Transfigured and Transformed! -- A Sermon

Matthew 17:1-9

For the past several weeks we’ve been with Jesus on a mountain being instructed in the ways of God’s realm. This morning we’re taking a brief detour to another mountain, where Jesus’ identity is more fully revealed to us. In this scene from Matthew’s gospel we watch as Jesus is transfigured and transformed, so that we might see more fully the presence of God in him. As we attend to this story, it becomes clear that understanding the gospels requires a bit of an imagination. Without imagination you might end up doing what Jefferson did and start cutting out the parts of the gospel that don’t seem to make sense to the rational mind. Now, I’m a rather analytical, rationalist type, and so this takes some doing on my part. Since I’m not much into poetry (though I do love music) and I don’t read a lot of novels (though I do like movies), I struggle with poet W.H. Auden’s suggestion that Christians need to be poets. Although I struggle with this word of wisdom, I believe he’s right – If we’re going to understand and appreciate the story of the Transfiguration, we must trust our imaginations.

1. THE REVEALING OF AN IDENTITY

The story of the Transfiguration takes us to one of those “thin places” where the membrane separating heaven and earth becomes transparent and we can see the things of God more fully and clearly. In this story, we see Jesus unveiled. His full identity shines through, even if for only a moment.

If we go back a chapter, we’ll find the Disciples trying to answer the question of Jesus’ identity. Jesus asks them “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answers the question with the “Confession” that we make when we join with this assembly and are baptized into Christ: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Peter makes this “Good Confession,” but we quickly learn that he doesn’t quite understand the meaning of his words.

Now, six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain where the question of identity is again raised, and to understand the meaning of this event we’ll need to look at reality a bit differently so that we can comprehend the glory and majesty of God who is present to us in Jesus. Writer Madeleine L'Engle, offers this poetic vision of the Transfiguration:

Suddenly they saw him the way he was,

the way he really was all the time,

although they had never seen it before,

the glory which blinds the everyday eye

and so becomes invisible. This is how

he was, radiant, brilliant, carrying joy

like a flaming sun in his hands.

This is the way he was -- is -- from the beginning,

and we cannot bear it. So he manned himself,

came manifest to us; and there on the mountain

they saw him, really saw him, saw his light.

We all know that if we really see him we die.

But isn't that what is required of us?

Then Perhaps, we will see each other, too.

[Madeleine L'Engle, Glimpses of Grace, (San Francisco: Harper-Collins, 1996), 64.

2. A TRIP TO ANOTHER MOUNTAIN

As we try to imagine the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration, it might be helpful to view a parallel scene in the Exodus story. As I read this passage consider the similarities and the differences in these two encounters with God.

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.” Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. (Ex. 24:12-18 NRSV).

Later on in the Exodus story we learn that after Moses returned from the mountain with the Tablets of the Law, his face was so radiant from being in God’s presence that the Israelites were afraid to look at him, and so he veiled himself so that he could enter the community (Ex. 34: 29-35).

As I read these two stories together, what seems apparent is that Moses’ radiance is a reflection of encountering God’s presence in the cloud, but Jesus’ radiance comes before the appearance of the heavenly Cloud of Presence. Therefore, it’s not so much a reflection as an unveiling. Therefore, in that moment the Disciples catch a glimpse of Jesus’ full identity. Only then, do Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus, and in their appearance we envision representatives of the Law and the Prophets, who bear witness to Jesus’ mission.

3. PETER'S RESPONSE

At first Peter doesn’t know what to make of all of this. He reacts like many of us do when we’re around famous people or people we admire. He sort of makes a fool of himself. In trying to make sense of Peter’s response, an occasion comes to mind. While waiting with a family at a surgical waiting room in Santa Barbara, we discovered that actor John Cleese – of Monty Python and James Bond fame – was also present in the waiting room. You see, his wife was in surgery, and while our group recognized him, we didn’t bother him, but as always happens, somebody broke the rules. One woman just couldn’t help herself, and so she asked him for an autograph, which he of course refused. Our group lent a nod of understanding and support to his action, but I can understand how easy it is to get caught up in the moment when you’re around someone famous.

Peter was a bit like that autograph seeker when he realized that Moses and Elijah were present, and he just couldn’t contain himself. Overwhelmed, he blurts out:

"Lord this is wonderful! If you want me to, I'll make three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. (Matt. 17:4 NLT).

Although it’s not really clear what Peter intended by this offer, because the Greek word can be translated as both tent and shrine, it seems as if Peter had a shrine in mind. Moses and Elijah surely were worthy of a shrine, but now it seemed as if Jesus might be worthy of one as well.

But there is another side to this story. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk and writer, suggests that maybe Peter wanted to prolong the experience, and so he offered to build tents for the three men, whom he now recognizes as being transcendent beings.

If we perceive the divine presence in some facsimile of this clarity, we are fascinated, absorbed, and delighted. Peter's response was to want to stay there forever. The more profound the experience of union, the more one cannot help but wish to prolong it. [Thomas Keating, Reawakenings, (NY: Crossroads, 1992), 117.]

Like anyone who has experienced something as profound as an encounter with God, Peter lost all interest in the world below, and wanted to stay put. This is, of course, often true of our mountain top experiences. It’s hard to come down from the mountain. Moses experienced it, so did Peter.

4. THE VOICE OF GOD

Although Peter got caught up in the transformation of Jesus’ appearance and then Jesus’ conversation with Moses and Elijah, what happened next transcended even these two earlier events. Even as Peter made his offer to Jesus, a cloud descends on the mountain, and a voice from the cloud speaks words that readers of the Gospel first heard at the baptism of Jesus:

This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him (vs. 5 NLT).

As this voice echoes from the skies, Peter and his companions discover that Moses and Elijah have disappeared, leaving Jesus alone with them. This voice demanded that they listen to Jesus, because he is the one who will speak for God in this new age. He is the new law giver and the new prophet. As we ponder this scene, Thomas Keating again offers a helpful interpretation:

Listen not just to his words to which they had been listening when they were on the plain, but "listen to him," the divine person who is speaking to you. Listen to the divine presence that is incarnate in this human being. Listen to the infinite Silence out of which the incarnate Word emerges and to which it returns. (p. 118)

Having heard the voice of God, they fall on their faces in fear, but Jesus gently touches them and invites them to get up and not be afraid.

Having encountered the divine presence the three disciples follow Jesus down the mountain. They’ve experienced something too profound for word; something that they really can’t understand until after the resurrection. With that in mind, Jesus tells them not to talk about their experiences until after the resurrection. As Keating puts it: “There would be no point of talking about it because no one on the plain would understand unless they had climbed a similar mountain." (p. 119).

In Matthew’s story of the transfiguration, we receive an invitation to climb the mountain so that we too might be transformed by our encounter with God. In a moment we will gather at the Table, and we as break bread together we will encounter this presence, even as the disciples experienced it on the road to Emmaus – as Luke’s Gospel tells the story of the post-Resurrection unveiling of Jesus (Lk 24:13ff).

As we hear this story, may we let loose our imaginations, those precious gifts that allow us to see beyond what is rational, so that we might join Peter, James, and John, in seeing the fullness of God’s splendor revealed in the person of Jesus. Then we too will be transformed, as Paul puts it, by the renewing of our minds, so that we might discern the will and purpose of God (Rom. 12:2).

 

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Troy, MI

Transfiguration Sunday

March 6, 2011

Adventurous Theology #7: Good News for Everyone (Bruce Epperly)

In today's meditation Bruce Epperly takes into the powerful story of Peter's vision of God that transformed his understanding of God's mission and his role in it.  As a result a way was opened up for those who stood outside the covenant circle to enter in.  What was once considered unclean is now, by God's revelation, to be considered clean.  As Bruce notes, after this section of Acts, Peter gives way to Paul, and with Paul the mission to the Gentile world takes center stage.  So, the question of the day concerns God's desire to embrace all creation in God's realm.  I invite you to read and share in the conversation.

***************************************************

Adventurous Theology #7:

Good News for Everyone

Acts 9:32-12:25

Bruce Epperly

Peter is at center stage in these three chapters and then exits for the remainder of Acts. This section, true to form of Acts, begins with signs and wonders (Acts 9:32-43), reminiscent of the healings of Jesus, in particular the healing of the man at the pool (John 5:1-9) and the awakening of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43). The healing ministry of Jesus is alive and well in the early church; the “greater things” Jesus promised (John 14:12) are embodied in the lives of Jesus’ followers. Jesus’ non-competitive gospel inspires abundant life for everyone in everyplace, not just insiders but the whole earth. Jesus wants us to surpass him by continuing and transforming his ministry of healing, wholeness, justice-seeking, and hospitality.

Once again mysticism leads to mission. In the synchronicity of divine providence – the divine call and creative human response – God speaks to and through Cornelius, a Gentile, and Peter, a leader of the emerging church. Like the prior encounter of Paul and Ananias, revelation involves God’s movements in many persons; God is speaking through us to respond to others. We may by our faithfulness be an answer to someone else’s deepest need or prayer. Relationships are not merely a matter of convenience, but also, at some primordial level, vocation. We are called to share good news to one another in the interdependence of interpersonal relationships. Our salvation or wholeness is profoundly relational: we need others to find our way and our destinies are interwoven in unique ways with certain people.

Peter’s vision is highly unsettling to him and to us. God is asking Peter to disobey the rules of his faith, presumably enacted by God in ancient times. These rules shaped the Jewish tradition and Peter’s own understanding of God. While not denying their value and role in nation-shaping and personal spiritual formation, God asks Peter - as Jesus asked him on the seashore - to launch out into deeper spiritual waters. In Acts, Peter comes back with another great catch – this time surf and turf, shrimp, lobster, crab, and pork. “Rejoice and enjoy the unclean foods,” the vision commands. Naturally, Peter resists, but eventually relents as God continues to call him to a new understanding of his faith. “Call nothing unclean. All foods and, more importantly, all peoples are welcome at my table.” Ethnicity makes no difference in revelation and mission. No one is excluded: God embraces Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, and also Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

So Peter goes with Cornelius’ servants, finds welcome in Cornelius’ home and, no doubt, to his surprise, experiences the Holy Spirit falling upon these faithful Gentiles, inspiring them to speak in the language of holiness. All people are holy, all creation is welcome, and all can share God’s revealing wisdom. There is nothing to hinder universal revelation, baptism, or salvation.

We are here as Christians in North America because of the boldness of Peter and Cornelius. Their willingness to go beyond their spiritual comfort zones, to be themselves, makes it possible for us to be ourselves as persons of faith. There is no “don’t ask, don’t tell” among Christians; we are welcomed at God’s banquet in our amazing diversity, uniqueness, and beauty.

What’s to hinder the Spirit from calling us today – what new horizons of spirituality beckon us forward as God’s partners in healing the earth?

Bruce Epperly is Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the author of 17 books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and  Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry.

An Unexpected Guest -- A Sermon

John 20:1-19

What would do you do if someone were to show up unexpectedly on your doorstep? It might be a parent or in-law, a long lost friend, or a mentor. You’re not expecting them to come to your house, so you have no way of preparing ahead of time. In such a case, how do you respond? Are you hospitable and welcoming? Are you apologetic? Or do you just shut the door?

Now, let me push this scenario a bit further: When the unexpected guest arrives at your doorstep are you ready for them to change the course of your life? Sort of like the late Ed McMahon showing up on your doorstep with a Publisher’s Clearing House check? Now, that would change your life, wouldn’t it?

This is a question that’s often raised in the biblical story. Consider the strangers who visit Abraham and Sarah while they are camping at the Oaks of Mamre. As was appropriate in their culture, Abraham invites the strangers in, offering them a place of rest and refreshment. In return, the travelers offer Abraham and Sarah a promise – they will have a child in their old age, and this child will fulfill the promise that God had made in covenanting with Abraham and Sarah, in their descendants God will bless the nations (Genesis 18:1-15).

Then, in Luke we read about a stranger who joins up with two disciples of Jesus, as they head for Emmaus. This stranger explains to them the gospel, but only later as they share a meal, do they realize that it was the risen Jesus who had been explaining the things of God to them (Luke 24:13ff).

Finally, there’s the story of strangers who show up on Peter’s doorstep, even as he is experiencing a vision. These visitors represent a Roman centurion named Cornelius. As a result of their visit, Peter hears the call to extend the gospel to the Gentile world (Acts 10-11).

So, who are the unexpected guests who have impacted your lives with their witness? Can you say, that you were willing to receive their witness? These are questions that are posed to us in the closing chapter of John’s Gospel.

1. Going Fishing

The story begins with seven men sitting on a beach along the Lake of Tiberias. It’s a familiar story, because when we become discouraged or anxious about the direction of our lives, we tend to return to what we know best. Peter was a fisherman, and along with six of his fellow disciples, all Galileans, he had returned home to the only life he’d known before he had encountered Jesus. In his anxiety, he simply says to his friends: “I’m going fishing.” And they respond: “We’ll go with you.” This might not be the response you’d expect from people who had seen the risen Christ and had received the Spirit of God from Jesus (John 20). Indeed, in the prior chapter, Thomas has his own doubts assuaged by Jesus, but now things seem much less certain than they appear at the end of chapter 20, where we read a very fitting conclusion to the Gospel:

“But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31).

That sounds so final, and yet someone decided to add an epilogue, another story to tidy things up. And in this epilogue, we encounter an unexpected guest with an unexpected word for us. After spending the night out on the lake, casting their nets in all of their favorite fishing holes, they return to the shore at daybreak empty-handed. Can you identify with these disciples? Have you busied yourself with other things, because you’re uncertain as to where God is leading? And when you do this, do you find yourself returning home empty-handed? Can you identify with their frustration?

2. Recognition of the Unexpected Guest

The story continues, and when the boat nears the shore the group of fishermen see someone standing on the beach, waving at them. They weren’t expecting anyone to be there to greet them on the beach, and so they’re even more surprised when the man yells out at them and tells this tired and disappointed group of fishermen to throw their nets out one more time, but this time on the right side of the boat. If you were one of the disciples, would you follow these directions given to you by a stranger? Or, would you laugh off the suggestion? I mean, why would they be more successful on the right of the boat than the left? But, as silly as it seems, they follow the stranger’s advice, and to their amazement, they pull in so many fish that they barely stay afloat. It’s such a big haul that you’d think the net would break, and yet it doesn’t.

In their moment of surprise, the Beloved Disciple recognizes the man on the shore, and he cries out: “It’s the Lord!” How does he know? How else could such a thing have happened? But, while the Beloved Disciple is the first to recognize Jesus, it’s Peter who acts upon this recognition. Peter is a man of action, and so he pulls on his clothes, which he has shed in the course of his work, and jumps into the water, and swims to shore, abandoning the catch. Peter seems to understand that his life no longer involves catching these kinds of fish. As he arrives, he discovers the stranger, busy building a fire and preparing breakfast. Yes, in a twist upon the usual story, it’s the unexpected guest, who offers hospitality – in this case a meal of fish and bread.

As the disciples eat this meal, they dare not ask who it is who has welcomed them, for they all recognized him. As with Luke’s account of Jesus’ encounter with the disciples heading toward Emmaus, recognition seems to happen as Jesus breaks and distributes bread. What is interesting is that John’s gospel doesn’t have an explicit description of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper. But, you will find instances where Jesus speaks of bread and fish and wine, and in each case, Jesus reveals something about himself to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see what God is doing in their midst. As you ponder this scene, do you hear a word about what happens when we break bread together at the Table. Do you begin to recognize the presence of Jesus at the Table, offering his life to you in the symbols of bread and cup?

Yes, where do you see Jesus present? Is he present in the meals we share with one another? Is he present in the stranger we encounter on the street? Do you see him in the person crying out in pain and suffering? This is the question of the hour – how do we recognize the Lord in our midst?

3. A Commission

This epilogue is not simply a story of recognition. It is also the story of a commissioning to service. John’s gospel closes with one of the most famous scenes in Scripture. Jesus enters into an intense conversation with Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three different times on the night of his trial. Peter had promised to stand by him, to the bitter end, but he couldn’t fulfill his promise. Fear got the better of him, and now guilt and shame are eating at his soul. Knowing Peter’s heart, Jesus asks Peter three times, whether Peter loves him. Each time Jesus asks the question, Peter answers, “Yes Lord, You know I love you” And each time Jesus responds with a commission – “tend my sheep.” There is pain in Peter’s voice, but Jesus is offering forgiveness and healing so that Peter might fulfill his calling.

As we read this conversation, we might see in it the basis for commissioning pastors and elders to care for the flock. That would be an appropriate application. Jesus says to those who are called to leadership – if you love me then tend to my sheep. But is this word directed only to those called to church leadership? Or is it a word to all of us?

Remember the context here. According to the story, Peter has denied Jesus three times, and in this threefold call and response, Jesus heals Peter’s soul and restores him to fellowship. “Do you love me?” Jesus asks of Peter and us. In that question, Jesus acknowledges that Peter has denied him, even as we deny him, whether it is in word or in deeds. And each time that Peter responds with an acknowledgment of his love, Jesus reminds him of his calling.

Peter needed this word of assurance and reminder. After all, having been called to be a fisher of people, he had returned to a life of fishing for fish. He did this because he believed that his denials had compromised his ability to fulfill his calling. And while John’s gospel doesn’t include the commission to fish for people, I believe it’s appropriate to hear in this exchange a sense of that calling. Peter won’t be going back to his old life. Jesus has something else in store for him and for us.

Yes, the unexpected guest, who is standing by the lakeshore, is asking us: Do you love me? If we answer yes, then his response will be: then “feed my sheep.” Or, to put it a bit differently, Jesus is answering the question Cain posed to God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” And, the answer is: “Yes, you are, if you love me.”

 

 

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Troy, MI

Third Sunday of Easter

April 18, 2010