Sunday
02/11/18 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Transfigured!”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 50:1-6
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Gospel Lesson:
Mark 9:2-9
My friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome
again on this our Transfiguration Sunday, and this our Scouting Sunday.
On this Sunday, we celebrate the Transfiguration story of
Jesus Christ being upon the mountain and being changed, altered, transfigured in
stunning white, light, and glory. To be a Cub Scout, a Boy Scout, or an Eagle
Scout is a process. It is a process of going from a Cub Scout to an Eagle Scout,
and this is a long and a transformative process. It is a process that takes a young
boy and then equips him to be a good, loving, community centered, strong,
courageous, and upstanding citizen. The Boy Scouts of America work with young
men for years and years, to prepare them to be great men in their homes, their
communities, their places of work, and in the world. Scouts and Eagle Scouts
are gifts to us, and are gifts to the church.
Today, on this Transfiguration Sunday, we therefore honor
our scouts, both past and present, who are growing and transforming every day,
like we are. We also honor this day scout leaders, both past and present, who
working with our young boys to make them into good men and great citizens.
So on this day in the life of the church, Jesus Christ our
Lord is majestically transfigured upon the mountain, as all of us, including
our scouts and leaders continue to be changed and molded.
In focusing this morning on the Gospel Mark reading on the
Transfiguration story, I want to first talk about the Transfiguration and then
connect it again to us and to scouting.
In looking at the story of Jesus being transformed into
dazzling light, white, glory, power, and love, we have this story recorded in
the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and Mark. The Transfiguration story is also mentioned
in the Apostle Peter’s Second Epistle or letter in the New Testament. Some scholars
try to connect the first chapter of the Gospel of John with the Transfiguration
story, but that is still debated among scholars.
So again looking at our gospel of Mark reading from 9:2-9,
this is one of the stories of the Transfiguration, on this Transfiguration
Sunday. Once again the gospel of Mark for this morning says:
“Six days later, Jesus took with him
Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there
appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter
said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three
dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know
what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from
the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly
when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the
mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after
the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (Mk. 9:2-9,
NRSV).
So we have some really powerful imagery in this version of
the Transfiguration story. Before this story was written in the Gospel of Mark,
in chapter 8, we have Jesus predicting his own death and resurrection.
After this, or specifically, six days later, Jesus goes up
the mountain with three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John. Of these
three disciples, Peter writes about this experience in his Second Epistle or
letter in the New Testament.
Now I understand that saying “the mountain” is rather
vague, as most scholars think that this story occurred “somewhere in the
vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, probable on Mount Hermon” (Africa Bible
Commentary, 1211).
Some scholars have argued that Peter, James, and John were
the “inner-circle” of Jesus disciples, and perhaps this is why he took them up
what we think was probably Mount Hermon.
In getting up to the top of the mountain, the gospel once
again says:
“And he was transfigured before them, and his
clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there
appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter
said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three
dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know
what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from
the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly
when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus”
(Mk. 9:2-8,
NRSV).
After this, Jesus, Peter, James, and
John, then come down the mountain and Jesus tells them to not tell anyone of
this until he, Jesus, is resurrected from the dead. You see, Jesus knew ahead
of time when we would be crucified and resurrected, so he told them this for
these reasons.
The imagery of what happened on likely
Mount Herman is incredible. Jesus is just suddenly changed into dazzling white,
and they see him in a way, with power, love, authority, and majesty, like they
have never seem his before. He is transfigured, and majestically changes right
in front of them. Not only this, Moses and Elijah appear and are talking with
him. They are often portrayed in paintings of this scene as being below Jesus
Christ. The great liberator of the Jews from Egypt, the receiver of
Ten-Commandments and the Law, and the great prophet Elijah who ascended into
heaven. All less than Jesus Christ. This is truly a scene of Christ’s beauty,
love, power, and authority, and showing us that he is even great than Moses and
Elijah.
The Apostle Peter it would seem got a
little nervous and terrified, and he offers to make “three dwellings” or tents
for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. The voice of God the father then tells the three
disciples in a great cloud to listen to His son, Jesus. Suddenly, it all just
disappeared, and they were coming down the mountain after having seen all of
that. Jesus then asks them to keep it to themselves until after his crucifixion
and resurrection.
Seeing the face of God, the beautiful Transfigured face of
Jesus Christ is something that is life changing. As Christians, as followers of
Jesus Christ, we are called to call on God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit daily. It is
our hope, that every day with the reading of scripture, prayer, love, giving,
charity, and etc. that we will become just a little bit more like that
Transfigured Jesus Christ. Our faith is rooted in the repenting of our sins and
accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, through the power of the Holy
Spirit. Yet, after this conversion we are continuing to move closer to God, to
Jesus Christ. The way refiner burns the impurities off of fine silver, so God
daily refines and purifies us.
I believe that scouting shares some similarities to the
Transfiguration story for this morning. In the Transfiguration story from this
morning, three of Jesus’ disciples see and experience him a new, powerful, and
a glorious way that they never had before. Even though this is true, those
disciples, and us continue to be changed by God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.
While they were changed that day, that continued changing after that day.
The founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley, called
this “going on to perfection”. For we are not what we once were, and what we
are now is not what we will become. Through Christ we are changing, transforming,
and dare I say maybe even Transfiguring.
What is great about the scouting program, is the program begins
with young and sometimes very rambunctious kids, and they end up with responsible,
hardworking, community and civic minded Eagle Scouts. Scouting, like the Transfiguration
story shows us what is possible, and how we do and will continue to change.
This change from boys to responsible young men, Eagle Scouts, has resulted in
men who fly space shuttles for NASA, men who get elected to government, who run
massive corporations, and who are the leaders of tomorrow. The Scouting program
produces leaders that are good and honest men.
I don’t know about you, but this sounds a lot like what
Jesus calls us to do in the gospels. So what is so great about being
transformed by the gospel of Jesus and his love? Imagine what would have
happened if Saint Mother Theresa was transformed, and changed, and molded? Look
what God used her to do. Imagine if the Rev. Billy Graham wasn’t changed by
Christ, molded, transformed, and stretched. What would the world look like if
there were never a Rev. Billy Graham? What would the world look like without
our first responders, and all those men and women who sacrifice, love their
families and their communities, many of whom have faith in Christ, and believe in
a better world. I believe that the scouting program prepares young men to enter
the world and transform it, maybe even transfigure it. So is scouting so
important? Why is becoming an Eagle Scout so significant? Well, I read this
last year, but let me read it you again. These statistics comes from, http://therealtroop555.com/ScoutmasterMinutes/Scouting%20Statistics.pdf.
Here it is again.
“For
every 100 boys that enter scouts: 30 will drop out the first year. Only rarely
will one appear before a juvenile court judge. 12 will be from families that
belong to no church, 6 of these will be brought into contact with a church and
continue. 3 will become pastors, 4 scouts will reach the rank of Eagle Scout.
45 will serve in the Military. 1 person will use scout skills to save somebody
else’s live. 2 will report that they used scout skills to save their own lives.
17 will later serve as adult volunteers 8 will find their future life vocations
from scouting 5 will receive church emblems. ….Only 4 out of 100 boys in the
USA will become scouts but of the leaders of this nation in business, religion
and politics, 3 out of 4 were scouts”.
“Only
4 percent of our nation’s youth were scouts, yet 65% of all college and
university graduates were scouts. 26 of 29 of the first Astronauts in NASA’s
program were Eagle scouts, and 133 of the 233 Astronauts were scouts at one
time. A Nationwide survey showed that: Of Senior Class Presidents 89% were
scouts. Of Junior Class Presidents 80% were scouts. Student Council Presidents
85% were scouts. School newspaper editors 88% were scouts. Football Captains
71% were scouts. Basketball captains 64% were scouts. 64% of Air Force Academy
graduates were scouts 58% West Point Graduates were scouts. 70% of Annapolis
graduates were scouts. 72% Rhodes Scholars were scouts. 85% of FBI Agents were
scouts at one time. So, 4 out of 100, make Eagle Scout”.
“So
what about the other 94 or 92 scouts who didn’t make it to Eagle. Is it just
wasted time? The scouts have “Aims and Methods”. Things found in the Scout Oath
and Law, the Patrol Method, Outdoors training, Personal growth, Leadership and
So on. Advancement is certainly one of these, but only one. Just being part of
the program gives the opportunity to “better and belong”. Sure we know some
famous Eagle Scouts like Sam Walton, James Lovell, Hank Aaron, Gerald Ford,
John Glenn Ross Perot and Steven Spielberg. But how about some
“Not-Quite-Eagles” like John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Stewart, Harrison Ford, Merlin
Olson, Richard Gere, Nolan Ryan, Jim Morrison, Joe Theisman, Bill Gates and
not-quite British Scout’s Queen’s Scout – Paul McCartney. The list goes on and on.
Scouting makes a difference!
This morning my friends, my brothers and sisters, Jesus
Christ our Lord is transfigured, changed in glorious white, light, glory, and
love. We are called by Christ to be changed, and to continue that process. Our
scouts are called and training to not just be who they were yesterday, and not
stay who they are today, but to go forth and change the world. Today we honor
God, serve Jesus Christ, and honor the work of our scouts and their leaders.
Amen.
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