Transfiguration
Sunday
©Thomas
B. Cundiff
II
Kings 2: 1-12a
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1Now when
the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and
Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay
here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel Bethel Bethel
4Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the LORD
has sent me to Jericho Jericho Jericho Jordan Jordan
9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me
what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me
inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10He responded, “You have
asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me
as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will
not.” 11As they continued
walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of
them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12Elisha kept watching and crying
out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel
Matthew 17: 1-9
1Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James
and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before
them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling
white. 3Suddenly there
appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter
said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make
three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While
he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the
cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased;
listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the
ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them,
saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8And
when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
9As 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.”
I. INTRODUCTION
Jesus’ TRANSFIGURATION! What? A man being TRANSFIGURED? I’ve never seen anything like this. How can this be?
The
reference in today’s scripture to Jesus’ TRANSFIGURATION is but one of several examples
of God in all of God’s Glory being revealed to humanity—and to each of us who read
and study scripture. At the heart of this story (this account) of
Jesus’ TRANSFIGURATION is the belief: Jesus
is both human and divine.
Even as a pastor
I struggle with understanding Jesus as man and God. Even more challenging is figuring out how to
preach about Jesus whom we believe to be “truly
human and truly divine”!
One of the
best ways I have found to describe these difficult concepts is to think of
scripture like a fine painting or sculpture or portrait. In looking at scripture like a magnificent
painting, the great preacher and teacher David Buttrick has said we need to get
beyond the words and ‘this is what happened’ type of historical account.[1] As art, what images come to mind? What thoughts are stimulated when we see a
lovely picture? This is where we truly
grasp Jesus as man and God.
To give you an example:
the gospel of John writing like a master poet gives us this beautiful
word-portrait:
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:
2,5
Beautiful scripture that helps us capture intellectually and
in our imaginations a picture of God!
To break
things down in hopefully helping to make this scripture today easier to
understand…..
II. Three Epiphanies
There are
three major epiphanies or manifestations of the presence of God -- “word-portraits” found in ancient scriptural
stories.
1.
First, there is the glory of God
revealed at the time of the birth of Jesus when the Magi followed the eastern
star to visit the Bethlehem
2. The second epiphany
is one we talk about often—the baptism of Jesus. In this scriptural story the heavens open and
the Spirit of God descends upon Jesus like a dove.
3. Today's scripture gives us the third epiphany or manifestation or
glimpse of God’s glory -- Jesus' Transfiguration -- the likeness of God revealed through images of
Elijah and Moses and Jesus & God's glory revealed to James and Peter and
John!
This is
truly a complicated story! There are a
lot of characters involved in this story.
It’s a mental portrait hard to describe with words–mostly because this visual/physical
changing of Jesus’ appearance is so far beyond anything we can
comprehend.
Honestly,
Jesus’ transfiguration is as hard to describe as Jesus’ resurrection. That is why I like to approach this text – not
logically but experientially!
III.
EXPERIENTIAL APPOACH
Think for a
moment about the weird changes in weather we have experienced this winter. To wait until early February to get
significant snow? Warm days in the 50’s
and 60’s followed by several days of temperatures in the single digits…..rain
and snow and sleet combinations…..seems like a lot of ice this year. And then the thunder and lightening of two
weeks ago—a cold front colliding with warm air moving north – weather we don’t
usually experience in the winter.
The
point: We often experience God, like
changing seasons and weather, in ways never imagined or ever thought possible.
Scripture
attests to the visual experience of God – perhaps in our taking time to gaze
upon the beauty of snow covered fields, or some deer leaping cross the
fields…..or a blanket of fog on top of a stream or river…..lots of
examples.
I was just
looking at the pictures of some natural giant ice-sculptures made from waves of
water up along the shores of Lake Superior …truly God’s hand in painting these beautiful
pictures. The challenge: How often do we take time to gaze upon all
that is majestic and given to us directly from the hand of God?
Something else
that still totally amazes me, so many high-energy birds flying against sub-zero
temperatures in unbelievable winds…always reminding me there is so much to
reach for and grasp and enjoy in understanding God’s magnificent yet mysterious
glory.
Preach: So perhaps we can we envision or try to at
least capture in our minds the image of what Peter and James and John experienced
with Jesus being transfigured into something beyond explanation? Incomprehensible? Illogical?
Something as real as our believing God is with us in our lives right
now? Jesus amidst the high clouds
with his face shining like the sun and wearing dazzling white clothes? And
Jesus was not alone but with Moses and Elijah.
Is this not an epiphany? An experience? A mind-word-portrait of the Glory of God?
With
scripture in hand, knowing that God’s light can shine in the darkest corners of
life, can we get beyond the question:
How could this have possibly happened?
Can we accept in faith the testimony of Peter and James and John? They put aside their fears! This experience for them was real! We are called to do the same. We are called, through faith, to experience
the good and glorious things God puts before us each and every day! We are also called to accept the testimony of
others that comes to us through scripture.
The smile on the face of the stranger; the birth of a child (or
grandchild); the laughter and tears of a
child; an unexpected hug….any number of emotions
we experience that cannot be explained away.
Back to the
testimony of Peter and James and John: They
asked how all of this could this happen?
How are we going to explain what we have seen? They actually heard the voice of God. They experienced God. Peter’s testimony we need to (are called to) hear
and accept in faith—the voice of God that clearly says:
“This is my
Son….this is Jesus…
I am pleased with
him…..listen to him.”
Words and a
powerful image directly from God! An
Epiphany. And what does Jesus say to his
disciples and to each of us who hear this testimony: Jesus says, “Do not be afraid!” Our
challenge is to look for the experiences of God in the world around us….the
people who are close to us….the blessings God has given us ….. through eyes of
faith in listening to God’s Son Jesus.
When fear and doubts and frustrations and pain
envelope us – Jesus says to us: “Do
not be afraid!”
IV.
This is
appropriate scripture for the Sunday before the beginning of Lent as we prepare
to travel with Jesus on his pilgrimage to suffer and die. The journey is one of rediscovering in our
lives the many varied ways God walks with us and touches us personally through
every day experiences.
God puts
before us an opportunity to work through transformations, changes in our
lives. The journey is one of working to
alter or make changes in our lives so we can be happier, healthier, people of
God experiencing with each other….God’s Glory!
The climax
of Jesus' Epiphanal revelation to the disciples through his transfiguration is
lodged in Peter's confession found in chapter 16 of the gospel of Matthew when
he acclaims to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” (Matt 16: 16 )
When Peter makes this heart-felt confession we must think of the
profession of faith we make when we proclaim in faith: “Jesus
is my Lord and Savior”. Can we/will
we also proclaim along with Peter: “Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the
Living God”?
Regardless
where we are in our lives, with personal issues or challenges converging upon
us: will we travel with Jesus to the top
of the mountain to experience the living Christ, as Peter and James and John
experienced the living Christ?
The foundation
of my journey with you and with Christ: JESUS
IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD! There
is no reason to be afraid. God is with us. Jesus is with us. Human and divine, Jesus our Lord and our
Savior is always with us.
Amen.
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