The Lord's Sermons
- Sermon 14 -
Second Sunday In Lent. The Transfiguration of Jesus
St. Matthew XVII, 1-13: "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light, and, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you. That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist."
(January 25, 1872)
Here again you have an event from My earthly career of a deep and heavenly significance. This event was once important for the disciples who accompanied Me, but it is also significant for you and all mankind and in its spiritual correspondence of great importance for the future into which you are now moving. We will now look at this event, explain its significance for My disciples at that time and then study its great spiritual correspondence to find out how, when and where it is repeating itself today and how it will have the same regenerating effect now as it had once on the three disciples with Me and their further life and actions.
The Gospel states that I took My disciples Peter, James and John up a mountain where they saw Me transfigured, that is, they saw Me with their spiritual eyes as the One who I really am, was and shall be. They saw Me as a high spirit whose garment - truth - was in its correspondence white and whose face shone like the sun, that is, it radiated love. At My side they saw two mighty supporters of My entire future system of instruction who contributed most to facilitate My work as My forerunners - Moses and Elias, with whom I was speaking. They also heard a voice from a cloud speaking the same words that had once sounded at My baptism at the river Jordan: "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; listen to him!"
This vision which I allowed My three disciples to see was meant to give them a fore taste of their own destination. Peter, whom I called the 'rock' upon which I wanted to build My church, had a similar mission to that of Moses who once prepared the Jewish people for My coming. He gave them laws and rules of conduct which for the Jews were easier to accept than for any other race, to make them My chosen people in the midst of which I had decided to come to the earth.
As Elias, in his incarnation as John the Baptist, did on a small scale what Moses had to do on a large scale, thus John, My favourite, - thanks to his particular work and the fact that he lived longer than any of the other disciples - was destined through his Revelation during the last years of his life to show to the world in advance its spiritual progress until its purification and to leave behind a testimony to the effect that the laws I have established in My creation - be they moral or physical laws - must not be spurned.
These disciples, as still living in this world, and Moses and Elias, who were no longer in the flesh, were allowed to see Me in My great glory and to recognize Me as the One for whose great spiritual kingdom they had to sacrifice everything in order to give My work permanence.
They saw Me in that glory which a human heart in its earthly encasement can stand but for a few moments, and it was this unimagined happiness and bliss that caused Peter to exclaim: "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt, let us make here three shelters!"
However, since such moments only serve as awakeners, animators and fortifiers when danger threatens or fickleness overcomes the heart, they were only of a short duration. But in order to give them a lasting effect in the memory of the disciples, out of the white cloud that spiritually overshadowed My person, these mysterious and important words were heard: "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; listen to him!" Thus the voice advised My disciples to pay even better attention to My words and to imprint them properly upon their hearts so that one day the verdant tree of life could grow out of them to assemble all mankind under its shade for shelter and protection in all their sufferings and misfortunes.
The reason why I bade the disciples not to speak of this event until I had crowned My work with My resurrection was that the other disciples would have doubted the vision or failed to comprehend it, since My disciples' power of comprehension varied like that of all other people.
Such was the actual course of that solemn event which must repeat itself again today. What once Moses did, who prepared the Jewish people for My teaching, later on came to pass through Peter as the founder of the Catholic Church. What Elias did as John the Baptist, has been done in your age by all the men who had to cleanse and purify the church Peter had founded, so that it would not lose its actual value altogether.
What once Peter represented as the future sustainer of My teaching, now other men will become, who will re-establish My Kingdom. And as in My days the Jewish people were misled by the Pharisees and scribes, liekewise today all humanitiy is bound by ceremonies and customs, living in the fulfilment of the letter without understanding the spiritual meaning of the words of My so simple Gospel. Therefore, there must again be men who put My teaching back upon its original foundation, upon My own words.
Even if these men are not immediately succesful in their attempt to teach all mankind - just as My disciples were not immediately successsful - they are nevertheless called to sow the seed. It does not matter whether the seed falls everywhere upon good soil, or upon the road or stony ground. The germinating seed will replace what was lost and prepare the spiritual ground to make it worthy of looking forward joyfully to My Second Coming.
As in those days I took My disciples to an elevated spot, giving them a little fore taste of the reward awaiting them if they faithfully stayed with Me, it happens also today that I lead many a faithful, who in the solitude and stillness of night gives himself over to Me, far beyond the physical world, opening up to him in a great vista the glorious future he may expect if he remains true to Me and My teaching. Indeed, I let many an individual experience the full delight of My mighty influence upon his heart, thereby showing him a glimpse of supreme truth in the rosy light of love, thus revealing to him My own Self in a glorious transfiguration expressed by a delight which here it is not possible to bear, but only in the higher spheres in a spiritual body.
In the Mosaic law Moses built his irrevocable principles of the Jewish religion upon the one idea: There is but one God! And because of this the Jewish people - and none other - was suited to count Me among them. Since in those days polytheism prevailed everywhere, it would have been impossible to remove all the gods at once to put up a single one in their place. The Jews, however, had only the one God, which made it easier to build a divine religion among them.
Thus Moses was the preparatory worker, like a labourer in the vineyard who breaks up the soil. He was followed by the one who trimmed the vines; and that was Elias. He trimmed the vines during his time and later as John the Baptist, thereby stimulating the activity in order to obtain better fruit so that the harvester may be satisfied with the workers who did the preliminary work. Thus John the Baptist was the second labourer in My vineyard, until I came Myself to put the finishing touches to the work, add what was missing and bring the fruit to maturation. This means that out of the decomposed earth around the stem of the grapevine I called forth new life which, becoming more and more refined along the stem, was matured and trained from gross matter to the finer, spiritual fruit - the grape.
As previously Moses, thus later on Peter was the rock upon which My church was founded. No revolutions or storms could destroy it. Often enough it has been perverted through the tyranny and lust for power of individuals. But as once My transfiguration was allowed to take place in the presence of My disciples when My spiritual, divine being shone through My earthly form, so it is happening now: The spiritual garment is beginning to shine through the earthly pomp and ceremonial of the Catholic cult and its false doctrines. The clearing up and tansfiguration is beginning. Night is followed by dawn and dawn by - day!
The long restrained light of truth is breaking through. The anticipation of a higher ecstasy, a transfiguration, is alive in all minds, and the spiritual wind, blowing through all that is of the world and awakening the sleepers is sensed by all. Like a ray of light falling through a shutter upon a sleeper who, awakened by its life-force, begins to turn around in his bed unaware of what is happening to him, - thus this transfiguration is starting. In many heads it is already dawning.
Moses prepared his contemporary Jewish people for My reception, Peter the generation following him, and in these days the teachers with enthusiasm for My teaching are going to be the Johns who - like My disciple - will also become My favourites and whitnesses of My love and grace right into their old age. Thus the same spiritual process of purification takes place, first from the solid to the softer, from that to the volatile, from the volatile to the ethereal and finally to the spiritual.
As in those days I was nailed to the cross, My teaching mocked and My disciples abused and persecuted, so it will be again. Instead of My person, My teaching will be crucified and mocked. My fighters will also have to battle with all kinds of injustices but they, too, will be victorious and see Me transfigured at My next descent. Then the voice of their conscience will proclaim: "Blessed be you because you remained true to Him, listened to His words, applied them and passed them on to others the way He wants them to be understood."
Then the transfiguration will not end - as once with My disciples - but My pioneers will be able to see Me face to face everlastingly and rejoice over My victory and theirs together with all those who passed on before.
Such is the symbolical meaning of the transfiguration. Make sure that you, too, may participate in it, so that you may be counted among those who, disregarding all that is of the world, have made Me and My teaching the principal purpose of their life and aspirations. Then, in moments of supreme delight when your spiritual vision is opened, you will be able to see The One in person, tansfigured, Who already for so long has been showering upon you His words of grace and wants to make you His children. Amen.