A Sermon from Falmouth Congregational Church…

A Sermon offered by the Rev. Ian F. “Jack” Steeves in the public worship service of the Falmouth Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Falmouth, Maine on Transfiguration Sunday, February 14, 2010. The scripture readings were Exodus 34:29-35 and Luke 9:28-36.

“And while he was praying the appearance of his face changed,

and his clothes became dazzling white” (9:29).

“Glimpsing the Mystery”

The Season of Epiphany began with the baptism and ends with the transfiguration of Jesus. These two events framed the gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry. By so doing the gospel writers made it clear that Jesus’ mission came from God. Both stories contain the divine affirmation, “This is my beloved child.” Today’s gospel reading invites us to celebrate the astounding, mysterious ways God’s glory breaks into our lives. We all hold a variety of ideas about the meaning of religious encounters, and we have had times when we could not find words to describe experiences of God.

In a church I once pastored, there hung on the wall near my desk, an inexpensive paper print of a laughing Jesus. There was nothing divine in his appearance, certainly no halo over him, but his head was thrown back and his mouth was open wide in laughter. His face was rugged but not beautiful. It was not so ugly that only his mother could love it, but it was plain enough and human enough that only the faithful could see God in him. And see God I did.

A young member of the Church school once stood at my desk, staring at the laughing Jesus, and asked, “Who’s that?” I told him, “That’s Jesus.” “Oh,” the boy said, “I didn’t recognize him.” And little wonder! He looked so human. Some are led to believe that if we saw him today, we would know him. Not necessarily true! If in his own time, most people did not recognize him as the child of God, then do we really think we would know him if he sat in this room – face to face , and shoulder to shoulder – with us now. The human eye is never enough. The Christ is a vision that only the eyes of faith can perceive, but perceive they can.

Can a human being look into the face of God and still live? The ancients were certain that seeing God would bring death. So, Moses had been told on Sinai that, at best, he could look upon only the back of the Lord God (Exodus 33:23). He survived the experience, but his appearance was dramatically changed, not because he saw God but that God saw him. We, moderns, assume that human beings have the strength to withstand anything which our searching for the truth may reveal. But are we a people of unusual toughness, or are we more wishful in our thinking than wise? Are our anticipations about realities acute enough to deserve such a vote of confidence? Are we so different from Moses and the Disciples?

If we could only climb the mountain and see for ourselves!

There is no ‘if’ about it. The truth is we, like the three Disciples, can climb the mountain and we can see. The gospel reading says that we can gaze upon the divine and live. The word ‘transfigure’ means literally to recognize in an object or a person or an event (or one and all together) a reality of another kind and order. The appearance of the familiar and the accepted is so changed that a reality and a meaning unexpected is revealed to us.

The transfiguration event arises out of a time of prayer. While at prayer, Jesus acquired a new radiance to his person that should surprise no one familiar with the power of prayer.

Each gospel (Matthew, Mark and Luke) stresses that Elijah and Moses, representing prophecy and law and between them the sum of the Old Testament revelation, “appeared” and talked with the shining Jesus. Luke tells us that their topic was the coming death of Jesus at Jerusalem.

Mark suggests that the Disciples were not in complete possession of their faculties. Luke speaks of a heavy sleep upon the Disciples. Matthew calls it a “vision.” That is probably as much as we shall ever know or ever comprehend. It is enough.

But, then, a voice from heaven, the voice that had spoken at Jesus’ baptism, spoke again: “This is my child, my Chosen, listen to him!”

What more happened is not clear. Explanations are less important than what the experience signified for the three Disciples; and what it signifies in consequence to us.

The timing of the Transfiguration was important. At Caesarea, the Disciples had been confronted with the truth about Jesus’ person and with the challenge of his pending death on the cross. “Eight days later,” the mountain top vision of the greatness and the glory of him was the necessary inspiration for the arduous miles and days ahead. They knew the truth: Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed of God, the Christ. 

Our direct need, like theirs, is to climb the mount of prayer and see the Christ transfigured, and know again that he for whom we live and labor is worthy, deserving more, far more, than we can ever give of our service, our loyalty, and, at times, our sacrifice.

Mountain top experiences can clarify our goals and assist our spiritual formation, but what matters is the awareness of the Christ in each day’s life. Up on the mountain or down in the valley we are not alone. The best we can do is live in such a manner that we are open to those moments when God chooses to interrupt us directly and personally. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I have been to the mountain top and I have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” And, oh, the difference that vision made to him and those working with him.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Disciples saw the glory, too. In that event, God said, “I have come to you in the person of a carpenter. He encompasses the dimensions of eternity and yet he is as close to you as your elbow. And through him you see me. You will live to tell the story and live as you have never lived before.” On Mount Sinai, God showed only his back to Moses. In Jesus, God turned around and we saw the face of God. Through Jesus we are invited to approach God in a new way and to live out our lives in a new way.

God created the first light because without it the rest of creation would have no definition or vibrancy. God made us to shine just as Moses and Jesus shone on their respective mountain tops. Today, there are still those among us whose radiance bursts from them because nothing covers up their faith. Call them saints or just ‘bright lights.’ God sees them and us, but some people reflect God’s light better than most, and they, in turn, see God’s light in others with the strength of transfigured eyes. They continue to provide us with glimpses of the powerful mystery that lies at the heart of our faith and hope. They continue to encourage us to persist through all manners of setback and discouragement because they know that the Spirit is at work in each of us, transforming us into Christ’s likeness. With God’s help, we, too, can shine both now and forever.