“A Glimpse of Glory”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. This is an artist’s conception of what Jesus may have looked like.
The Bible itself does not give us any details about Jesus’ appearance. Of
course, there were no photographs in those days and it seems no one ever made a
portrait of Jesus while he was living here on earth. We do know this: While he was living here on earth, Jesus humbled
himself and became a man. He did not fully make use his divine powers and
prerogatives. He lived just like any other human being. And his
appearance was probably nothing special, just like any other young man from
Galilee. This is perhaps what Isaiah means when he says, “He had no beauty
or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire
him.” This morning we celebrate The Transfiguration of Our Lord, when Jesus took Peter, James and John with him to a high mountain. And there his appearance was changed; he was transfigured before them. St. Mark writes in today’s Gospel Reading: “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” St. Luke says: “The appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” And St. Matthew tells us: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” For a few moments on that mountain, Jesus shined forth in all his
divine splendor and glory. On the Mount of the Transfiguration, Jesus gave
us a sample of the glory we will share with him in heaven. In The
Transfiguration of Our Lord, we have, “A Glimpse of Glory.” First of all from the Transfiguration we learn the ONE way, the ONLY
way to share in glory of heaven. You won’t share in the glory of heaven
because you are a good person, for you are not. St. Paul writes in Romans:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no
one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one. . . There is no difference,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And you won’t
share in the glory of heaven because you have earned it, for you cannot.
Isaiah says that as far as getting into heaven is concerned in God’s sight, “All
our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” However, a careful reading of the Transfiguration story tells us the
ONE way, the ONLY way you will share in the glory of heaven: “Jesus TOOK Peter,
James and John with him.” Jesus says, “I am the way.” Jesus is THE
way to heaven, Jesus is YOUR way to heaven. For, just as Jesus TOOK Peter,
James and John with him to share a few moments of glory on the Mount of the
Transfiguration, he will take YOU to share with him an ETERNITY of never-ending
glory in heaven. Jesus promises, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. . . I
am going there to prepare a place for you. . . I will come and TAKE you to
be with me.” That is how you will share in the glory of heaven: Jesus will
TAKE you to be with him in heaven, because he loves you, because he forgives
you, because he gave himself for you to pay for your sins, because he put his
love for you into action on the cross. To the thief on the cross who trusted in him, Jesus promised, “Today,
you shall be with me in paradise.” That beautiful, comforting promise,
“you shall be with me in paradise,” is still true for YOU, and for all who trust
in him for eternal salvation. When you die, he takes your soul to be with
him in paradise. And, on the Last Day he will raise up you and all the
dead; your soul will be reunited with your resurrected and glorified body; and
he will give to you and all believers in Christ eternal life. As Jesus
promises, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even
though he dies, yet shall he live.” In The Transfiguration of Our Lord we see “A Glimpse of Glory”: The
glory we will share with him in heaven, and the glorified bodies we will have.
Just as Christ was transfigured, and for a few moments on the mountain shined
with heavenly glory, so all who trust in Jesus, all are asleep in him, will on
the Last Day be raised from the dead, our physical bodies made alive again and
transfigured into glorious, heavenly bodies. St. Paul writes in First
Corinthians: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed.” And in Philippians: “[He] will transform our lowly bodies so
that they will be like his glorious body.” The Bible teaches that in eternity we will actually have the same
bodies we have now, except they will be transformed to perfection, with no
illness, no diseases, no weakness, no pain, no more suffering of any kind.
Job proclaims: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand
upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see
God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another.” We also learn from The Transfiguration of Our Lord that with us in
heaven will be all the faithful from throughout the ages whom God brought to
faith in his Son, the Savior. Just as Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus
and talked with him, in heaven a great, countless multitude of believers will
gather around the throne of God, and YOU will be there. You will be there
with Moses and Elijah, and all the other believers of the Old Testament, who
looked forward in faith to the coming of the Savior. As an old hymn puts
it so beautifully, “There David stands with harp in hand as master of the
choir.” You will be there, with David, Noah, Adam and Eve, Isaiah, Job,
Ruth, Joshua, all those Old Testament saints you have so often read and heard
about. And with you also in heaven will be the faithful men and women of the
New Testament: Mary and Joseph, the Apostles and first disciples, St. Paul, the
thief on the cross, the women who discovered the empty tomb. Just as Moses
and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus, you will be there in heaven with all
believers of all times and places, all who trusted in the Christ, spanning the
centuries since the beginning of time. As St. John writes in Revelation:
“There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of
the Lamb.” People sometimes ask, “Will I know my loved ones in heaven? Will
I recognize them?” The Transfiguration of Our Lord gives us the answer:
YES! Just as Moses and Elijah were known to and recognized by the
disciples, you will certainly know and recognize and rejoice in heaven with your
loved ones who trusted Jesus. Finally, we learn from The Transfiguration of Our Lord that heaven is a
wonderful place. People sometimes make jokes that heaven might get to be a
bit boring, that perhaps eternity will grow tiresome. But, for a few
moments on the Mount of the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John had a sample
of heaven, “A Glimpse of Glory”—and they didn’t want it to ever end! “It
is good for us to be here,” Peter says. In the same way, in heaven you will not be bored, you will not grow
weary of eternity. Just as Peter proclaimed when he experienced “A Glimpse
of Glory,” “Lord, it is good for us to be here,” you will revel and rejoice in
glorious bliss of your heavenly home, with continual happiness, unending joy and
perfect peace. As Psalm 126 says, “Then will our mouths be filled with
laughter, and our tongues with songs of joy.” And Isaiah describes heaven
this way: “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their
heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee
away.” In The Transfiguration of Our Lord, we have a sample of heaven, “A
Glimpse of Glory.” Just as Jesus TOOK Peter, James and John with him to
the mountain, he will TAKE you to be with him in heaven. Just as they
witnessed for a few moments the divine glory and splendor of Jesus, you will
behold the glory of the Lord face-to-face for eternity. Just as the body
of Jesus was transfigured before them, he will transform our lowly bodies to be
like his glorious body. Just as Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain
and talked with Jesus, with you in heaven will be all believers in Christ of all
times and places. Just as Moses and Elijah were known to and recognized by
the disciples, you will know and recognize your loved ones in heaven. Just
as Peter did not want the glory of the Transfiguration to ever end, but cried
out, “It is good for us to be here,” you will be eternally happy in the joys of
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