I want to begin this morning with a bit of Church Calendar instruction, for those of you who do not know how our Church Calendar is put together. Although today is the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany, because next Sunday is the First Sunday in Lent, today is the day we celebrate as Transfiguration Sunday. The way our Church Year Calendar works is that we make adjustments in our Sundays during Epiphany and the number of Sundays in the Pentecost seasons. So, depending on the date of Easter which is set as the first Sunday after the first ful moon that falls on or after March 21, the vernal equinox, that day which marks the beginning of Spring, the Epiphany season is set according to how many Sundays are needed. And so, the Last Sunday after the Epiphany is the Sunday of Transfiguration and the following Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and next Sunday then is the First Sunday in Lent. All in all, this trek through the Church year continually reminds me that our time on this earth is short, is fast and fleeting and so we need to make sure our eternal life is in order, because we will not get a second chance.
So, today is Transfiguration Sunday and the day we commemorate Jesus’ appearance with Moses and Elijah on the mountain before His disciples. To help us get to this appearing, we move to our text from the Old Testament reading. Our text from the Old Testament reading this morning is the account of the death of Moses. We begin at verse one, “1Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended” (v. 1-8). Another bit of review is in order this morning and this time a bit of review of the history of the children of Israel, so that we will understand what is happening. You might remember that as Moses lead the children of Israel through the desert, they encountered many struggles, temptations and obstacles along the way and more often than not they failed in these encounters. At one point Moses was instructed to speak to a rock and instead He sinned by striking the rock. Sticking up for Moses, we might be reminded that although this time he had been instructed to speak to the rock there was an earlier occasion when the Lord instructed him to strike a rock. Yet, the fact of the matter is that Moses disobeyed God and his disobedience kept him from entering the promised land.
Our God is a merciful God, but at the same time He is a just God. God shows His justice in His judgement on Moses, that is that he was not allowed to enter the promised land. Perhaps there are times when we do not understand God’s justice and we too believe Him to be unfair with us. Perhaps it is at these times that we might ask the questions of what is just and fair, and especially, what is just and fair from a standing of perfection?
In God’s defense, although His justice allowed for the physical death of Moses, before he died, God allowed Moses to view the promised land. So, we do see God’s mercy as well and ultimately we see God’s mercy in that by God’s grace, through faith in the coming Messiah, Moses was taken to heaven for eternity.
Now, make sure we hear all of our text, that is that Moses suffered the temporal judgement of sin in that he died on the mountain and the Lord buried him there. Yet, just as when we die and our soul is separated from our bodies and our bodies are buried, so our souls will also ascend to be with the Lord and await a reuniting with our bodies made perfect on the final day of Judgement.
But we are not done yet. Our text moves us to show that the children of Israel were not left on their own, but now Joshua takes the lead. We pick up at verse nine, “9And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (v. 9-12). Joshua had been Moses’ prodigy and as you might recall from a few weeks ago, one of his greatest defenders. And now it is his turn to lead these, God’s people.
The important part of this text, however, is not that Joshua took over, but that we are reminded that Moses was the greatest prophet who knew the Lord face to face. Very often the children of Israel referred to Moses as the great prophet or the greatest prophet or simply, the prophet. Moses is the one who wrote down and gave the people the Law in the Ten Commandments. So he was also known as the great Law giver. Please keep this in mind, the giving of the commandments, especially in context with the transfiguration, we will come back to this a little later.
And as for Joshua, he continued in the power and might of the Lord. The Lord never left His people, the children of Israel, alone and helpless. He continually did for them even when they continually refused and rejected Him.
Now, let us tie this in to today, to transfiguration Sunday. In our Gospel reading for this morning we read that Jesus was transfigured with Moses and Elijah. Jesus was changed so that His disciples were allowed to get a glimpse of Him in His heavenly glory. Now, let me tax your memory this morning. Remember that Elijah did not die, nor was he buried. Elijah was bodily assumed into heaven, taken up by a whirlwind into heaven. And remember that Elijah was known to be the greatest prophet in Israel. During the Passover Seder, at one point in the meal the door is opened in order to see if Elijah will enter. It was believe that before the Messiah would come that Elijah would return. You might also remember, as we continue to tax your memory this morning, that Jesus tells us that John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
As for this man, Moses, as we just read and as is in our text from the Old Testament reading for this morning, he died and was buried by God and we would imagine God assumed his body as well so that he might be there with Elijah and Jesus.
Today is Transfiguration Sunday which marks the end of our Epiphany season and the beginning of our season of Lent which means that this marks the beginning of Jesus’ journey to the cross, which is why Jesus came into this world in the first place.
Transfiguration also marks Jesus’ accomplishing the fulfilling of the law and the prophets. Moses, the great law giver, conferred with Jesus to make sure that He had fulfilled all of God’s laws perfectly, which we know He did. Jesus was born the sinless, holy, perfect Son of God, having been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus never sinned and He kept all of God’s laws perfectly, for us, in our place because we cannot. And Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies, all of God’s promises, especially all those prophecies and promises concerning the coming of a Messiah. Having accomplished the keeping of the laws and prophecies of the Lord, Jesus was ready to do what He came to earth to do, to take our sins upon Himself, to suffer and die and rise again.
So, what does this mean? Like Moses, we are conceived and born in sin. Like Moses we too are sinners and we will suffer the temporal judgement for our sins, that is we will suffer physical death, at least if God has not come before the time of our passing. At our death our bodies will be buried and our souls will separate and be with Jesus as we await the resurrection of our bodies on the last day.
Also, like Moses, God has given us forgiveness in Jesus. Remember, Moses did not choose God, God chose Moses. Moses did not live as he wished, but he lived as God directed him, or at least he attempted to live as God directed him. We do not choose God, He has chosen us. God has chosen us, He has given us life, at conception, new life through Holy Baptism and His Word, forgiveness of sins through confession and absolution, through His Holy Supper and His Word and He strengthens and keeps us in faith through that same Word and Sacrament. And He calls us to live lives of faith, to live lives as His priests, as living sacrifices to His glory. And when we mess up, when we err, God grants us forgiveness.
The bottom line is that by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus, which He gives to us, we have eternal life! For us there will be a physical, bodily resurrection, in which we our bodies will be rejoined with our souls in perfection. Interestingly enough, as you listened to our Gospel reading for this morning and the account of the transfiguration, did you notice that Peter did not have to ask who these two men with Jesus were? He knew that it was Moses and Elijah. Peter had never seen these men. Moses had died years earlier and Elijah had been bodily assumed years early, yet, Peter knows who they are. This gives us a glimpse of the perfection of heaven, that is that we will not need name tags in heaven, for we will perfectly know all the saints.
This morning we see, first hand, God’s justice and his mercy. God is God and as God we would certainly expect Him to be just, to be fair, to be mete, right and salutary. If God says something, we would expect that He would abide by His Word and He does. At the same time, God is gracious and merciful. And we see His greatest grace and mercy in this that although we have separated ourselves from Him, and although we continue to separate ourselves by our sin, He has given His life and the life of His Son to bring us back into a right relationship with Himself. He has redeemed us, lost and condemned children, not with gold or silver, but with His Holy Precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, because of His great love for us, His dear children. As we begin the season of lent, once again, and as we, once again, begin our trek to the cross, my prayer is that we might take the time to contemplate our part in Jesus’ death and at the same time rejoice in His great love for us, so much that He gave His life for ours. So, that, when our last hour on this earth comes to being, either at the Lord’s return, or at our passing and death, we may join with all the saints in heaven and give praise and glory to His Holy Name. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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