With Jesus on the Holy Mountain

2 Peter 1:14-21 This week we laid to rest our brother in Christ, J.A.  He was a faithful Christian man who confessed that Jesus as his Savior, knew that he had a heavenly home, and lived his life guided by the Word of God.  He was prepared to enter eternity and stand before the Lord.  What about us?   

Oftentimes, we think that death is far in the future—that we will have plenty of time to prepare—that we will have some kind of “advance warning” so that we can get our spiritual house in order before we die.  But that’s not always how life works.  That is why we need to be prepared to depart this earthly life whenever the Lord calls us home.

How is it possible to always be prepared to stand before the Lord?  What do we need to know and believe to face the end of our life with confidence when it comes? 

The answers to these eternally important questions are found in our epistle lesson today as Peter considered his own earthly departure and wrote to his congregation to make sure they were ready to die as well.  He wrote:

I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

These were the last words that Peter wrote before he was executed.  One by one the Christians in Rome were being carried away in persecution and put to death.  That day of departure was drawing near for him too—and he knew it. 

It is a fascinating thing to me, that as Peter witnesses the death of his fellow Christians-- and as he considers his own passing from this life--the event from our Lord’s life that he remembers- and draws comfort from- and reminds his fellow Christians of as they approach martyrdom is the transfiguration of our Lord. 

Out of all the things that he could have remembered:  his great confession of faith—his walking on the stormy sea of Galilee—his post-resurrection meeting with the Lord—all the miracles he witnessed--the thing that comes to mind in that moment when he considers his own passing (and the thing he wants to comfort members of his flock with who are also approaching death) is the transfiguration of the Lord.

As I thought about that this week, I realized that the facts of the transfiguration are exactly what we need to be prepared to depart this earthly life.

1. The transfiguration tells us the truth about Jesus: that he was not just a good man, but the God who saves.  2. The transfiguration reveals the good news about our where we will go when we die and what that new life will be like:  that we will be with Jesus and those who departed in faith before us.  3. And the transfiguration reminds us of the perfect guide we have in the Word of God until that day we go to be with the Lord.

Believing these things that are revealed in the transfiguration, we are prepared to depart this earthly life whenever the Lord calls us home.  Peter wrote:

We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”

            There are all kinds of idea and theories and philosophies when it comes to the great questions about eternal things such as our relationship with God- and how we are to live- and what happens to us when we die. 

Some believe that we are reincarnated when we die.  Others believe that we can obtain enlightenment in this life.  Still others believe that we simply do the best we can and we die—and that’s that.  All of them:  cleverly devised myths.

Christianity is different!  The foundation of Christianity is the testimony of real people regarding what they have seen and heard when it comes to life and death. 

Moses and Aaron and the elders of Israel beheld the glory of God and ate in his presence and saw the tablets of stone with the Law of God.  Peter, James, and John went up with Jesus on the mountain and saw God’s glory in Christ.  Peter says that they were eyewitnesses of his majesty and they heard the Father’s voice concerning his Son Jesus.

We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

And so what did they see and hear and why did it matter so much to Peter that this was the thing that came to mind as he faced death? 

They saw in the blinding light- and they heard from the voice of God- that Jesus was not just a wise teacher—not just a courageous leader—not just a man—but that he was God.  The majestic glory of God shone through his ordinary human flesh. 

It was not just a man who had been with them those three years—not just a wonder-worker—not just a wise teacher—it was God.  It was God who taught them.  It was God who went to the cross and died.  And it was God who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.  In Jesus:  God came to the rescue of his people and God forgave their sins and God promised a life (like his own) that death could not end. 

That was Peter’s comfort as he faced the end of his life and that is our comfort as we prepare to depart this earthly life.  Our salvation and our resurrection is assured- not because it is a pious wish of some good man-- but because it is the promise of God!

That’s why the transfiguration is such a comfort for us we contemplate our mortality—because it faithfully reveals about our eternal life. 

            Every Transfiguration Sunday poor old Peter gets grief from preachers all over Christendom for his response to being in the presence of Jesus and Elijah and Moses.  He said:  Lord, it is good that we are here.  If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. 

Peter was exactly right!  It was good to be there!  Basking in the glory of God—seated at Jesus’ feet—surrounded by the saints!  That is what we hope for ourselves after our earthly life is over!  That is the very thing that God promises to those who remain faithful to the end!

As Peter faced his own death—it was not something unfamiliar or unknown that he faced because he was with Jesus on the holy mountain where he experienced in that brief shining moment what eternity would be like.   

Heaven and earth came together in the presence of Jesus.  The painful division between the living and the departed that we experience here on earth fell away as Moses and Elijah stood there with Jesus—alive! 

Peter knew just exactly what would happen to him when he closed his eyes in this life—he would open them to the unveiled glory of his savior—he would be surrounded by the faithful saints who had come before him—fear and suffering would be banished--and he would never again have to leave that place and return to hardship and temptation. 

For the child of God, death is not something to be feared but is simply the beginning of a new life in Jesus’ presence—reunited with the saints who have come before.  And so then…

Having prepared to depart this life in this way—by believing the promises of God—only then are we ready to live the rest of our life the way God wants, guided by his Word.  Peter wrote:

We have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

            There are millions of people on this planet who are so afraid to die that it paralyzes their life.  The difference between them and us is that the bright, shining light of the resurrected Christ has shone into our hearts. 

Jesus has shown us the way to courageous, meaningful life by setting his face towards Jerusalem and death on the cross-- and knowing awaited him there—continued on—because he also knew that real, eternal life would come after death. 

All of this was foretold in the pages of Holy Scripture.  With accuracy and faithfulness Moses and Elijah and the prophets foretold all that Jesus would do because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

That same faithful Word which has revealed the truth about Jesus is a faithful guide for our lives right here and now until we go to be with Jesus.  The Bible is a lamp shining in a dark world that we are to pay attention to-- for it not only shows us the way to eternal life and prepares to pass from this life—but it guides our lives until that day the Lord calls us home.

It is only when we are prepared to depart this earthly life (through faith in Jesus and a yearning for our heavenly home) that we are truly ready to live out the rest of our days as God’s faithful people for as many days as he gives us-- trusting his Word to guide us safely to everlasting life.  Amen.