Sunday
02/19/23 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “The Mount of Transfiguration!”
Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 24:12-18
New Testament Scripture: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 17:1-9
On this day, nearly two-thousand
years ago, Jesus ascended a mountain, with Peter, James, and John. This could
have been Mount Hermon or near Mount Hermon. Once on top of this mountain,
Jesus was “Transfigured”. What does “Transfigured” mean? Well according the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary Transfiguration means:
1a: a change in form or appearance: METAMORPHOSIS
b: an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transfiguration).
So, on this morning, Jesus Christ, God
in the flesh, does not just heal, does not just raise the dead, does just multiply
the loaves and the fishes, instead he literally changes his physical outward
appearance.
The best example of this, thinking
quickly, that I can think of, is Clark Kent changing to become Superman. Clark
Kent would change his clothes from Clark Kent into Superman, very quickly in a
phone booth. This then causes a lot of young people to ask, “What is a phone
booth Pastor Paul”? Clark Kent would go into a phone booth, a place you used to
pay money to make a phone call, before cell phones. Quickly, he would emerge from
the phone booth as “Superman”. Is this “Transfiguration?” No, not entirely, as
Jesus “shone like the sun,” and our gospel of Matthew lesson say. This is an
example though of quickly changing one’s appearance, however.
I myself have a transfiguration story
that happened to me to. Like many people when they were young, like me, played
some sports. I played soccer, I bowled, and I played in little league. This was
not through the school, but was the town league in Monroe, NY, in Orange County.
Back then, all the teams had sponsors. Some were sponsored by a local restaurant,
an insurance company, etc. We had our league t-shirts, our pants with those
stirrup straps at the bottom of the feet, a batting glove in our pockets, our
gloves, our big-league chew, and our cleats.
While I often batted 4th or
5th in the lineup, and one year had a batting average of 667%, I was
a terrible fielder. I was usually in the right field, center field, or left
field. Well on this particular day that I was playing in this story, I was
playing left field. It was a hot summer day, and I had on black cleats.
Sometimes I would pour water of my cleats because my feet would get so hot in
the sun. On this particular day when I was about 13-14 years old, it was also
sunny without a cloud in the sky.
Suddenly after the pitch was thrown, I
heard that “tiiinnnkkk” noise you hear when a baseball is hit with an aluminum
bat. I hear cheers and screams, as the hit bas was a high pop up to left field.
So, I looked up, and put my glove up, as this pop up was hit, once again to
left field, where I was. As I looked up, the sun was in my eyes. To reference
our choir anthem for this morning, the baseball was “Shining as the Sun”. I
moved my glove down just a little to try to see if I could see the ball just a
little better. Right then the ball cracked me right in left eye. Quickly, I
grabbed the ball on the ground, as my face broke its fall. The batter got an
extra base because of this, and I got to walk around school the next week
looking the dog “Petey” from the Little Rascals. Petey the dog, had a black
ring around his eye, and I had quite the “shiner” as my coach said. In fact,
when I went home after the game, I put a bag of frozen peas on my face.
After picking up the ball and throwing
it to an infielder, I noticed that for a minute or two my left eye felt like a kaleidoscope.
I was seeing all kinds of sparkles. Out my left eye, what I was seeing seemed
different than normal. Why? Well, because I just got hit in the face with a baseball,
that’s why! What I saw did not appear the way it had the moment before I got hit
with a baseball.
Was I transfigured? No, I just lost a
pop up in the sun and it smacked me in the face. I did however, see differently
out of my left eye briefly. Things looked different, and this morning on “The
Mount of Transfiguration,” Jesus looked different. It was not for a long period
of time, but he looked completely different before Peter, James, and John. Luckily
no one got hit with a baseball either!
It is interesting to me that this
morning, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain. I mean Jesus could
have been transfigured without going up a mountain. In the bible though, so
often humans go high up, as God is up in the heavens. In fact, in Genesis 11 the “Tower of Babel”
was being built. A tower that would reach from earth to heaven, for God is up in
the heavens.
Many of the great cathedrals and
churches throughout the world have high ceilings in them, so that our eyes may be
drawn heavenward. For the God of universe is up high in the biblical texts. In
fact, in our reading from the Book of Exodus 24:12-18 for this morning, once
again, Moses goes up Mount Sinai to be with God. God could have given Moses the
10-commandments on the ground, but often in the biblical texts, as I said, you
go up high to be with God. So, Moses, or as some of you know him, Charlton
Heston, goes up Mount Sinai this morning. In fact, picking up in Exodus 24:12
it says once again:
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God (Ex. 24:12-13, NRSV).
God tells Moses to come to him on the
mountain. Of course, God is with us always, but if heaven us up there, then we
look for God up there. Moses stays on the mountain with God for 40-days and
40-nights, like Noah on the Ark, and Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.
A good question to ask here though, is
why would we be given the scripture of Moses going up Mount Sinai to get the stone
tablets with the 10-Commandments from God? I mean, what does this have to do
with Jesus going up “The Mount of Transfiguration” this morning? Well, Moses
goes up to commune and be with God on the top of Mount Sinai. Jesus, however,
goes up “The Mount of Transfiguration” as God incarnate, God in the flesh. This
is quite a powerful statement to make. To say that Jesus was fully God and
fully human on earth is a powerful statement. What in our gospel lesson for
this morning would help to lead us to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh
on earth?
Let’s look at our gospel of Matthew
reading for this morning, to see once again how as Christians we can claim that
Jesus, our Lord and Savior was truly God in the flesh on this earth. For as Moses
went up Mount Sinai to be with God in our Exodus 24:12-18 reading for this
morning, Jesus goes up the “The Mount of Transfiguration” as God this morning. Starting
in Matthew 17:1-9, it says starting in 17:1 once again:
17 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light (Mt. 17:1-2, NRSV).
So, like Moses went up Mount Sinai
with Joshua to be with God, Jesus goes up “The Mount of Transfiguration” with
Peter, James, and John. Now when Moses came down Mount Sinai his face was
shining bright, but that was because God’s presence made his face shine bright.
Who then transfigured Jesus this morning? The answer is Jesus, for Jesus was
God in the flesh on earth. Jesus transfigured himself, much more than Clark
Kent turning into Superman in a phone booth, or Pastor Paul getting hit in the
face with a baseball. Jesus was changed right before them and his face shone
like the sun. Jesus’ face did not shine like the son because he was with God,
but because he is God. His clothes were changed and where bight. You would
think that the “The Mount of Transfiguration” story would make for a good
laundry commercial, as well!
Right after Jesus is transfigured,
the gospel then says, picking up in 17:3:
3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear (Mt. 17:3-6, NRSV).
In the Book of Exodus, Moses goes up Mountain
Sinai to commune with God and get the 10-Commandments. Moses comes down Mount
Sinai, once again, with his face shining brightly, having been in God’s
presence. Jesus, this morning transfigures himself, and Moses and the great Old
Testament Prophet Elijah come to talk and learn from him. Moses and Elijah
appear on “The Mount of Transfiguration” to talk with and commune with God in
the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus transfigures himself,
the great Moses, and the great Prophet Elijah, are beneath him, as they were
beneath God the Father. The Apostle Peter, who I am the most like, then impulsively
asks Jesus if he, James, and John should be there. Peter then even offers to
build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Since Peter was overthinking Jesus’ transfiguration,
God spoke from a cloud. When Moses was on Mount Sinai communing with God, it
was covered by a cloud. So, on the “The Mount of Transfiguration” God the
Father speaks from a cloud. God says once again:
“This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Mt. 17:5b, NRSV).
Peter, James, and John then fall on
the ground in fear. In response to this, and in finishing up this morning’s
gospel lesson, it says picking up Matthew 17:7:
7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Mt. 17:7-9, NRSV).
So, just like that Jesus’ transfiguration
on the “The Mount of Transfiguration” ends. Jesus also tells Peter, James, and
John to not tell anyone about his transfiguration until after he has been
resurrected from the dead. For it was not yet Jesus’ time to die.
The parallels here between Moses going
up Mount Sinai to commune with God and Jesus on the “The Mount of Transfiguration”
are amazing to me. Some have even asked me in my years in ministry, “Pastor
Paul, what if Peter, James, and John just made this whole story up?” I would
say that Peter was pretty convinced that Jesus was transfigured on the “The
Mount of Transfiguration,” as he wrote about in our reading for this morning
from 2 Peter 1:16-21. In fact, picking up starting 2 Peter 1:16, it says, once again,
of “The Mount of Transfiguration”:
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Pet. 1:16-21, NRSV).
Matthew wrote this, but Peter, James,
and John were eye witnesses of the Jesus’ transfiguration. How do we know this,
Peter said this morning, once again, “we” speaking of him, James, and John.
Peter said we were up there, and we saw it. We were eye witnesses to Jesus
being transfigured. Matthew was not up there, but he came to believe this, as
well.
Transfiguration Sunday
then is about Jesus showing the fullness of his power, his grace, his love, and
his Lordship. Today is the fullness of God’s love, hope, mercy, and grace, “Shining
as the Son”. This much more powerful than Clark Kent turning into Superman in
phone booth, or Pastor Paul getting hit in the face with a baseball. Happy
Transfiguration Sunday. Amen.
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