In A Cloud of Glory Mark 9:2–9; 2 Kings 2:1–12; 2 Corinthians 3:12–13; 4:1–6 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God, our glorious Father, and our transfigured Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

On this last Sunday before Lent begins, we’re given a glimpse of Easter, as our Lord is transfigured on the mountain, and His glory shone brightly in the night.

We’ll see a cloud of glory descend on the Mount of Transfiguration, and talk about why it was there, and what it means for us as we live in a cloud of glory.

To fully understand the cloud’s significance, we need to go back in time to the desert of Sinai.  

After freeing His people from slavery, God, in a pillar shaped cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, led His children to the mountain where He would give them His law.

When they got there, God told Moses, “I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may believe you forever.” 

They would hear God speaking but not see Him, because His glory was hidden in the cloud. 

Then God said to Moses, “Tell the people to get ready today and tomorrow, because on the third day, I will descend to the mountain and deliver my law.” Notice the parallel to the resurrection of Jesus on the third day. 

So the people got ready as God had commanded them, and on the 3rd day, they assembled at the base mountain, and God descended upon it in a thick cloud, with smoke and fire and thunder, with trumpets blasting, sounded by angels. The mountain trembled with the glory of God and the people were terrified.

But then God spoke to them from the cloud, and delivered His commandments.

Moses made many trips up the fiery, shaking mountain, into the heavy clouds, to receive all the details of God’s law: all the moral laws, how they were to treat one another; all the political or constitutional laws for the nation to follow; and all the ceremonial or religious laws for the people and the priests. 

In the end, though, it would take God’s Son to fulfill all God’s laws for us with His holy life and perfect love.

One of the times he was on the mountain talking to God, Moses requested to see His glory. To strengthen and encourage him, God agreed. But He warned Moses that he couldn’t see His face, because God’s holiness and glory would overwhelm and destroy him. 

So God had Moses stand on a rock, and before He passed by, He hid Moses in a cleft in the mountainside, and He shielded Moses with His hand, and He passed by. Then He withdrew His hand, and Moses caught a glimpse of God’s back. 

That brief glimpse of God from behind, lit up Moses’ face so brightly, that when he went back down to the people, they couldn’t bear to look at him. He had to cover his face with a veil. 

This is what our Epistle was referring to. So great was the glory of God, that just a glimpse of it made Moses’ face shine like the brightest sun.

Now, let’s return to the glory of the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. All the previous glories revealed by God would be contained in that brief event, when for a short time, Jesus shone in splendor and lit up the night. 

Luke’s Gospel tells us that Jesus shone so radiantly with the holiness and glory of God, that His clothes became dazzling white like lightening; even his clothes were shining.

Suddenly, the two great prophets who had foreshadowed the Messiah, and had already been taken physically into Heaven, Moses, who we just talked about, and Elijah, who, as we saw in our Old Testament, was spectacularly taken into Heaven on a chariot of fire, both suddenly appeared on the mountain, talking with Jesus about the long road of suffering that lay ahead of Him. 

Peter wanted to make the moment last, so he interrupted their conversation, which sounds like something Peter would do. He proposed setting up some shelters so they could stay for awhile, and keep the glory going.

But God meant for it to be just a momentary glory, a brief encouragement for His Son, and then for Jesus to return to His appointed task of saving the world.

God brought the glorious moment to a conclusion by descending on the mountain in a cloud, just as He had done at Sinai. And like He did there, He spoke from the cloud, echoing His words at Jesus’ Baptism, This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.

Suddenly the cloud cleared, and Moses and Elijah were gone, and Jesus was standing there alone, to walk the long and lonely road to Calvary.

Hidden in that cloud on the mountain was the glory of God. Hidden in a poor, humble man, Jesus of Nazareth, was the glory of God, His full honor and majesty and mighty power. 

When Christ comes again, on the clouds, Revelation 1 says, the whole world will see His glory. Some will mourn, and some will rejoice. Those who denied Him will be overwhelmed with their guilt, but those who embraced Him will be overjoyed by their salvation.

Until that day when the awesome glory of God is clearly revealed, we live as if in a cloud. That can sound kind of depressing, until you see it in light our Lord’s transfiguration. 

When we get extended times of cloudy weather in the winter, it can drag our spirits down. The good thing about it is that usually, it seems, when it’s cloudy, it’s often not excessively cold, as it has been lately.

Though we live, in a sense, as if in a cloud, not able to see the glory of our Lord with our eyes, that doesn’t mean He isn’t here with us, in all His hidden glory. 

When the Israelites saw the unique pillar-shaped cloud going before them to lead them, or sometimes it went in back of them to guard them, they knew it meant that God was near, and they had nothing to fear. 

God gave a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire to assure the Children of Israel that He was personally with them as they traveled through the wilderness. 

Traveling through the wilderness of this sometimes sad, and always fallen world, God gives us His Word and Sacraments, through which we see, and touch, and taste, and hear that God is near to us, forgiving us, strengthening us, teaching us, equipping us, giving us all we need to walk in faith and love with Him and one another.

When life gets cloudy, so to speak, when the road seems dark and dangerous, confusing and depressing, lonely and discouraging, remember you have a bright light to guide you: Jesus Christ, the light of the world! As the Psalm tells us, His word is a lamp for our feet and a light to our path.

His Gospel is always before you, to brighten your day. His angels are around you, to protect you in all of your ways. His Church, His people, are here to help you in every way. And His Spirit is within you, to enlighten your mind, and to shine in your heart. 

As our Epistle says, For God, who said “let the light shine out of darkness: has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

Even in the clouds and the darkness, even amidst the worries and uncertainties of life, God’s love surrounds us, and His truth upholds us. His truth will never let us down; His love will never fail us.

So even when it’s hard to see the good in this world; even when it seems like hate has won the day, and godly love has failed; even when it seems like a cloud of despair is hanging over us all, don’t give up, the SON is shining on you, God’s Son.

God is in the cloud. The glory of His love for the world still shines in the light of His Word, and the power of His Gospel. Therefore, as our Epistle says, we do not lose heart. 

We keep on believing, and we keep on hoping, and we keep on loving, and we keep on serving, and we keep on learning and growing, because we know the glory that has been promised to us: a glory that all will see on the Last Day, and all God’s faithful children will live and rejoice in forever.

So live every moment in confident faith, and walk every day in godly love, knowing that the glory and grace of Christ will shine on you every step along the way, on this, your heavenward journey.

And as you journey onward, God’s peace, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, through Jesus Christ, our glorious, transfigured Lord. Amen.