I should probably begin by explaining the theme of the sermon: "It Is Good For Us To Be Here, Part 2." Why "Part 2"? There are a couple of reasons. First of all, a year ago today, on Transfiguration Sunday, the sermon was titled "It is Good for Us to Be Here!" So today, we have Part 2. The second reason is this: as a group, a small congregation of believers, you have gone through a lot of changes. You have gone from Mississauga, to Toronto, to Bolton, to three different places in Oakville, back to Mississauga to meet in the LAC, and now off to Lisgar School. Have there been times when you just started thinking, "It is good for us to be here," and then, off you went again, Part 2?

I am sure there have been times that you have felt like "Here we go again!" I am also sure there have been times that you have really thought, "It is good to be here." Part 1 and Part 2. Many of you fondly remember the Ministry Centre on Kerr Street. I know it was "good to be there." I also believe that meeting here at the Living Arts Centre the last year and a half has worked out nicely for us. It is a comfortable place that has served us well. It is Good for us to be Here! Finally, any place we gather to worship the Lord is really good, isn't it?

Our situation reminds me a little bit of the Peter's way of thinking on the Mount of Transfiguration. As soon as he saw the glory of Jesus and his two prophets, he woke up out of his sleep and said, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Peter wanted to preserve the moment. He wanted to stay there! And you can't fault him for that. Think of how great it was for him, James, and John to be up there. But we are also told that Peter "didn't know what he was saying." He kind of forgot about the fact that there were more people in the world than James, John, and him! He forgot that Jesus had to come down that mountain to begin his journey to the cross to pay for everyone's sins! He forgot the disciples had to come down as well, because they had work to do! They had a mission to share with the world the things they would witness Jesus do for us!

Before we come down on Peter too hard, we need to realize the same thing can happen in our way of thinking. We often think of ourselves first. Peter was up there getting his faith strengthened, and he thought it would be great to just stay there. But he forgot about his mission! It would be nice for us to just stay at a comfortable place like this, where we can come to worship God and have our faith strengthened as we see God's glory through his Word and sacraments. It wouldn't be hard for me to slip into thinking: "I have a nice place to go to church now, and this is great for me. Let's leave it as it is. Let's preserve this moment. Let's stay here, Lord. This serves my needs." But if these are our thoughts, are we keeping the mission God gave us in mind? Are we carrying out what He has called us to do as a Christian congregation here? Are we remembering there are others?

Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations. He didn't tell us to stay somewhere that was nice and try to make all the nations come to you. He said GO! The nature of that word implies that we will be on the move. We will have to GO where the people are. We have to go to them in order to make disciples of them with the Gospel. In all the prayer and discussion we have had in the last two months, I think we have clearly seen that in order to go and make disciples, we need to actually go to where those people are. Even if it means coming down off our little "mountaintop" where Jesus has been strengthening our faith for the last year and a half.

Did you notice how Jesus never actually replied to Peter? No, he didn't even acknowledge Peter's idea with a response. Why not? Because the whole point of the Transfiguration was about to be made clear. God the Father's voice came from a cloud that enveloped them and said, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him." A week earlier, Jesus had asked his disciples who they thought He was. Peter gave his great answer that Jesus is the Christ. But God wanted to give his answer to that question too. And God gave his answer to the question about who Jesus is on that mountain: "This is my Son!" The disciples still needed to learn what was meant that Jesus was the "Christ, the Son of God." They also needed to know what was involved in following Him. God showed them on that mountain who Christ is!

That event certainly strengthened the faith of those 3 disciples. But it has also strengthened the faith of countless believers in Christ and the glory He has won for us. Every day of our lives as Christians starts right here. In who Christ is. He is God's Son. True God. He is also a man. God took on human flesh so that He could come here and suffer in our place. We know that He did that for us on the cross, and rose again to prove that He had won the battle over sin for us and defeated death to give us life. The Transfiguration also shows us God's approval of his Son. Jesus is no imposter. God came down to assure us of that. The disciples saw it visibly, and we hear about it in his Word. That strengthens my faith a great deal!

That means that we have something to live for! Something to be happy about every day! Peace with God. Forgiveness and mercy. Because Jesus is God's Son. So what do we do now? God says, Listen to Him! Have we been listening to Him? Or have we been too busy with life? Writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got all nervous and tense about it, and life at home showed it. He became annoyed with any interruption. Then it happened. After supper one evening his younger daughter, Colleen wanted to tell him something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, "Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin' and I'll tell you really fast." Suddenly realizing her frustration, Swindoll answered, Honey, you can tell me -- and you don't have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." He has never forgotten her answer: "Then listen slowly."

I can hear God's voice saying to Peter, James, and John: "This is my Son, listen to him! Slow down. Don't be so quick to move things your way, to shape the world as you see it Peter. Don't be so quick to climb the corporate ladder, to join the rat pack and be number one John. Don't try to beat your colleagues to the first position James. Slow down. My Son is trying to show you another way, another world, another kingdom. If you will listen slowly."

We all need to slow down from our busy lives and listen slowly to God. God is pointing us to His Son as the only way to heaven. He offers us amazing gifts! He blesses us when we are in his Word. He makes our life better. He is telling us there is a better way. He promises strength in our faith when we listen to Him in his Word! As Lent begins next week, there could not be a better time for us to take time out and grow in his Word as a congregation and as families of believers, as we focus on what Jesus did for us to get God to forgive us.

Now is also a good time to look at the mission statement we just completed and take it to heart. It reads, "Cross of Life, in gratitude to God, EXISTS to use His Word to EXALT Him in everything we do; to EQUIP His children to serve others; to EVANGELIZE to those who don't know Jesus as their Saviour; and to ENCOURAGE and EDIFY those who do." As a congregation, we need to worship God. We can do that here in the LAC, at a school, or wherever we gather. We need to worship Him in thanks for what He has done. We also need to EDIFY those who already know Jesus, in other words, we need to grow in the Word! We need to study the Bible. We need to ENCOURAGE each other by gathering together often. But we also need to be EQUIPPED to go and serve others. And we need to EVANGELIZE, or go into the world and share the good news that we have seen on the mountain of Transfiguration. We have a Savior from sin and a reason to look forward to life eternal!

So, it is time to "come down from the mountain" now and move on. We can't stay here forever. We have work to do. We have people to reach that we won't reach up here. We have seen God's glory here through his Word and Sacraments. Some of our children have been baptized here. But we will see his glory again, always in a greater way! Next week we will be gathering together again around God's Word to worship Him at Lisgar School. And because we are doing this so that we can share his message with more people than just ourselves, I pray that next week He will lead each one of us to say, "It is good for us to be here." Even if it is "Part 2." Remember that if we were moving into the most beautiful church building in the world, we would not have arrived at God's destination for us! His destination for us is with Him. Only on that day, when we not only get a glimpse of heaven like the disciples did, but the full view, will we be able to rest from our labors, set up tents, and stay forever with our loving God! Amen.

Back to the Epiphany page
Back to the Pastor's Messages page