has. The lie is exposed. The trick is up. The heaviness of human effort has been washed away, and only the lightness of the glory of Christ remains. Look up from sin, death, and the devil, and see only Jesus. See Him who once was slain but now is raised for you, that you might have forgiveness, life, and salvation in His Name. Look to Him, who is the author and perfecter of your faith, and live.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.