Listen to the Sermon or the Entire Service
March 2, 2014:
Potsdam and West Stockholm
Call: 2 Peter 1: 16-21
Text: Matthew 17: 1-9
Psalm: Psalm 99 (819)
Prayer: "Transfiguration" No. 259
Get Up!
This is the day
This is the day that the Lord hath made
And you and I
Must
Not just "should"
Not just "if you haven't got anything better to do"
But must
rejoice and be glad in it.
Peter, James, and John could tell us that.
For this is the day that we celebrate
The occasion when they came to understand:
That Jesus was not just an outstanding preacher
That Jesus was not just an excellent teacher
That Jesus was not just a remarkable healer
That Jesus was not just a gifted leader
But that Jesus was the son of God
And the one sent to fulfill the law and the prophets
For today is the day that we celebrate what we call
"The Transfiguration"
And because those disciples observed it and ultimately shared it
You and I should rejoice and be glad.
Admittedly, however, because of the fact that this event is
So "other worldly"
And doesn't provide us with
A nice neat story and lesson like the parables
Or clear instructions
Like the Sermon on the Mount
Many people don't pay a lot of attention to the Transfiguration.
In fact, I have encountered good, faithful, and well read Christians
Who cannot tell anyone
The facts or the meaning of the transfiguration
They cannot tell anyone why it is important to us.
Very frankly, twenty years ago, I was one of those people
And now I am amazed - and bit ashamed - that I was.
I could blame my pastors, but that would not be accurate
(besides, I am not a big fan of blaming pastors)
The truth is I simply did not relate enough to the story
for it to stick with me like it does today.
Here it is, as told by Matthew [Matt. 17: 1-9]
I find this story most meaningful and most valuable
When I read it as if I am Peter, James, or John.
Those three disciples experienced it directly
They were there, on that mountain
They saw Jesus with Moses the law giver
They saw Jesus with Elijah the prophet,
Those three disciples saw Jesus transfigured (in an altered state)
They saw his face shine like the sun
They saw his clothes become a dazzling white.
Those three disciples saw the bright cloud overshadowing them
And they heard the voice from the cloud
repeat the words we recall from Jesus' baptism
(words which we heard seven weeks ago)
"This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased"
and they heard too
the additional three word command
that the voice added to instruct P,J,& J
"Listen to him!"
I picture God pointing God's finger at the trio while saying that
And at us, as we read and hear the story as P, J, & J.
That trio didn't know what to do
Peter was offering to build a dwelling for each of the figures
[And note - that he made this offer, fully aware that two of those in the group had died centuries before]
But when the voice spoke,
the three of them fell to the ground, overcome by fear.
We have to read this story from their perspective
Because Peter, James, and John are the reason we know about it; and thus
Because Peter, James, and John are us.
You and I would have fallen to the ground in fear
And I think some of us not knowing what to do
Might well have babbled an offer
to do something as silly as to build dwellings
For Jesus, a wandering teacher
And 2 OT guys who had been dead for centuries.
In this moment the trio came to fully grasp
That Jesus was the Son of God
And was the anointed one sent by God
To fulfill the law and the prophets
which were represented by
the OT figures with whom Jesus interacted
on that mountain
in front of their very own eyes
This event is what has come to be called today,
"A mountain top experience"
This event was when they went from admiring and loving Jesus
Too something even deeper.
That is clear from the passage that called us to worship
wherein Peter relates that he and the others
Had been "eyewitnesses of his majesty"
For "We ourselves heard the voice come from heaven
While we were with him on the holy mountain."
To me, at this point, they started taking Jesus even more seriously,
And that is why this is the day
That we conclude our reflections on our pre-Lenten scriptures.
For the event that propelled the three disciples
Into a deeper, more serious grasp of who Jesus was
Should likewise propel us into one too
- individually and as a congregation
As such, this is the day that we are presented with the question
"Are we going to take Jesus more seriously
and improve our congregation's service to God?"
Are we going to take Jesus enough more seriously
That we will step onto the escalator of congregational improvement
There are sub-questions that must be answered
If we are to answer that big and important question:
Are we going to understand that we - individually and together
Are works in progress?
And in particular, that the rest of those who make up this congregation are also works in progress?
Or are we going to expect
One: that they must be perfect
But Two: that they should tolerate our imperfections?
Are we going to serve as a united - albeit diverse - group
Recognizing that there will be - and that there should be - disagreements?
Are we going to keep the main thing, the main thing
Or are we going to keep insisting on our own way
And get hung up on petty things that interfere
With what is important?
Are we going to understand that serving God is not really
all that intimidating or difficult or complicated?
For we know what it is that the Lord requires:
To do justice
To love kindness
And to walk humbly with our Lord
Are we going to shine so that others
may come to see Christ through us
may come to share Christ with us
and may come to serve Christ as a part of us?
Or are we going to be so selfish that we hide our own "Christ-lit" light
Like an eclipse of the sun or the moon?
Or like putting a candle under a bushel basket?
Are we going to approach our relationship
With Christ and with each other with the right attitude of respect, love, and forgiving kindness?
Or are we going to chose jealousy, quarrelling, and behaving according to human inclinations?
Are we going to see "building" as a verb
As something for us to do on the foundation of Jesus Christ?
Or are we going to see "building" only as a noun
As a place in which we gather
To offer praise that God did such a great job in making people as wonderful as we are?
This is the day. This is the day
The Lord hath made it
As we face these questions,
We must rejoice and we must be glad in it
For in the imagery of the last several weeks
You and I are standing at the foot of the escalator of congregational improvement
We can step on that escalator
And willingly be carried upward
By God's presence, God's love,
God's grace, and God's mercy.
Or we can take a deep breath
Shake our heads step aside and walk away
The transfiguration story ends with Christ telling Peter, James, and John to "Get up!"
I feel that Christ is likewise telling us "Get up!"
Peter, James, and John got up and went where they were to go
Will you and I? Will you and I? Will you and I?
[pause]
Lent begins Wednesday.
I hope and I pray
that you and I will find each other on that escalator
as we begin this holy season with Christ's fire
a fire that can consume all the clutter and all the baggage that so often holds us back.