{"id":901,"date":"2022-03-02T11:50:28","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T19:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=901"},"modified":"2022-03-02T11:50:28","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T19:50:28","slug":"visibly-hidden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=901","title":{"rendered":"Visibly Hidden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Luke 9:28-36)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People hide things for two reasons. They hide something to keep it from being found. Think of pirates and plundered treasure. Such tales include buried treasure hidden on an island to keep anyone else from discovering it. There are more somber stories from the WW2 era of families hiding Jewish people or other minorities to keep them from being found by the nazis. We probably all have a spot or two in our house where we stash away valuables or other special items to keep them hidden. Some things are hidden to be kept from being found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But people also hide things for the very specific purpose of being found. Doing so can provide someone else with the thrill of finding it. Kids still delight in playing hide and seek, both because of the challenge of finding a good hiding spot, but also the accomplishment of finding where others are hiding. Children are elated to find their hidden easter baskets or easter eggs. A hobby like geocaching is popular because of the satisfaction of finding what others have cleverly hidden. Some things are hidden for the very specific purpose of being found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Transfiguration, our final paradox of this series deals with something that is visibly hidden: God\u2019s glory. But why does God hide it? Is his desire that it wouldn\u2019t be found, or does he want it to be discovered? Perhaps confusing the matter even more, the Bible speaks of God\u2019s glory both being evident to all, but also hidden and needing to be revealed. \u201cThe heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples\u00a0see\u00a0his glory\u201d (Ps. 97:6). \u201cAnd the\u00a0glory\u00a0of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0will be revealed, and all people will\u00a0see\u00a0it together. For the mouth of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0has spoken\u201d (Isaiah 40:5). \u201cThen Jesus said, \u2018Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will\u00a0see\u00a0the\u00a0glory\u00a0of God?\u2019\u201d (John 11:40)<\/em><\/strong>. So hidden or revealed – which is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand that God\u2019s glory is multi-faceted. Glory can simply refer to the praise or acclaim that is rightly due someone for something magnificent. One can hardly live and breathe and discover all that this created world has to offer and ignore the overwhelming urge to give glory to something or someone outside of us – it is only natural (even the atheist or unbeliever does this by ascribing such glory to “nature” or “evolution”)! Yet that glory, well-deserved as it is, doesn\u2019t scratch the surface of the full eternal plan God had in mind. There are other facets of God\u2019s glory – the glory that emanates from his holiness, as well as a glory that can only be viewed through eyes of faith.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The encounter with God that Moses had in our First Reading (Exodus 34:29-35<\/a>) demonstrates why the glory of God\u2019s presence must remain hidden from us – we could not handle it! His holiness would surely shatter sinners in its midst. It was a unique and special arrangement that allowed Moses to be in the presence of the Lord and live to tell about it. Not only did he live to tell about it, but he also literally reflected a glimmer of that glory as his face radiated after spending time with the Lord!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the other facet of glory about which Paul wrote in our Second Reading (2 Corinthians 3:7-18<\/a>) – a glory that can only be viewed through eyes of faith. Without eyes of faith, Paul likens a person’s inability to see God\u2019s glory as having a veil covering his face. As long as that veil is there, God’s glory can\u2019t be seen; it remains hidden. Once the Holy Spirit plants the seed of faith and allows it to sprout and flourish, however, the veil is removed and the once-hidden glory becomes visible. This allows us to see God\u2019s glory on display in multiple ways within the Church that would otherwise appear to be anything but glorious to those with the veil still covering their eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the disciples were accustomed to witnessing Jesus do plenty of amazing things, they had not yet witnessed anything like what they experienced on the mountain. \u201cAs he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus\u201d (Luke 9:29-31)<\/em><\/strong>. That was a different side of Jesus, and to see two of the greatest Old Testament heroes, Moses and Elijah, to top it off – that was an amazing display of glory! But even then God took it up a notch: \u201ca cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, \u2018This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him\u2019\u201d (v.34-35)<\/em><\/strong>. God\u2019s own voice declaring his approval of Jesus – what a complete and total display of glory the disciples witnessed!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then\u2026 it was back to normal. No more bright face and blinding clothes. No more Moses or Elijah. No more Father\u2019s voice. No more glory. And how far removed from this experience it must have felt for the disciples so soon after when they would see beatings and bloodshed and a crucifixion. Surely a far cry from the glory they witnessed on the mountain! The glory, it appeared, had gone. It was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can feel like that for us today in Christ\u2019s church. Where is that kind of mountain top, transfiguration-glory? What are we left with? We have baptism, but what, after all, is so glorious about baptism? The font isn\u2019t fancy or ostentatious, but rather plain and simple. Infant or adult, a splash of water and a few words, and it doesn\u2019t appear to be anything overly spectacular. Few would speak of any noticeable monumental transformation from the moment before they were baptized to the moment after, and surely a little one is clueless as to what is going on, so \u201cglorious\u201d might not be the description any unknowing bystander would use when witnessing a baptism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couldn\u2019t the same be said of Holy Communion? A rather bland thin wafer and a thimble of common wine. There is no secret handshake or ritual required. What appears to be plain old bread and wine are simply distributed to eat and to drink. Aside from the fact that it happens inside this sanctuary, it might otherwise appear to be no different than the line that forms for snacks after church. Again, \u201cglorious\u201d might not be the description any unknowing bystander would use when witnessing Holy Communion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then of course there is the Word. Always the Word. It permeates our worship by means of the liturgy. Not only do we have not just one, but three readings, but the Word is woven into our pattern of worship from beginning to end. If someone would expect to witness some earth-shattering impact from it, they would not likely notice it while observing our typical Lutheran worship. There are no hands swaying in the air, no emotional cries, no shaking or convulsing on the ground. Stoic, serious, or even \u201csleepy\u201d might instead be words used to describe our worship before the word \u201cglorious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is there something wrong with us? Is there something wrong with God? Are we doing it wrong? Is he hiding something from us? Yes and no. It\u2019s there, right in plain sight, visibly hidden for all to see. God\u2019s glory isn\u2019t generated by emotions – whether genuine or manufactured. God\u2019s glory isn\u2019t conjured up by going through the right motions. God\u2019s glory is found elsewhere, yet is wrapped up in each of these: Baptism, Holy Communion, and the Word.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do these all have in common? Jesus. So connect the dots with me. Jesus gives us Baptism and the Lord\u2019s Supper. Jesus is <\/em>the Word. So if we are to find God\u2019s glory, we find it in Jesus. And what else do all of these things – we call them the means of grace<\/em>, for they are the tools, the instruments by which God lavishes his grace on his Church – what else do they have in common? They are all given their power at the cross. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take away the cross and the veil once again covers up. Take away the cross and it isn\u2019t baptism, but merely water. Take away the cross and there is no body or blood, just the stuff of a simple meal: bread and wine. Take away the cross and the Bible is a sad story of a broken promise and nothing more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with the cross comes the greatest glory, visibly hidden in plain sight. To those with the veil still covering their eyes, just another common criminal on the receiving end of justice being carried out. But to those with faith, for whom the veil has been removed, the sinless Son of God, the Savior, hanging in place of every human, bearing the brunt of every sin and the agony of abandonment as he suffered hell so not a single other soul would have to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But since it is hidden in plain sight, we can stare as long as we like. Even though we still sin. Even though we are so often lukewarm toward him. Even though we are indifferent to his glory. Even though we still chase after the world\u2019s visible glory over God\u2019s glory hidden in Jesus. We can ponder in faith the glory of the cross and stand in awe of an empty tomb without God needing to make special allowances for revealing his glory to us in that way. There is no fear of being consumed by the greatness of his glory or being struck down as a result of the immense gap that exists between his holiness and our sin. The glory of the cross is that that gap has been removed. His glory is accessible to sinners. We can stand in his presence. We can have a relationship with him, just as Moses talked with God on the mountain. We have access to him at any time, in any situation! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we begin the season of Lent this week, once again we will see the glory of Jesus, visibly hidden on full display. As we see him once again walk the path of suffering necessary for our salvation, remember that it wasn\u2019t just on a mountain with Moses and Elijah where Jesus revealed his glory. It\u2019s in your baptism. It\u2019s in Communion. It\u2019s in the Word, proclaimed in word and song. See Jesus regularly throughout Lent in all of these glorious ways, just as God hid it for you to see. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

God\u2019s glory isn\u2019t generated by emotions – whether genuine or manufactured. Neither is God\u2019s glory conjured up by going through the right motions. God\u2019s glory is found elsewhere.… Continue reading Visibly Hidden<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[203,65],"tags":[5,109,36,108,208],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paradox","category-sermons","tag-jesus","tag-preaching","tag-sermon","tag-teaching","tag-transfiguration"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-ex","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":902,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions\/902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}