Church keeps the faith with four-lane bowling alley - PhotoGallery - Chicago Sun-Times

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Church keeps the faith with four-lane bowling alley - PhotoGallery - Chicago Sun-Times

Jesus' Mountain Top Experience: A Homily on Matthew 17:1-9

Matthew 17:1-9

Transfiguration of Our Lord

6 March 2011

St. John's, Chicago, Illinois

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

It was the ultimate "mountain top experience." In fact, it is the very reason we have the expression "mountain top experience." Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain to behold Him in His glory. But what does this mean?

As a teenager, I went to one of the earlier National Youth Gatherings. We were with some 15,000 youth, and were caught up in the excitement and emotion of it. Many times that week, we were told that this was a great " mountaintop experience" -- and it was. The trouble was, few of us wanted to go down from the mountain and experience regular, everyday life.

And more trouble -- you get caught up in the scene here, rather than the words. You look at the flashing white clothes and how regal and impressive the event is, and you think that this is the glory. But it is not.

You are like all people. You want the glitz, the glamour of the red carpet, the lights of the paparazzi cameras, the popularity of celebrity life, of a YouTube video with a million hits, of having a Facebook account with a few thousand "friends." To a 21st century American, that is glory.

But that is not real glory. That is a broken, sinful idea of what glory must be. But it is not true glory.

Moses had gone up on the mountain to talk with the Lord. Elijah also went up Mt. Sinai, several hundred years later, to talk with the Lord. Is this now some divine rift in the space/time continuum, where we see those events from the other side? In other words, do we see here what Moses and Elijah experienced in the books of Exodus and 1 Kings? We just don't know. But we do know that these were not simply ghosts; this was the real Moses and the real Elijah bodily speaking with Jesus -- God-in-the-flesh, in all His glory. And this body was now radiating with light beyond compare!

But what makes this so full of Jesus Christ's glory? The light? The display of power? The voice from heaven?

The glory is made known through the Word! The Word spoken by the Word-made-flesh. And what does He say? Luke's account tells us; Jesus speaks of His exodus--His departure. In other words, He talks to Moses and Elijah about His upcoming crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. And there is the point. That is where we see Christ in His glory.

Our God and Lord, suffering and dying on the cross -- there is the image of ultimate mercy. That is God's love in action. And that is the most beautiful, most poignant moment of God's mercy -- ever. When you gaze upon the image of the crucified Jesus, remember: you are not looking on our Lord being defeated. No! You are seeing our Savior, victorious over sin and death, fully displaying the glory of our merciful God!

And this is how His glory comes into contact with us, week after week. Jesus uses this pulpit on Sundays, and these classrooms throughout the week to be places where His saving Gospel is proclaimed. The glory of Jesus is handed out, in the preaching and teaching of His death and resurrection. Our Lord gathers a pastor, a faculty and staff to be His mouthpieces in declaring His exodus, and pouring out His glory, that His baptized children may bask and bathe in it.

Through the saving Gospel, our Lord Jesus frees you from the sin of seeking your own glory. He forgives you for looking for His glory, but in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways. He removes your guilt for stumbling and not knowing the right things to say, like Peter offering to set up tents.

His glory is seen as He gives you forgiveness, life, and salvation. The glory of the Lord was revealed as He led the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. St. Paul refers to that event as a "Baptism into Moses." God's glory foreshadowing baptism.

The glory of the Lord was revealed as He miraculously provided bread for Elijah and the widow. Before that, the Lord sent ravens to give him bread. The Lord provided a never-ending supply of bread to sustain Elijah's life.

These events were used by God to show His coming glory in His sacraments. The glory of the Lord can be found in Holy Baptism and His Holy Supper. They look and sound simple and ordinary. Bread, wine, and water do not seem to suggest "glory." Yet our dear Lord attaches the glory of His Word to these elements, and His Word does what it says.

These precious gifts then bring the forgiveness, mercy, and blessing of Jesus to you. They bring God's glory to you. And they prepare you and your body for the day when you will see God face-to-face, in all His glory, as you dwell with Him in eternity.

Our Lord's Transfiguration fixes your eyes on Jesus. But it is not all about getting caught up in the light and white robes and majesty. The glory is all in the Word spoken by Jesus to Moses and Elijah. He tells them of THE mountain top experience He was about to undergo. He had set His face toward Jerusalem, and was about to give Himself on the cross of Mt. Calvary.

Yes, the mountain top experience of Mt. Calvary is the greatest moment of His glory, and the truest place where we want to cling to Him and cry out in faith, "'Tis good, Lord, to be here." And as we follow Him from His victorious cross to His empty tomb, we are given the gift of experiencing His glory; not through some time machine, but through His preaching and sacraments that bring those moments to us.

Thanks be to God! Our Transfigured Lord brings His ultimate mountain top experience of Calvary to you, giving you His life and salvation! Amen.

Hearts and Lips: A Homily on Mark 7:1-13

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

Wow! More hard words from Jesus! He lashes out at the scribes and Pharisees for honoring God with their lips, but their hearts are far from God.

And here we go – lining up as fast as we can to condemn the Pharisees. “Oh those nasty men! Why wouldn’t they listen to Jesus? They were so full of themselves and trusted their own works. They deserved to get a tongue-lashing from Christ!”

And so we sound like the well-meaning but misguided parishioner telling the pastor, “Good sermon, Pastor. That really told ‘em. That’s just what they needed to hear!” All the while our Lord compassionately shakes His head, knowing that every last one of us needs to see our sin in the mirror of the Law in order to receive His Gospel.

It is not just the Pharisees who have honored God with their lips, but had their hearts far from Him. You and I fall into that same trap. Before Baptism, that was a great summary of our whole lives. From the moment you were a single cell inside your mother, you existed in this sinful, flawed condition that keeps its distance from the Lord and His Word. Even though you might have kept the appearance of wanting to do good for the Lord, your heart was far from Him.

But our good and gracious Savior has worked forgiveness of sins, rescued from death and the devil, and given eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. He has redeemed you from all of that, and rejoices in making you children of the Heavenly Father.

We seem to have had a run on baptisms recently. What a joyous gift to our congregation! The Holy Spirit has been hard at work, rescuing many little ones from sin, death, and the devil. He has been entering their hearts where even now their little lips utter cries of faith! He has done the same with each of us, and will continue doing the same until Christ comes again.

Yes, we do slip up. Yes, we do fall back into moments of honoring God with [our] lips, but [our] hearts are far from Him. We show up and sit through church, but maybe we let our mind wander. Maybe we entertain other thoughts in our head: “What’s for lunch?” “Isn’t she wearing a cute dress!” “That baby is so precious!” “What time is it?” “Boy, I’m sure glad we didn’t tack on those extra ten minutes for Communion today!” Indeed. There we are honoring God with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him.

So here we are, knowing that we cannot do a thing to change the situation with our lips and hearts. We stand condemned as Christ declares: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19) With hearts like that, it’s a wonder that we can say anything with the lips that even sounds good.

At Holy Baptism, God worked through His Word and the water to purge out the evil and plunge in the Holy Spirit. He transformed you, using the ultimate in power-washings to cleanse your heart and place Christ there. In spite of Old Adam wanting to wallow in the filth of sin, our Lord Christ has claimed your heart and made you His.

The Holy Spirit comes to you week after week as you hear the Gospel preached. He gives you Jesus as the Word of God enters your ears! He gives you Jesus as you kneel at this altar and taste and see that the Lord is good. And as He gives you Jesus, He forgives, renews, and builds up the faith He places in your hearts. He is the One who gives you to “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,” so “you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

We have a great joy and privilege here at St. John’s. Christian families are given a great gift in rearing their children in the faith. “St. John’s Lutheran School exists to help families pass their faith in the Lord Jesus to their children through a Christ-centered educational program and to help children fully develop their God-given gifts.” With the blessing of a parochial school, Jesus Christ daily builds upon what the children hear on Sunday. He constantly is making His home in their hearts, and the Spirit is giving them the words to say, confessing their faith.

This morning we celebrate, thanking God for the gift of those whom God has placed here to ensure that this keeps happening. We rejoice in the Lord that He has called and placed Nancy Bowman as our 7th grade teacher, and that He has assembled a great team of principal, pastor, teachers, and support staff to serve Christ’s kingdom. These individuals work together for Christ our Master Teacher, tending to His children and youth, that they may know the Lord who dwells in their hearts, and that they may confess with their lips the faith He gives.

Our loving Lord continues to bless St. John’s with a loving family in Christ that nurture our youth to speak their faith and live out their love – truly living “in faith toward [God] and in fervent love toward one another.”

Today we thank God for the great opportunity He places among us – the mission of this parochial school, where He proclaims His Law and Gospel 5 days a week to His young ones, continuing what He works each week among us in the Divine Service. This joyous mission is a fabulous cause, in which Jesus is constantly bidding His Spirit to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify our students, families, and staff. Praise God for this gift!

Of course, we also thank the Lord that He leads us to confess with our lips at home as well. That is what the “Parish at Prayer” bulletin insert is all about. This is given to be a helpful tool in your home devotional life. On this page, a common Bible verse and Catechism passage are provided for the entire parish. Everyone from school families to church families, from senior citizens to college singles may all refer to this with their daily prayers. And as we all continue through this earthly life, we continue to learn His Word by heart and reinforce the catechesis we have received.

Today Jesus forgives you through the Gospel you are hearing! He renews you as He absolves your sin! He continues to send His Spirit that He may dwell in your heart, that it may not be far, but rather close to God, and indeed honor Him with your lips! Yes, it’s a miracle – God keeps His Word holy in your minds, on your lips, and in your hearts! Amen!