He was amazed at how whenever he spoke with this man in white, the emotions he felt seemed to contradict each other. The sight of this man brought both a sense of terror, but also the feeling of hope. How these feelings could coexist were beyond him, but that is how he felt. He knew it was good for him to be where he was. Still, being there reminded him of the problem within him that was unseen by everyone else. A problem that needed healing, and he was in the right place for that healing. It was the presence of this problem, this illness that made him uneasy because he knew that getting rid of his dilemma would come at a high cost. As he waited for the man in white to speak to him, he trembled. Light spilled into the room where the terrified man was sitting. The man in white entered. “Hello, Doc.” The Doctor in his white lab coat sat down next to the man and proceeded to tell him that his cancer was treatable with a 98% success rate.
Have you ever been in that type of situation? At that moment, you are trembling as reality presses in around you. You are increasingly aware that there is something horribly wrong while at the same time knowing that you are where you need to be. You might be calling to mind situations like that opening story. Maybe you remember a time when you sat in a doctor’s office waiting for a man in a white lab coat to tell you answers to medical exams.
There is something that should cause us to tremble with more fear than any diagnosis from a doctor. It is the reality that we are sinners, and we still sin daily. If left undiagnosed and untreated, it means suffering and being tormented in hell, separated from the love of God forever. I hope that day you remember that you have been diagnosed as a sinner. I hope that is what drives you to Salem because it is good for us to be here.
On February 23rd, in church, we heard about Jesus taking three disciples up the mountain of transfiguration. What thoughts do you think went through the minds of Peter, James, and John as Jesus lead them up that incline? What lesson did they think that they would learn? Maybe Peter remembered the event that took place six days earlier. When he, Peter, had attempted to tell Jesus that he would never let him be killed? Do you think as they hiked Jesus’ words, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23), were on replay in Peter’s head?
We can’t look into the minds of the three disciples that Jesus took with him to the mount of transfiguration. What we can know is when that glorious event took place, they reacted how sinful man always does when confronted with a brilliant display of God’s holiness. They fell to their faces trembling in terror. Christ’s transfiguration was the transformation of his visible figure from that of a normal man, to reflect the fact that he is without sin. At this event, Jesus allowed his perfection to shine forth. Peter, James, and John saw this, and because of their sin, they realized they weren’t deserving to be in the presence of this man who was their dear teacher and friend.
Despite this fear, Peter interrupts the conversation that Jesus was having with the prophets, Moses and Elijah. Peter does tell the truth, “It is good for us to be here,” but then he gets it wrong when he offers to build a shelter for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. We can’t read his mind, but maybe he was under the impression that merely being in the presence of these three teachers of the faith, the problem of his sin would vanish because of his proximity to this brilliant scene.
Peter got it wrong, and he needed to hear the voice of God the Father announce, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5). It was good for them to be there, but trembling because of sin would not be relieved on that mountain. They had to leave. They needed to listen more to Jesus as he prepared them for his upcoming death on the cross.
It is good for us to be here; to gather at Salem. It is good for us to tremble because of sin. Salem, your church home, is a place where you should go when sin is troubling you. When your conscience doesn’t let go of the guilt over what you have done, you should be here. It is not merely the act of walking through the doors of this building that calms fears. It is not as if the more prolonged the church service is, the more sins forgiven. It is not the action of joining a church, and having your name on the membership roster will earn God’s favor. It is good for us to be here when we tremble because of sin because it is here that we take time to listen to Jesus, the Son of God, with whom God the Father is pleased. We are told to listen to him for a good reason.
It is here that we can take a breath. We are reminded that our Savior is not just a mere man, but he is the God-man who shines with un-borrowed glory. It is here that we listen to Jesus, and it is here that God’s grace touches us. It was Jesus’ touch that comforted the witnesses of Jesus’ transfiguration. The voice of God the Father had squashed Peter’s ill-informed suggestion of building shelters and remaining on the mountain. Jesus covered his glory and reverted to the appearance the disciples were used to, and he approached his disciples. “Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus” (Matthew 17:7,8). Jesus told them not to be afraid. His coming suffering and death would take away their sin, and he would give them his glory. The glory that Jesus previewed for them on the mountain
Do your sins cause you to tremble? Don’t let that stop you from coming here. You know people, your friends, your neighbors, your family, that tremble at the thought of coming to church, they need to be here too. It is good for the sinner to be here. Here we see, by faith, the Savior who shined on the mount of transfiguration. Here Jesus announces to every sinner that on mount Calvary he successfully eliminated the problem of sin that all people have been diagnosed with. It is here that God’s grace touches sinners.
As this Lenten season begins, let’s “rise as one” and hear words of grace from Jesus so that we can go into the world to share that message.
