Sidney UMC - Transfiguration Sunday/Valentine's Day/UM Scouting Sunday - 02/14/21 - Sermon - “Transfiguration and Valentine's Day!"

Sunday 02/14/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:       “Transfiguration and Valentine’s Day!”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 50:1-6                                       

New Testament Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:2-9

          Friends, brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this our Transfiguration Sunday, this our Valentine’s Day, and on this our UM Scouting Sunday. So, three things in one Sunday, that’s a lot!

          I think we all know what Valentine’s Day is. This day that we celebrate that special someone that we love or loved if they have passed on. This day that our special someone is honored, recognized, and we tell them how blessed we are to have them in our lives. For some, as I said, your special loved one has gone on to be with the Lord, but we can still remember them on this day, and the love that you shared. Valentine’s Day is about love, and flowers, and chocolates, and stuffed animals, and little candy hearts, and a cherub in diaper with a bow and arrow. So Happy Valentine’s Day!

          Every year in the United Methodist Church, we also have a special Sunday in the life of the church to honor Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts. We used to have a separate Sunday for Cub/Boy scouts and Girl Scouts, but in recent years we now have just one large Scouting Sunday.

          Given this, I wanted to mention the fact that this is UM Scouting Sunday, but since we are in the middle of the global COVID-19 Pandemic, we are going to celebrate UM Scouting Sunday at a later date this year, when we can actually have scouts, parents of scouts, and scout leaders in the church for in-person worship. At this service, that will likely be in June, I will gear some of the worship towards honoring our scouts, there parents, and scout leaders. This said though, we are very proud at the Sidney UMC to host Scout Troop 99, and Scout Pack 34, which is now officially Troop 9934.

          Lastly, as I said, today is Transfiguration Sunday. This special Sunday in the life of the church that we celebrate Jesus on the mountain, miraculously changed. By changed, do I mean that Jesus put on a Halloween costume? By changed, do I mean that Jesus performed a magic trick? No and No. Today Jesus was miraculously transformed or transfigured on the mountain. He looked and appeared different. This miracle is also well documented in a few books of the New Testament.

          As our gospel of Mark reading for this morning says once again in Mark 9:2-4:

“² 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, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus” (Mk. 9:2-4, NRSV).

          So, Jesus’ clothes on this mountain turn miraculously white, and then suddenly Elijah and Moses are with Jesus talking to him. Elijah and Moses are lower and lesser than Christ in this scene, however. In doing some research on the transfiguration of Jesus, one source I read says:

“The transfiguration of Jesus is a story told in the New Testament when Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (2 Peter 1:16–18). It has also been hypothesized that the first chapter of the Gospel of John alludes to it (John 1:14)”

“In these accounts, Jesus and three of his apostles, Peter, James, and John, go to a mountain (later referred to itself as the Mount of Transfiguration) to pray. On the mountain, Jesus begins to shine with bright rays of light. Then the prophets Moses and Elijah appear next to him and he speaks with them. Jesus is then called "Son" by a voice assumed to be God the Father, as in the Baptism of Jesus” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_of_Jesus).

          Quite an amazing miracle indeed, but what I wonder is this, why did Jesus lead Peter, James, and John up the mountain and perform this miracle? What was the purpose? What was Jesus trying to show, Peter, James, and John, and why was Moses and Elijah there? By the way, many scholars believe that Mountain of Transfiguration, is actually Mount Tabor, in Galilee.

          There are many theories that answer these questions, one of the sources I studied about the Transfiguration says this however:

“Christian theology assigns a great deal of significance to the transfiguration, based on multiple elements of the narrative. In Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_of_Jesus).

          When he was on earth, Jesus was fully man, and was fully God, and miracles like the Transfiguration show us the divinity of Jesus, along with the humanness of Jesus. For he was God and man.

          Again, Moses and Elijah the great prophets are also with Jesus on the mountain this morning. The first five books of the Old Testament or the Torah, are also called the five books of Moses. These books contain the creation story, the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden, the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, and all of the Jewish Law, including the 10-Commandments. The great Moses had a small almost transfigured kind of experience in the Book of Exodus. It says in Exodus 34:29:

²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God”                        (Ex. 34:29, NRSV).

          Moses in this scripture certainly was not transfigured like Jesus was this morning, but clearly was a mighty prophet of God. Being in God’s presence, the holiness of God almost seemed to “rub off” on Moses as his face shone, yet Christ Transfigured himself, as he was God on earth.

          In addition, Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in the old testament, as some thought Jesus was “Elijah” (Mt. 16:13-16, NRSV). The Old Testament Prophet Elijah performed many miracles, with God working through him. In fact, one source that I read about the Prophet Elijah say:

“God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and entering Heaven alive "by fire" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah).

 

          Some consider the Prophet Elijah to be among, or to be the greatest of the Old Testament Prophets. Then of course, we again have great Old Testament Prophet Moses, who again, led God’s covenant people out of slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea, who is named as the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, and who is the one who carry the 10-Commandments or stone tablets down from Mount Sinai.

          Moses and Elijah were great prophets, leaders, and men of God from the Old Testament. Yet even the great Moses and Elijah pale in comparison to Jesus Christ. On this day, Moses, and Elijah converse with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, as he is radiant, dazzling, and shining like the sun. I like to think that Elijah and Moses are learning from Jesus in this scene as they talk, as Jesus is far greater than they are. A really powerful image if you think about it.

          In our reading from Psalm 50:1-6 for this morning, once again, it says 50:1-2:

“¹ The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. ² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Ps. 50:1-2, NRSV).

          This God, who has created everything, who is in control of everything, who comes out of Zion or Jerusalem, was made fully manifest in Jesus Christ. Jesus, our savior, God in the flesh, is this morning talking to the great prophets Moses and Elijah.

          In our reading from 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 for this morning, it says once again:

“³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”                      (2 Cor. 4:3-6, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul talks about seeing the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ. On this Transfiguration Sunday, Peter, James, John, as well as Moses and Elijah see this light, this glory, as Jesus is miraculous Transfigured or changed on the Mount of Transfiguration. Through this, Jesus is showing us all, his power, his authority, his majesty, his light, and most importantly his love.

          On this Valentine’s Day, this day to celebrate love, may we remember that God is the source of life, light, and love. Love comes from God, so if you love someone on this Valentine’s Day, and if love comes from God, then this is what makes Valentine’s Day so special. Love is simple and yet complex.

          In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, the Apostle Paul says:

“⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never ends”       (1 Cor. 13:4-8a, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 13:13:

“¹³ And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13, NRSV).

          I hope on this Valentine’s Day that we see God’s love in others, and in our special someone, if we have one. I hope that we realize that on this Transfiguration Sunday, that Jesus was on the mountain this morning showing us the power and love of God. Be looking for, be expecting it.

          The Apostle Peter this morning, seemed to miss this, as our gospel of Mark reading says once again, starting from Mark 9:5:

“⁵ 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.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus” (Mk. 9:5-9, NRSV). 

          The Apostle Peter got scared and was startled by Jesus’ Transfiguration this morning, and the fact that Jesus was speaking with Elijah and Moses. Peter did not know what to say, the gospel says, and James and John were terrified to. Then God the Father, listen to my son. Then boom, the Transfiguration ended.

          Jesus did what he did, or became Transfigured or miraculous changed this morning, to show Peter, James, and John, and us, the glory, majesty, power, and love of God. Jesus shows us that through him, we can come to God, be forgiven of our sins, and follow him, if we but turn from sin and darkness and believe in him.

Today is Valentine’s Day, the day of love in our culture. If God is love, and if love come from God, may we love or remember our special someone this day. May we also show the love of friendship or Agape love to all people. For this day Jesus shows us love on the Mount of Transfiguration, as Valentine’s Day is about love, and since it is UM Scouting Sunday, we love our scouts. Amen.