Sunday
03/03/19 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Transfigured!”
Old Testament
Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 9:28-43a
My brothers and
sisters in Christ, welcome once again on this our Transfiguration Sunday! On
this day, or close to it, nearly two-thousand years ago, Jesus ascended up a
mountain to pray (Lk. 9:28, NRSV). On this journey, Jesus:
“took with him Peter and John and
James” (Lk. 9:28, NRSV).
Jesus
then of course becomes “Transfigured” right in front of them (Lk. 9:29, NRSV). Well
I don’t know about you, but the word “Transfigured” is kind of a 50-cent word
to me! I mean, what does “Transfigured” even mean?
Well according to
https://www.merriam-webster.com, the word “Transfigured” means:
“to give a new and typically
exalted or spiritual appearance to: transform outwardly and usually for
the better”
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transfigured?src=search-dict-hed).
So,
if something is “Transfigured,” according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary,
something or someone has a new and maybe even an exalted spiritual appearance.
Or they could transform outwardly, and often it is a good transformation. So
something has a new and often exalted or holy and spiritual appearance, or
something has an outward and often good transformation.
Now
I know what you’re thinking right now, “Pastor Paul how can I use the word
“Transfigured” in my daily life”? Well I have some examples for you! For
example, if my wife Melissa just got a haircut, and yes I have been trained by
her to notice such things, she might ask, “Paul, how does my hair look?” I
could say, “Well Melissa, it looks ok”. Wrong answer! I could say “It looks
nice”. Getting warmer! Or I could say, “Goodness Melissa, you look
Transfigured!”
If
I come to our church early one day in the winter and the church parking lot is
covered and snow and ice, and if Ron Nemire removes the snow and ice, then we
can see the black top underneath. I should then say to Ron that he has
“Transfigured the parking lot!” See how this works? Church words are fun right?
It
is very biblical in certain circumstance for someone’s appearance to change.
For example, if anyone has ever watched the show “Undercover Boss,” the bosses
change their outward appearance significantly. These bosses then go undercover
and work with some of the people that they are the bosses of. These people
aren’t supposed to know though that it is really their own boss. So are these bosses
“Transfigured”? I would say in this case, probably not!
I
guess for me it is the idea that God is so amazing, so loving, and so powerful,
that God can change how he presents himself visually, and he of course can
change us.
In
our Old Testament or Hebrew Bible reading for this morning from the Book of
Exodus, we have Moses or Charlton Hesston coming down Mount Sinai with the 10-Commandments
(34:29, NRSV). As I heard one pastor say once, “Moses was the first person in
the bible to use a tablet, and to download from the cloud!” Now for those of
you that are here this morning that don’t know what “the cloud” is, my guess is
that you do know who “Charlton Hesston” is, so you can explain that to each
other after church!
In our Book of Exodus reading once again, Moses is coming down Mount
Sinai with the 10-Commandment tablets, and the scripture says once again that
“his face shone because he had been
talking with God”
(Ex. 34:29b, NRSV).
This scripture
reading towards the end, then says of Moses,
“that the skin of his face was shining” (Ex. 34:35, NRSV).
I
don’t think that Moses spent too long in tanning bed, rather I think that his
skin was shining and glowing. The Israelites could see the holiness. Maybe this
is like a bride on her wedding day, or what Melissa looks like every time after
she leaves my presence!
In
our reading for this morning from the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the
Corinthians, the Apostle Paul references the Moses story in Exodus 34 (2 Cor.
3:12, NRSV). At the end of the Exodus narrative, Moses veils his face:
“to
keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was
being set aside” (2. Cor. 3:13, NRSV).
Or
another way to put it, Moses veiled his beautifully shiny and illuminated face,
so that people would focus on God and not him.
The
Apostle Paul then says though regarding wearing veils that:
“when
one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with
unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror,
are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another;
for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit”
(2 Cor. 3:16-18, NRSV).
Our
transformation is Christ far exceed what Moses experienced. The people weren’t
ready to see the full light of God in the way that it was shown to Moses, but
Christ came to transform or “Transfigure” us. This means that through Christ,
we are ready to be changed, and the world is ready to see that change in us.
With all of
this talk about “Transfiguration,” and transformation, what does our Gospel of
Luke reading tell us again for this morning? Let’s look at our gospel reading
that I just read once again. It says:
“Now about eight
days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and
James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the
appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white” (Lk.
9:28-29, NRSV).
So similar to Moses in the Book of
Exodus, Jesus is transformed or “Transfigured”. More than Jesus’ face though,
he had a wardrobe change, as his clothes became dazzling white. He only took
Peter and John and James with him, so this must have been quite a sight for
them! Perhaps Peter and John and James remember in this moment learning about
the Book of Exodus from the Torah as children, and maybe they remembered that
Moses looked transformed when came down from Mount Sinai.
This time though, unlike Moses,
once again, this happens:
“Suddenly they
saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were
speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now
Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had
stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him”
(Lk. 9:30-32, NRSV).
This story is always depicted as
Jesus being set up above Moses and Elijah, as he is elevated above the great
Moses, and the great prophet Elijah. Jesus is greater than Moses, greater than
the great prophet Elijah, and his “Transfiguration” is much more powerful than
what happened to Moses in our Book of Exodus reading for this morning. Jesus
was telling Moses and Elijah how he was about to die on a cross for our sins,
and be raised again. This is what Jesus was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and John and James were tired and sleepy, but they were able to see this
magnificent “Transfiguration” of Jesus Christ. Where Adam failed in the Garden
of Eden, Jesus will prevail. Jesus is greater than Moses and greater than the prophet
Elijah.
Instead of trusting Jesus though,
Peter, as he often would, got nervous and impulsive. The gospel reading goes on
to say once again:
“Just as they
were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here;
let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and
overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from
the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When
the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those
days told no one any of the things they had seen” (Lk.
9:33-36, NRSV).
Sometimes when God reveals himself to
us it can be overwhelming, scary, and even unexpected. Instead of trusting
Jesus though, Peter asked Jesus if he should make a dwelling for him, for
Moses, and for Elijah. Just then a cloud over shadowed them, and God the Father
spoke to them. God the Father said to Peter and John and James this is Jesus,
my Son, do what he says! Then right after this, Jesus went right back to the
way he was before he was “Transfigured”.
The gospel reading then ends once again
with Jesus and Peter and John and James heading down the mountain (Lk. 9:37,
NRSV). Jesus then heals a boy that was seized with demon (Lk. 9:38-43, NRSV).
Friends, we serve a God, we serve a savior
that can reveal himself to us in amazing and powerful ways. All throughout the
two-thousand year history of the Christian Church, God has shown himself at
different times and at in different places. Two-Thousand years ago there was no
Methodist Movement or church, as that came in the 1700’s.
As we as the church continue into
the future my friends, do we trust God when he is bringing us into something
new? Do we stand upon that mount of “Transfiguration,” and unlike Peter, trust
that Jesus will lead us? Do we look to our own understandings? Do we trust in
our own instincts to build three tents, or do we fully trust in Jesus Christ
our Lord?
I believe that many of our churches
that have a bright and a strong future, are churches that are captivated by and
are trusting fully in Jesus Christ. They are not worried about building tents,
they are worried about following Jesus. Do we trust Jesus? Do we trust Jesus
with the future of the United Methodist Church? Do we find the unchanging truths
of Christ through the Holy Scriptures and the tradition of the church, or do we
seek other truths? Are we willing to trust Jesus as he leads us into a new and a
faithful day living as his disciples in the world?
Friends, Jesus might show up when we
least expect it, and he might be transformed or “Transfigured” in front of us.
He might transform or “Transfigure” us from the inside out. God’s Spirit might
move, and lead us to a new a faithful future, where we are called to trust
Christ, trust the scriptures, and spread scriptural holiness across the land.
Brothers and sisters, on this day that
Jesus was transformed, or “Transfigured,” let us call upon the Holy Spirit to
transform us, so that we might draw ever closer to Christ. Or as part of the
fourth verse of the great hymn, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” says:
“In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the
sea, with a glory in His bosom that
transfigures you and me;” (UMC Hymnal, No. 717).
On
this day that Christ was transformed or “Transfigured,” we have heard how glorious
it was, but we also know how he can change us. May God move in us, so that on
this “Transfiguration” Sunday, we will call upon Christ to transform and
“Transfigure” us in new and a powerful way! Happy “Transfiguration” Sunday and
God bless! Amen.
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