By Rev. Timothy L. Seals, pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Claremont, CA

Cut and edited by Pastor Matt Christensen for Immanuel Lutheran Church

On May 10, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution calling for separation from England. A formal declaration was needed. A committee of five men headed by Thomas Jefferson was appointed to prepare the formal declaration. Jefferson challenged people to live by the idea that there was something greater than the government to which they owed their ultimate allegiance, namely the self-evident, divine truth that all are created equal. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Though artistic and prophetic, the words of the Declaration of Independence were nevertheless fighting words. Not only does Thomas Jefferson put forth a philosophy of human freedom, he also inspires his fellow Americans to take up the sword to defend what they perceived were tyrannical abuses. However, to inspire a people to change their society in fundamental ways, it is not enough to cast a broad vision with words. In order to create their own nation, Americans needed both the pen of Thomas Jefferson and the sword of George Washington.

Long before people take up arms to change their society, the war in their hearts and minds must have already been waged and won. There can be no fighting without the heart having been enlisted. A 19th century Italian philosopher and politician once said, “Great revolutions are the work rather of principles than of bayonets and they are achieved first in the moral and afterwards in the material sphere.”

Jesus brought forth a revolution that would qualify as one of the great revolutions of human history. The teaching of a poor man, born of a poor woman, captured the hearts and minds of many people. Eventually they toppled the most powerful empire of the known world without lifting a sword. This couldn’t have happened had the disciples of Jesus not been inspired to speak. Before they could ever speak, they had to listen. They had to pay attention to the Beloved on whom the Holy Spirit descended in the Jordan River. Six days after Peter made the confession that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain to prepare them for the great revolution that would signal the end of Satan’s reign.

Before the apostles of Jesus were inspired to speak, Jesus had to reveal to them who He really was. No mere prophet could inspire people to turn away from their former lives to follow him. Jesus didn’t call great intellectuals to be His disciples. He called rough fishermen and nothing but God Himself could empower fishermen to leave their boats and follow Jesus. Every step of the way, Jesus taught His disciples what it meant to be a fisher of men. That lesson would become clearer as they journeyed with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. However, before they took the journey to Jerusalem to experience the full range of what it means to follow God’s will, even unto death, Jesus gave His three chosen disciples a foretaste of glory. They had a visible glimpse into His divinity. His divine brilliance shines through His humanity. Jesus, then, is fully God and fully man. There can be no greater epiphany than the revelation that Jesus, born of Mary, is God.

As they gazed upon Jesus, there appeared with Him Moses and Elijah. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and prophets. Moses represents the Law, Elijah the prophets. The Law and the prophets find their rest in Jesus. He did not come to discard the Law and prophets, but to fulfill them. In doing so, He is greater than them, for He is the Son of God. Before the disciples were inspired to speak, they had to listen to Jesus. The truest measure of the disciple is that he listens to his teacher, pays close attention to him. The challenge before each disciple is whether he will obey. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we listen to Jesus the Son of God intently, for He has so much to say about Himself. He lived under the Law for us. Then, He took upon Himself the Law’s condemnation which we had earned.

Before the disciples were inspired to speak, they had to be silent. After this spiritually gratifying experience on Mount Tabor, Jesus commands His disciples to be silent. The disciples’ first instinct is to stay there in the glory, to bask in it. Peter even said, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” The transfiguration of our Lord before Peter, James, and John was to be foretaste of what was yet come. They were not to rest in that moment of glorification. They could not stop at the glory, for the cross lay ahead. In obedience to His Father, Jesus had a date with destiny that lead to the cross on Golgotha, where He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” Peter, James, and John had to be silent to the others about the transfiguration, lest the disciples lose sight of the cross.

But our Lord did not intend the disciples to remain in their silence. “Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” When that glorious resurrection day came, the bondage of sin was shattered, as was the disciples’ silence. From that day forward, they spoke God’s truth. They spoke words used by the Holy Spirit to pierce people’s hearts and drive them to the cross. They spoke revolutionary words of grace, mercy, and forgiveness of sins through Christ Jesus. And, they received a new command, one not of silence but of proclamation, “go and make disciples of all nations.” They spoke God’s Word, baptized with water and the Word, and taught the nations God’s Word. And the Holy Spirit, working through the Word, transformed lives.

Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence articulated values that would transform America. His document is a classic in political manifestos. The fledgling nation, however, could not stop at the vision expounded in the Declaration of Independence. The young nation was especially indebted to George Washington. What the Declaration of Independence put forward as a vision had to be fought for; it had to be won. After July 4, 1776, America would suffer many setbacks in pursuit of her independence. By December of 1776 George Washington’s forces were nearly collapsed, as supplies and promised aid did not materialize. Yet Washington stayed on course, ever inspired by the vision set before him in the Declaration of Independence. Ground-by-ground, house-by-house, farm-by-farm, they fought for independence. It was not all glorious. There was suffering; there was sacrifice for our great nation.

But in Jesus Christ, there was suffering and sacrifice for all nations. Christ fought for our salvation. The apparent setbacks He suffered were in pursuit of our independence from sin, death, and the devil. Ever inspired by this vision, this Good News of salvation, the disciples were inspired to speak, bringing this message to the nations. House by house, heart by heart, the Holy Spirit changed people’s lives, bringing the nations into a right relationship with God.

Like the disciples, we find ourselves on the other side of the resurrection of Christ. Full of the joy of the Lord that is ours because of Christ’s humility, we are unable to be silent. There are desperate people all around us, especially in these trying economic times. Therefore, we cannot be silent about the hope and love of Christ. We must speak as we have been inspired by Christ Jesus to speak. We speak revolutionary words, God’s Word, through which the Holy Spirit can turn lives upside-down and right-side-up.

St. Francis of Assisi, 13th century Italian founder of the Franciscan religious order, said “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” In proclaiming God’s Word in varied ways, in bringing Christ to the nations in word and in deed, the Holy Spirit brings the nations to the Church in the glory of God the Father. Amen.