No Other Glory

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

The desire to see God is a common drive among mankind. Though it may manifest in various ways, much of man's searching and striving in life is an effort to see, to apprehend, to comprehend the divine. The divine touches every inch of creation, and yet how does one touch the divine?

A great many people seek to see God in nature, in the things of this world. This is a worldview common among tribal religions the world over, which seek to pacify the spirits who control the elements which might otherwise conspire against them. Hindus, too, see the divine in everything. The pantheism native to the East says that everything is divine, and so everything must be regarded as a potential object of worship. A deity might choose to speak to you through the newspaper you choose to read. The cow in your pasture might be the mother of your grandchildren. The trees house the ancient spirits of the earth.

Those who call themselves Christians are not completely immune to this sort of exaltation of nature. While it is one thing to see a breath-taking sunset or mountain vista and confess “Surely God is in this place!”, it is quite another matter to regard the mountaintop or the forest as the place where you go to meet God. The god you meet in the woods is no more there to bless you than the deer you are out there to shoot desires to lie on your dinner table, for all it has been revealed to you.

Perhaps more common to Western minds is the notion that there is a bit of the divine in each person. This sounds nice, as though all is not lost in the human condition. Such a notion is not a new concept, by any means. St. Thomas Aquinas propounded such a doctrine in the thirteenth century, and his teaching helped spark the Reformation, playing a lead role in the debates between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus.

It is nice to think that there is a spark of the divine in each person. That means that you are not really so bad as to be beyond salvation if left to yourself. That means that you can offer something to God on the basis of which you may merit some part of your salvation. That means that you can think the best of those who reject the faith, and hold out hope that they shall be saved, if only they are nice enough people. It is so tempting to think that people are really good at heart, and have just gone off the rails on occasion.

Even if you do not get carried away in these self-indulgent fantasies, the temptation remains to downplay the glory and splendor of God. God is lowered from His throne in heaven to the big red chair in the mall. He becomes something of a generous old grandfather, a Santa Claus who will give pretty much anything to those who say the magic words and promise to be good little boys and girls. The glory of God is revealed in that He has prepared for you twelve steps to finding your purpose in life, ten steps to having a more preferable spouse, eight steps to making everything rose-colored and potpourri-scented.

You want to see God, but what God do you want to see?

The disciples want to see God, too. Today's Gospel lesson comes amidst a series of predictions Jesus pronounces about His suffering, death, and resurrection. Since His Baptism, Jesus has been preaching the message “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” If the kingdom of God is at hand, then let us see it. Where is God, that we may worship Him?

Just previous to today's account, Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ. By faith, Peter was given to believe in Jesus as His Lord, but he had no grasp of the full measure of that confession. Today, he is given a glimpse at the Christ, that he might see and believe.

St. Mark records that Jesus took Peter, James, and John up onto a high mountain, and there “He was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.” In that instant, the Lord of Glory was revealed to those three, in a blinding vision such as could only come from heaven. They saw God, and fell on their faces in fear.

Fear is an appropriate response to an encounter with the Glory of God. Moses spoke with God on Mount Sinai, veiled in a cloud of smoke and fire, and it was enough to make his face glow such that the Israelites were afraid to look at him. When Moses asked to see God, he was placed into a crevice, covered with God's hand, and allowed only to see the back of God. Any more, and Moses would have been destroyed. Isaiah saw a vision, in which he saw only the train of the Lord's robe and the ranks of seraphim, and he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips!” The presence of the Lord in the Ark of the Covenant was enough to kill anything that touched it.

And so, it was terrifying to be presented with a vision of Jesus in His glory. But yet the disciples were not killed, but preserved to see the Lord. When they looked up, they saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah. This vision connects in visible form Jesus and His ministry with that of the Old Testament prophets.

Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, to which our Lord appeals often in His preaching. It is the Law and the Prophets – Moses and Elijah – who bore witness to the people of Israel regarding the glory of God and the promise of the Messiah. Therefore, it is only fitting that they be present to bear witness to the Messiah who fulfills their words.

Furthermore, Moses and Elijah represent the beginning and the end. Moses was the prophet who recorded the creation of the cosmos in the book of Genesis. Elijah is the prophet promised to return at the end of the age, to herald the coming of the Messiah. Therefore, in this vision, the history of the salvation of mankind is bridged from beginning to end. The beginning of all things and their end are represented in the one who is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.

Moses is there to demonstrate Jesus' unity with the Law. Our Lord said that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it, and so He speaks with Moses in His glory. Elijah is there to prefigure by what manner Jesus would enter into glory. Elijah entered into heaven without death, by a chariot of fire. Jesus will enter into heaven through death, by a cross of wood. Whereas for Elijah, the glory of God is displayed in pre-empting death, in Jesus the glory of God is displayed in swallowing up and destroying death.

In all this, Peter, James, and John are witnesses to a vision of the glory of God. But the glory present at the Transfiguration of our Lord is temporary. Even as Peter is offering to erect tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, the glory is fading. There is no remaining on the mountaintop, staring at the glory of God and tuning out the world. The transfiguration happened for a reason, but it is not the prime reason for Jesus' coming. In the glorious vision, the disciples hear a voice from heaven: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

To what should they listen? To Jesus' predictions – He will suffer at the hands of the Jews, be crucified, and will be raised again. He will be glorified for all the world to see, not on the mount of transfiguration, but on Mount Calvary, lifted up for all the world to see. The transfiguration points forward to the cross, where the glory of the Lord will remain forever.

Just as Peter, James, and John were taken back down from the mount of transfiguration, so neither can you remain in the mountaintop experiences of this life. God is not to be found in the transitory glories and joys that He deigns to send to you. He is found for you in the Cross. There you can and must remain. The transfiguration was a brief glimpse into heaven, but the cross is the everlasting gateway. The cross is not simply a door through which the believer slips into glory. It is the place of glory.

Reading through the Gospel of Mark, you will never move beyond the cross. He ends his account with the encounter of the women with the young man from God. “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:6) Jesus the Crucified is the End, the Omega, the Fulfillment of the age. Jesus will forever be the Crucified One.

Jesus will forevermore be the one who has been crucified for you. His glory will forevermore be seen, not in His momentary transfiguration, but in His crucifixion. The signs of the transfiguration came and went in the blink of an eye, but the marks of the nails and spear still remain, proclaiming that our Lord has defeated sin, death, and the devil for you. His glory is forevermore on display because of this meeting of heaven and earth.

You may not build tents in the sight of the transfiguration, but you must dwell in the cross of Christ. As Christians, you live within the side of Christ, enclosed in His death and resurrection for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. There is no other glory to be seen. Moses and Elijah have served their purposes. In the cross of Christ is your glory.

The Feast of the Transfiguration is a gateway into the glory of Lent. It may seem like a last hurrah before the somber season of fasting and meditation, but really this event serves to point you to the glory of Lent, wherein you meditate upon the Christ who is not still on the mountaintop, but who has come down with you to the plain, where He dwells with you, where He speaks to you, where He feeds you with His Body and Blood. Heed the voice – listen to Him. Let Him lead you to the Cross. Remain there, where the glory of God is to be found in the forgiveness of your sins.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

Tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time.

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime. (LSB 427.1)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.