2/18/07 - Transfiguration - 2 Cor. 4:3-6

TRUE ENLIGHTENMENT
- Veiled by the god of this age
- Revealed by God in the face of Christ

True enlightenment. The quest for true enlightenment is the goal of Hinduism. To connect with the world around you. To be completely accepting. To find that inner peace with everything and everyone. Enlightenment is also the goal of Buddhism. In fact, Buddha means “the enlightened one.” To be enlightened in Buddhism means that you have found that state of nirvana - where you are attached to nothing in this life and free from all suffering. But this search for enlightenment is not only a phenomenon confined to the east. Yoga is also a practice that was originally used to achieve enlightenment. Its origins are with Hinduism and Buddhism, concentrating on meditation and physical postures to obtain enlightenment through your inner self. Yoga is obviously a growing activity in our country today, and although many people can participate in yoga exercises without the spiritual implications of its past, it is still something that is widespread and familiar to almost anyone in our culture.
Of course, these paths to enlightenment are really leading people down the wrong path. Because the focus is always on the person. The inner self. The individual will power hidden deep inside each one of us. And isn’t that thought infused in the mind of Americans? We stress the independence of each person and are proud of the fact that here in this country you can do anything if you put your mind to it. “Enlightenment” doesn’t always have to go by that name in our society. It has many aliases, such as “your inner strength,” or “the triumph of the human will,” or “your personal determination to overcome and succeed.” This is the enlightenment that those around us strive for. This is the enlightenment that they firmly believe will solve all their problems if they can just dig down deep enough.
Oh, how the god of this age has veiled the truth! How he has blocked out the rays of light! How he has cast a shadow over the only True Enlightenment there is: the enlightenment of the gospel. The gospel that gives light to our souls and lives and our hearts. The gospel about Christ. It is so simple. It is so bright. It is so clear. So how do millions upon millions of people miss it? Why can’t they see this True Enlightenment? Because just as Paul says in our text, “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
The devil is crafty, my friends. The devil knows how to play the game - and he knows how to cheat! He will stop at nothing to turn as many people away from the True Enlightenment of the gospel as he possibly can. And he does it in a number of different ways. He bends down to whisper in the ear of one of his victims, “There is true enlightenment out there, but it’s not the gospel. It can’t be. It’s too simple. It’s too ridiculous.” And with that, a lost soul is blinded, off to pursue a different path. The devil then leans over and whispers to someone else, “True enlightenment is within you. All you have to do is dig down deep, pull it out, and find the inner will to overcome anything you encounter.” And with that, another lost soul is blinded, trusting in himself for strength. The devil then slides over, puts his arm around a troubled individual, and whispers, “There’s nothing out there at all. There is no such thing as true enlightenment. Life is just life. And when you die, that’s it. You might as well try to be happy while you live because you’re just a blip in the universe anyway.” And with that, yet another soul is convinced, and he lives his entire life not caring, not knowing, blinded by the god of this age.
But the god of this age, the devil, doesn’t stop there, does he? You know just as well as I do that unbelievers are not his main concern. The devil wants us. He wants Christians. And he spends every minute of every day of every year hunting us down. He knows he can’t completely blind us to the light right away, because we are already aware of the True Enlightenment of the gospel. And so he does his best to veil it, to shade our understanding, to cast a shadow over our hearts. And he does a good job of it. And we fall for it more often than not!
In here it doesn’t seem like it. In, while you’re in church, that light of the gospel blazes with incredible brightness, doesn’t it! God’s glory and his forgiveness and his love are so clear and powerful that everything seems right with the world on Sunday mornings. While you’re here you are completely comforted by the promises, you are fully motivated to spread the Word, and you are ready and willing to fight off any temptation that may arise. But then Sunday afternoon rolls around. And then Monday, and then Tuesday, and the rest of the week. And suddenly you find that the light of the gospel doesn’t seem so bright anymore. It seems a little dim. It’s almost veiled in a way. Because on Monday you get sick, and maybe you even have to go to the hospital, and as you’re lying there feeling miserable, those promises you heard just yesterday aren’t as fresh. And you don’t feel as comforted or as confident or as sure as you would like. And instead of resting on God’s guaranteed promises of protection, you let that light become veiled by digging yourself a nice hole of self-pity and worry and doubt.
Wednesday arrives and you have a chance to talk to that person who you know needs to hear the gospel. But as you begin the conversation, suddenly those directives that the Lord had given you to spread his Word don’t seem as urgent anymore. They don’t seem as important as what you remember they had seemed on Sunday. And so instead of following through on the Great Commission, you let that light become veiled by fear and by the possibility of awkwardness and by selfishness.
Friday finally shows its head and you find yourself faced with the situation to tell an embarrassing story about a person to someone else. And as you pause to think it over, suddenly the battle cry you voiced just last Sunday to fight off any temptations that you might face doesn’t seem so loud. It doesn’t seem as serious as it probably was. And so instead of upholding the eighth commandment, you let that light become veiled by the temporary joy of an ill-gained laugh.
The True Enlightenment only found in the gospel is veiled every time we sin. Every time we sin Christ’s face becomes a blur. His cross is not quite in focus. His entire work of salvation for our sake becomes almost unrecognizable because of what we have thrown in front of it. Lord, forgive us for these atrocities. Have mercy on us for letting our veil of sins cover your incredible gospel light. Shine through our darkness and reveal to us once again your glorious light in the face of Christ.
The Lord has seen this before. He has seen Christians veil the True Enlightenment of his gospel for millennia. And he knows how to deal with it. He deals with the darkness of our sins now just like he dealt with the darkness of our sins when he brought us to faith. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” Our conversion, our crossing over from the death of unbelief to the life of faith, is compared to the very first day of creation. On that first day of creation, there was nothing, nothing, when God proclaimed, “Let there be light.” And there was. Instantly. Without hesitation. The darkness, the pitch black of emptiness, was shattered and completely gone. And from that day on up until now, wherever there is light darkness cannot exist.
Before we were brought to faith, there was nothing in our hearts. No spark of goodness. No potential to be better. No light at all. But it was at that point when God proclaimed, “Let there be light.” And there was. Instantly. Without hesitation. The darkness, the pitch black of emptiness in our hearts, was shattered and completely gone. And from that day on our hearts have been filled with the true Enlightenment of the gospel. That is how God dealt with the darkness of our sins at our conversion, and that is how he deals with them now. When we become aware of the veils and the shadows and the screens we put up in front of God’s light, and when we throw those deed of darkness at his feet in disgust, repulsed and sickened by what we have done yet again, the Lord looks down with mercy and compassion and says, “Let there be light.” And there is. Instantly. Without hesitation. And the darkness of our sins is completely gone - swept away in the light of the Lord’s pure forgiveness, in the blazing brilliance of his glorious gospel.
The blazing brilliance of his glorious gospel is nowhere revealed as clearly as it is in the face of Christ. There we see the image of God himself. There we see the human incarnation of God’s love for us. There, in the face of Christ, we see him cry and eat and sleep and preach and pray. In the face of Christ we see him close his eyes in death and open them again at the resurrection and gaze down on his disciples as he ascends into heaven. In the face of Christ True Enlightenment is revealed. Because he is the only way to knowledge. He is the only way to heaven. He is the only way to peace.
Today, of course, is Transfiguration Sunday. The day we celebrate the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed to Peter, James, and John on the mountain. It must have been a marvelous sight. An indescribable sight. It must have been so spectacular that I’m sure it almost killed those three disciples not to tell people about it because Jesus commanded them not to until he rose from the dead. But even though they weren’t allowed to tell anyone about it for a time, I’m sure that event must have given them an incredible amount of courage and confidence as they faced the troubles and difficulties of being a Christian in a sin-filled world.
I doubt that any of us will be privileged enough to ever see the glory of God in the face of Christ before we reach Paradise, but there really is no need. We have the glory of God in the face of Christ right here. In the gospel. This is where we find his splendor and majesty, his love and forgiveness, his power and his mercy. And although we may not physically see Christ with our own eyes and hear him speak with our own ears, the effect on our hearts is just the same. His Word is planted, the Holy Spirit works, and we become recipients of True Enlightenment of the gospel: complete peace with God through faith in Christ. Not because of anything in us, but because of everything Christ did for us. There is no higher knowledge than that. There is no other enlightenment to find. There is nothing more out there to seek. The gospel of Christ is everything. And he has given everything to you.
Amen.

“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7