No rest like this for me!"
Moses and Elias understood how the blessing of the world was to flow out from that death upon the cross which Jesus was to suffer; and so, we need not wonder that during the short visit which they made to Jesus, amidst the glory of his Transfiguration, the subject, above all others, about which they desired to talk with him—was his death upon the cross,—"his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."
These are the three great wonders of the Transfiguration—the wonderful change—the wonderful company—and the wonderful conversation.
And this brings us to the second part of our subject, which is—the three lessons taught by the Transfiguration.
The first of these is—THE LESSON OF HOPE.
One thing for which the Transfiguration took place was to show us what we may hope to be hereafter, if we are the servants of Christ. We are told how Jesus appeared on this occasion. His glory is described. The brightness and glory that shone around him exceeded that of the noonday sun. But there is no particular description given Moses and Elias. We are not told how they looked. It is only said of them that—"they appeared in glory." St Luke ix: 31. I suppose the meaning of this is that they shared in the glory which Jesus himself had when he was transfigured. Their raiment was as white as his; and the same brightness and beauty beamed forth from their faces which made his so glorious. They shared their Master's glory. And, if we are loving, and serving Jesus, this is what we may hope to share with him hereafter. This is what we are taught to pray for in the beautiful Collect for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. These are the words of that prayer: "O God, whose blessed Son was manifested that he might make us the sons of God, and heirs of eternal life; Grant us, we beseech thee, that having this hope, we may purify ourselves, even as he is pure; that when he shall appear again, with power and great glory, we may be made like unto him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where, with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy Ghost, he liveth and reigneth, ever One God, world without end. Amen."
And it is right to offer such a prayer as this, because the Bible teaches us to hope for this great glory. How well a hope like this may be called "a hope that maketh not ashamed," Rom. v: 5; "a good hope through grace," II. Thess. ii: 16; "that blessed hope," Tit. ii: 13; "a lively hope," I. Peter i: 3. And how well it may be spoken of as "a helmet"—to cover the head in the day of battle; and as "an anchor" to keep the soul calm and steadfast when the storms of life are bursting upon it! Moses and Elias appeared with Jesus at his Transfiguration, and shared his glory on purpose to teach us this lesson of hope, and to show us what we shall be hereafter. We shall be as glorious as Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration! This seems something too great and too good to be true. But no matter how great, or how good it is—it is true. Jesus taught this lesson of hope when he said—speaking of the time when he shall come in his kingdom, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father," St. Matt, xiii: 43. He taught us the same lesson, in his prayer to his Father, when he said, speaking of all his people, "And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them," St. John xvii: 21. And the apostle John taught us the same lesson, when he said,—"We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him," I. John iii: 2. These sweet passages make this lesson of hope very sure. And this is just the way in which we are made sure about other things we have not seen.
"How we Know There is a Heaven." A Sunday-school teacher was talking to one of her scholars about heaven and the glory we shall have when we reach that blessed place. He was a bright boy, about nine or ten years old, named Charlie. After listening to her for awhile, he said: "But you have never been there, Miss D., and how do you know there really is any such place?"
"Charlie," said the teacher, "you have never been to London; how do you know there is such a city?"
"O, I know that very well," said Charlie, "because my father is there; and he has sent me a letter, telling me all about it."