Exodus 3:1-14/2 Peter 1:16-21/St Matthew 17:1-9
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The shepherd Moses leads the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, through the wilderness to the mountain of the Lord. There, the Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity, the only Son of the Father, epiphanies Himself to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush that was burning but was not consumed. The shepherd Moses trembled and hid his face, for the glory of the Lord shone around him, and he was terrified. Yet in mercy and love toward His people, the Lord appoints Moses to be His messenger, to speak His Word to Pharaoh; to preach His Word of pardon and peace to His people.
That which occurred at Horeb, the mountain of God, foreshadows and parallels that which occurred on the Mount of Transfiguration; for the prophetic Word is more fully confirmed in the Word made flesh. He is the God of Moses’ father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob; in Him the disciples behold the face of God.
For the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, leads His flock, the lambs and sheep given Him by His Father, through the wilderness up a high mountain. There, the One who is the Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity, epiphanies His glory to those men who will be His messengers.
There upon the mount, the One who appeared to Moses at Horeb in the midst of a burning bush, shines forth with divine light that was His from before the foundation of the world. Indeed He is the Light of the world. The Light no darkness can overcome. He is Light of Light, very God of very God, who for us men, and for our salvation, came down, was incarnate and made Man. The divine assumes the corporeal; the eternal assumes the mortal, the infinite the finite. This is the mystery of the Incarnation revealed then in the burning bush at Horeb and now at the Transfiguration.
He has heard the cries of His people and has left His throne in heaven and come down to redeem His Israel out of the hand of their taskmasters; to ransom them from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He is who He is. The I AM.
Only consider that which Moses saw: he looked at the bush, it was burning with fire, but it was not consumed or burnt up. This teaches us two things: First, it teaches us that the union between God and man that took place in the conception and birth of Christ is eternal and everlasting. Jesus is forever both fully divine and fully human, true God and true Man. And as the bush was not burned up, so the divine does not destroy the human, but exists within union with the mortal, hidden beneath suffering and shame.
Second, the fact that the bush was not consumed also teaches us that Christ came into our flesh not to bring judgment to mankind, but salvation and redemption. The fire did not destroy. The fire revealed and proclaimed deliverance and life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him (Jn 3:17). So too the transfigured Christ with all His glory came not to destroy, but to redeem, to enlighten the darkness of your hearts.
But Moses offers excuses for why he ought not be sent and Peter speaks were he ought to have been silent. Neither comprehends the nature of the revelation; neither understands the purpose of the prophetic Word more fully confirmed.
And neither do you. Like Moses you are timid to speak where and when God has given you to speak; fearful to stand up against the godless Pharaoh’s who would enslave by their disrespect and disregard for human life, from conception to natural death; cowardly to defend natural marriage. Or perhaps you are like Peter, incautious to speak where the Lord has instructed silence; offering rationale and justification for your behavior.
We teach and confess, dear Christians, where the Word has instructed us to speak. We are silent where the Word is silent. For no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.
It is written, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens (Ezra 9:6). Repent therefore, and behold the beloved Son, in whom the Father’s heart delights. Listen to Him.
It is St Luke who reveals to us the topic of conversation among Moses, Elijah and our Lord: His departure, His exodus, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. That is to say, His crucifixion, suffering, and death. For all the Law and the Prophets point to Him.
For Christ Jesus, the Prophet like Moses, the One sent by the Father, obediently accepts and consents to the will of His Father. He shall bear it patiently - the grief, the sorrow, the wrath and stripes, and by His Cross and Passion you shall share in the fruit of His salvation. He is the I AM, who by His exodus, shall lead His Israel through baptismal waters into His Promised Land. The mercy that endureth forever has flesh.
Therefore rise and fear not, dear ones. Lift up your eyes to Jesus only, the Author and Finisher of your faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a Voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to be the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Do not refuse Him who is speaking (Heb 12:2, 18-22a, 24-25).
For the fullness of the glory of the Lord is revealed in His Son not Mount Horeb, nor Mount Sinai, nor even at the Mount of Transfiguration, but at Mount Calvary. The fullness of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in His Cross.
By water and His Word He baptizes you with His Cross, giving you to share in His death and resurrection. You were buried with Him by baptism into death. Even as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, you too shall walk in newness of life.
Do not be deceived, dear Christian, this new life is cruciform in shape; it is a life lived not in the glory of the transfiguration, but under the shadow of the Cross. As it is written, we all, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).
But do not fear. For even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you need not fear any evil. For the Lord is with you. The Lord who was with Peter, James and John on the mount, the Lord who lead Israel out of bondage, the Lord who is your Good Shepherd shall lead you His flock through the wilderness to His holy Mount Zion, His new Jerusalem. In your resurrection you shall see Him as He is in all His splendid glory, for you shall be like Him (1 Jn 3:2). Blessed are all who take refuge in Him (Ps 2:12).
Rise, dear Christian. For it is good that you are here, within the one tent of His Body, the Church. Lift up your eyes and see Jesus only, here in His body and blood, hidden beneath bread and wine; Listen as His voice speaks to you, “Take, eat, this is My body given for you; Take, drink, this is my blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.” You shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The shepherd Moses leads the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, through the wilderness to the mountain of the Lord. There, the Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity, the only Son of the Father, epiphanies Himself to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush that was burning but was not consumed. The shepherd Moses trembled and hid his face, for the glory of the Lord shone around him, and he was terrified. Yet in mercy and love toward His people, the Lord appoints Moses to be His messenger, to speak His Word to Pharaoh; to preach His Word of pardon and peace to His people.
That which occurred at Horeb, the mountain of God, foreshadows and parallels that which occurred on the Mount of Transfiguration; for the prophetic Word is more fully confirmed in the Word made flesh. He is the God of Moses’ father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob; in Him the disciples behold the face of God.
For the good shepherd, Jesus Christ, leads His flock, the lambs and sheep given Him by His Father, through the wilderness up a high mountain. There, the One who is the Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity, epiphanies His glory to those men who will be His messengers.
There upon the mount, the One who appeared to Moses at Horeb in the midst of a burning bush, shines forth with divine light that was His from before the foundation of the world. Indeed He is the Light of the world. The Light no darkness can overcome. He is Light of Light, very God of very God, who for us men, and for our salvation, came down, was incarnate and made Man. The divine assumes the corporeal; the eternal assumes the mortal, the infinite the finite. This is the mystery of the Incarnation revealed then in the burning bush at Horeb and now at the Transfiguration.
He has heard the cries of His people and has left His throne in heaven and come down to redeem His Israel out of the hand of their taskmasters; to ransom them from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He is who He is. The I AM.
Only consider that which Moses saw: he looked at the bush, it was burning with fire, but it was not consumed or burnt up. This teaches us two things: First, it teaches us that the union between God and man that took place in the conception and birth of Christ is eternal and everlasting. Jesus is forever both fully divine and fully human, true God and true Man. And as the bush was not burned up, so the divine does not destroy the human, but exists within union with the mortal, hidden beneath suffering and shame.
Second, the fact that the bush was not consumed also teaches us that Christ came into our flesh not to bring judgment to mankind, but salvation and redemption. The fire did not destroy. The fire revealed and proclaimed deliverance and life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him (Jn 3:17). So too the transfigured Christ with all His glory came not to destroy, but to redeem, to enlighten the darkness of your hearts.
But Moses offers excuses for why he ought not be sent and Peter speaks were he ought to have been silent. Neither comprehends the nature of the revelation; neither understands the purpose of the prophetic Word more fully confirmed.
And neither do you. Like Moses you are timid to speak where and when God has given you to speak; fearful to stand up against the godless Pharaoh’s who would enslave by their disrespect and disregard for human life, from conception to natural death; cowardly to defend natural marriage. Or perhaps you are like Peter, incautious to speak where the Lord has instructed silence; offering rationale and justification for your behavior.
We teach and confess, dear Christians, where the Word has instructed us to speak. We are silent where the Word is silent. For no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.
It is written, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens (Ezra 9:6). Repent therefore, and behold the beloved Son, in whom the Father’s heart delights. Listen to Him.
It is St Luke who reveals to us the topic of conversation among Moses, Elijah and our Lord: His departure, His exodus, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. That is to say, His crucifixion, suffering, and death. For all the Law and the Prophets point to Him.
For Christ Jesus, the Prophet like Moses, the One sent by the Father, obediently accepts and consents to the will of His Father. He shall bear it patiently - the grief, the sorrow, the wrath and stripes, and by His Cross and Passion you shall share in the fruit of His salvation. He is the I AM, who by His exodus, shall lead His Israel through baptismal waters into His Promised Land. The mercy that endureth forever has flesh.
Therefore rise and fear not, dear ones. Lift up your eyes to Jesus only, the Author and Finisher of your faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a Voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to be the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Do not refuse Him who is speaking (Heb 12:2, 18-22a, 24-25).
For the fullness of the glory of the Lord is revealed in His Son not Mount Horeb, nor Mount Sinai, nor even at the Mount of Transfiguration, but at Mount Calvary. The fullness of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in His Cross.
By water and His Word He baptizes you with His Cross, giving you to share in His death and resurrection. You were buried with Him by baptism into death. Even as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, you too shall walk in newness of life.
Do not be deceived, dear Christian, this new life is cruciform in shape; it is a life lived not in the glory of the transfiguration, but under the shadow of the Cross. As it is written, we all, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18).
But do not fear. For even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you need not fear any evil. For the Lord is with you. The Lord who was with Peter, James and John on the mount, the Lord who lead Israel out of bondage, the Lord who is your Good Shepherd shall lead you His flock through the wilderness to His holy Mount Zion, His new Jerusalem. In your resurrection you shall see Him as He is in all His splendid glory, for you shall be like Him (1 Jn 3:2). Blessed are all who take refuge in Him (Ps 2:12).
Rise, dear Christian. For it is good that you are here, within the one tent of His Body, the Church. Lift up your eyes and see Jesus only, here in His body and blood, hidden beneath bread and wine; Listen as His voice speaks to you, “Take, eat, this is My body given for you; Take, drink, this is my blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.” You shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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