Sermon for the Transfiguration of our Lord – February 15, 2026

by Jeffrey Spencer | Feb 17, 2026 | Sermons

CLICK HERE for a worship video for February 15

Sermon for Transfiguration of our Lord – February 15, 2026

2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9

Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Every Wednesday morning here in our sanctuary I have a couple pews filled up with preschoolers who are here for chapel. The first thing I do at the beginning of every chapel service is light the candles – and as I light them, I tell the kids that we light these candles to remember that Jesus is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome. They see and hear and experience this light and those words every Wednesday of the school year, and my hope is that through this ritual, this repetition, they will remember the truth being conveyed. My hope is that as their lives unfold and they encounter darkness – which they inevitably will at some point – that they will remember that Jesus is the light of the world, and that his light is more powerful than any darkness they will ever face.

Peter and James and John experienced the light of Christ in a particularly profound way. These three were invited by Jesus to go on a hike with him, and when they reached the top of the mountain, Jesus was transfigured before them. That is, he changed. He was transformed. He underwent a metamorphosis, which is the literal Greek word used here. The divinity of Christ was revealed as Jesus began to emanate light. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became dazzling white. And in that light, these three disciples caught a glimpse of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

As this bright, dazzling light emanated from Jesus, suddenly two others were there. Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared. These two were no strangers to mountaintop experiences. Moses famously went up a mountain to receive the law of God. Elijah climbed the same mountain, where he too had an encounter with God. These two mountain men represented the law and the prophets. They represented what we often call the Old Testament. They represent a continuity between what we read in the Old Testament and what we read in the New. The two testaments are joined together on this mountaintop in this pivotal moment in salvation history. What was written in the Old Testament is not being replaced; it is being fulfilled. Moses and Elijah are there to hand the baton to the Son of God to finish what they started in bringing about the salvation of the world.

Peter recognized the significance of this moment. He proposed to mark the occasion with the building of tabernacles, or booths, or dwellings. He was essentially suggesting the building of shrines. He wanted to build a museum on the mountaintop, where people could come catch a glimpse of the glory he had witnessed. But that isn’t how this will go. Jesus has more to do. This is just a glimpse, and it is just for them – at least for now.

While Peter was still laying out the specs of his project, God’s voice thundered from a cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.” This voice knocked all three of these disciples on their backsides. They cowered in fear.  But then there was this beautiful moment, this wonderful moment of grace. Jesus came and touched them. What a kind thing to do! What a loving gesture. Can you imagine how reassuring that would have been, how comforting? Human touch is such a powerful thing, and now the God who took on human flesh through his Son touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”

Peter and James and John saw the light of Jesus is this particularly profound way. They saw his glory as he was transfigured on the mountaintop. They caught a glimpse of his divinity, his true identity as God’s Son. They saw that he was indeed the light which no darkness could overcome.

Initially they were told not to say anything about what they had seen until after Jesus had been raised from the dead. This glimpse was just that – a glimpse. It was a sneak preview of a greater glory to come with his resurrection. But eventually their non-disclosure agreement expired. Eventually they were allowed to talk about it, and in our epistle reading for today we hear Peter describe what he saw and explain what it means.

First, he tells us that they are not passing on mere stories when they share what they saw on that holy mountain. These aren’t cleverly devised myths. They aren’t fables. They aren’t metaphors or archetypes. These things really happened, and they were eyewitnesses to it! Jesus really was transfigured before them. He really did shine like the sun. They really did see his glory.

Second, Peter explains that this means they have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. That is, what they saw with their own eyes confirms everything promised about the savior in the Old Testament. It confirms everything Jesus himself said. It confirms everything Jesus promised. It confirms that it is all true! In glimpsing this glory, they have it all more fully confirmed. You can believe it, Peter is saying. You can trust it!

And then Peter tells us what we should do with this information. Listen carefully, because this is beautiful, and it is important. Peter writes, “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Pay attention, Peter is saying. Keep this word close. Keep this glimpse close. Treat it like a lamp. Tend to it like a lamp shining in the darkness, because that is what it is. Keep it lit. Keep your eyes on it. Tend to it. Let it be a light shining in your darkness.

Peter and James and John were the only disciples who got to experience firsthand this glimpse of glory they saw when the Lord Jesus was transfigured before them. Remember, there were nine other disciples. What these nine other disciples had to go on was their word. This is what Peter is asking us to do. He is asking us to believe his eyewitness testimony. He is asking us to trust that what he saw really happened, and that it truly revealed the glory of Christ. He is encouraging us to be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place.

This isn’t nothing. What did God the Father tell Peter and James and John on that mountaintop? God the Father said, “This is my Son…listen to him!” Even these three eyewitnesses to the Transfiguration were called to hear a word and trust it. And so are we.

This past Wednesday, right after I finished preschool chapel I went to Regency Memory Care to be with a member of our church who is in hospice. Her daughter was told that her mother didn’t have much longer and so she asked me to come, and so off I went, straight from chapel. Her mother was unresponsive, but I read scripture to her. I prayed the commendation of the dying over her. Her eyes remained closed, her breathing labored. She showed no sign that she heard me, or even knew I was there. I’ve been in these situations before and I always operate under the assumption that the person can hear me, even if I’m not sure – and I was anything but sure that day.

Then I decided to hold her hand. And the moment I took her hand, she firmly squeezed mine back. She held on to it. It was as though she was saying, I heard you, and I want some more of that! And so, still holding her hand, I just started reading verse after verse of Christ’s promises. Christ’s glory was revealed through a Word. What I had taught those preschoolers earlier that morning proved once again to be true. Jesus is the light that no darkness can overcome.

You would do well to be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place. We might not be eyewitnesses to the spectacular Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus on the mountaintop, but we do catch our own glimpses of his glory. We catch a glimpse of his glory in the shimmering waters of Holy Baptism, where we encounter Christ and are marked with his cross forever. We catch a glimpse of his glory in bread and wine, his true body and blood, given to us to renew us in his grace, his forgiveness. We catch a glimpse of his glory when we hear his promises, promises like, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age;” promises like, “I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may be also;” promises like, “No one will snatch you out of my hands;” promises like, “I am the resurrection and the life, and those who believe in me, even though they die, will live;” promises like, “Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

We catch a glimpse of his glory as his living Word comes to us today. Our Lord speaks to us through this Word. He says to each of us, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

Listen to him. Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place. Trust it, for it is all trustworthy. It is all true.

Jesus is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer

Oak Harbor Lutheran Church

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany – February 8, 2026

by Jeffrey Spencer | Feb 10, 2026 | Sermons

CLICK HERE for a worship video for February 8

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany – February 8, 2026
Matthew 5:13-20

Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks new realities into being. Just as God the Father said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, now God the Son is speaking new things into existence.

Last week we heard Jesus say, “Blessed are you,” over and over again. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said. “Blessed are those who mourn, and those who are meek. Blessed are the pure in heart and the peacemakers. Blessed are you when you are rejected and reviled for my sake,” Jesus said. And as Christ spoke these blessings, they came to be. Jesus’ word does what it says! Just as God the Father spoke creation into existence, so too now God the Son is speaking new realities into being by the power of his Word.

Today we hear a second installment from the Sermon on the Mount, and as we pick up where we left off last week, we hear Jesus continuing to do this. “You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus says. This is a declarative statement. Christ has defined his hearers in this way, and so that is what they now are! “You are the light of the world,” Jesus says, echoing the Father at creation. Jesus calls this light into being and then says, “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

What does it mean to be the salt of the earth? Throughout most of human history salt has been used as a seasoning. It is really quite an amazing substance. Salt is a flavor enhancer. It draws out the goodness of the food being seasoned. Salt also neutralizes bitterness, which is why you almost always need a pinch of it even in sweet recipes. Salt, of course, is still widely used today. It is found in every kitchen around the world, and on the table of every restaurant.

In the ancient world, salt was also used as an essential preservative. In Jesus’ time there were no refrigerators. There were no Coleman coolers. You couldn’t grab a bag of ice on your way out of the grocery store. The only way to preserve meat was to salt it. Even just a thin layer on a fish filet or a slab of lamb would keep it from rotting, preserving those important sources of protein.

To be the salt of the earth, then, is to bring out goodness. It is to neutralize bitterness. It is also to be a preservative for the sake of the world, for the sake of human society, keeping it from rotting.

What does it mean to be the light of the world? From ancient times and across cultures, light has represented truth. Many educational institutions use a torch as part of their insignia to represent the pursuit of truth. Light has long represented hope and comfort, like the first light of dawn after a long night of darkness. Light has long been a symbol of goodness and holiness and life, in contrast to the darkness of evil and sin and death. To be the light of the world, then, is to be bearers of truth and hope and goodness and life. It is to reflect the light of Christ into the darkness of the world.

And so as Jesus continues in the Sermon on the Mount, he is calling into being the new life we live as Christians.

We are the salt of the earth. As we are scattered and sprinkled throughout our communities, we bring a measure of goodness that preserves God’s world. This isn’t a goodness that comes from us, it is a goodness that Christ has given us. It is a goodness that is drawn out of us as the Holy Spirit shapes our thoughts and actions.

Sometimes we might feel discouraged as we increasingly seem to be pushed to the margins of society and the fringes of culture. We might get discouraged as we continue to see the church losing numbers and Christianity losing influence in society. But it doesn’t take much salt to make a difference. Many recipes call for only a pinch, right? It doesn’t take much salt to preserve something. A thin sprinkling, spread out, can be very effective in keeping things from rotting.

We are the light of the world. “Let your light so shine before others,” Jesus says, “that they will see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” The light of our faith is illuminated in the good works that we do. How do we know what these good works are? Do we just make them up ourselves? Do we let the world define for us which works are good? No. Jesus immediately goes on to point us to God’s law. He says that whoever breaks one of the commandments of the law, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them, Jesus says, will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus specifically points us to the Ten Commandments, which he unpacks in great detail later in the Sermon on the Mount. None of these commandments are to be watered down or relaxed. They all remain in effect: We are to worship God alone, making God the most important thing in our lives; we are to use God’s name rightly, for prayer and for praise; we are to spend time in God’s Word in the fellowship of the church; we are to honor fathers and mothers and show respect to others in authority; we are to uphold the sanctity of human life and honor marriage; we are to deal honestly and speak truthfully; we are to be content and grateful for what we have.

These are the good works that give glory to our Father in heaven. And that’s really the point – giving glory to God. We are not to do those things to shine a light on ourselves, but to give the glory to God, who has given us the will to do them through the Holy Spirit.

But to bear this light is not only to bear the truth of God’s law. It is also to bear the truth of the gospel. It is to bring the light of God’s grace. It is to bring hope to those who have broken these commandments by assuring them that Christ has come to be their savior, to give them forgiveness and new life. It is to bear witness to the goodness of God, who ultimately sent Christ to fulfill the law for us. Jesus talks about the necessity of having a righteousness which exceeds that of the Pharisees, and our only hope of having that kind of righteousness is by receiving it as a gift of grace, given to us by Jesus, who has taken away the condemnation of the law for us by dying for our sin on the cross and rising to give us this new life. This is the righteousness of faith. This is also the good news of the gospel, and it is always a good work to share the light of this good news with others!

Living as salt and as light isn’t always easy. Sometimes the salt we bring stings those who have rejected God. Sometimes the light we bring hurts the eyes of those who have lived too long in the darkness. We are called to navigate this hostility very carefully, in ways that neutralize bitterness – in us, as well as in others. We are called to bring light, not heat – there’s plenty of that in our culture already!
But no matter how careful or winsome we are, not everyone will be seasoned by the salt. Not everyone will bask in the light. But as we heard Jesus tell us last week, we can rejoice when we are reviled, for that is what happened to the prophets. We’re in good company, Jesus promises, and our reward will be great in heaven.

Today Jesus declares us to be salt and light. He isn’t giving us a suggestion or an invitation, he just up and says it! By his Word he is bringing a new reality into existence. He has said that we are salt and light, and so that is what we are! Jesus is calling into being the new life we live as Christians.
With these words, the Lord Jesus has infused your life with purpose and meaning.

You are the salt of the earth. In ways that might seem very small, you bring the flavor of Christ – which brings goodness to others, which neutralizes bitterness and preserves this fallen world from going completely rotten. You are being sprinkled around in order to enhance and preserve the world God so dearly loves.

You are also the light of the world. God has lit a lamp in your heart in order to bring a ray of hope into the darkness of the world. You are a light that bears the truth of God’s law and the grace of God’s gospel.

So stay salty. And let your light so shine before others that they would see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany – February 1, 2026

by Jeffrey Spencer | Feb 4, 2026 | Sermons

CLICK HERE for a worship video for February 1

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany – February 1, 2026

Matthew 5:1-12

Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

When you think of what it means to be blessed, what comes to mind? Usually, we think of ourselves as blessed when things are going well. We are blessed when we are healthy – physically, spiritually, and emotionally. We are blessed when we have enough in the fridge and in the bank account. We are blessed when we have good relationships with others, when we have people in our lives who love us. We are blessed when the people we love are happy and healthy too. Blessings are usually thought of in terms of those things which bring us joy and peace and contentedness.

And this isn’t wrong. If you asked to name the greatest blessings in my life, these are the kinds of things I would point to. They are the first things that would come to my mind. These are indeed blessings – they are gifts from God.

In the Sermon on the Mount, however, Jesus greatly expands the idea of what a blessing is and who is blessed. In this first part of his famous sermon (we’ll hear more of it next Sunday), Jesus announces blessings upon situations and people which were not thought to be blessed at all!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus begins. Jesus starts off by announcing a blessing on those for whom things are NOT going well! Blessed are those whose spirits are lacking in peace or joy. Blessed are those who are experiencing a poverty of the soul. Blessed are those who are down in the dumps. Blessed are those who are anxious or remorseful or ashamed.

“Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus continues. Blessed are those who are grieving, those who are sad. Blessed are those who have faced loss of one kind or another.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Jesus said. In other words, blessed are those whose lives are NOT right. Blessed are those who have been stung by a world that is not right. Blessed those who long for their relationship with God and their relationships with others to be made right.

Blessed are those, Jesus says, who are persecuted and reviled and have all kinds of evil uttered against them falsely on his account. Blessed are those who are harassed and excluded and teased and despised and lied about by others because they are Christians. Apparently being a Christian won’t always make us popular or respected by others!

These are NOT the situations or people we usually think of as blessed, are they? The poor in spirit? Those who mourn? Those whose lives are not right? Those who are hated? These are blessed? Really?

This sermon of Jesus’, the Sermon on the Mount, is not a prescription. Jesus is not saying these are things you should strive to be and do. The fastest way to ruin a blessing is to turn it into a to-do list! No one should try to be poor in spirit. No one should seek unrighteousness or broken relationships. Purposefully offending people doesn’t make you a Christian, it just makes you a jerk! This sermon is not a prescription but a description. It is a description of what Jesus is up to. It is a description of the gifts, the blessings, he has come to give.

Jesus has come to bring blessings to those who are lacking them in one way or another. Jesus has come to bring gifts from God to people who need them. And these gifts have both a present reality and a future hope.

Note how each of the blessings are in the present tense. “Blessed ARE…” Jesus says, over and over again. He doesn’t say, “Blessed IF…this or that happens. He doesn’t say, Blessed WILL BE this person or that after they accomplish this or decide to do that.” This blessing is in the present tense. Their blessing comes now! And it comes because Christ Jesus has come to be with them. Jesus came to be with the sick and suffering. He came to be with those who were plagued by demons. He came to break bread with sinners. He came to seek out the broken and the lost and the hurting. And as he came to be with them, his presence with them was already a blessing! “Blessed ARE you!” he said to them. “Yours IS the kingdom of heaven!” In Christ’s presence with them, they got to participate in that kingdom now. They could know the peace and the presence of God. What a gift! What a blessing!

But Christ’s blessings also pointed to a future hope. They WILL BE comforted. They WILL BE filled. Rejoicing WILL come, because when the blessing of Christ’s presence is made known, healing and new life is never far behind.

Some of you may be familiar with the Japanese art of kintsugi. This is an art form where something broken is repaired with gold or silver. Those precious metals are melted down and used as a glue, welding the broken pieces back together, creating beautiful rivulets where the cracks had been. The broken places are still there, but the bowl or the vase is whole again, and the scars are turned into something beautiful, something redeemed.

This is the blessing Christ has come to give to the broken. He has come to take the shards, the rough and jagged parts of our lives, and bring them together by his grace, his mercy, his forgiveness, making us whole again. The marks left behind might still be there – at least for now, at least in this life – but instead of being ugly scars, they become places of strength. They become something beautiful, beautiful because they have been redeemed.

When people outside the church look at us, I think they often assume that we are a group of people who are blessed in a conventional sense. Supposedly, we are the people whose lives are going well. We are the ones who are happy and righteous and spiritually strong. Maybe that’s even what we think sometimes.

While these blessings do exist, to be sure, and while those kinds of blessings should be celebrated and received with gratitude, that’s not why we come to church.  It is not what makes us Christians. We come here because we need the kind of blessings our Lord Jesus is giving here. He comes to us with the blessings we need the most. He comes to us to say: “Blessed are you who are having a rough time, because I am with you now to give you hope and peace.” He comes to us to say: “Blessed are you who sad or heavy hearted, for I am with you now, and I assure you that this grief will not have the last word.” He comes to us to say: “Blessed are you who are not right, you who sin and are sinned against, for I am here to be your savior, I am here to make you right by my grace, my free gift of forgiveness, and I promise you that everything will be made right in the end.

With these words of blessing and promise, the Lord Jesus practices his kintsugi, putting the broken parts of our lives back together. We are blessed here and now as Christ comes to us through Word and sacrament, forgiving us, renewing us, redeeming us with the beautiful rivulets of his sacrificial love, making us whole again by his grace, making even our broken parts gleam with his glory. And we are blessed with a future hope as we entrust everything that is not yet mended to him.

In receiving Jesus’ blessing, we come to be a blessing. We are blessed with mercy that we might become merciful. We are blessed with a new heart made pure by grace that we might see God, and in perceiving his presence, participate in his bestowal of blessings. We are blessed with the peace of Christ that we might share that peace with others.

But this isn’t a to-do list. It is just what flows out of us when we have been blessed by Jesus.

And you have been blessed by him! Not just in the good stuff, but in the hard stuff too. The Lord Jesus brings his blessings to all of it, every corner, every crack, here and now.

“Blessed are you, blessed are you.”

Yes, you.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church