Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

When did we come out of the dark ages? Those who study history and human culture refer to the half millenium following the fall of the Roman Empire (c. AD 500-1000), as the dark ages. It was once thought that there was a great contrast in culture and science between that period and the centuries of Renaissance and Enlightenment that followed. However, modern scholars now acknowledge that such a judgment might not take all things into account. There are fewer written records of that period, which may not mean that there was any less production in literary culture. It was also a time when the end of the great Roman Empire allowed the political sophistication for the formation of many varied kingdoms and states throughout Europe and Asia.

 

So, if things have not changed as drastically as once was thought, we might well ask not only “When did we come out of the dark ages?” but perhaps, “Did we ever come out of the dark ages?” There are certainly some very dark aspects to our current culture, including the depravity that is still so widely expressed in the arts, and the very little value placed upon human life seen in the profound amount of homelessness, persecution, refugees, abortions and euthanasia.

 

Centuries before the fall of the Roman Empire, St. Peter wrote his epistles to the Christian Church, proclaiming the good news that Jesus Christ shines as a light in a dark place. He took it for granted that the culture in which they were living was a dark and gloomy one. The light of God’s Word exposed that, and it continues to expose the dark age in which we also live. The sins against God and humanity have never stopped, and I am not sure we can say that they have even lessened or ever will.

 

But it is not all doom and gloom. For into the darkness of this world God has shone the light of His grace. This was not just the beam of a hopeful message, but the shining of God’s own glorious presence into the world. St. John, at the beginning of his gospel proclaims: “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9). He was proclaiming the coming of the Son of God into the world in the human person of Jesus of Nazareth. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14).

 

Peter, John, and John’s brother, James, had a unique experience when they did indeed see the glory of God shining into this dark world. As John says, they saw “glory as of the only Son from the Father.” It was God’s true glory that they saw in the man of flesh, Jesus Christ. John would later write in one of his epistles to the Christian Church: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands... that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you” (1 John 1:1, 3).

 

Although Jesus had taken only these three disciples with Him when He was transfigured before their eyes, the vision of God’s glory in His Person was not meant for them alone. They were to proclaim it to the world after Jesus had risen from the dead (Matthew 17:1-9).

 

And so, Peter also, in our Epistle Lesson for today (2 Peter 1:16-21), shares this vision of God’s glory in Jesus Christ with us, as he saw and heard on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured before his very eyes, and his own ears heard the voice of God the Father bestowing glory and majesty upon Jesus as well: “we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when 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,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain” (1:16-18).

 

The point that Peter wants us to grasp is that Jesus’ power, glory, and majesty was put on display at the Transfiguration, before witnesses, so that we might have encouragement and hope in the dark times in which we live. For this same Majestic Saviour has promised to come and bring His light into the darkness of our lives and our world. In his epistle, Peter emphasizes what they heard. John, in his gospel and epistle, emphasizes what they saw.

 

God’s power in the man Jesus Christ was put on display at the Transfiguration so that we might have no doubt that this man is God Himself; that God came to take on our human nature in order that He might save us from our sin, death, and all that is dark in this fallen world; that we might know that God keeps His promises to come to His people; and that He has the power to overcome the darkness that overshadows us.

 

Jesus was transfigured in the sight of Peter, James, and John. “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2). The only way that they are able to describe the majesty that they saw is to liken it to the most brilliant things in all of creation. Notice that they do not describe Jesus’ face as shining like gold and His garments as white as snow, but they have to use comparisons that are beyond things that can be grasped. There is nothing more brilliant in human experience with which to compare the majesty that they saw than the very first creation of God, when He brought light out of the darkness and ordered it through the creation of the great light that rules the day (Genesis 1:3, 16).

 

As the creation of the sun brought order to a dark world coming out of chaos and brought an expectation of warm relief to the existence of mankind, so Christ’s glorious face shines the love and salvation of the Creator Who still wishes for mankind to live forever under His gracious care. It shines through the clouds of fear as when the three disciples “fell on their faces and were terrified.” This Jesus “came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear’” (Matthew 17:6-7). The majesty and glory of Jesus, the One who came to save you from your sins, still shines to calm your fears.

 

As the first created light brought the dark world out of danger to be a safe place for mankind to dwell and excel in all of the dominion and responsibility entrusted by the Creator, so the light of Christ’s garments enfold us in the protection and rescue of our loving Saviour. When “the bright cloud overshadowed them,” bewildering the blessed three disciples, this Jesus came to them to restore their senses, including their sense of calm confidence in Him. They needed that as they did not have complete clarity regarding the suffering of the Son of Man before His exaltation (Matthew 17:10-13). The majesty and glory of Jesus revealed in His shining garments still emanates from Him to clear your confusion of who He is so that you can be confident to await His coming.

 

When you are frightened in the dark, it helps to turn on a light. The glory of Jesus shines upon us so that when we are frightened, we can see by His glory that we are safe under His care. We can expect Him to come to our rescue when the dark things of this world threaten us. That includes not only this present dark age whenever we are threatened by evil, but also that He will do as He promised and come once more to bring a final end to the dark ages of a world fallen.

 

These promises of the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ were proclaimed by God’s own voice when Peter, James, and John not only saw the majestic glory of God shining from Jesus, but also heard the majestic glory of God’s voice declare its presence in the person of Jesus Christ. The voice of God the Father sounded through the overshadowing cloud of confusion that had fallen upon the disciples. As the voice of God spoke the world into being at Creation, so it sounded forth again on the Mount of Transfiguration to declare Jesus to be the eternal Son of the Father, and also the One Whom He appointed to carry out His will for the salvation of mankind, the One also appointed to come again to judge the living and the dead.

 

Peter points out for us that this Voice of God which he heard was not for him and his compatriots only, but for us, too. The fact that they heard this voice means that we have the prophetic words of the Old Testament promises made more sure. They have been confirmed by God Himself in order to silence our doubts and fears. What the sacred writers of the Old Testament Scriptures have given to us has been proven to be the very words of this One who spoke from heaven to Peter and James and John. He declared that this Jesus is the Son He promised to send and will send again.

 

The voice of God the Father Himself sounds through the dampening of our hearts to proclaim His Son beloved, and the work which He accomplished for us through His death and resurrection to be well pleasing, and satisfying for the justice and holiness of God to freely grant us forgiveness and life on His account, to declare us holy and righteous now and on the day of judgment.

 

This voice still speaks. We have the prophetic word made more sure. This voice speaks even louder and clearer now since the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Peter reminds us that this voice declaring the Word of God still promises that this Majestic and Glorious Son of God, the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who died for the sins of the world and rose victorious from the dead, will come to bring us out of the dark ages of this gloomy time and place.

 

It is like the voice of your father when you are scared at night. He is there to protect you and defend you and to calm your fears. He is there to answer your concerns and to dispel your confusion. He is there hoping to settle you down to a peaceful rest so that you can arise to live in the confidence of his love and care and all of the blessings that he has to give to you.

 

You do well to pay attention also to the voice of your heavenly Father. He has made some very great and precious promises to you. He has kept them by sending His beloved Son into the world. He has declared Jesus Christ to be that beloved Son Who has pleasingly accomplished His will for your salvation. And the promise from the voice of God still sounds forth to declare that this same Jesus is coming again in all of His majestic glory to rescue you from everything gloomy in your life.

 

“You will do well to pay attention [to His voice in Scripture and Sacrament] as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). You know (from the Transfiguration of Jesus’ appearance seen by Peter, James, and John, and from the voice of God the Father, heard by Peter, James, and John) that all of the words given to you through the prophets and apostles are the words of your loving heavenly Father. For the men who declared them “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (1:21).