Sermon Text: Mark 9:2-9
Title: Sore Eyes and Sore Ears
I. The LORD gives comfort to sore eyes.
II. The LORD gives comfort for sore ears.
III. Here on Sundays, week in and week out, this same comfort is given.
CHRIST GIVES COMFORT FOR SORE EYES AND EARS THROUGH
THE MEANS OF GRACE, THROUGH WORD AND SACRAMENT, EARNED FOR YOU ON THE CROSS.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and from our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The sermon text for this Sunday, is taken from the Gospel lesson just read. I would read again a portion of these verses…
And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the
cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I.
“That’s a sight for sore eyes!” This is a phrase we have heard and uttered often when we see something we have longed to gaze upon. For some - like myself - it’s living far away from home and family and seeing them again. For others of you it might be time away from home at college and coming home at CHRISTmas. I would imagine some of you who have been deployed overseas for long periods of time know this phrase quite well. Seeing home, seeing green grass and trees, seeing family and friends, all sights for sore eyes.
We live in topsy-turvy, upside down, backwards, broken, sinful world. We see things like the plane crash last week, or the towers in
But it’s not all that different for us as it was for those in ages past. The inhabitants of
It was true for the Children of Israel at the foot of
Today we have another mountain scene. Jesus and the inner sanctum of Peter, James, and John travel up a mountain. Jesus is preparing for what was to come, that awful march to
But today, on this mountain with these three disciples we find Jesus being transfigured. In the words of our beloved Martin Luther, “What does this mean?” Well, first we look to the Greek and we see the Greek word metamorpho, which means literally to transform. What that means is that the disciples were given a glimpse of the glory of the Son of God. They were witnesses to the FACT that Jesus was Who He said He was.
Not only is Jesus infused with light, a light that comes from His glory, but there were other witnesses there too. St. Mark writes…
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and
John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured
before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on
earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they
were talking with Jesus.
Moses and Elijah show up to attest to the disciples that this Man Jesus was indeed the long awaited Messiah. This was the one promised from Adam and Eve and was now coming into the world to save the world. A sight for sore eyes.
II.
But there is also in our text today a sound for sore ears. There is on this mountain confirmation of Who Jesus is.
The sights we have looked at, but there is also sound confirmation too. Peter, the week before, had heard what Jesus had said about His needing to suffer and die for the sins of the world, and balked. He would hear none of this and of course we have Jesus then telling Peter, “Get behind me Satan.” So Peter has heard of what is to come for Jesus.
Here on the mountain Peter is once again privy to heavenly words. He hears Moses and Elijah speaking of Jesus’ “departure,” which is a reiteration of what Jesus had said to Peter before, that He must go to
But the sounding for his ears and the ears of the other two disciples doesn’t end here. St. Mark writes…
And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the
cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
None other than the Father Himself calls out that this Jesus is His beloved Son and that they are to listen to Him. This cloud is not unlike other times in the Old Testament when we have seen this glorious cloud. It is a manifestation of God’s holy presence. And the Father gives some sage advice. He tells them to listen to Jesus. His Son, Jesus, knows what He is talking about. He must go this road to
III.
Week after week, our LORD shares these glorious sights and sounds of His sacrifice right here in church. We are lead into His presence confused and afraid. We hear and see terrible things all week long. Abductions, murders, natural disasters, it’s all there. But it doesn’t have to be as dramatic as this, it’s also the sights and sounds of our everyday lives here in Ortonville. The cross word spoken to a loved one, the impure thought, the ignoring of the right and the embracing of the wrong, the relegation of God and neighbor to the bottom of our list, the “things we have done and left undone.”
But here in this sanctuary we see the glory of His sacrifice for us. Here we see and hear what He has done for us, in the liturgy, in the hymns, in the prayers, in the very body and blood of Jesus all for us, all for our forgiveness. This is the sacrifice. This is the glory. This is all for you.
Sore eyes and sore ears. We have them and thanks be to God they have been cured in the washing of the waters of Holy Baptism, they have been restored and made whole through the sacrifice of the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.” They have been redeemed through the sounds of the LORD speaking to us through His Holy Word.
Take a look around you. Take a listen around you. These are the sights and sounds that sore eyes and sore ears long to see and hear. Feast upon these sights and sounds, for they are yours, earned on Jesus Holy cross all for you, all for your forgiveness. See Him. Listen to Him. Amen.
The peace of the LORD, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ Sola Deo Gloria +
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