Renovations... almost done.

The latest project has been the repainting and reflooring of the downstairs fellowship hall/kitchen/meeting area/Sunday School rooms. The mounting of the baseboard splashguards and the painting of the doors and window frames remains to be done, but that seems minor. Our contractors did a fine job and the place looks bright and shiney.

Like this:

The set-up for the post-worship Lenten lunch in the meeting room area. New wall paint! New tile!

The coffee/beverage/dessert area with a peek at the kitchen.

Looking into the fellowship hall. Baseboards still need to be set,
but the place is so much brighter!

The Fourth Sunday in Lent --- 30 March 2014

John 9:1-41

1 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, 7 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." 10 But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight." 12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided. 17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" 20 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." 25 He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." 26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?" 28 Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." 30 The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." 34 They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." 37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." 38 He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, "We see,' your sin remains.

Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, "We see,' your sin remains.

• One of the hardest things to get around in life is preconceived notions. We find that they are comfortable and easy to deal with, so we tend not to question them. In fact, we often assume that others see things the same way and that our view of the world or anything else is the proper one. As someone said once – when someone says they'll meet you halfway, they probably believe they're already at the midfield line.
• This huge story – the story of the man born blind – is one of the so-called “signs” in John's Gospel. John's Gospel has certain events that are called “signs” interspersed with addresses by Jesus. Here in this story, there is a miracle and a controversy about the miracle.
• Some people in the story wonder why the man was blind, if the man was really healed, and who accomplished the healing. The whole passage starts with the notion that the blindness of the man was a result of someones' sin. Jesus shatters this notion rather quickly by saying that this man was blind so that God's work might be revealed in him.
• Once the man is healed, people take the notion that this is not the man who sat and begged despite the man's own testimony. You can almost hear the arguments – Are you the man? I am! You can't be; the man was blind and you can see. You can't be him.
• The next layer of preconceived notions have to do with how the man was healed. Jesus healed him on the Sabbath and that makes all the difference to the Pharisees in the story. Since the man was healed on the Sabbath, it cannot be the work of God or of a godly person.
• They ask a number of times just how the healing was accomplished. John tells us that Jesus made mud with his saliva, smeared it on the man's eyes, and sent him to wash. He calls himself the light of the world, but he doesn't say this to the man. As odd as they might seem to us, Jesus' actions are rather normal for healer of his day. Maybe those who questioned the healing wanted to find out if something else was done. Of course, the healing on the Sabbath makes the whole thing suspect. Although the man could now see after being born without sight -something unheard of- the Pharisees are more than ready to dismiss it since it was done on the Sabbath. They also dismiss the man as a sinner born entirely in sins.
• When the healed man finally sees Jesus, he responds without any preconceptions: And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him. Then Jesus reveals himself to this man. Jesus' comments that follow provoke a further expression of preconceptions by his Pharisee hearers: Surely we are not blind, are we? Jesus responds with what I read when we started this.
• Unfortunately, we are not immune from taking on our own preconceived notions. We often decide how and where and when God can or will speak to us. We might even decide what message we will hear.
• We like to know how God will work and what instruments God will use. Let's face it; we like things neat and tidy and all wrapped up in a lovely package with a cute bow.
• I can count on one hand the number of times this has happened to me in my personal relationship with God... and I won't have to use any fingers at all. Think for a bit; you might well be the same way.
• God does not always work as we might expect... and that could be uncomfortable. God does not work according to our plans or our schedules... and that can be inconvenient. We may do all sorts of things to shoe-horn God's ways into our ways. There is also danger here: The minute we start denying the work of God in Christ Jesus our Lord so as to make things neat and tidy and in conformity to how we like things done, it’s pretty tough to see the real Jesus.
• Grace is surprising, especially when it come to us in the normal, the usual, and the mundane. Yet that is where grace comes to us most often and where we are most often sustained by grace.
• We can be sure that the man born blind in our Gospel reading today did not expect to see by the end of the day. Nor did he expect to be driven from the the synagogue. Still grace led him to acknowledge where his healing came from and to whom his thanks belonged. Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him.
• Our lesson today is simple to hear and hard to do: trust in the power of grace and the presence of God, even if comes from an unexpected corner.

The Third Sunday in Lent --- 23 March 2014

John 4:5-42

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 

The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." 

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, "I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 

The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" They left the city and were on their way to him. 

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, "Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, "One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." 

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." 

If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.

• Today is a special day. Not only are we having our monthly “by-request-hymn-sing”, it is, for me at least, “silly question day.” So, who here has ever pealed an onion?
• Many layers, for sure! So it is with John's Gospel. It is possible to peal away layer after layer in many of Jesus' discourses in John's writing, many of which need some explanation or clarification.
• We'll go with the obvious first. In this passage from John's Gospel, Jesus asks for a drink of water from a Samaritan woman and this encounter becomes far more than it might have appeared. First, Jews and Samaritans would never speak to each other. The Samaritans lived in an area north of Judea, called, naturally, Samaria and tranced their ancestry to two of the tribes of Israel. They shared a lot of their religious observance with the Jewish people, but said that God was to be worshipped on Mount Gerizim, a mountain in Samaria, rather than Jerusalem. That difference alone would cause a separation from the Jewish people, but the Jews also accused the Samaritans of being pagans and worshipping false gods. These two people didn't like each other -sometimes with violence, would not speak, and would not set foot in each other's lands. As with so many people of the ancient world, their speech and their dress made it obvious which group they were from. Here Jesus asks for a drink from the ritually impure bucket of the Samaritan woman, a scandalous thing.
• On another point, in those days men and women, even husband and wife, did not speak in public. For a rabbi to discuss theology with a woman was even more unusual. And to speak and discuss such things with a woman who's marital record might cause the pious to avoid her... that would be beyond the Pale!
• When asked for water, the woman takes Jesus at his word and is shocked that he, a Jew, would speak to her and ask for a drink from her bucket. Jesus responds with a teaching about “living water.” In ancient times, what was called “living water” usually meant fresh, flowing water as opposed to water from a cistern, a catch-basin, or even a puddle. As often happens in John, the woman takes Jesus literally, asking where he'd get this water since the well is deep and he has no bucket. To us, it's obvious that Jesus is not talking about well water, but about something beyond all that, but to the woman, standing at the well with some sort of water container, this could be confusing, especially when he says that HE would give HER water! In a sense, he turns that tables on her and offers her a drink from his “Jewish” bucket. By the end of this part of John's Gospel, the woman Jesus met at the well has become an evangelist to her friends and neighbours.
• There is a lot more in this story – Jesus' knowledge of the woman's history, Jesus' teaching on worshipping in “spirit and in truth”, the exchange with the disciples over food, and the response of the Samaritan villagers – enough for a lot of preaching, but today we'll stay with two or three things we can take home with us.
• First would be how Jesus receives the Samaritan woman, something we would want to continue to do. Going against the custom of his day, he sees the woman as a person, not as an enemy, not as an object, not as a lesser, unworthy being, and not as someone to be shunned or pitied or condescended to. This is how Jesus accepts us; he knows us through and through, warts and all, and he lived to bring us the Good News, he died to bring us new life, and he rose to lead us to this new life. He lives still and what he said to the woman holds true for us.
• I'm referring here to our second take-home point - the 'living water': The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. Whether we take this 'living water' to be faith, grace, the Holy Spirit, or the presence of Jesus himself in each of us, he has taken us as we are, washed us, and continues to quench our thirst with the 'living water', whether we find that thirst to be a thirst for meaning, forgiveness, hope, inspiration, or someone to count on.
• Later, in Chapter 6 in John's Gospel, Jesus calls himself the 'living bread' and a whole new controversy erupts. Still for believers he is the source of living water and he is the living bread; he is the one we cannot do without, just like we cannot live without water or the sustenance bread symbolizes.
• Finally there are those Samaritans, especially the woman at the well, who become the first believers. The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." Jesus reveals himself to this outcast woman, someone even his disciples can't imagine him speaking to, and she leaves her water jar at the well and goes to tell everybody else. Not gossip, but GOSPEL! Not rumour, but GOOD NEWS! To those who touched by the living water, to those who see their own reflection in the living water, to those who seek in spirit and truth, Jesus has and will reveal himself. He has revealed himself to each of us, in his Word, in his Sacraments, in his disciples, and in the circumstances of our own lives.
• You never know who you will meet at the well. The woman Jesus met there found more than she ever expected. It was so much she had to tell others. And they eventually said to her "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."
• So we have the good word to the outcast and the left-behind. We have the living water, and we have the words of Jesus “I am he.” There is so much here in John's Gospel; we've barely scratched the surface. If we thirst and hunger and itch for more, we've encountered Jesus. Everyone who drinks of this water (from the well) will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.

The Second Sunday in Lent --- 16 March 2014

John 3:1-17

1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old?”

• So... are Lutherans born again? I think we'll look at that question further along this morning.
• I think we can all see that this passage from John is full of controversial words with different possible understandings and misunderstandings. There are symbols that need to be looked at and explained.
• Nicodemus comes to see Jesus at night, possibly out of fear and possibly to avoid being seen with Jesus and causing some scandal for consulting this controversial rabbi. Night in John's Gospel also implies a personal darkness. Oddly the encounter never really ends; Nicodemus just sort of disappears from the narrative, leaving only Jesus' words.
• Nicodemus appears to be almost a literary device for John to further Jesus' teaching. Jesus' statement that no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above has often been troubling. Nicodemus himself is confused since he takes this statement literally.
• So what is this being born from above? Is it something that just happens? Is it something to be sought out? Is it something that is beyond the common things all Christians are part of?
• Is it a special sign of a special blessing? Is it something we do? Or is it something done to us?
• First of all, in the Gospel's original language 'from above' is the same word as 'again.' Since it is the same word in Greek, misunderstanding is very possible, and John capitalized on this in his Gospel by having Nicodemus hear the word one way while Jesus meant another.
• Jesus goes on to say the a person must be born of “water and the Spirit.” There are some that see this as a reference to the sacrament of Baptism, but this is not absolutely certain. Still for us who are baptized in water, there is a measure of comfort here.
• No doubt you've heard of Christians being “born again” and having a very overwhelming experience of the love and presence of God. Some even say that such an experience is required of Christians and without it a person's faith is not real or it is at least deficient.
• As heirs of the “Conservative Reformation”, we may wonder where we stand on this. Such emotional religious experiences are not often found in Lutheran history and spirituality. So... are Lutherans “born again”?
• The answer is “Yes!” By definition, we are!
• By undergoing Baptism, we are “born again.” In it's deepest theological understanding, Baptism joins us to the death and resurrection of Christ. In that, we too have died with Christ. In the sixth chapter of the Letter to the Romans, Paul writes Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
• It seems that emotion may be present but it is not necessary. It would also seem that some sort of belief or understanding may be present as well, but this not so much a requirement either.
• To focus on emotion and experience would be to focus on the self. To focus on the aspect that deals with understanding, consent, or personal will would again make the self the focus. Either one might lead a person to believe that their emotional experience or their personal assent to a list of beliefs would be what saves them.
• This of course is not the case. As has been so often said, the focus is on God's work and grace in Jesus Christ. To focus on grace and an undeserved regeneration puts the focus where it should be: on God.
• Please understand; I'm not saying Lutherans have a better or truer understanding of salvation or the ways of God. If we say we fully understand, we deceive ourselves. To see being “born again” as a stance before God as a complete gift is the truth. Faith itself is as much a gift as well.
• If this time of Lenten preparation leads us only to turn a bit more to God in faith, for understanding, and for direction, our Lenten observation will have done its job.
• So if the question come to us – from our own minds or from people around us - “Are you born again?”, our answer is “Yes!” because God has seen to that. In a similar vein, if we might be asked “When were you saved?”, we could respond “This morning and every morning!” or if we wish we could say “On a Friday, about 2000 years ago.” Both are true because God's grace is new and renewed every day and because salvation is from God in Jesus Christ and it was accomplished for all time by his blood and obedience.
• Are we born from above? Thanks be to God, yes.

Did you have enough pancakes?

According to custom, those who keep Lent are to eat up all the sugar and fat in the house on Shrove Tuesday in order to get it out of the house and avoid temptation. Well, Lutherans don't always "give up" a lot for Lent like our Catholic or Orthodox sisters and brothers do. Some Lutherans do, but we still eat up on Shrove Tuesday... or Fasching (the German term for the festive time before Lent)... or Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday" in French.)
At St. John's, we do a pancake-and-sausage supper on Shrove Tuesday and as we have done the past few years, the youth do the cooking with some help from me. A free-will offering is taken and the cost of the food is taken out of that while the proceeds go to fund our Vacation Bible School. It doesn't cover the entire cost but it sure goes a long way to taking care of it. This year, we served 70-75 people and netted just shy of $400.00 for VBS. Many thanks to our generous folks. Since we're having a cooperative VBS with Aylmer Baptist Church this year, a number of there congregation came as well to join in the fun.

Kate and Daniel handle the west-side griddle.

Taylor and a Vanna-like Kendra model at the south-side griddle.

NOW they get serious!

A mound of pancakes and a roasterfull of sausages are ready for those who came to eat.

By the end of the evening, we had run out of sausage, but there were still plenty of pancakes.

He's so full he can barely stay in his seat!

A large protion of the evening is the socialization.

... and they ate and ate until they were full!

The First Sunday in Lent --- 9 March 2014

Matthew 4:1-11

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you,' and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' " 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil

• We've all faced temptation in one way or another. It's a common human experience. Some temptations are specific to a person or a certain age. Others are more widely found. What tempts me might not tempt you at all and vice-versa.
• To find that Jesus was tempted should not strike us as strange. After all as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews said: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.
• Sinless does not mean untempted. Our Gospel reading stands as evidence of this.
• This story can be taken as a way to comfort ourselves by remembering that Jesus was tempted as we are. But this might not be quite so true. Jesus' temptations were his own. I hope that none of us have been tempted to throw ourselves off the highest tower around where-ever we've lived.
• No, Jesus' temptations were unique to him and he was tempted. The story contains a number of interesting things.
• Matthew, Mark, and Luke all place Jesus' temptation in the desert just after his Baptism by John. They note Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. It seems that Jesus' baptism was of vital importance to his mission as was his time in the desert.
• The three temptations – to fulfil common needs like food, to recklessly believe that God would shield us from the consequences of our actions, and to desire power and status – are common to all of us, but have a special place in Jesus' temptations. In truth, temptations are always tailor-made.
• The words the evangelist places in the devil's mouth seem to imply that Jesus is not sure of his status: If you are the Son of God... If we change the “If” to “Since” (which can be done without too much trouble in Greek), the temptation changes somewhat.
• What is then at issue is not whether Jesus is really God's son, for the devil appears willing willing to concede that. The temptation has to do with how God's son should act.
• Should God's son act in ways that benefit only him? Should God's son dare things that others would not because he is special? Was the mission of God's son to bring all the world's powers and nations under his sway and control... even at the cost of worshipping the devil?
• Some of these temptations are false because the devil is a liar and the chief of lies. For example, does the devil own and control all the nations and powers of the world. He doesn't! Psalm 24 says:

                                     The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
                                the world, and those who live in it;

• These temptations have more to do with what kind of Messiah Jesus would be and they have to be taken as real and powerful temptations. The temptation to be a “bread king” returns when Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes. The temptation to be rescued from hardship and even death by divine intervention might find an echo in Jesus' words in Gethsemane and on the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” Finally the temptation to have the world acknowledge Jesus' power is seen here.
• The temptations are very real and they could have led to a change in the mission of salvation. Had Jesus done something else and followed a path of temptation, his mission might have failed. Had he become a “bread king”, a magician and escape artist, or an earthly king with perfect intentions, grace would have been lost to us... and we would be lost. Any of these outcomes would deny grace to us. Only the mission of Jesus to proclaim the Father's love even to the point of dying on the cross shows and allows grace, and without grace there is no salvation.
• Matthew wants to say that Jesus is the son of God in being obedient... (and) by keeping the basic commandment of the love of God. This understanding of sonship with God opens up a perspective for human existence: The Son of God lives in an exemplary way from God’s word alone and obeys God alone. One might say that the entire Gospel of Matthew unfolds what this sentence means for the disciples.
• It is Jesus' obedience to the Father that makes the difference. His path of obedience is our way as well. For us, obedience takes on different shapes. For us, obedience is repentance, openness, love, and humility.
• One of my favourite quotes on this comes from an ancient Christian text. It is about the life of Anthony of Egypt who is also known as Anthony of the Desert. In a time when devotion appeared to be growing cold, Anthony followed the call he heard to live the Christian life deliberately. It goes like this: Anthony said, "I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, "What can get through from such snares?" Then I heard a voice saying to me, 'Humility.'”

The Transfiguration of our Lord --- 2 March 2014

{A word of explanation to those who might not be Lutheran: The ELCIC's calendar sets the last Sunday before the season of Lent as the festival of the Transfiguration. Other Church bodies celebrate the festival on other days.}

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." 

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

• The name of this festival – the Transfiguration – may be somewhat confusing for many and it is quite a mystery for all of us.
• We might say that this is a case of “Will the real Jesus please stand up?” We might ask ourselves what exactly is going on; whether Jesus is showing his real self on the mountaintop or is he showing his real self on the way up and down the mountain. Which one is the real Jesus?
• In our church calendar, the festival of the Transfiguration comes just before the season of Lent. A number of Scriptural scholars hold that the placement of the Transfiguration in the Gospels has to do with giving the disciples courage, a lift to get them through the tough times of the Passion and death of Jesus. It would seem that whoever made up the Church calendar felt the same way, using the festival of the Transfiguration as a way of boosting the faithful through the dry time of Lent. And for some Lent can be very dry... which is why in times past all the fat and sugar were eaten up on Shove Tuesday in the form of pancakes or doughnuts.
• The event on the mountaintop as it is found in Matthew's Gospel was only witnessed by three of the disciples, Jesus' closest friends, and then they were told to keep quiet about it! We can safely believe that Peter, James, and John told the other disciples after Jesus' ascension. Otherwise the incident would not have been recorded.
• No matter who was there, what went on had and has a meaning for all faithful Christians. It could be taken as a glimpse of what was to come, what was to be revealed fully in the Resurrection. It could be taken as a glimpse of what the Son was like before taking on human flesh, using the symbols and the narrative of the time Moses spent on the mountaintop with God as we heard in our reading from Exodus.
• The Exodus narrative is the model for what is reported as seen in what we know as the Transfiguration: The blinding light, the luminous cloud, the voice of the Father. The Law is not presented, although Moses, the keeper of the Law, and Elijah, the greatest prophet of God are present.
• If Mount Sinai is the model for what is proclaimed in the Gospel, what is going on?
• Some of our confusion has to do with the word, “Transfiguration.” In the original Greek, the word is “metamorphosis”, the sort of thing we encounter when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly or when an animal that is in one form takes on another form. However here in Matthew, Jesus does not remain in his transfigured form.
• If you'll permit me to turn to the German language for a moment. In Luther's Bible, the word used is verklärt, a word that means “Transfigured” or possibly “revealed.”
• If “transfigured” can mean “revealed”, then Jesus' divine nature is revealed on the mountaintop. And yet when the three terrified disciples look up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. What happened? Did Jesus not stay revealed?
• So, which is the real Jesus? The answer is both, both the man they spoke to and ate with and travelled with AND the man they saw speaking with Moses and Elijah with a face like the sun and clothes of dazzling white. I don't think the three disciples understood what had happened; Peter babbles something about three dwelling so this event can remain forever.
• It took another, greater event to bring the disciples – all the disciples – to an understanding of what Peter, James, and John experienced. Those who experienced the Resurrection of Jesus than began to grasp just who Jesus is. The mountaintop experience that the three were not to speak about only makes sense in the light of the Resurrection of Jesus.
• The role of the Transfiguration for us is both a revelation that we see in the light of the Resurrection and a special glimpse of the glory of Jesus.
• What often gets left behind in this story, with all it's glory and mystery, is the final act on the mountain.
• The disciples were stunned by the sight of Jesus transfigured and speaking with Moses and Elijah, but they were terrified at the voice from the bright cloud. When they looked up, they saw only Jesus. The two things they heard are of vital importance to all our lives as Christians. The Father's voice says “Listen to him!” and Jesus tells them “Get up and do not be afraid.” These words are for us as much as they were for Peter, James, and John. Our lives are to be lives of listening to Jesus and lives of following him without fear. As it wasn't easy for Jesus' friends, it will not always be easy for us. They made mistakes as we do, but their faith, upheld by grace and what they knew of Jesus, saw them through. Jesus is the Word of God and the Word has come to the people.
• So it will be for us. As we begin our season of Lent, we look to Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection as we do for the whole of our lives and what Jesus has revealed to us will sustain us forever.