March 6, 2011 Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 24-12-18, Psalm 99, 2 Peter 1: 16-21, Matthew 17: 1-9
Glory Be!
In the Christian calendar today is the called Transfiguration Sunday. Wow. Transfiguration. That is a very churchified word isn't it? It's right up there with justification, sanctification and regeneration. For many of us these words have very little meaning. They are words that we've heard a preacher or two throw around or at us like we're supposed to know what they mean.
The word transfiguration comes from the Greek word metamorpho. It is used only two times in the New Testament and both times are in relation to the retelling of the gospel story we have this morning. You will recognize that it is from this Greek word that we get the word metamorphosis. Metamorphosis means change. So in everyday language, we could call today Change Sunday. But Transfiguration Sunday sounds so scholarly doesn't it?
This story is a favorite of mine for a couple of reasons. First, I love a good mystery story especially when it is on the supernatural side. I was always the kid who loved the shows like Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. Today I love the show Fringe for the same reason.
Another reason I love this story is that I can certainly relate to Peter and how he reacted when he saw what he saw and heard what he heard. Let me read this bit of scripture which is from the gospel of Matthew, but it is also found in both Luke and Mark, nearly word for word. Read the Scripture: Matthew 17: 1-9
Now let's all look at one another, nod our head and say hum.... I mean what kind of a story is this and what does it mean? The technical academic word for this kind of biblical story is theophany. Theophany means it is a story about God appearing to humans.
There are many of these kinds of stories, theophanies, in the Bible, such as when God walked and talked with Adam in the Garden of Eden; when Moses encountered God speaking to him from the burning bush; and later when God spoke to him on Mt. Sinai (from our Old Testament reading today.) and when Jesus was baptized. Even today we occasionally hear people relate their own theophanies, when God has spoken audibly to them.
There are various ways in which God speaks to humans, and this story from Matthew is one in which Peter, James and John were invited by Jesus to be witnesses to not only God speaking, but even more.
Let me add a little background to the story for us. About a week earlier Jesus had laid quite a bombshell on the disciples. They were over near the Mediterranean coast at Caesarea Philippi and Jesus had asked the disciples the question, the really important question, the question all of us are called on to answer at one time or another in our lives, "Who do you say that I am?"
You remember that it was Peter who boldly said "you are the Christ, the son of the living God!" Which was, I might add, the answer that Jesus was looking for; the confession that Jesus was the savior that he had come to be.
After the disciples began to confess that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, and the son of God, Jesus began to tell them more about the difficult part of his mission. He began to tell them about what was ahead for them and for him. He told them that he was going to be tortured and killed when he went to Jerusalem. You remember that Peter then turned from being "blessed are you, Simon Peter" to "get behind me Satan" because he tried to dissuade Jesus from scaring everybody with these predictions.
About a week later, somewhere between Caesarea and Capernaum, Jesus took three of the disciples, Peter, James and John upon a mountain to pray with him. Luke tells us that they were tired and sleepy. While they rested Jesus began to pray, and while he prayed is was transformed or to use the churchy word...he was transfigured.
His face and clothing begin to shine like the light of the sun. It was the brightest light and the whitest white imaginable. Not only that, there with Jesus were two other people long dead and gone, Elijah and Moses. (Again according to Luke, they were discussing with Jesus the upcoming events that would happen in Jerusalem.)
The disciples were startled, particularly Peter. He blurts out probably the first thing that came to his mind. Good thing we were here, we'll build you a place Lord, you and Elijah and Moses. No sooner were those words out of his mouth when suddenly the bright cloud descended, like the one that was witnessed when God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Then the disciples heard God speak, just like they heard when Jesus was baptized. The whole event was so overwhelming that all three of them fell to the ground petrified. I would have too.
This story has multiple meanings. It is about seeing and hearing God on earth and living to tell about it. It is about experiencing the supernatural realm of God. It is about Jesus and his divine nature. It is about the glory of God, and that is where I want us to concentrate today. The story of Jesus' transfiguration is a story of the glory of God being revealed to the disciples. When they saw Jesus changed they witnessed a smidgen his divine glory. I don't really have anything to back this up exactly, but I believe a full measure of God's glory would have slain them. I think that is why the cloud came down...in a fog you can't see clearly. But I digress.
Glory is something that carries a lot of meanings as well. It is used over 350 times in the bible, and normally is referring to God. The word glory is translated as glory, as beauty, as honor, as majesty, as fullness, as light, and so on. Glory appears to be an innate property of something that is revealed on occasion. Glory is also known as something that we humans can bestow on another. Most often we think of giving glory to God, and in scripture, God is always deserving and to be given glory.
Worship is one place where we do just that, give glory to God. At the retreat last week-end, one of our presentations was about the practices that we have here at Pisgah. One of the questions centered on "why do we sing the doxology?" We heard a lot of answers, but we came up with the basic reason. We sing the doxology (Greek = doxa) to give glory to God. That is the theological reason to sing as I sometimes call it, "The Gloria." Our words are, "praise God from whom all blessings flow...praise him all creatures here below...praise him above the heavenly host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen."
If Peter, James and John had been good Methodists, they could have sung out the doxology for Jesus when he was transfigured. But when they saw him changed and become as dazzling as the light of the sun, all they could think of to do was build a tabernacle. A lot of people since that time have build tabernacles for the glory of God. Apparently it is a common thing to do when you hear God's voice or witness the divine light of Jesus. Probably why we have so many church buildings.
I wonder why Jesus invited Peter, James and John to go with him to the mountain top. I wonder why it was important for them to experience the glory first hand. Was it so that they could tell others that such a thing had happened? Could happen? Might even happen to us? Or maybe it was to help stabilize their faith.
Remember the disciples had just been lately been told by Jesus that he was going to Jerusalem to die. This Jesus, the beloved of God, the very one they believed was the Messiah, the one to restore the kingdom, the one who would set everything right again...was going to be tortured and killed. Trying to persuade him to change that course only brought his wrath. Could it have been that their new found faith was beginning to unravel a bit? Could it have been that their faith needed a boost?
I believe that one reason we have this story is to show us how experiencing God 's glory can stabilize and grow our own faith. We too have times of chaos in our lives, times of suffering, times of stress, times of great uncertainty. We have times when our own faith begins to unravel.
Now we probably think... and maybe hope... that experiencing a theophany on the magnitude of the Transfiguration of Jesus is not very common. That's true. But we see God's glory in many ways every day. Recognizing the glory of God today may be a bit more challenging. Or maybe it just takes being intentional. Maybe it takes looking for God's glory.
We are God's children. We are sisters and brothers to Jesus our Lord. The glory of God is always with us. The glory of God is what gets us through the chaotic times, suffering, and trouble. The glory of God is what gets us through the ordinary times too. We are constantly invited by Jesus to come to the mountain with him; to see the glory of God; to witness the light, the divinity, as Gerard Manley Hopkins calls it, God's Grandeur:
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
We see God's glory in the beautiful sunset, in the bloom of spring flowers, in the light of a child's eyes, and in the warm embrace of those who love us. God's glory is found in moments of suffering too. When we experience the hard things, God's glory which is found in the love and caring, in the prayers and thoughts of friends.
When the disciples were frightened to death by the theophany, by seeing the glory and hearing the voice of God, Jesus touched them. "Get up now." He said."Don't be afraid."
I wonder. Are any of us ever frightened? Are there times when our lives feel out of control? Does we every face uncertainty? Does our faith ever begin to unravel? Of course it does.
Begin to look for a theophany of your own. Be intentional. Look everywhere for God's grandeur. Look for the glory of God. Look here on Sunday morning. Look there in the classroom. Look there in the office. Look in your home. Look to your neighbors. Look to the world around you. God's glory is abundant, the world is charged with it...and it will increase our faith when we see and experience it. Amen.
©2011 Judy H. Eurey
