WEBVTT 00:01.770 --> 00:04.750 The name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:05.170 --> 00:06.110 Amen. 00:06.450 --> 00:11.486 Today we recognize Jesus's transfiguration on the mount that time 00:11.508 --> 00:15.630 where he took his disciples up and he showed them his glory and power 00:15.700 --> 00:19.600 there. Matthew says he's shown like the sun. 00:20.690 --> 00:24.798 And you know what that's like because you, I know you have looked at 00:24.804 --> 00:25.880 the sun before. 00:26.250 --> 00:28.198 You're not supposed to do that. 00:28.364 --> 00:30.422 But you know what Jesus looked like? 00:30.476 --> 00:33.334 He looked like the Son as bright as the sun. 00:33.532 --> 00:35.720 What amazing account that was. 00:36.410 --> 00:40.906 So I'm going to look at the Exodus account another time, where the 00:40.928 --> 00:45.370 disciples of God beheld him in front of their faces. 00:46.030 --> 00:47.450 They didn't die. 00:48.350 --> 00:52.006 The story we read, the narrative is in Exodus. 00:52.118 --> 00:56.798 It's actually at the end of a covenantal ceremony. A time where 00:56.884 --> 01:01.726 after God had rescued his people from the Egyptians, he brought them 01:01.748 --> 01:07.566 to the mountain, and there he claimed them as his own, his own holy 01:07.678 --> 01:09.300 and purified people. 01:09.670 --> 01:12.306 They would be guided and shaped by His Word. 01:12.408 --> 01:16.110 And we come in at this narrative where Moses had taken the blood of 01:16.120 --> 01:19.378 the sacrifice and cast it on the Israelites. 01:19.554 --> 01:24.066 There the blood struck them in the heads, ran down their faces, maybe 01:24.098 --> 01:26.070 in their mouths and on their clothes. 01:26.970 --> 01:31.286 They were purified in the blood of a sacrifice. A symbol of God's 01:31.318 --> 01:36.554 judgment on one for the sake of another, these Israelites were 01:36.592 --> 01:37.370 purified. 01:38.830 --> 01:43.446 Now, they, after this, went up into the mountain, and there they 01:43.488 --> 01:47.918 beheld God in all of his power and might, standing on his own two feet in 01:47.924 --> 01:48.590 front of them. 01:48.660 --> 01:51.280 And he did not lay his hand on them. 01:51.970 --> 01:56.850 He spared their lives because of the blood of the sacrifice. 01:59.110 --> 02:02.446 Now, this blood of the sacrifice, sure, something had to die. 02:02.478 --> 02:06.840 In that blood was death, but also through that blood was life. 02:08.009 --> 02:13.446 You see to us today like blood is your blood on them when on their 02:13.468 --> 02:15.110 faces, in their mouths. 02:17.450 --> 02:19.138 I don't want that purification. 02:19.234 --> 02:22.442 That sounds gross. To us today 02:22.496 --> 02:23.654 that sounds gross. 02:23.782 --> 02:28.458 But to the Israelites in that time was a sign of life. 02:28.544 --> 02:30.554 The blood is what gave life. 02:30.752 --> 02:33.434 It flowed from one member of the body to the other. 02:33.472 --> 02:35.998 You can even see it as you look at your hand, on the back of your 02:36.004 --> 02:36.938 hand, your vein. 02:37.034 --> 02:40.874 That blood has pulsed through your whole body, connecting one member 02:40.922 --> 02:41.934 to the other. 02:42.132 --> 02:44.346 That blood was scattered on the Israelites. 02:44.378 --> 02:47.854 It was connected one over there to one over there to one way over 02:47.892 --> 02:48.480 there. 02:49.170 --> 02:53.386 The Israelites were connected with the living blood of the sacrifice. 02:53.498 --> 02:59.126 They were one people shaped and guided by God, God's Word, and made 02:59.228 --> 02:59.490 holy 03:00.090 --> 03:01.070 and pure. 03:02.850 --> 03:06.314 Now, by now, I'm sure some of you with your training have connected 03:06.362 --> 03:11.440 some of the phrases and words I've been using to Jesus and his work. 03:12.050 --> 03:12.894 That's good. 03:13.012 --> 03:16.558 That's good, because this story with Moses and the Israelites and the 03:16.564 --> 03:20.814 blood of the sacrifice and God claiming his people does not stand by 03:20.852 --> 03:21.440 itself. 03:21.810 --> 03:25.230 Instead, it directs us directly to Jesus. 03:25.530 --> 03:31.126 It reminds us of his work on the cross, which connects every one of 03:31.148 --> 03:31.720 you. 03:32.490 --> 03:36.194 No, we didn't get splattered with blood of the sacrifice. 03:36.322 --> 03:39.793 Some of you are like, thanks be it to God that we didn't get blood 03:39.841 --> 03:41.500 sacrifice thrown on us. 03:41.870 --> 03:44.090 But instead you had a different washing. 03:44.590 --> 03:46.966 You were still washed in the blood of the sacrifice. 03:46.998 --> 03:50.793 But it was spoken through God's word and through his water that for 03:50.832 --> 03:54.666 some of you may still remember it pouring down your head, getting onto 03:54.698 --> 03:56.490 your face and into your mouth. 03:56.650 --> 04:01.486 That water that cleansed you and purified you of your sin because of 04:01.508 --> 04:06.686 the blood of the sacrifice that is Jesus Christ. In your baptisms 04:06.718 --> 04:11.682 Paul reminds us we're united with him in his death on the cross, that 04:11.736 --> 04:18.146 bloodied mangled, body of Jesus, on the cross, that's you, but doesn't 04:18.178 --> 04:19.254 stop there. 04:19.452 --> 04:23.734 Blood also symbolized that life that you are buried, therefore, with 04:23.772 --> 04:25.938 Christ in your baptism. 04:26.114 --> 04:30.870 And you are brought to new life with that living, breathing, walking 04:30.950 --> 04:37.354 Christ, the body of Christ, that is you. 04:37.552 --> 04:39.050 You are the body of Christ 04:39.120 --> 04:43.678 through your baptisms, you are connected to each one, every member of 04:43.683 --> 04:48.670 the body of Christ here and in all the other churches around, even 04:48.740 --> 04:50.142 churches throughout time. 04:50.276 --> 04:54.385 You are connected to those Israelites on the mountain through the 04:54.408 --> 04:57.140 blood of the sacrifice that penetrates time. 04:57.750 --> 05:03.774 This is who you are shaped and guided by God's word to be the purified 05:03.902 --> 05:06.840 and holy and blameless body of Christ. 05:08.250 --> 05:11.400 I think it's at this time we often reflect, isn't it? 05:12.650 --> 05:18.074 Has your thoughts and your words and your actions demonstrated the 05:18.111 --> 05:20.860 purified, holy body of Christ? 05:23.230 --> 05:24.394 Maybe that's a little too much. 05:24.432 --> 05:25.962 Let's just focus on the words. 05:26.096 --> 05:30.560 Have your words been an example of the purified body of Christ? 05:32.210 --> 05:36.398 See, maybe one shake of the head, a lot of silent head shakes, it 05:36.404 --> 05:37.440 looks like this. 05:40.210 --> 05:42.080 You're thinking about it, aren't you? 05:43.730 --> 05:45.822 It's easy for us, isn't it? 05:45.956 --> 05:50.606 Even though we're the purified and holy sanctified body of Christ, we 05:50.628 --> 05:55.960 are still tempted to run our mouths in judgmental and critical ways, 05:56.330 --> 05:59.730 especially of others, especially of those in authority isn't it? 06:01.930 --> 06:06.750 You can think about bosses, managers, dare I say, public officials. 06:07.090 --> 06:09.070 Those are the easy targets. 06:09.570 --> 06:14.702 But your seminarians, you are at Concordia Seminary, your future 06:14.756 --> 06:18.320 pastors and the purified and holy body of Christ. 06:18.850 --> 06:25.286 Your words, I'm sure, have been pure and blameless again in that 06:25.308 --> 06:26.710 silent head shake. 06:28.090 --> 06:33.782 So about you, those people in authority, at times, we all have been 06:33.836 --> 06:37.560 critical and judgmental of our professors, haven't we? 06:38.730 --> 06:43.098 I'm speaking seriously for a moment because you are students of a 06:43.104 --> 06:44.854 seminary and you have professors. 06:44.982 --> 06:49.706 And often we get into our minds that we have the right or the say to 06:49.728 --> 06:52.990 say, well, that assignment, that's dumb. 06:53.330 --> 06:55.870 I shouldn't have to do all these readings. 06:56.690 --> 07:00.400 Didn't they get together and decide how they should divide the work? 07:03.430 --> 07:08.174 Judgmental and critical of those who have been placed in authority 07:08.222 --> 07:09.140 over us? 07:09.510 --> 07:13.620 God placed those people in authority over us. 07:15.510 --> 07:20.520 Now, isn't ironic that I'm standing up here judging you? 07:21.610 --> 07:25.000 I don't think I'm immune from that charge either. 07:26.250 --> 07:31.914 In fact, I might make a judgment that I'm better than you are at 07:31.952 --> 07:34.090 judging and criticizing. 07:34.830 --> 07:35.926 I have proof. 07:36.038 --> 07:37.206 I have proof. 07:37.398 --> 07:41.406 Before I came to the seminary, I was an engineer at a company that 07:41.428 --> 07:43.390 developed autonomous vehicles. 07:43.810 --> 07:49.374 I was in a position called the head of a department called the 07:49.412 --> 07:51.050 Continuous Improvement. 07:51.210 --> 07:53.970 Listen to those words continuous improvement. 07:56.790 --> 08:03.346 It was my job to be judgmental and critical of every aspect of the 08:03.368 --> 08:04.978 vehicle we sent out. 08:05.144 --> 08:08.950 To judge was a keen eye, every design and modification. 08:09.450 --> 08:12.454 To look at that vehicle, though it looked like it didn't have any 08:12.491 --> 08:17.674 failures, I was to find the flaws in it and call it out and make 08:17.712 --> 08:18.300 changes. 08:19.870 --> 08:21.180 Do you see the difference? 08:22.110 --> 08:29.370 It was my job to judge and to be critical of that piece of equipment. 08:30.530 --> 08:35.726 I get into trouble and I corrupt and contaminate the body of Christ 08:35.908 --> 08:39.818 when I am judgmental and critical of those in authority. 08:39.914 --> 08:43.710 And I have no business being judgmental and critical of. 08:43.860 --> 08:47.680 That includes my professors and the assignments I'm given. 08:49.810 --> 08:55.686 Let's look at on the other side what kind of witness you, the body of 08:55.708 --> 08:59.780 Christ, purified and blameless could give to the world if instead 09:00.090 --> 09:03.726 of going along with that thing that we learned in undergrad to be 09:03.748 --> 09:07.338 judgmental and critical of our professors and the assignments. 09:07.514 --> 09:09.600 Instead, we spoke well of them. 09:10.290 --> 09:14.894 We moved into our role as student, and we respected those people that 09:14.932 --> 09:19.838 God placed in authority over us, even though we're really tempted to 09:19.844 --> 09:21.674 be judgmental about that new assignment. 09:21.722 --> 09:26.310 That wasn't on the syllabus, but we've you spoke well of those people 09:26.380 --> 09:27.000 anyway. 09:27.690 --> 09:31.494 Imagine the witness you would give to the world of the purified and 09:31.532 --> 09:34.680 holy glorified body of Christ. 09:36.330 --> 09:38.620 Professors, I'm not leaving you out of this. 09:40.670 --> 09:45.674 As professors, you are in a position to be judgmental and critical of 09:45.712 --> 09:48.060 us, especially of our words. 09:48.590 --> 09:52.538 I'm calling you to fulfill your role, to hold us accountable. 09:52.714 --> 10:00.174 Students under your care, to check us, put us in line, cut that 10:00.212 --> 10:01.022 behavior out. 10:01.076 --> 10:03.646 Let us know that's not how the body of Christ acts. 10:03.678 --> 10:04.290 We're different. 10:04.360 --> 10:05.490 We're set apart. 10:06.710 --> 10:08.020 That's your call. 10:09.350 --> 10:13.262 Because we are all connected through that blood of the sacrifice. 10:13.406 --> 10:17.102 Just like on that mountain, just like on that cross Jesus, purified 10:17.165 --> 10:19.640 and holy body that you are. 10:20.410 --> 10:24.566 And we look forward to that day where we see God again, descending in 10:24.588 --> 10:25.282 the clouds. 10:25.346 --> 10:28.874 We get to see Jesus in all of his power and glory, and we get to see 10:28.912 --> 10:30.250 Him and not squint. 10:30.590 --> 10:33.686 We get to stand before Him and not die. 10:33.798 --> 10:38.746 Because He will show you mercy, and it won't end there. 10:38.928 --> 10:42.494 He will take us to that heavenly feast, just like on the mountain, but 10:42.532 --> 10:46.094 even grander, because we'll be there with the entire body of Christ, 10:46.212 --> 10:47.962 holy and blameless. 10:48.106 --> 10:52.240 And we will dine in a feast of feast that never happened before. 10:53.010 --> 10:56.734 That is our hope and our future as the body of Christ. 10:56.932 --> 10:57.950 Amen. 10:58.610 --> 10:59.098 And may 10:59.114 --> 11:01.146 the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. 11:01.178 --> 11:05.586 Guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, into life everlasting. Amen.