Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

What an excellent Gospel we have in front of us this morning, a Gospel that not only conveys to us a powerfully exciting event in the life and ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and also in the lives of at least three of His disciples, but a Gospel that confronts us with an important question: “Where are your eyes?” It’s a Gospel that also proclaims to us that “It’s time to look UP!”

Where are your eyes?

Dealing with people on a daily basis, I find that a whole lot of people have a standard two places where they usually focus their eyes.

First of all, my brothers and sisters in Christ, people often focus their eyes upon their own sins, their own faults, their own failures, their own shortcomings. Sometimes I really wonder if the words “I can’t” have replaced the words “Mama” and “Dada” and “No” as the first words babies speak.

Think back to Moses [Exodus 3]. The burning bush speaks to Moses. The God incarnate in that bush called Moses by name. God sent Moses to the Pharaoh of Egypt with a simple message – four words in all: “Let my people go!” Moses’ eyes, instead of seeing the power and majesty of God almighty incarnate in that bush, instead of seeing the honor of being called to be a part of God’s plans and purposes, instead of seeing what freedom from slavery would mean for the Israelites, well, you remember what Moses’ eyes saw. His eyes did what most of our eyes do. They focused upon his own sins, faults, failures and shortcomings. “God, I can’t do that. I just simply can’t do that. I am a wanted man. I have killed an Egyptian. I am on the run. I stutter when I speak. I am not a leader. The Pharaoh won’t listen to me anyway. And, by the way, God, when you get right down to it, I simply don’t want to do it. Find someone else.”

Think back to Isaiah [Isaiah 6]. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord, high and lifted up, seated on a throne, the train of His robe filling the entire temple. Around Him were swirling all these angelic beings, with six wings, covering their faces and their feet. They were singing, “Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord God Almighty! The whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah’s eyes, instead of soaking in that marvelous spectacle of Heavenly worship, well, you remember what Isaiah’s eyes saw. His eyes did what most of our eyes do. They focused upon his own sins, faults, failures and shortcomings. “Woe to me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

To Moses and Isaiah, to you and to me, our Gospel this morning tells us to “Look UP,” to see Jesus, the Lamb of God, Who carried our every sin, our every fault, our every failure, our every shortcoming to Calvary’s Cross. When Jesus said, “It is finished” [John 19:30], He meant it. That’s why on the Mount of Transfiguration, appearing with Moses and Elijah, representing the Old Testament Law and Prophets, in the end, only Jesus remained. Only what He was about to do for the entire world really matters. Only His upcoming death and resurrection deserved the attention of the eyes of His disciples there and then. Only His completed sacrifice and victory deserve the attention of the eyes of His disciples here and now. Look UP!

Secondly, my brothers and sisters in Christ, people often focus their eyes upon their own situation. We all know that life isn’t perfect, but usually with a lot of effort, a lot of blood, sweat and tears, we can get life so that it is tolerable, within acceptable parameters for us personally. When we finally achieve that tolerable, acceptable situation, we like to push the pause button of life. We yell out to everyone who will listen “Okay, don’t move! Don’t even dare to breathe!”

That’s exactly what Peter tried to do on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter said to himself, “I can do this. Me, Jimmy and Johnny, Jesus, Mo-Mo, Elijah. I can handle this for a long time. If we can just stay here, we don’t have to deal with those other yahoos down the hill. If we can just stay here, we don’t have to deal with all that stuff Jesus has been telling us about, all that stuff about Him dying and rising again and leaving us to fend for ourselves. Lord, let us build three tents. We wanna stay here!” Then someone breathed. Someone scratched an itch and Moses and Elijah were gone. Only Jesus was there and He was again upsetting the apple cart: “Come on, boys. It’s time to go back down the hill and continue on with My plans.”

To Peter, James and John, to you and to me, our Gospel this morning tells us to “Look UP,” to see Jesus, the God-man on a mission, the God-man who knows and controls the future, the God-man who knows better than you and me where we need to be and why we need to be there, the God-man who knows the potential pitfalls of our carefully planned pauses in life.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, as we prepare to enter the Season of Lent, it will be easy for our eyes to fixate disproportionately upon our own sins. Our Gospel today tells us that “It’s Time to Look UP!” As we prepare to enter the Season of Lent, it will be easy for our eyes to fixate upon our journey, to again fall comfortably into the familiar routine of purple paraments and somber, traditional songs and extra weekly services. Our Gospel today tells us “It’s Time to Look UP!”

When we look UP, like Peter discovered, we see only Jesus. Our sins are gone. Our pitiful plans are gone. But Jesus remains. Only Jesus.

It’s time to look UP!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Pastor Christopher Schaar
Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena