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THE LORD SUMMONS US TO SEE HIS GLORY.
In the name + of Jesus.
When the Lord chooses to reveal himself,
he does it by hiding himself. Throughout
the Old Testament, the Lord hid himself in a cloud. Think of Israel being led through the
wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day.
The Lord also appeared to Israel at Mt. Sinai hidden under a cloud. God does not appear to mankind in his bare glory. The Lord told Moses why. When Moses had asked the Lord to show him his
glory, the Lord replied, “I
will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name
‘The Lord.’ … But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live”
(Exodus 33:19-20). When the Lord
wants to reveal himself, he hides himself.
If he does not, everyone would flee from him in terror. The most obvious way God reveals himself by
hiding is through Jesus. God hid himself
under the flesh and blood of Jesus, who appeared to people as an average Jewish
man. In this way, God could dwell with people
so that they could approach him without fear.
The Lord summons
us to see his glory, but he keeps it hidden under humble things. So it was with the people of Israel. God hid himself in a cloud; but even the
hidden glory of God was enough to terrify the people of Israel. None of them dared to climb to mountain to
take a good look at God. Like Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden, they cowered before God in fear. Even when Moses described the vision of God to
the seventy elders of Israel, he only described the purity of the pavement.
God is holy. We are not.
Therefore, we learned the First Commandment this way: “You shall have
no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above
all things” (Luther’s Small Catechism). Whoever does not fear God is a fool. God is the source of life and all that exists. As the source of life, he also determines
what is good and evil in life. He is
accountable to no one, and all people are accountable to him. You may hate that, but that does not make it
less true. It’s what it means that he is
God. He is all-knowing, so he cannot be
fooled by our excuses. He is just, so he
will not let anything slide. He is
all-powerful, so his judgment cannot be avoided. Now you can appreciate why the Israelites and
the disciples both were terrified by the sight of God’s glory. If it does not cause you to fear God, you are
in denial.
God summons us
to see his glory. Depending upon what you
know about God, this is either comforting or scary. If you are fascinated by displays of raw
power, it is usually because you are watching them from a distance. If you watch footage of an atomic bomb or a
hurricane, it is fascinating. If you are
watching from your front porch, it is terrifying. What does God want us to see when he reveals
his glory? His power? His holiness?
His justice? Standing in God’s
presence has always terrified people.
Even standing before someone with limited power and authority is enough
to strike fear into our hearts.
Consider the
days of Joseph when he ruled in Egypt.
His brothers had come down to Egypt to buy grain so that they could survive
an intense famine. Joseph treated them
harshly. He accused them of being spies. The brothers had reason to fear that Joseph
would treat them like a Chinese spy balloon.
On a return visit, Joseph summoned his brothers to join him as his
residence for a meal. How do you think
his brothers felt about that? They were
probably wondering if this was a trap. Would
they all be killed? Enslaved? Tortured?
They were terrified of Joseph, and they were in no position to refuse
his invitation. Were they able to eat at
all? The closest you and I have come to
such a nervous meal was probably on a first date. But that is nothing compared to the fear of
being summoned to the home of someone with such great power and with legitimate
reasons to crush you.
When Joseph finally revealed who he really
was, his brothers were not set at ease too quickly. They knew they had sinned against him, and
they knew Joseph was in a position to take his revenge. But Joseph spoke kindly to them. He declared his brothers forgiven. He treated them with mercy, grace, and lavish
hospitality. This is what enabled his
brothers to be at peace and to feast with joy.
The Lord summons
you to see his glory. And yes, God’s
glory includes that he is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, and holy, but those
things do not produce comfort and peace.
No one is saved because God is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal, and
holy. So, God reveals himself as loving,
merciful, and gracious. When God summoned
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel to him, God made
it clear that it was an invitation of peace.
He made himself known as a loving Father and a faithful Redeemer. Moses wrote, “He did not lay his hand on
the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank”
(Exodus 24:11). Moses and everyone
with him were able to rejoice in God’s goodness, kindness, and compassion. Those who are summoned into God’s presence
come as his honored guests.
The Lord summons
you to see his glory. To show you that his
summons is an invitation of peace and not a threat of judgment, God revealed his
glory to you through Jesus Christ. For
the majority of Jesus’ life, the glory of God was hidden behind Jewish
flesh. Shortly before Jesus began to make his journey to Jerusalem
to suffer and die, he took Peter, James, and John up to a mountain top at night. There, Jesus did what he usually did; he prayed. The disciples did what they usually did; they
fell asleep. When the disciples were
stirred from their sleep, they saw that Jesus’ form was transfigured. The glory of God permeated his garments. The radiance of his divine nature shown
through his face. For a moment, the
glory of the Lord seeped through Jesus’ humanity, and they got to see it. The Lord had summoned them to see his glory.
Then the glory increased. “Behold, a bright
cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ When the disciples heard this, they
fell on their faces and were terrified” (Matthew 17:5-6). While the disciples were not
accustomed to seeing his glory, they were accustomed to seeing Jesus. They were not accustomed to the Father. When the Father appeared, he hid himself—surprise,
surprise—in a cloud! But even the hidden
glory was enough to terrify the disciples.
Since there was nowhere to hide, they hit the ground in fear. But God had not come to threaten them. He had come to instruct them: “This is my
Son; listen to him” (Matthew 17:6).
This is how they would recognize the glory of the Lord. This is also how the Israelites would
recognize the glory of the Lord. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and wait
there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the
commandment, which I have written for their instruction’” (Exodus 24:11). To know the glory of the Lord, we must listen
to him.
The Lord summons
us to see his glory. Peter, James, and John saw it, and they wanted
the glorious vision to last. But that is
not what Jesus had told them would happen.
The instruction, “Listen to him” (Matthew 17:6), was needed. Jesus had told them where the glory of the Christ
would be seen—in his sufferings and death.
The Lord
summons us to see his glory through Jesus’ sufferings and death. It is true that God’s glory includes the fact
that he is all-knowing, all-powerful, just, and holy. But that glory does not save us. The glory that saves us is God’s mercy,
compassion, and love. The glory that
comforts and sustains us is God’s forgiveness.
That forgiveness was won through Jesus’ sufferings and death.
The Lord summons
us to see his glory, which we will consider throughout the Lenten season. There, we will see Jesus endure depths of
suffering that we cannot comprehend. Because
the Lord is all-knowing, he knows every one of our sins. That means when Jesus pays for our sins, he
did not miss anything. The full payment
was made. All your sins are
pardoned. Because the Lord is just,
Jesus stepped in on behalf of us all. Justice
means that the guilty must be punished.
And this is what we hear from the Bible: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse
for us” (Galatians 3:13). So, in Christ all guilt was punished. Justice has been done. And since it would be unjust to punish sins
that have been taken away, God poses no threat to you. He treat you with kindness. Because the Lord is almighty, none of God’s wrath
was held back from his Son. Jesus
willingly gave himself into the cursed death for us all. He consumed every drop from the cup of God’s wrath. Now the Lord gives you the cup of blessing
and salvation. Therefore, your death
will not be cursed.
When the hour of
death comes, God will summon you not only to see his full glory, but also to
dwell in it and even to partake in it.
You will eat and drink with him in the heavenly banquet. There will be no apprehension or anxiety. If the Lord did not raise his hand against the
seventy elders of Israel, how much less would he threaten you who have been
covered in the blood of Jesus! God has
revealed himself to you as the God who saves you, who speaks tenderly to you, and
who remains faithful to you no matter what is going on in your life. This world is chaotic and violent. We hear of wars and rumors of wars. There are earthquakes in various places. The love of many grows cold. But the kingdom of God is a place of peace
and rest. And the glory that awaits is a
joyous, eternal feast. Oh, how the Lord
wants you to share in that glory!
For now, the glory
of the Lord is hidden under humble things.
He summons you again to this altar to eat and drink with him. Granted, it does not look glorious. But, listen to him! “This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness
of sins.” The holy things are given for
your highest good—to strengthen and to keep you in the one, true faith until
life everlasting. You don’t believe it
because it is obvious, but because that’s what Jesus tells you. Listen to him, and you will behold his glory.
The Lord reveals himself to you as he hides himself under common things—bread and wine, water and word. By these, he delivers his salvation to you. By means of these, he will summon you to the eternal feast. There, you will see God in his bare glory and live.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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