Good to Be Here!

Jesu Juva

St. Matthew 17:1-9                                      

February 15, 2026

Transfiguration A             

 Dear saints of our Savior~

        Lord, it is good that we are here.  That’s what Peter said as He beheld Jesus on the mountain top, shining brighter than the sun, conversing with Moses and Elijah.  “It’s good to be here,” said Peter.  And you can understand why he said it.  The sights and sounds were glorious and thrilling.  The special effects were almost beyond description.  It’s the kind of event most of us would pay good money to see.

        We call this the Transfiguration of our Lord.  Peter, James and John had been selected to go up the mountain with Jesus.  And while they were there, Jesus was changed in appearance.  His face shone like the sun; His clothes gleamed white as light.  They beheld Jesus as God of God, Light of Light, shining with the glory of God.  Jesus’ hidden divinity was hidden no longer. 

And there’s more!  With Jesus were Moses and Elijah from the Old Testament.  Moses, through whom God gave the Law, and Elijah, chief of all the prophets—standing and talking with Jesus the way one converses with an old friend.  It’s a preview of the resurrection, when we too will stand in the glory of Jesus, freed from the power of sin and death, witnessing the wonders of God’s glory.  It’s all a glimpse of your future.

        Peter was so caught up in the moment that he just opened his mouth and started talking.  He’s got a plan to build three tents for the guests of honor.  He wants to construct a shrine to mark that place and that moment.  Something this spectacular needs to be memorialized for the ages.  Tis good, Lord, to be here!

        But the Transfiguration of Jesus wasn’t really about the mountain—wasn’t about that place.  Christianity, for that matter, is not about places—not about holy sites. Christians can and do go to the Holy Land to grow in knowledge.  But a pilgrimage to the Holy Land will not cause your faith to grow.  You can climb Mount Tabor where we think the transfiguration occurred.  You can splash around in the Jordan River.  But those places have no power to change your heart.  

You don’t need to go on a pilgrimage or climb a mountain to draw close to God.  God has drawn close to you in Jesus Christ.  And Jesus manifests Himself for you personally in the water of your Baptism, in the bread and wine of His Holy Supper, in the absolution spoken on the heels of your confession, wherever two or three are gathered together in His name—right here and right now. This is your “mountain.”  This is where Jesus has promised to forgive your sins, to build your faith, to comfort you with His love.  This is where Jesus changes your heart.  ‘Tis good to be right here!

        Even Peter Himself eventually came to realize that while what happened on the mountain was a wonderful revelation from God—its value was limited. We didn’t see Jesus shining brighter and purer than all the angels in the sky.  We missed out (as did three-fourths of the disciples). 

But we have something better.  For you see, later on in his life, many years after the Transfiguration took place, Peter wrote the words of today’s Epistle.  And there he makes clear that you have something better—something more meaningful than a front row seat for the Transfiguration.  Peter tells of beholding the glory of God on the holy mountain.  But he quickly pivots to this astounding statement: 

And 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.

        Peter, who saw the Transfiguration with his own eyes and testified to it, he points us to the Word of God as something “more sure” than even that great vision.  It may have been “good” for Peter to be there on the mountain; but it is “better” by far to be here, where the Word of God is preached and proclaimed.  “This” is even “more sure” than “that.”  It is “more sure” to hear the word of forgiveness spoken by your pastor than to see Jesus shining on a mountain top.    It is “more sure” to remember your baptism than to see Moses and Elijah standing next to Jesus in His glory.  It is “more sure” to eat the bread that is His body and drink the wine that is His blood than to see His face shining like the sun.  It is “more sure” to encounter Christ in the Scriptures than to stand on the very mountain where all this happened.

        You have something more sure—something better.  You have the power and presence of Jesus the Christ here and now to bring you life that lasts forever.  Tis good to be here!  And what we do here is listen.  This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.  He has the words of eternal life.  Only Jesus can save you.  Only Jesus bears your sin, your death, the punishments of the Law.  Only Jesus can mediate between God and Man because He is both God and man.

        And in the end that’s what the three disciples saw.  Only Jesus.  Jesus literally came over to them and touched them and raised them from their fear.  When it was all over, they saw no one but Jesus only.  What does it mean that they saw Jesus only?  Does it mean that they came down the mountain with blinders on—that they were somehow oblivious to everything other than Jesus that crossed their line of sight?  I don’t think so.  No, I think it means that they learned to see Jesus at work in their lives, whatever the circumstances. They now saw Jesus as the center of life—of everything—regardless of the circumstances.  Can you?

        Our vision has a way of distorting things.  Now we see through a glass darkly. Sometimes, when we’re on top of the mountain and our lives are filled with blessings and success, we fail to see Jesus.  We fail to see Jesus, who is the Giver of every blessing and all success.  At other times we’re in the valley, and our lives are filled with suffering and with sinful messes of our own creating.  And at those times, as well, we fail to see Jesus.  We fail to see Jesus, who has promised to sustain us—who says, “My grace is sufficient and my power is made perfect in weakness,” who is working all things for our eternal good. 

        To see “Jesus only” is not to be blind to everything else, but to see Jesus in everything. To see that He is the forgiver of our past, the companion of our present, and the hope of our future—to see that our family, our vocations, our home and health and every other good gift is but one more token of His love. 

        The Transfiguration tells you who Jesus is—true God and true man, divinity in humanity.  But Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead—these events tell you who Jesus is FOR YOU—your Lord, your Redeemer, your Savior, God’s sacrificial Lamb who dies for the sin of the world.  You will see it all for yourself one day.  You will see Jesus shining soon enough.  For He has promised to appear again in glory and to raise you from the dead and give you eternal life.  You will see Moses and Elijah and all the saints of God.

        But for now, the mountain of glory gives way to Mount Calvary.  Glorious Jesus gives way to the crucified Christ.  Alleluias give way to ashes and the solemn season of Lent.  But year in and year out, through every month and every season, it is always good to be here. 

        In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

Salt and Light

Jesu Juva

St. Matthew 5:13-20                                      

February 8, 2026

Epiphany 5A

 Dear saints of Our Savior~

        Jesus says that you are the salt of the earth.  And Jesus also says that you are the light of the world.  These two majestic metaphors make up the heart of what’s come to be known as the “Sermon on the Mount.”  I can hardly improve upon what Jesus has already proclaimed.  So, if you don’t mind, let’s just lean into the words of Jesus and see where they take us.

        You are the salt of the earth.  And you are the light of the world.  You—dear baptized believer, faithful follower of Jesus—you are salt and you are light.  What does this mean?

        First of all, notice the present tense: You are salt; you are light.  This isn’t a demand or a command to be something you’re not.  It’s not an order to try harder.  And it’s not that you should aspire to be salt and light.  It’s what you already are through faith in Jesus Christ.

        Jesus’ followers knew that salt was a valuable and useful substance.  Salt seasons and preserves.  And you don’t need much to make a big difference. A dash here, a pinch there.  But, oh, so necessary!  You can’t be the chili champion of the church without salt.  Last weekend as I was baking my second place award-winning carrot cake, you’d better believe there was a half-teaspoon of salt in that cake.  I’m not giving away any secrets here—everybody knows that salt is a difference-maker.  It’s absolutely essential and useful.  It’s necessary and needed.  And that’s you, my friends—the salt of the earth. 

        You’ve been shaken and scattered here and there to season the world with the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  You are the special sodium that makes this fallen world a better place—because you follow Jesus who died and rose again to redeem the whole world.  On your head and heart you have received the sign of the holy cross, to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.  For that reason you are destined to make a difference in this world.  You are salt.

        St. Paul knew what it meant to be the salt of the earth.  He knew what his audiences wanted.  They wanted miraculous signs and impressive wisdom.  But Paul gave them neither.  He told the Corinthians: For I decided to know nothing among you. . . except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  You can’t get more salty than that.  You can’t season the world in a better way than to give the world Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

        We should follow Paul’s salty example.  We should season the world with our Savior, not with ourselves. When you draw attention to yourself instead of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” you are losing your saltiness.  This is especially true here in the church.  When pastors and personalities become the center of attention—or when budgets and boards and programs and institutions are the main thing—then the church has lost her saltiness. The death and resurrection of Jesus have taken a back seat to something far less important.  Don’t lose your God-given saltiness.

        Not only are you salt; you are light—the light of the world.  By virtue of your faith in Jesus Christ, you are a light shining in the darkness.  Now, your light is like the light of the moon—a reflected light.  It doesn’t originate in you; but you reflect Jesus who is the light of the world.  You make a critical difference in how this world turns.

        Light is visible.  Light is noticeable.  You can’t miss it.  The light you give the world is seen in your good works.  Faith is known only to God.  Only God can see faith in the heart of a sinner. But the world wants to see your works.  In fact, the world needs your good works.  That’s why Jesus says: Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.  Let your light shine.  Let the good works fly—not so that you get the glory, but so that people see the light of Christ in you and give glory to your Father in heaven.

        You let your light shine when you do the good works that God has called you to do.  You don’t have to be a missionary to Micronesia.  Just do what God has put in front of you.  Don’t just be a dad—be an all-star dad—an all-star mom.  Be the best brother—the best sister a sibling could hope for.  Don’t just be an employee—be an excellent employee; not just a citizen—but a super citizen—a great neighbor.  Be the difference-maker Jesus has declared you to be.  Your good works matter so much. 

        Sometimes we forget about the importance of our works.  We hear a lot about faith alone, and grace alone and Christ alone.  The most important teaching in the Christian faith is justification by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith.  There’s nothing about works in there.  It teaches how you, a sinner, can be justified before God.  And there, works have no role—none whatsoever.

        But in the horizontal dimension of faith, good works are everything!  Before other people, before family, before friends, neighbors, coworkers and classmates, let your good works shine.  God doesn’t need your good works, but those people—they sure do.  It’s faith alone before God; but it’s works alone before other people—because in those glorious good works others might just see more clearly your gracious Father in heaven who, in His Son, has reconciled the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. 

        Your faith in Jesus Christ finds expression in the good works you do for others.  You love others because you are loved in God’s beloved Son.  You forgive others because all your sins have been forgiven in Christ.  You have mercy on others because Jesus Christ has shown mercy to you, and laid down His life as a sacrifice for your sin. 

When we don’t love—when we don’t forgive—when we don’t serve and sacrifice for others—we are hiding our light under a basket.  We are hiding what Christ is doing in us and through us.  And that’s just plain stupid.  Let your light shine.

        All that you are and have is a gift from Jesus—who is God of God and light of light.  Like you, Jesus had a job to do—a job no one else could ever do—one supremely good work.  Jesus had to change the trajectory of the world—had to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback from twenty points down.  If Jesus fumbled or failed, all would be lost, including you.  For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven.  For us and for our salvation He became man—was crucified, died and was buried.  For us and for our salvation He lived a perfect life of obedience.  His righteousness exceeded even that of the Scribes and Pharisees.  He was the righteousness of God.  He kept the Law of God perfectly—including every last iota. 

        And wonder of wonders, He gives away that perfect righteousness to you.  He gives you the credit for what He did.  He makes you the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  It’s not by what you do; it’s by what He does—and still does—for you.  As you eat and drink His body and blood, He puts His life into your life.  You are baptized to live each day beneath the umbrella of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus.  And in that grace, you will not fail.

        Under that grace you can be the person you have been baptized to be—a person so valuable that God gave up His one and only Son to be crucified in your place, to save you from your sins.  Be who you are in Christ.  Live as the person you have been baptized to be.  Let your light shine so that others can see the Savior and give glory to your Father in heaven.

        In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.