Transfiguration Sunday 2/26/06 Text: Mark 9:2-9 Title: Just Listen to HIm!
Transfiguration Sunday
February 26, 2006
Text: Mark 9:2–9
Title: Just Listen to Him!
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Throughout the season of Epiphany we have been following Jesus as he did the very things the prophets foretold would be the marks of God’s new covenant and his eternal kingdom. We saw him demonstrating that he not only does the work of God, but that he teaches with an authority that is his own.
Transfiguration Sunday is the day that the Epiphany season has been moving toward; for this Sunday is when the Father discloses his glory and gives his own approval to what Jesus has been preaching and teaching.
The Old Testament Reading for today tells us how Elijah, one of the two great prophets who appeared at the transfiguration, was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, anticipating, as it were, his appearance now with Jesus.
In the Epistle reading, St. Paul writes of the other prophet, Moses, but says that the glory Moses revealed was only preparatory to Christ’s. Indeed Paul writes that when the Jews read the Old Testament without seeing Christ in it, a veil still covers their hearts. Something still going on today.
Before we take a look at the story of the Jesus’ transfiguration we need to know something about what happened before, or we will miss the key to understanding it. Starting in verse 16 of chapter 8, the chapter right before the one we are looking at this morning, we read about Peter’s confession as he says to Jesus, “You are the Christ.” What a confession of faith, but did he really know what he was confessing?
I ask that because when Jesus begins to tell his disciples what will happen to him because he is the Christ, namely, that he “must suffer many things and be rejected . . . be killed, and after three days rise again.” we see another side of Peter, as he speaks for all the disciples. This same Peter who had so beautifully confessed who Jesus is, is now rebuking him for even saying what he had just told them. It is in this confrontation that we see the complete failure of the disciples, to understand what it means that Jesus is the Christ.
They just did not get it, so it appears that God was going to have to do something drastic so that they would be convinced that Jesus was more than the Son of God, but that he was God himself in the flesh.
Some commentators try to give great meaning to the 6 days mentioned in verse 2 of our Gospel reading, and in doing so have done a great disservice to the text. The 6 days are just there to show time has passed has passed. It is just 6 days later. As we read on Mark tells us that Jesus’ Transfiguration took place on a mountaintop, that a cloud appeared and enveloped Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and then the voice of God spoke out of that cloud.
The parallels to Moses on Mount Sinai are unmistakable, for when they are all added up they told the people of Mark’s time and us too, “This man Jesus is not just some nice man whose life we are to emulate, but that he is God. Listen up, for what he has to say is of utmost importance.”
Have you ever noticed how difficult it is not to turn your head at a flash of light? Have you noticed that it is almost impossible to not have your attention drawn to a bright light? It is almost impossible and the advertising people know it too.
Bright lights now illuminate signs. Light chases light from bulb to bulb on other signs. And then there are those searchlights in front of theaters, shopping malls, and automobile dealerships. Advertisers use light to say, “Look here right now! You may not normally expect to see anything of importance here, or you may have missed it before, but look here, right now, and you won’t be disappointed!” That is what a bright light does, especially when it shines out of the darkness.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father used light in a similar way. The light of Jesus’ transfiguration drew the disciples’ attention to him in a new way. There on the mountain, the Father showed Jesus in a different light than the disciples had ever seen him before. Their friend was not just a carpenter, or just a teacher, or just a rabbi, or just a healer.
No, he had to be much, much more, for the light coming from Jesus demanded. Look here and pay attention. Hear what God the Father is proclaiming to you. “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
That light still shines into our lives today. It comes from God’ word where the Father once again draws our attention to Jesus to enlighten us, to tell us, “He’s more than you’ve imagined! Listen to him!”
It is kind of amazing with all that happened that the disciples just couldn’t seem to get a handle on just who he really was. It was for them similar to that time he had healed the blind man at Bethsaida. Usually when Jesus healed someone, he spoke or touched them, and they were healed. But that did not happen that particular time, for while the man could see, people who were around him looked like trees walking around. He could not see clearly, and that had confused the disciples. They, just like that man who was blind and only received partial sight the first time Jesus touched him, the disciples saw, but what they saw, was kind of fuzzy, for what they saw did not always make sense.
Remember at the beginning of my sermon I told you that Jesus had asked his loyal disciples a point-blank question, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” To which Peter confidently replied, “You are the Christ.”
Peter saw, but he didn’t see clearly, for in the very next paragraph Mark recounts how insufficient Peter’s definition of “the Christ” actually was. For when Jesus told them about his death, Peter got very upset, for what he saw and heard just did not make sense.
So here we are 6 days later, with Jesus, Peter, James, and John up a mountain. I am sure the disciples of Jesus thought they were ascending for prayer. They had done that many times before. It was probably not that unusual. They had probably even become somewhat used to it, thought it was ordinary.
In fact that day was probably just an ordinary day, that is until something extraordinary happened. Until Jesus’ clothes became impossibly white and Elijah and Moses arrived to speak with him. Until that cloud enshrouded them and added even more to their fear. Until a voice came from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Then, just as suddenly as it all happened, it was over. There were no dazzlingly white clothes, no Moses, or Elijah, no voice, no cloud, only Jesus. With the spots from the light probably still burning in their eyes and with that voice still ringing in their ears, it was over; it was time to go back down the mountain.
To have been there must have been spectacular and awe-inspiring. Who wouldn’t give all they had to be able to travel back in time to see what they saw and hear what they heard on that mountain? How could anyone after experiencing such an event, not be transformed forever?
We can ask that question, but it is probably not a fair one, for we have a distinct advantage over what the disciples were able to recognize that day. We know that there on the mountain the disciples were treated to a glimpse of what was to come. God peeled back a corner of the plain brown wrapper of Jesus’ human nature to give just a glimpse of the glory that would be his forever after his cross and resurrection. That day the Father showed the three disciples and us who it is we are called to follow.
Which begs a question: If we already know that Jesus is the eternal Son, crucified and risen from the dead, reigning now in glory, why do we need this story? You could say we need this story just because it happened and it is recorded in God’s Holy Scriptures. If you said that you would not be wrong. But for some reason that answer just doesn’t seem to be a totally satisfactory answer.
We need to revisit the Transfiguration story each year. First, because it is one of those flashing lights that catch our attention. It’s a very brief story, yet like that bright flash of light on a dark night it demands our attention. We need to see what it means, and when we look, even if we’ve looked at this story many times before and think we know all we need to know about it, Jesus, briefly robed in brilliant light, calls us to once more to consider who he really is.
He calls to us again because a danger we all face is that we can become so accustomed to hearing about Jesus, to hearing what he has done for us, that God’s Word and Sacraments can all become rather routine which then breeds indifference to his Word and disobedience to his will. And when faith in Jesus becomes routine, we miss the transformed life that God wants us to live.
We need to revisit this story again is because we need to hear once more God the Father’s words, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” so that we are strengthened in our faith because Jesus is our only hope, that’s right, don’t be misled, he is our only hope for forgiveness and acceptance, not only in eternity, but in this life. For the life that the world wants us to live is not the life that that God wants us to live.
We need to hear from him that when we put our trust in anything other than the cross we are in danger of losing our life, not just eternal life, but life here, right now, right where we live.
The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is a bright flash of light that draws our attention once again to the truth of who he is. He is the light of God’s mercy, the glorified Son, the one we must listen to and follow every day of our lives. Amen
February 26, 2006
Text: Mark 9:2–9
Title: Just Listen to Him!
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Throughout the season of Epiphany we have been following Jesus as he did the very things the prophets foretold would be the marks of God’s new covenant and his eternal kingdom. We saw him demonstrating that he not only does the work of God, but that he teaches with an authority that is his own.
Transfiguration Sunday is the day that the Epiphany season has been moving toward; for this Sunday is when the Father discloses his glory and gives his own approval to what Jesus has been preaching and teaching.
The Old Testament Reading for today tells us how Elijah, one of the two great prophets who appeared at the transfiguration, was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, anticipating, as it were, his appearance now with Jesus.
In the Epistle reading, St. Paul writes of the other prophet, Moses, but says that the glory Moses revealed was only preparatory to Christ’s. Indeed Paul writes that when the Jews read the Old Testament without seeing Christ in it, a veil still covers their hearts. Something still going on today.
Before we take a look at the story of the Jesus’ transfiguration we need to know something about what happened before, or we will miss the key to understanding it. Starting in verse 16 of chapter 8, the chapter right before the one we are looking at this morning, we read about Peter’s confession as he says to Jesus, “You are the Christ.” What a confession of faith, but did he really know what he was confessing?
I ask that because when Jesus begins to tell his disciples what will happen to him because he is the Christ, namely, that he “must suffer many things and be rejected . . . be killed, and after three days rise again.” we see another side of Peter, as he speaks for all the disciples. This same Peter who had so beautifully confessed who Jesus is, is now rebuking him for even saying what he had just told them. It is in this confrontation that we see the complete failure of the disciples, to understand what it means that Jesus is the Christ.
They just did not get it, so it appears that God was going to have to do something drastic so that they would be convinced that Jesus was more than the Son of God, but that he was God himself in the flesh.
Some commentators try to give great meaning to the 6 days mentioned in verse 2 of our Gospel reading, and in doing so have done a great disservice to the text. The 6 days are just there to show time has passed has passed. It is just 6 days later. As we read on Mark tells us that Jesus’ Transfiguration took place on a mountaintop, that a cloud appeared and enveloped Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and then the voice of God spoke out of that cloud.
The parallels to Moses on Mount Sinai are unmistakable, for when they are all added up they told the people of Mark’s time and us too, “This man Jesus is not just some nice man whose life we are to emulate, but that he is God. Listen up, for what he has to say is of utmost importance.”
Have you ever noticed how difficult it is not to turn your head at a flash of light? Have you noticed that it is almost impossible to not have your attention drawn to a bright light? It is almost impossible and the advertising people know it too.
Bright lights now illuminate signs. Light chases light from bulb to bulb on other signs. And then there are those searchlights in front of theaters, shopping malls, and automobile dealerships. Advertisers use light to say, “Look here right now! You may not normally expect to see anything of importance here, or you may have missed it before, but look here, right now, and you won’t be disappointed!” That is what a bright light does, especially when it shines out of the darkness.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father used light in a similar way. The light of Jesus’ transfiguration drew the disciples’ attention to him in a new way. There on the mountain, the Father showed Jesus in a different light than the disciples had ever seen him before. Their friend was not just a carpenter, or just a teacher, or just a rabbi, or just a healer.
No, he had to be much, much more, for the light coming from Jesus demanded. Look here and pay attention. Hear what God the Father is proclaiming to you. “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
That light still shines into our lives today. It comes from God’ word where the Father once again draws our attention to Jesus to enlighten us, to tell us, “He’s more than you’ve imagined! Listen to him!”
It is kind of amazing with all that happened that the disciples just couldn’t seem to get a handle on just who he really was. It was for them similar to that time he had healed the blind man at Bethsaida. Usually when Jesus healed someone, he spoke or touched them, and they were healed. But that did not happen that particular time, for while the man could see, people who were around him looked like trees walking around. He could not see clearly, and that had confused the disciples. They, just like that man who was blind and only received partial sight the first time Jesus touched him, the disciples saw, but what they saw, was kind of fuzzy, for what they saw did not always make sense.
Remember at the beginning of my sermon I told you that Jesus had asked his loyal disciples a point-blank question, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” To which Peter confidently replied, “You are the Christ.”
Peter saw, but he didn’t see clearly, for in the very next paragraph Mark recounts how insufficient Peter’s definition of “the Christ” actually was. For when Jesus told them about his death, Peter got very upset, for what he saw and heard just did not make sense.
So here we are 6 days later, with Jesus, Peter, James, and John up a mountain. I am sure the disciples of Jesus thought they were ascending for prayer. They had done that many times before. It was probably not that unusual. They had probably even become somewhat used to it, thought it was ordinary.
In fact that day was probably just an ordinary day, that is until something extraordinary happened. Until Jesus’ clothes became impossibly white and Elijah and Moses arrived to speak with him. Until that cloud enshrouded them and added even more to their fear. Until a voice came from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Then, just as suddenly as it all happened, it was over. There were no dazzlingly white clothes, no Moses, or Elijah, no voice, no cloud, only Jesus. With the spots from the light probably still burning in their eyes and with that voice still ringing in their ears, it was over; it was time to go back down the mountain.
To have been there must have been spectacular and awe-inspiring. Who wouldn’t give all they had to be able to travel back in time to see what they saw and hear what they heard on that mountain? How could anyone after experiencing such an event, not be transformed forever?
We can ask that question, but it is probably not a fair one, for we have a distinct advantage over what the disciples were able to recognize that day. We know that there on the mountain the disciples were treated to a glimpse of what was to come. God peeled back a corner of the plain brown wrapper of Jesus’ human nature to give just a glimpse of the glory that would be his forever after his cross and resurrection. That day the Father showed the three disciples and us who it is we are called to follow.
Which begs a question: If we already know that Jesus is the eternal Son, crucified and risen from the dead, reigning now in glory, why do we need this story? You could say we need this story just because it happened and it is recorded in God’s Holy Scriptures. If you said that you would not be wrong. But for some reason that answer just doesn’t seem to be a totally satisfactory answer.
We need to revisit the Transfiguration story each year. First, because it is one of those flashing lights that catch our attention. It’s a very brief story, yet like that bright flash of light on a dark night it demands our attention. We need to see what it means, and when we look, even if we’ve looked at this story many times before and think we know all we need to know about it, Jesus, briefly robed in brilliant light, calls us to once more to consider who he really is.
He calls to us again because a danger we all face is that we can become so accustomed to hearing about Jesus, to hearing what he has done for us, that God’s Word and Sacraments can all become rather routine which then breeds indifference to his Word and disobedience to his will. And when faith in Jesus becomes routine, we miss the transformed life that God wants us to live.
We need to revisit this story again is because we need to hear once more God the Father’s words, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” so that we are strengthened in our faith because Jesus is our only hope, that’s right, don’t be misled, he is our only hope for forgiveness and acceptance, not only in eternity, but in this life. For the life that the world wants us to live is not the life that that God wants us to live.
We need to hear from him that when we put our trust in anything other than the cross we are in danger of losing our life, not just eternal life, but life here, right now, right where we live.
The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is a bright flash of light that draws our attention once again to the truth of who he is. He is the light of God’s mercy, the glorified Son, the one we must listen to and follow every day of our lives. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 2:29 PM
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