Why Do We Get Nervous With God's Glory?
Text: Matthew 17:1-9
In the name of Jesus.
Amen.
We humans do not react
well when we are confronted by things bigger than us. For example, we often
portray Angels as quiet, feminine, and gentle beings that we humans might want
to cuddle. However, when we read the Bible, Angels are not cuddly feathery
beings but warriors. And the people in the Bible who come into contact
with Angels? Well, they never do well but fall into a thousand pieces due to
fear of these angelic warriors.
And Jesus? While we often
enjoy hearing stories in the Bible about Jesus’ tenderness and compassion,
today’s reading portrays not a cuddly Jesus but a majestic Jesus.
That is to say, in our
reading from the Gospel of Matthew, we hear that Jesus’ appearance changed from
the inside out. Right before the eyes of Peter, James, and John, Jesus’
face poured out sunlight. His clothes were filled with light. Jesus’ divine
glory was revealed to the disciples, showing that He was no ordinary
man.
Now, you would think that
the disciples would have been really excited about this, but just like people
who came into contact with angels, the disciples were nervous. They were
uneasy. They didn’t know what to really say. So, when the Apostle Peter
said,
“Teacher, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up some
tents…”
Well… this was Peter’s
nerves. Peter reacted to the great glory of Jesus with nervous talk and wanting
to build stuff.
Isn’t that typical, though?
When we face things that are bigger than us and more powerful than us, we often
become paralyzed in fear, or we talk a lot with nerves. You know, something
bigger than us confronts us, and then we talk and talk and talk. And when we
are not talking, our nerves force us to ‘do’ something – to build something –
to act.
For example, anytime
anything big or catastrophic happens in life, news reports are filled with
reports of the events, analysis of the event, commentaries on the events, and
commentaries on the commentaries of the events. Then right after the event,
task forces are formed. Committees are assembled. Hearings are commissioned.
Reports are written. Action steps are taken, and laws are made. Big things in
life cause us to talk a lot and act like busy little bees or nervous hamsters.
But why is it this
way?
Simply stated, when big
things occur in our lives, we try to find words to describe or talk about the
thing that just happened. When we have the ability to talk about big
events, we somehow feel like we are more in control of the big events. And
all of our actions and busyness in response to the big event – that is us
trying to manage the big event. We try to contain the event and wrap our arms
around it so that we can feel in control and safe and secure.
Now, dear friends, while
it good to know how to respond to big things and events in life, the majority
of the time, our nervous talk and our building of things are rather useless.
More often than not, they just serve as things that distract us from just how
tiny and helpless we are.
Peter, James, John were
tiny as well that Transfiguration Day long ago. Jesus revealed His glory to
these three disciples. And Peter? As previously mentioned, he freaked out. He
started blabbering with nervous talk and trying to build stuff. However, in the
midst of nervous chatter and busy plans, a cloud overshadowed the three
disciples, and the voice of God the Father interrupted,
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with Him I am well pleased; listen
to Him!”
In other words, knock it
off, Peter! Shut up! Stop all your nervous work! Listen! Open your ears!
Listen!
Baptized Saints, it
troubles me to say this, but it seems that in North America, way too many
churches and Christians talk a lot about God’s glory but do not understand it.
In other words, it is not uncommon for churches and Christians to sing about
wanting to see God’s Glory. But, if we are truly honest, we really don’t want
to see His glory because every time that we Humans have seen God’s glory, we
freak out. God’s glory is not tame. His glory is not domesticated. His glory is
not something that would immediately give us comfort but drives us to
fear.
But perhaps we really do
understand God’s glory – perhaps it is evident in our piety. For example, in
North America, while we sing about wanting to see God’s glory, we at the same
time push pastors to not preach about God’s glorious wrath, His Law, or
Christ’s second coming in judgment. Furthermore, consider the architecture of
many North American Churches, does not the architecture communicate what we
believe about God’s glory? Frankly stated, it is very, very weird to see
churches in North America singing about how they want to see God’s glory, while
at the same time, these very same churches have exchanged pictures of glorious
archangels, bloody crosses, and vaulted ceilings for padded theater seating,
PowerPoint projector screens, and vanilla lattes. Much of the architecture of
churches in America do their very best to conceal the glory of God to make sure
the person in the pew is not uncomfortable with God’s glory. Once upon a time,
church sanctuaries that displayed divine and glorious eternal things to a lost
and dying world now have been transformed to make a parishioner not feel small
but like they are in a coffee shop, hotel, or movie theater. Like Peter, we
build stuff and talk a lot whenever we come into contact with God’s glory
because we frankly are uncomfortable and nervous about God’s glory.
But dear friends, what we
must understand is that it is not bad if the Lord’s glory makes us
uncomfortable. The glory of God should make you and me uncomfortable. We should
never trust a version of Jesus that we don’t fear. Silly slogans like, “Jesus
is my homeboy. Jesus is my best friend forever,” are more
harmful than good. Yes, Jesus is a friend of sinners. Yes, Jesus is fully human
– flesh and blood like you and me. However, Jesus is also Lord. He is
divine. He is Master. He is the One who was transfigured that day before
Peter, James, and John. He is bigger than you and me. He is more powerful than
you and me. And so, Jesus must be feared and respected. We cannot and
should not worship a version of Jesus that is on the same level or beneath you
and me, for we are just not that glorious. We are small. We are the
created.
So, point taken. Jesus is
glorious. Like Peter, James, and John, we fear glory. But now what? Now,
we knock it off. Now we stop;
listen. We need to stop our nervous talk
and busyness to simply listen.
Please hear this now. We
often try to strip the glory away from Christ because the glory and power of
Christ make us feel uncomfortable and alone. It is easier to have Jesus on our
level. But in doing this, we miss the whole point of who Christ is. Yes, He
is fully man, but He is fully God. We cannot dismiss His glorious divinity,
even if it makes us uncomfortable. You see, even though the disciples fell to
the ground and were overcome with fear, Jesus came to them and touched them,
saying,
“Get up and do not be
afraid.”
Christ is the One who
created all things; however, He did not remain high and above those disciples
transfigured but drew near to them. And
the same is true for you! Hear this,
Christ descended so low that no sin of your could escape His bloody wounds on
the cross.
Baptized Saints! Hear
this text! Consider who Jesus is. He is the Glorious Transfigured One! However,
as the Glorious Transfigured One, Jesus then descended off the mountain to go
toward Mount Calvary to pay for all your sins. Just as He could not have stayed
in heaven but had to be born in Bethlehem, Jesus could not have stayed
transfigured on that mountain but had to descend to a cross for you and
me.
And so, who goes to Mount
Calvary to suffer on Calvary’s cross? Not some weak victim but the Glorious
Transfigured Christ. Who bleeds and dies on the cross for your sins? Not some
ordinary Joe Blow but the Divine Messiah.
Baptized Saints, yes, we
fear Jesus because He is God and we are not. We always have holy awe and
reverence for Christ. However, we also love Jesus and listen to Him because He
does not leave you and me in fear but drew near to us not only at Calvary’s
cross but comes down to the same level as us (even beneath us) to touch you and
me with forgiveness, life, and salvation in His glorious Word and Sacraments.
His glory is not too high
for you, but the glorious One comes to you; thus, we not only fear Him, but we
love, trust, and obey Him.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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