Last weekend I was in Michigan with some of our confirmation students. We went there to visit Michigan Lutheran Seminary (one of our synod’s worker training schools). Our students toured the school, attended some classes, stayed in the dorms, and ate in the cafeteria. I wanted to give them a sense of what it would be like if they chose to study to be a pastor or teacher. But the trip wasn’t just about life at MLS. We also found time to do some Yankee type activities. We visited two Lutheran cathedrals, spent an evening sledding in the snow and spent an afternoon at an indoor waterpark. But I think the highlight of the trip was playing in a basketball tournament. We called ourselves the Bollweevils and despite the fact that we were playing against real teams (we had to borrow jersey) with real coaches, (our coaches were high school students dressed in bathrobes and the only coaching they did was how to celebrate after draining a three-pointer), despite all of that we actually won two games and came in 7th place. I told my Yankee friends it was a sign that the south was about to rise again.
It was a fun trip. I enjoyed spending the weekend with my students in the frozen north. But I have to say, it’s good to be here. The food in the cafeteria was good, but Erica Rogers had a homemade chicken pot pie waiting for us when we got back. The bed I slept in up north was nice, but my bed has electric blanket on it. I enjoyed listening to a gaggle of children scream and shout for five days strait, but it sure was nice to spend some time alone in my office. And those Lutheran cathedrals with their vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, and pipe organs were impressive, but it feels good to be standing behind my pulpit and in front of my people. I enjoyed visiting Yankee-land, but it’s good to be here.
It is good to be here. I hope you feel the same way, specifically I hope you feel the same way about being here at Messiah. I hope you feel that it is good for you to be here with me and with your fellow brothers and sisters in faith, good to be here together worshiping our glorious God of grace. I hope Peter’s confession in our gospel lesson for this morning is your confession. Like Peter, I hope you say, “it is good for us to be here”.
The “here” that Peter was talking about was not this “here”. The “here” that Peter was talking about was likely one of the slopes of Mount Hermon, about 45 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. I have never been to Mount Hermon, but as Israel’s highest peak I imagine the views to be spectacular. At over 9,000 feet Mount Hermon gets a lot of snow, enough snow to attract hundreds of thousands of people to its seasonal ski resort. In the summer months hikers and bikers visit Mount Hermon by the tens of thousands. It seems many people would agree with Peter that Mount Hermon is a good place to be.
I am sure Peter appreciated the beauty of Mount Herman as much as the next guy, but Matthew explains what made Mount Hermon such a special place for Peter. In Matthew 17:1-2 we read, “1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he (that is Jesus) was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” The word “transfigured” is used by the gospel writers to describe what happened. It is a word that describes a change on the outside that comes from the inside. It’s like we get a sneak peak of what Jesus looks like when He kicks off His sandals, loosens His robe and lounges around the house. Mark says Jesus’ clothes were whiter than anyone could bleach them. Luke says it was like looking at a flash of lightening. Here Matthew says it was like looking up at the sun. For a moment Jesus allowed the glory of His God-ness to shine through the humility of His humanity. Jesus allowed Peter, James, and John to see the radiance of God’s glory shining from Him so they would understand that they were standing in the presence of their glorious God.
I hope you understand that you are too. Messiah is not a snow-capped mountain that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year (at least not yet), but Messiah does have something in common with Mount Hermon. When we are here we are in the presence of our glorious God. Please understand I don’t mean that in some sort of symbolic way, I don’t mean that to be a figure of speech. Jesus has promised us, “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”[1]. Jesus is here. He may not appear as a flash of lightening or as a ray of the sun, but He is here. He is here in the word that is preached from this pulpit. He is here in the water that is sprinkled from this font. He is here in the bread that we eat and the wine that we drink. Jesus is here, that means I am standing, and you are sitting in the presence of our glorious God.
“It is good for us to be here”. Although Moses and Elijah also appeared on the mountain of transfiguration, the “us” Peter mentions is likely a reference to himself, James and John. These three disciples seem to have a special relationship with Jesus. There were over 500 that Jesus appeared to when He rose from the dead. There were 72 that Jesus sent out to be missionaries. There were 12 that Jesus chose to be His apostles. But there were only 3 that were with Jesus when He raised Jairus’ daughter, stood on the mount of Transfiguration, and prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. It seems Peter, James, and John are Jesus’ best friends. Someday I would like to do a bible study on the different types of friendships Jesus had, but today I would like us to think about what it might have felt like to be one of the three that Jesus considered to be His closest friends.
Since he appears to be the most vocal one of the three, let’s focus on Peter. What do you think was going through Peter’s mind as he hiked up the mountain with Jesus? In some ways, I imagine, it was a more difficult hike for Peter than it was for the other two. Peter was carrying some pretty heavy baggage up that mountain. Six days before they set out for this hike, Peter got up in Jesus’ face and rebuked Him for saying that He must go to Jerusalem and “suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed”[2] “Never, Lord!” Peter said. “This shall never happen to you!”[3] To which Jesus replied, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”[4] Peter may not have understood God’s plan of salvation, but he did understand that Satan was no friend of Jesus. He understood when Jesus called him Satan it was not a compliment. Having been compared to the posterchild of the damned, Peter had to be wondering if he had permanently and irrevocably damaged his friendship with Jesus.
Do you ever wonder if you have done the same? I do. I mean let’s be honest, we have done some pretty satanic things. Maybe not publicly, we aren’t running around biting heads off of bats, sacrificing virgins, and casting curses, but privately, we have done some things that make Anton Lavey[5] look like a choir boy. There is an arrogance inside of us believes we have the right to sit on the throne of God and determine what is to be considered right and what is to be considered wrong. There is a hatred inside of us that rebels against that which our Creator has commanded. There is a depravity in us that craves that which our Father has been forbidden. Whether you want to admit it or not you have a lot in common with Satan. Publicly, you may be a card-carrying Christian, but privately you are like a secret Satanist. If you are at all self-aware, if there is but a speck of faith inside of you, you have to be wondering if your satanic tendencies: your arrogance, your hatred, and your depravity have permanently and irrevocably damaged your relationship with Jesus.
The baggage Peter carried up the mountain was a heavy burden to bear, yet he was able to confess, “it is good for us to be here.” Why do you think Peter said it was “good”? There are some who are rather critical of poor Peter. They say this is Peter still trying to boss Jesus around. They imagine Peter to mean this glorious mountain is a much more suitable place for Jesus to be then the one where there is suffering and death. Perhaps they are right. Peter has demonstrated he is capable of such a meaning. But I don’t know. Perhaps it is because I can so easily identify with one who has been compared to Satan that I want to be more charitable than critical of Peter. You see, regardless of Peter’s intentions, what he said was true. It was “good” for them to be there.
Matthew explains, “5 While he (Peter) was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said,” ... Now if you had recently been compared to Satan, what would you expect the voice from heaven to say? “Be Gone, you damned sinner!?!” “Peter, you belong in hell with all the other devils!?!” “Be cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth!?!” Something like that, right? Something that confirms your worst fears to be true that you had indeed permanently and irrevocably damaged your friendship with Jesus. But that is not what Peter hears the voice from heaven say. Rather the voice from heaven says, “5This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”” And the first thing the beloved Son says to Peter is, 7 “Get up.” “Don’t be afraid.” “9 Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” The first words Peter hears Jesus say are words of comfort and forgiveness. Jesus assures Peter there is no reason for him to be afraid. The damage Peter had done to their friendship was going to be repaired by His rising from the dead. Whether he understood what he was saying or not, it was good for Peter to be there.
And It is good for you to be here. Here, Jesus speaks those same words of comfort and forgiveness to you. You come to this good place confessing your satanic ways, aware of how your sin has damaged your relationship with Jesus. Yet words of judgement and condemnation are not spoken to you. Rather, the first words Jesus says to you are of comfort and forgiveness. Through His called servant you hear Him say, “I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And then again as you prepare to leave this good place the last words you hear Jesus say to you are words of comfort and forgiveness. Through His called servant you hear Him say, “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.” It is good for you to be here.
Here we stand in the presence of our glorious God. We come into His presence burdened by sin. His words of comfort and forgiveness are good for us to hear. The words Peter spoke atop the mountain of transfiguration are true for us here at Messiah. “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” Amen.
[1] Matthew 18:20
[2] Matthew 16:21
[3] Matthew 16:22
[4] Matthew 16:23
[5] Recognized as the founder of the church of Satan and the author of the satanic bible.