C, Holy Trinity - Psalm 8 "God's Majestic Name"

Standing under an evening sky, with no light pollution from cities, is a wonder to behold.  To see the stars in the sky and know that many of them are so large, it would make our sun appear like a speck of dust, if they were alongside each other, makes the mind boggle.  Yet these massive stars join with all the other heavenly beings, to fill the darkened sky as microscopic pinpricks of light in the heavenly curtain of darkness.  As we stand and see their tiny lights radiating towards us, it blows the mind that the light we see now, has been in transit from that star, for years, lightyears. Arriving just now from the era when God created the heavens and the earth. 

But greater than the night sky is God in his magnitude, but also in the minute detail of something so massive and eternal.  We hear that God’s glory is still bigger!  We join with King David, the Psalmist, in contemplating his eternal question, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth? You have set your glory above the heavens.” (Psalm 8:1 ESV) David literally says, “O I AM, our ruler!”  The Existing One, is our keeper!  His majesty is immeasurably wide.  But, despite this, David realises we have access to him by simply calling on his name, “Yahweh”, which is “I AM”, I exist!  And furthermore, the glory of his name is greater the heavens!

As a child, on the farm, there were times when I would look at the majestic twilight sky and try to imagine the width and length of eternity.  I stared into the orange light, the cloud tails, and the fading into blue darkness with stars beginning to appear.  No matter what distance I could imagine.  I was in awe that my imaginings, were just that imaginings, only the beginnings, insignificant, terribly shortsighted, and childish.

King David reflects, “Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” (Psalm 8:2 ESV)

One might think that my childish imaginings are still greater than the cooing and garbled words of babies and infants.  Yet, I am reminded, that before I could imagine and ponder, while I was still an infant totally dependent on my mother, God had set in place strength that stops his enemies or haters, his foes or those who are cramped by him, and the avenger or those who carry a grudge against him.

What is made clear by God to David and us, is that the Almighty, works completely contrary to our intellect and what we imagine to be strength.

It’s at this point David and all of us remember that we’re the babies and infants of Adam.  Imbedded in the way we think, feel, work and reason, is the original sin we’ve inherited from Adam.  This makes me, a child of Adam, ponder the brokenness of my existence in the face of God.  Why would he begin to consider me?  If I am the same as Adam, and the rest of humanity, why shouldn’t his glory write me off and annihilate me?

How often do I regard God as the enemy, when I am suffering, when I don’t get my way, when my actions work against the truth of his word?  Like Adam, I am tempted to see God as the enemy, to see him as a deceiver, and thereby, I am deceived by Satan, the father of lies.  So, standing under the stars, I stand humbly in awe of the privilege of being allowed to live.  My sinful work pales into insignificance compared to the works of God in creation.  I realise how much my sinful being is completely dwarfed by his being, who has created the heavens and the earth, and still preserves everything that exists.

Be it the exquisite minute detail of a flower.  How animals know to migrate at the right time?  The order of the planets revolving around the sun without crashing into each other.  My smallness and my lack of attention to detail is highlighted by God’s extraordinary control of creation.  I am brought back to standing under the stars, not to worship them, but to worship he who made them.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”  (Psalm 8:3–4 ESV)

Why is God mindful of me?  A child of Adam!  It’s right here at this point where all seems lost, we hear that God cares for the son of man.  He cares for the son of Adam, in spite of our weakness, despite our deadly ungodliness.  Saint Paul reminds us, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6&8 ESV)

The Son of Man is Jesus Christ!  We hear from the author of Hebrews, “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:8b–9 ESV)

Adam’s disorder, our disorder, has been handed over to Jesus Christ to reorder.  Nothing has been left outside his control.  This Son of Man is the Son of God.  King David says of God, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour.” (Psalm 8:5 ESV)

Indeed, Christ was made low, he was willing to go the opposite way to Adam.  Adam unfaithfully sought to be God.  But Jesus faithfully submitted to God the Father, and although he is God the Son, he was prepared to put aside his Godliness, and became human, for you, for me, for King David. 

This is the love of God the Father and God the Son for humanity.  Jesus Christ became the Son of Man.  He became lower than the heavenly beings, lower than the angels.  He became lower than sinful humanity, to serve and save humanity, because God considers humanity the jewel of his creation.

We were the gold of God’s creation but became fool's gold against God.  But God loves us so much he gave the gold of his divinity in his only Son, who suffer death and broke the crucible of hell.  So, we might have the impurities of foolishness removed from us, so we might be the golden children we were meant to be.

When I stand and look at the stars and know that God is greater than these works of his.  And as I ponder that Jesus who was with the Father in his work of creation, departed his dominion to descend below me to the depts of depravity in my place, then my heart leaps in the knowledge of God’s love for me. 

In knowing God’s love in his forgiveness of you and me, through Jesus’ death, see the greater works of God in his work of salvation!  You and I are his new creation, through Jesus Christ!  You and I are perfectly restored in him!

But the love of God does not end there!  The threefold being of love that God is, is for us.  In Christ we have been grafted into God’s circle of love.  The love of God the Father and God the Son is continued in us with the Holy Spirit who in being sent in love from the Father and the Son, now loves to lead us to the Father and the Son. 

With such love, see that we are restored as the golden pinnacle of God’s creation. 

We hear of God, “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:6–8 ESV)

In Jesus Christ our care of creation has been reset, since God has given Jesus’ dominion over the works of his hands. The Holy Spirit now works with us, God’s re-creation, to cover our world with care and prayer in his name.  So that the world knows that Yahweh is the Lord, our Lord, through the majesty, the wideness, of his name in all the earth. Amen. 

C, Easter 5 - John 13:34-35 "Truth and Love"

Picture yourself in this situation.  You’ve being set up, falsely accused!  Your betrayer is one of your inner circle; a person in whom you have placed your trust.  It’s a person with whom you have been honest; you’ve been completely transparent and have told them the truth. 

You love them knowing they have set you up and will let you down!  They have heard the truth; the truth has revealed all things about yourself and them.  You love them anyway despite what they depart to do.

Judas Iscariot departed from Jesus to betray him.  How do you react to those who you believe have betrayed you?  This is how Jesus reacts…

“When he (Judas Iscariot) had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.” (John 13:31–32 ESV)

When I’m betrayed by someone in whom I trust, I don’t feel glorified.  I imagine, like me you don’t feel that way either!  Rather, the sense of being betrayed or deceived leaves us with feelings of debilitating disbelief and distress, at first.  Then after the shock wears off, sorrow and anger moves one to protect their self-interests, and even plot revenge.  There’s definitely not much love for the person whose betrayed your confidence!

However, Jesus knowing his mission as the Son of Man has been set in motion by Judas, testifies to the glory of God’s truth and love, and gives the commandment to love. 

As Judas leaves to betray him he charges his eleven disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35 ESV)

The love that Jesus brings to life just before his betrayal is a love that’s perfect.  At the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks to the truth of this love, saying, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:44–45a, 48 ESV)

Here Jesus reveals the love God expects of us and it’s a hard truth!   The love we so often submit to others as God’s love is not a love that submits to God’s truth.  Love without God’s truth can be just about any kind of passion or pleasure, desire or selfish whim, deceiving ourselves and others, with our love, opposing the love God commands.  God’s love and truth, reveals that all other “loves” fall short of God’s holy love, as imperfect, impassioned, partial, and eternally hopeless.    

The themes of truth and love run concurrently throughout God’s Word.  Paul tells the Corinthians that, “Love is patient and kind… it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth… Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8 ESV)

Love and truth are developed in John’s Gospel.  Right from the introduction, written down by his congregation we hear, “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.” (John 1:14 ESV)

John proclaimed the grace and truth of Jesus to his congregation, and through John they saw Jesus’ glory, a glory that was manifested at the cross in his death for his believers, his church.

This is the glory to which Jesus himself testifies after Judas departs to betray him.  Peter could not follow the gracious glory of God’s love and truth in Jesus Christ.  Instead, Peter denied Jesus three times and deserts him at his trial.  Jesus was the only one lifted up in glory, but for the rest of us we only see the way of the cross as a gory death killing our human glory.

Love and truth come to us in that Jesus is the personification of truth and love.  Jesus says to you who believe him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32 ESV)

Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV) And he prays for those who are his, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17 ESV)

Jesus makes us holy or sanctifies us in himself and his Word, which is truth, but with this truth he commands us to love, just as he has loved us.  He knows the heart of humanity, he knew the heart of Judas who rejected his Word, and he knew the heart of Peter who despite hearing the commandment to love, couldn’t see the love of God over his love of self in the face of death. 

Truth and love need to be bound together within us, and the only way that can occur is with external help.  We cannot keep the commandment to love, and we struggle with the truth the cross reveals about us.  We have an inbuilt inability to fear and love God, revealing us as fearful enemies of God’s glory that comes to us in truth and love.

For us to be made holy in the truth of Jesus’ glory, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit.  He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15–17 ESV)

Paul also agrees that the Spirit of Truth helps us to love, saying to the Romans, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5 ESV) And to the Galatians he proclaims, the fruit of the Spirit is firstly, love, then other things. (Galatians 5:22)

The theme of love and truth, developed in God’s Word, and especially the Gospel of John are pulled together in John’s three Epistles where John says, “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” (1 John 2:4–5 ESV)  And, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18 ESV)

In Revelation, Jesus Christ shows himself to John who, “saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11–13 ESV)

Jesus, the Word of God, is Truth and Love, and he calls his church, his bride into his truth and love.  Like Cornelius we are Gentiles baptised into God’s church of Jesus’ truth and love.   We hear the circumcised believers glorifying God that the Gentiles have been granted “repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11: 18 ESV), after Peter brings this good news to Jerusalem.

Like Cornelius and his family, we have been granted by the Holy Spirit repentance that leads to life, through Jesus’ truth and love.  God is truth!  In the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all truth is revealed by the truth in his Word of Law and Gospel.  God is love!  This love is perfect, impartial, and holy!  In his Word of Law and Gospel, he shows you your sin, is saving you from it, and is making you holy!  By the power of the Holy Spirit he works in you deeds of truth and love.  That is, to be loved by God through continual repentance and forgiveness, to love the truth of God’s Law and Gospel, to love God, and to love one another as God has loved us.

Do you want to conquer and be a part of God’s one holy eternal and apostolic church?  Jesus, the faithful and true witness speaks his great word of the Amen, the Yes, the Truth and the Love, calling us from being lukewarm in God’s truth and love,  saying, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.’” (Revelation 3:19 ESV) Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father, God of truth and love, remove all half-truths and  lukewarm love from our hearts.  Work in us the burning desire of Jesus’ truth and love, with the Spirit of truth and love, your Holy Spirit. Amen.

C, Easter 3 - Revelation 5:11-12 "Worthy is the Word"

Revelation 5:11–12 (ESV)   Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!”

This weekend has brought to a climax, weeks of words.  Through all these words, every person has been asked to consider who and what is worthy of their support.  Words all working towards enticing you to choose who is worthy to be a winner.

How does one work out who or what is worthy?  What is worthiness?

When hidden reality was revealed to John, the question of worthiness was asked of him. 

John tells us, “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’” (Revelation 5:1–5 ESV)

We too, might want to weep loudly with a world of words competing for worthiness within.  Vying for our attention is all sorts of stuff coming at us from every direction. Words from others, words from what one reads, words from what one hears!  Words in the airways, coming from the mouths of others, meet our ears and enter in.  We try to make sense of these words with our own internal words.  These are words we’ve heard in the past, and for whatever reason, hang onto as truth. 

Some of the things we’ve heard in the past have proven to be good at first but then have soured and left a very bad taste in our mouths.  On the other hand, some words sound wonky and unlikely to be right, but time or experience has proven them to be true for now. It seems the amount of information at our fingertips today has not made us more informed.  Instead, it seems to have made us more cynical and sceptical.

The electronic world in which we live has allowed us to become a knee jerk society.  Words seem to jerk us around, pulling at us, tugging on one’s inner strings, this way and that, to impatiently persuade in an instant.  Words appear to have lost their influence from a creative single truth.  Words have become a tool of persuasion.   Truth is no longer objective, but rather, it’s now optional!  

Many having been won over in the past by words less than truthful, become cynical and sceptical.  Hearing, seeing, authorship, reality, are less and less trusted in an artificial world where everything has become “subjective and temporary”.  No “objective or supreme” truth can be trusted.  In other words, we no longer trust anything apart from what’s within the self. 

We live in a world where truth has no foundation, which has led to a world of confusion and chaos.  The loss of objective truth outside of us, is most dangerous for everyone in the world, when truth is lost in God’s church, to the subjective chaotic lies branded as truths.

When worthiness is lost to subjectivity, people go back into the self, collectively and individually seeking self-worth.  We ask ourselves, “Who can open the scroll of truth in our society today?”  Some place their trust in this; others in that!   A war of words begins.  It’s politicised, polarising, and paralysing.   It’s a war of half-truths and sin.  One’s subjective truth is pitted against another, and if left to fester, brother is separated from brother, children are detached from parents, neighbour becomes nasty towards neighbour, race riots against race, one population plunders another, due to misguided self-worth. 

We find ourselves teetering on the edge, asking, “What is not a lie?  What’s truth?  Everything’s a lie!” 

In his revelation, John sees all this in himself and everyone else.  He sees the lie of his humanity, and the contradiction of words within himself and within the world.  He weeps that no one can open the scroll and unseal the Word of Truth.  But an elder proclaims to him, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5 ESV)

The Lamb of God has conquered!  He is the Tree of Life, the Root of David.  The Lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, is risen as God’s Ram from Mount Moriah having been sacrificed with his head in the thorns.  He is the Word made flesh, the Objective Truth made Subjective Flesh, the Son of God and the Son of Man.  Now his flesh has been raised in objective truth as the only Worthy Word!

What is truth?  What is not a lie? Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.  Who or what is worthy? Not you!  Not me!  Not our words!  Jesus Christ is worthy because the testimony of the water, in which you were baptised, because of the testimony of his blood, which you take and drink for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, and because of the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which is greater than any testimony of humanity (1 John 5:6-12).

Jesus is the only one worthy to open the scroll, the truth of his Word.  His life, death, and resurrection is the only true eternal testimony.  The word of neither women nor men, neither politician nor pastor, is greater than Jesus’ Word.

Unfortunately, many even inside the church have become cynical and sceptical towards the truth of Jesus’ Word.  We are all tempted to take his word and filter it through our human understanding, to make Jesus, worthy in a way we see fit. 

We are told in Hebrews chapter thirteen, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  (Hebrews 13:7–8 ESV)

In this unchanging sameness John looked and saw, “a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.” (Revelation 5:6b–7 ESV)

Remember the pastors you have called here in this parish. These are repentant men sent by God to point you to the worthiness of Jesus Christ, and the scroll he has opened, not to themselves or for their own worthiness.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, these men have not called you to be illuminated by the world.  But have called you by the worthiness of the Lamb to illuminate him in the world with his sevenfold character in the Holy Spirit.

The scroll of the truth is open by Jesus Christ.  Let the Holy Spirit open your heart to the sevenfold character of Jesus’ worthiness, as God’s only begotten Word of Truth.  Through his death and resurrection, Jesus’ worthy character is one of power, wealth, wisdom, might, honour, glory, and blessing.

With regards to power, not only does Jesus have power, but he has omnipotent eternal power. 

Jesus’ wealth is a wealth that survives your grave and is rich in eternal life. 

The wisdom of Jesus’ Word is unfathomable. But at the same time, its clarity is so simple a child can grasp it. 

Despite being the Lamb of God, Jesus’ might, is second to none.  Not even a foolish fox could devour this Lamb's worthiness!  You are little lambs under the Lamb of God, protected by the worthiness of his might!

Jesus’ worthiness has a greater value than silver or gold!  Therefore, you, priests of God’s kingdom, can give away your earthly kingdoms, trusting in the honour or prize of Jesus’ worthiness.

The glory of God’s children is in the worthiness of Jesus’ power, wealth, wisdom, might, and honour.  This glory begins with God, but it also ends with God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Test yourself to see you’re not a blockage hindering God’s glory.   Pray that God disciplines you as disciples of his glory.  As disciples of his glory, Jesus makes you worthy, that is, holy in the sight of God our Father.

Therefore, in Christ’s worthiness you are priests in God’s kingdom, eulogised by Jesus’ worthiness.  All the eulogising pomp and ceremony of ourselves in our death is now worthless compared to the goodness of Jesus, in the worthiness of what he has done for you.  You and I are not blessed in ourselves, but in the worthiness of him alone, his blessedness makes you and me a blessing to others.

So, let the sevenfold Holy Spirit of God that rested on Jesus and led him to death, and through it, rest on you.   As Jesus allowed the Spirit to lead him, let the sevenfold Spirit open your heart to Jesus’ worthiness.  To reject all other power, wealth, wisdom, might, honour, glory, and blessing and be made worthy of eternal life by Jesus’ power, wealth, wisdom, might, honour, glory, and blessing. 

Worthy is the Word of God, yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

C, The Transfiguration of our Lord - Luke 9:28-45 "A Flash of Holy Glory"

Luke 9:43–44 (ESV) And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marvelling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

A cataclysmic flash in the sky is followed by the sound of an explosion of kilotonic proportions.  The sound is accompanied by a pressure wave that stuns and shocks to the core of a person’s being.

Possibly you’ve seen the footage of the British Government testing nuclear bombs at Maralinga in South Australia, or at other places where countries test these weapons of destruction.   Vision of people with their backs turned to the initial blast, quickly turn around to see the ugly mushroom cloud of another atomic test.

Or, perhaps you remember seeing the destruction of the Beirut Port explosion in 2020.  There was fire, and substantial explosions, before the mega-blast that was heard up to 240 kms away in the countries surrounding Lebanon.  It measured a magnitude of 3.3 on the seismic scale and is considered the largest non-nuclear explosion on record.

The fire where the 2750 tons of ammonia nitrate was stored was huge.  A billowing tower of smoke meant many were watching and recording it on phones, not expecting the main event was still to come.   So, many angles of the blast were captured by Beirut locals, along with their reactions as the blast wave rippled out through the city. 

What happened in a second, left its ugly mark on the city and those who lived in it.  We watch, mesmerised by the magnitude of these types of detonation — the flash, the blast wave, and the earth-shattering destruction.  However, those who survive these mega-explosions live dumfounded and numb, dealing with the fallout from a cataclysmic moment in time, long after the fact.

The impact of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, dumfounded  Peter, James and John.   It was good for Peter and the others to be there, but they didn’t know why. 

Unlike a nuclear explosion or the Beirut blast, this cataclysmic event was beautiful, as God’s holiness and glory flashed only for a moment.  But like the blast wave of a nuclear event or the fallout after Beirut, the three apostles were shocked and shaken by the holy glory, that altered Jesus’ face and made his clothes dazzling white with holy brilliance.    

We’re told Peter, James, and John were praying with Jesus, and they were heavy with sleep.  We’re not told whether they were falling asleep because they were struggling to pray, or that God had allowed them to enter a trancelike state.  Nor do we know if God’s glory woke them up or if they woke to discover his glory.

But what we do know is once awake, the event had a lasting impact on the three.  Jesus appeared with two others, Moses and Elijah, speaking of a “new” exodus.  Like those dumbfounded and shocked by an explosion and its sound wave, Peter deliriously seeks to halt their exodus and wants to build three shelters.  He knows it is good to be there, but he doesn’t yet know why it’s better to leave.

Now came the holy blast wave, as it were, as a cloud overshadowed them.  “And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’” (Luke 9:35 ESV)

Eight days earlier Jesus said to the twelve, “But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:27 ESV) Now on the eighth day they heard their holy God and saw a flash of God’s glory and his kingdom.  Albeit, for just a moment.

Like a cataclysmic earth-shattering explosion that ripples out from its epicentre, Jesus and the disciples leave the mountain and are confronted by the reality of what might be considered anything but glorious and holy. 

They encounter by a man whose son is possessed by a spirit, that seizes him and convulses him.  In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear it grips him so much it throws him into fires and water.

To see the flash of God’s holy glory, then to see this convulsing boy, would’ve been chalk and cheese events.  But like Peter’s inability to act on the mountain, the other disciples who didn’t go up the mountain are dumbstruck and cannot cast out the spirit.  So, the father of the child begs Jesus to cast it out.

After Jesus confronts the convulsing spirit, rebukes it, and heals the boy, and gives him back to his father, all who witness the event, “were astonished at the majesty of God.” (Luke 9:43 ESV)

Three of the disciples saw the majesty of God on the mountain and heard, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him.”  The three saw and heard God’s majesty, but only after the resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, would they have fully understood this Chosen One, this Son, was God the Son.

The glorious holy flash of Transfiguration, seen also in the healing of the boy, was rippling from God’s holy glory towards the human ugliness of the cross.  This was the exodus, the way out, about which Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah.  Now having seen God’s holy glory and hearing the declaration from God that, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, is his Son, Jesus adds to their astonishment.

We hear, “But while they were all marvelling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.’” (Luke 9:43b-44 ESV)

Jesus reveals that not only is he the Son of Mary, and the Son of God, but he sinks  into them  that he’s the Son of Man who was about to be delivered into death as the Anointed One, the Christ.

The three-part picture is complete, this human, the second member of the Trinity, makes a turn, a very good turn, a Good Friday exodus turn.  Better than Peter’s idea to build three shelters and stay on the mountain, Jesus has another mountain in view.  This is the mountain of Calvery, gory Golgotha, the place of the skull, the mountain of death.  At Calvary, Jesus became the Christ.  The Son of God and the Son of Man, serves God and serves humanity.

Not only did the holy glorious flash of Transfiguration mesmerise the disciples, but it also revealed Jesus as the only one who could atone for all the failures humanity has inflicted upon creation.  Everything we do to break from our brokenness reveals so many more layers of unrepairable brokenness.  Like a pandoras box of despair, the flash of God’s glory shows we have no human exodus from the goriness of our flesh into God’s glory.

As we stand here in memory on the Mountain of Transfiguration, let us stand with Jesus on the cusp of our Lenten season of reflection as we learn why it's good to see Jesus in transfigured glory, but is better that he walked the way of the cross.

As Jesus resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem see what was before him.  As you resolutely walk with him, know from what you’ve been delivered, and into what his death delivers!  See at the cross on the mountain of Calvary, his hidden glory exchanged for the hidden gore of your nuclear explosive nucleus, that ripples out of your humanity in cataclysmic proportions.

But see further to Jesus on the mountain of ascension and your resurrection ascension with him.  See that the end is in sight, the night is nearly over, and what awaits you.  Be mesmerised by the explosion of God’s glory welling up in eternal streams of life, won by Jesus, who is returning to finish your eternal healing, and accompany you into the majesty of our Father’s presence.  Amen.

B, Post Pentecost 7 Proper 9 - 2 Corinthinans 12:2-10 "Super-Self"

2 Corinthians 12:2–10 (ESV)  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—  and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.  On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—  though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul addresses those at Corinth to hang onto the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and avoid Satan who acts as an “angel of light”.  He confronts these people who teach contrary to his teaching and tempt others away from trusting God’s word.  Those who do this,  Paul calls super-apostles.  These are folk who work superiority over others, forcing folk to follow their ways, contrary to the ways of God.  These people are super-selves and encourage others to super-size their egos too!!

In our age of individualism and self-glorification of the individual, super-apostleship is arguably just as prevalent, if not more so, than when Paul addressed the Corinthians. 

How can you and I safeguard ourselves from super-apostles?  But more importantly, how does a person protect themselves from inadvertently becoming a super-apostle, or a super-self?

This is the issue Paul needed to pursue at Corinth.  He has come under attack by these super-selves, so he defends the apostleship to which he is called by God.  But he has to do it without falling into the same trap as those who have become super-apostles, false-apostles, false-teachers of God’s word.  Paul’s aim is to create true disciples, true believers, or Christians who stand under God’s word, under Jesus Christ, rather than under him.  Sub-selves of Jesus, or disciples, rather than super-selves!

This is why Paul speaks to the Corinthians in what might seem peculiar to our ears.  He refers to himself as a fool.  As one who has no mind, out of his mind, or has no understanding.  This is a very strange way to defend the faith, you might think!

He speaks of a man caught up to the third heaven or paradise of whom he will not boast.  Paul speaks here of himself, apart from himself, not to boast of the things God has done with him to prepare him for his apostleship under the cross.  But Paul boasts in his foolishness, nothingness, weakness, and the harassment of Satan in his thorn in his flesh, to stop him boasting and becoming conceited in the flesh of himself. 

To stop him from becoming a super-apostle within himself, Paul appeals to this suffering selflessness.  Rather than be a super-self, Paul proclaims his suffering-self!

But Paul even goes further by saying, “Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.  Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.”  (2 Corinthians 11:5–6 ESV)

Paul calls himself “unskilled in speaking”, this is literally an “idiot in speaking”, and ignoramus!  He goes on to question and say of the weakness and foolishness of his flesh, “To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!  But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.  Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.  Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.”  (2 Corinthians 11:21b–23 ESV)

What Paul is comparing himself to is the “idiotes” (id-ee-o-tace)or nothingness of Christ.  Not that Christ was nothing, but that Jesus Christ selflessly put his divinity aside and became “absolutely nothing” to save you, me, Paul, and the Corinthians.

This flies in the face of any super-apostle.  The super-self within all of us, seeks to be outstanding in position and perception, rather than understanding or being submissive and subordinate, under the knowledge of Christ.  The knowledge of a super-self will come from a glorified hyper-sense of self.   One’s knowledge is not of Jesus Christ but of what one thinks is good or evil.  Rather than submit to a fool like Saint Paul or any other “idiot” to whom Paul submits, they position themselves, second to no one, serving only if it is to benefit of the super-self.

The desire of super-apostles will always be to tempt others away from humility and faithful submission to God, to a faithfulness in other things or persons.  They use scandalous scams that lure the vainglory of the old sinful super-self, within each of us, to covet pleasure, popularity, and prosperity of various kinds.  This is emotionalism!  The super-apostle wants the person they tempt, to think like them, to be emotional, so they can control them with their "superior ways and beliefs".

With the growing rejection of Christ-centred faith in the world today, individualism and the super-self, sees the cross of Jesus Christ as a scandal.  This should not be a surprise to us, as the people of Nazareth, Jesus own kin, saw him as a scandal.  But it’s this very scandal that Paul and all Christ-centred people continue, suffer, and persevere in patience, waiting for the hope of eternal glory.

So, to protect ourselves from super-apostles, as well as becoming super-selves, we need to invoke a test, first on ourselves and then on those who come to us seeking to teach us something!  The test is simple: Test by asking, “Where is the glory going!”  “Is it going to God alone or to somewhere or someone else?”  It’s as simple as that!  

However, we need to do this, because we still need to be taught.  We are still learners, disciples! The other danger that we face in this age of individualism is to further promote the old Adam, the super-self, and cut ourselves off from true sources of teaching, that God puts in place.

Rather than be misinformed by a super-apostle, we can also cut ourselves off from God the Holy Spirit’s work, by being uninformed without the word of God, and continuing in this uninformed state, we quickly revert back to having the malformed mind of a super-self, separated from God and his word.

You and I need to be daily carried from the individualism of the super-self, back into the word of God, by the Holy Spirit.

As there were in Paul’s day, there are many today who, use the word of God in a way contrary to the way the prophets, Paul and the apostles, as well as many mum, dad, and children disciples, who have sought and continue to seek being faithful servants of God.

Rather than support you in repentance, confession of sin, and belief in Christ’s forgiveness of sin, super-selves and super-apostles who masquerade as “angels of light” under Satan, will give the sense that Christians shouldn’t struggle and suffer with sin.  They will seek subtle ways of putting themselves between God and his word.  Probably by using God and his word, just as the devil sought to do against Jesus, and countless others since.

As your pastor, I know that you all have been caught up into the third heaven, to paradise, when God baptised you into the holy priesthood of all believers.  I also know as your pastor; you have been given thorns in the flesh.  That, super-apostles and your super-self, harass you, torment and seek to tempt you, within the church, to be without the Holy Spirit and the word of God.  Or, to add laws to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But as Jesus says to Paul, he says to us all, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a ESV)

This is what God the Son promises you in his Holy Baptism.  His cross is sufficient for you.  The Holy Spirit was Jesus’ perfect power, to, and through, the scandal of the cross.  This same Holy Spirited power is sufficient for you for your forgiveness of sin, life and salvation.

Therefore, in your weaknesses let the power of Christ rest upon you, as you reject the super-apostle and daily drown the super-self within.  Amen.

A, The Birth of our Lord, Christmas Day - Luke 2:13-14 "Gift Wrapped in Glory"

Luke 2:13-14 (ESV) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 

The shepherds sit around hoping for a quiet night.  They watch their sheep, they don’t want any trouble from predators or thieves, a quiet night is a good night.

But then in an instant the night is like day.  The shepherds are startled; their full attention has been gathered.  This brightness brings with it a weight they’ve never experienced.  It is heavy; but it’s heavenly!  They tremble in fear under the mass of light bearing down on them from heaven.  This is no predator; this is no thief!  Something is going down; but how to explain what is transpiring before their very eyes!

Then this heavy heavenly thing speaks out of the brightness and light, saying to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:10–12 ESV)

And if that is not enough for these simple shepherds to hear, then, “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” 

When the angels went back into heaven, what did the shepherds do with this great burden of information left with them?  They left their sheep in the field saying, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  (Luke 2:15b ESV)

The weight of the event left its mark on them.  This glory, the angel, and its heavenly entourage was so intense they could do nothing but go and see this Saviour lying in a manger.

As we have heard today, and have heard every Christmas, they found Mary and Joseph, they found Jesus in swaddling cloths lying in the manger, the sign revealed to them by the angel of God.

We are told of the shepherds, “And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” (Luke 2:17–18 ESV)

What does God’s glory do to you? 

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”  (Luke 2:20 ESV)

How would you explain this event to those who had not seen it? 

We hear this gospel message every year, every Christmas?  But how do you explain all that the shepherds saw, and how can we repeat the proclamation today with the same enthusiasm and excitement as that of the shepherds.

For us to share in the excitement of the shepherds with a willingness to repeat their sounding joy, we need to allow God the Holy Spirit to open up the text of this Christmas gospel for us.  Then we can intimately share in the event of the first Christmas.  And therefore, repeat it to those who do not know what this—everyday earthly, but heavy heavenly—birth does for all of creation.

Three times in the reading today we hear of glory.  What is the glory of God?  How do we explain the glory of God shining around the shepherds, the heavenly choir singing “Glory to God in the highest”, and the shepherds glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen?

The glory of God has a huge impact on the shepherds.  They saw it shining around them, they heard it heralded by the heavenly hosts, then they continued in this glory after seeing Jesus.  What is this glory?

In the Old Testament Hebrew, glory, simply means “to be heavy”.  In a bad sense it can mean to be a burden or severe, but in a good sense can mean numerous, rich, or honourable.  It means to be weighty in either a good or bad way.

When God reveals his glory over Pharaoh through Moses it is both a burden to Pharaoh but also a joy to the Israelites.  When the glory of the Lord covered Mount Sinai and when it filled the tabernacle and later the temple, people did not take it lightly.  In fact, the people of God feared the intense weight of God in his glory when it appeared.  Even using God’s name was a hefty thing for fear of saying it in vain and discrediting the weight of its glory.

In the New Testament the Greek word for glory is doxa, from where we get doxology, or words about glory.  In fact, the angels or host of heaven praise God with what we would call a doxology. 

This glory is: to please, to think well of, to be of good reputation.  With the Old Testament meaning to be weighty, to glorify God is to give the greatest weight of pleasure to him, he is worthy of the best thoughts and reputation among us.

Doxologies appear quite often when we acknowledge God’s presence with us.  On the end of psalms, the end of the Lord’s Prayer, which comes from King David (Psalm 145:11-13, 1 Chronicles 29:10-13), and the Great Gloria and the Holy, Holy, Holy in the liturgy are combinations of doxological praises sung in the presence of God.

The shepherds heard, saw, and felt the full weight of God’s presence when the angel appeared.  In fact, when the angels left and went into heaven, the shepherds didn’t say, let’s go and see what the angel told us”, but rather said let’s see that “which the Lord has made known to us.”

Much is made of angels today.  Many angelic experiences are over personified and in doing so glory is taken away from God.  However, angels are messengers of God.  Even if they are named in Scripture, it is not they who we look to, but to God in whose name they speak.  This is why the shepherds say, the Lord, rather than an angel, had made Jesus’ birth known to them.

The doxology of the heavenly host or angelic choir also functions in the same way.  They announce God in all his glory.  In fact, this is the first time the Heavenly Choir is heard on earth.  We are accustomed to it these days as we sing in God’s presence the Great Gloria and the Holy, Holy, Holy in the liturgy.  We sing it because God is present, but when Jesus was born the heavenly choir was heard for the first time on earth. 

We do well to be in awe of God being with us today in all his weighty glory, just as much as he was then before the shepherds, as we join the heavenly choir each time we sing or say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Or any other doxology!

“Glory to God in the highest” is the great glorification of God.  It is the heaviest pleasure that can be bestowed upon God.  And now this glory shines around the shepherds and they pass it onto all whom they see.  All who heard the shepherds marvelled and wondered at the news.  These shepherds had continued the messenger work, God had shone on them through his angelic messengers.

This glory of God is the wrapping of God’s greatest gift to us — Jesus Christ in human flesh!

The angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Not only is this glory given to God as the ultimate praise, but it is also given to the shepherds and us, those with whom God is pleased.  It is God’s pleasure in the highest to give you peace through Jesus Christ.

Such is the weight of this event that we receive the gift of love from God the Father, wrapped in glory and swaddling cloths.  With the Psalmist, we look not to our works or idols but look to the gift of God in the manger and say, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”  (Psalm 115:1 ESV)

We see the steadfast love and faithfulness of Jesus in human flesh and trust his work and word that his flesh now speaks for our flesh fulfilling the will of God.  This is the will of God done in heaven and on earth bringing peace to us and pleasure to God.

This gift of God covers us in his glory with his victory over sin and death on the cross, covering you with the forgiveness of sins.  Let the Holy Spirit unwrap God’s glory in you, so having seen and heard the gift of God, like the shepherds you continue to glorify and praise God to all whom you meet in these days.  Amen. 

C, Transfiguration - Luke 9:28–43 & 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 "Cross-figuration"

Luke 9:28–43 (ESV) Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.  And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,  who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.  And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.  As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”  And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.  On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.  And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.  And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”  Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”  While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV)  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, 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.

From the mountain of Transfiguration to the mountain of disfiguration,  Golgotha, the place of the skull, Calvary, Jesus walks for our reconfiguration!

When Jesus was transfigured, Peter wanted to build three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  He did not know what he was saying.  For if he did, he would have known if this happened, the unveiled glory and perfection of the Law, would kill him, James, and John.

However, Jesus was not to bask in this glory!  His face was not to shine like Moses’ face did!   He would resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem, and take the road to the city named “flowing peace”, where his blood would flow from the cross of Calvary for true peace.

Rather, in his transfigured state, we see the curtain of Jesus’ flesh pulled back, to see the holiness of his Spirit within.  But only for a brief moment.   Here he talks, with two great men of the Law, about his exodus from Jerusalem.   This is the holy eternal exodus to which Moses and Elijah faithfully looked forward with hope.  This was during the days when Moses and Elijah repeatedly led Israel out of sin, into peace with God the Father.

Jesus must come down from the glory of Transfiguration into the presence of the sinful crowd and disciples.  Jesus, who was glorifying the Law in his flesh, meets a father concerned for his son.   In the Spirit of his Gospel walk he hears the father’s plea…

 “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out.  It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.  And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”  (Luke 9:38–40 ESV)

The disciples could not cast it out.  How could they have done so?  They were infant hearers and witnesses; only learners of Jesus and yet to receive the forgiveness of sins at the cross and the sweet breath of the Holy Spirit, who would reconfigure their hearts through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Still reeling from the transfiguration, Peter, James and John with the other disciples continued to stumble, unable to help when confronted with the unclean spirit’s disfiguration of the child.  They had not learnt from their helplessness to pray in humility like Jesus.  But that would come once the Holy Spirit revealed the depth of their helplessness, so they would trust in their resurrected Lord Jesus Christ like he trusted and prayed to his Father.

On the mountain God declared, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35 ESV)  Now God’s Son, Jesus, answers the convulsing child’s father; and the disciples, and crowd, listen and learn…

 “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here.”  While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him.  But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.  And all were astonished at the majesty of God.  (Luke 9:41–43 ESV)

How faithless and twisted we are too, because of our flesh!  How long is Jesus to be with us and bear us by his Word? 

Thanks be to God Jesus comes down.  He comes down from heaven, he comes down into flesh at the manger, he comes down into the Jordan and is baptised into his ministry of death and resurrection.  Jesus does this and it pleases our Heavenly Father, and down in the depths of human sin and death, he bears us up from sin and death. 

He cleanses the boy of uncleanness and gives him back to his father clean.  The Holy Son of God, transfigured in glory, leaves the mountain, and descends into the darkness of our sin and knowledge, to cleanse us and give us back to our Heavenly Father. 

Even his chosen twelve did not know or understand.   Having seen the healing, having been with Jesus they still did not take hold of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Peter, James, and John saw the unveiled glory of God in Jesus but the veil of darkness still covered them so they could not understand.

After Jesus’ transfiguration and cleansing of the boy, he says to the disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”  But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. (Luke 9:44–45 ESV)

Jesus comes from the mountain of transfigured glory, from the mountain of Holiness and Law, but the listening and learning does not finish here for the disciples, nor does it for us. 

We must now walk with Jesus from the mountain of glory to the mountain of disfiguration and goriness.  But it’s at gory Golgotha, the mountain of Calvary that we receive the Gospel of glory. 

It’s at the mountain of disfiguration, we learn of our faithlessness and twistedness.  It’s where Jesus bears us up in glory under the weight of our gory sinful being and sinfulness.

It’s at the place of the Skull where our Head was hung.  And we his body receive his Spirit of freedom. 

We hang our heads in sinful shame, we feel the sting of death, and know we are a sinful and twisted generation.  Left to our own devices we throw ourselves down and convulse in our old Adam.

But look and see that this Transfigured One, who came down from heaven, down from the mountain and was lifted up disfigured on the cross, is now refigured in eternal resurrection glory and is reconfiguring us in the good news of his resurrection.

Today we walk from the celebration of Transfiguration Sunday and on Wednesday we will remember, we are dust and to dust we shall return.  We will be marked with an ash cross on the forehead.  We will begin the walk of remembrance through Lent to the mountain of gory Golgotha, the mountain of reconfiguration, the mountain of Gospel glory.

But as we walk the walk of remembrance, we also continue our walk to the cross of our earthly death.  But as we do, we walk with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, raise from the dead.  We continue to walk and learn from life, just what a sacrifice it was for Jesus to make his walk to the mountain of Cross-figuration, for our transformation, and our eternal transfiguration.  Amen. 

C, Advent 1 - Luke 21:27-28,36 "Stand Before The Son Of Man"

Luke 21:27–28, 36 (ESV) And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

A man and woman, a dog, a horse, and a chicken, all find themselves standing before God after their time on earth, and he asks them, “What was your purpose while you lived in the world?” 

The chicken tells God that her purpose was to lay eggs for food for the man and the woman and to have baby chickens so they too could produce eggs and more chickens.  Some of us chickens would also be food for humanity too.  The chicken testified to its practice of scratching around the place eating insects, grubs, and grains of seed during the course of each day.  The chicken also joyfully tells of its production of chook poo and how it fertilises the ground.

The horse is then called to testify to its purpose to which it tells God it is a beast of burden.  We horses carry humanity on our backs, pull loads of goods, and plough paddocks with our horsepower. And, like the chicken, the horse also confesses its poo is good for the garden.

The dog is then brought forward to attest to its function in the scheme of daily activity.  The dog reveals its purpose as a protector and a friend of the man and woman.  It tells of its dogged determination of chasing down other animals like cattle and sheep, to help humans round up their herds and flocks.  But the dog also freely bears witness to the not so nice practise of eating rotten flesh, scavenging, and even returning to its own vomit from time to time.

Finally, the humans stand before God to give evidence of what their function is in the world.  But the humans don’t know what to say to God.  They didn’t realise they had to stand before God.  In fact, they had forgotten God existed and thought they were the ultimate reality on earth.

Humanity has forgotten its function!  What is our purpose in life?  When Jesus returns how will we stand before the Righteousness of God. 

How does one stand before the Son of Man?  Face to face, toe to toe with Jesus Christ on the last day we will all stand before the Son of Man!  And as we stand before him, the full account of our lives will be revealed down to the last dot and tittle. How does one stand before the Son of Man?

The Son of Man is a title that Jesus often used for himself and often connected with his coming at the end of time.  Jesus is also the Son of God, but he never uses this title. Rather, it is spoken of him by Gabriel the Archangel when Jesus was conceived in Mary. He is named the Son of God in the linage of man in the genealogy of Adam.  The Devil, demons, and the Jews all accuse him in connection with being the Son of God.  But Jesus lived, suffered, and died as the Son of Man, and during this time promised his return as the Son of Man.

In stark contrast to Jesus calling himself the Son of Man, we position ourselves as sons of ourselves, second to no one.  Each of us would prefer to be recognised as heroes of humanity rather than a son of man. 

Man in his misogyny and females in their feminism, both challenging each other and turning in on the centrality of their humanity, seek to stand aloof in one’s own righteousness. Being a son of man like Jesus doesn’t appeal to us, as something to which we might want to attain or to one whom we would want to submit.

But Jesus promises, “…they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”  (Luke 21:27–28 ESV)

And he continues, “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36 ESV)

To understand what Jesus is telling us about straightening up, raising your head, and standing before the Son of Man in the future, we need to see what Jesus teaches us about standing before the Son of Man in the word of God.

Jesus addresses how a person stands when he tells a parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” (Luke 18:9–14a ESV)

Jesus stands before humanity as the servant Son of Man.  Then Jesus will stand before humanity with power and great glory at the end of time.

Jesus tells us, the Son of Man comes to us in this life and knocks, he says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20 ESV)

And, “…once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’  Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’  But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.”  (Luke 13:25–28 ESV)

Jesus stands to serve, and he will come and stand to see if we have received his service.  Those who do not want his service in this life will continue in that.  Those who realise they need his service and allow him to be our servant will enter the eternal service of God the Father where there is eternal peace.

Jeremiah looked forward to the time of Jesus’ service of righteousness in a time when salvation and security on earth seemed fleeting.  He says, “In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 33:16 ESV)

It is advantageous for us, as we enter the Advent season,  to let the light of Christ serve you.  Let him illuminate your sin and save you as he stands before you and knocks.  Let God function in your life as your God so you can stand in his eternal kingdom functioning as saints saved for all eternity. 

For the kingdom and the power and the glory belongs to the Son of Man. And he stands before us, offering himself as gift, today and every day, until he returns with all power and glory. Amen.