Transfiguration Sunday

Matthew17:1-9

 "Our Lenten Pilgrimage"

17:1* ¶ And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart.
 2* And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light.
 3* And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
 4* And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
 5* He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
 6* When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe.
 7* But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”
 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
 9* And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.”

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

This Sunday marks a time of transition for us in the movement of the church year. This is the, last Sunday of the Epiphany season, with its .emphasis on the revealing
of Jesus, the manifestation of Jesus, the' showing  who this child was that was born in the manger on Christmas.

During this season, we saw Jesus as the healer, the preacher, the fulfiller of the law, the gatherer, as he called his disciples to follow him. We saw him as one who called not the righteous, but the sinner and in that colling people's lives were changed.'

And today marks the final revelation of the babe born in the manger,  we see Jesus revealed a never before. For on the Mount of Transfiguration, we see what Jesus had
been proclaiming about himself, we see for the first time his divine nature. We see Jesus revealed as the son of God. Matthew describes this transfiguration effect that
Peter, James and John saw in Jesus in this manner,"His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as  the light. This was more than an exterior sign; it was
his divinity shining through his humanity that the select friends of Jesus saw. This was for Jesus and the disciples the assurance  that Jesus was the Son of' God, that all he
had proclaimed about himself was indeed true. The transfiguration was a pit stop for Jesus.  The heavenly father  knowing the tight race his Son was running, flagged him into the pits  right before he began his final lap, his final journey to  Jerusalem where he would encounter the cross.

And as we end the season of Epiphany, we begin the season of Lent with our Ash Wednesday service this week. We begin our Lenten pilgrimage with the assurance that we are indeed following the Son of God, no impostor, no pretender, but the Son of God who was revealed through this mountain  top experience£ .

Mountains  have played an important part of God's experience with humankind.  Moses received the 10  commandments on Mt. Sinai, Elijah heard the still small voice of God while hiding in a cave on a mountain, Abraham was to sacrifice Issac on a mountain, the city of Jerusalem was built on a mountain top and here Jesus is transfigured on a mountain top.

Mountains are one of God's most beautiful creations. For those of us living here in the middle west, the sight of those rocky mountains are a thrill to behold. Remember
several years  John Denver had a hit song entitled "Rocky Mountain High".

In that song John Denver describes  the majesty, the thrill of being high  up in those mountains  seeing for miles around feeling the life of creation . He described the feeling of  joy, of peace, of reverence as he was alone on those mountain tops being with nature in that way he.could  almost feel the very presence of the creator himself.

Some people have said that the song is too idealistic we can not live with our, "Rocky Mountain 'Highs'.  We need to come down off of the mountain down into the valleys, down were we can be a service to people who are feeling the brokenness of this  world.

But these high feelings can give us 'the strength, the encouragement; the peace of heart and soul  as we  struggle with  the brokenness of life in the valleys.
 
The experience that Jesus; and the disciples experienced on the mount of transfiguration gave them, and especially Jesus the encouragement he needed to continue his journey to the  cross. Here  they encounter not 'only the physical majesty of God through the beauty of' the mountains, but they encountered first hand God's voice,and God's  relationship to  human history through the  persons  of Moses and Elijah. Meeting these two people from the Old  Testament is important for it shows that Jesus is linked with.the past history of the nation' of Israel.  This  was God s effort to tie Jesus in tightly with the past, to root  him firmly in Israel's history. Two of Israel's biggest saints are here on the mountain, two close.companions of God. Moses, leader of Israel. and Elijah, prophet of Israel.  We. can count on the fact that Jesus knew who he was talking to. This  history lesson on the mountain top was a valuable experience for .Jesus and the disciples. It showed Jesus that indeed God was fulfilling  his plans that were  begun with, the call of Abraham, through him, and it told the disciples that, Jesus was God's son, the longed for redeemer of Israel.

In fact this pit stop, this  rocky mountain high  was such a good experience that Peter wanted to build a  monument.  He wanted to stay on the mountain to savor the whole experience He says, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”He wanted to keep the' experience forever. But he was interrupted not by Jesus, but by the voice of the father telling them that Jesus was indeed his son and that they should listen to him.   The disciples are so filed with fear, awe and reverence, that  they fall on their  faces before the the Lord. This was indeed a holy and reverent  experience for them. Then Jesus comes, tells them to get up,  because it is all over Jesus,was the only one left.

The text says, And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Moses and Elijah were gone. Gone too was the voice of God. Gone too was the white  of Jesus clothing and appearance. Gone too was the special experience. Everything was back to normal, well as normal as one could, be having encountered God, after having encountered the very history of Israel. Jesus was the only one left. But isn't  that ,the way it should have been? Wasn't Jesus the fulfillment of the  past which was pointing to a divine future?

But think about something for a moment. Mary of  us if, we were  on the mountain might, have only seen Moses not Jesus. In Charles Spurgeion's sermon on this text he makes the point that for many people as they live and experience God they only see the God who was the law giver. Spurgeon's says,"It would have been very sad exchange for what they did see, to have  seen Moses only. Who would exchange the cold moonbeams, of Moses and the law for the sunny rays of the Saviour's divine affections'? It would have been an unhappy exchange for them to have lost their Master whose, name is love  and to have found a leader in the man whose name is synonymous with law. Moses the man or God cannot be compared with Jesus, the Son of God. "

Yet isn't it true, that for for many, they only see Moses. For many they see in the Bible nothing but law, nothing but duty, nothing but a set or rules and regulations. They see  life as  a .duty to please God by their actions;.and their spouses, and loved ones too.  Life is one measuring stick after another.  Life for those, who live by,the law is constantly, being evaluated by  how well have I pleased God or another?

Have I done the right thing? Have I said the right words? Have I pleased the right people'?  They see, life as  a  means to please an angry God and an even angrier, set of
people. For these people, whenever they ,read their Bibles they feel nothing except a sense of their own sinfulness, and arising' out of  that sense of sinfulness, a desire to 'work out a righteousness of their own. They are continually measuring themselves by the law of God, they  feel their short coming, they mourn over  their transgressions, but as Surgeon says, they go no further.

We need to get beyond the Mount of Sinai to come to the, foot of Calvary where God in vengeance is clearly seen, but where God in mercy  fills the throne.

As we begin Lenten pilgrimage  it is good to remember it is not God revealed in the law of' Moses we walk with to the cross or Calvary, but the God of mercy who accepts us as we are with all of our shortcomings, and our sinfulness.

In.one of the last games that Babe Ruth played he made  several errors that allowed the Cincinnati Reds to score the winning run.  He had already hit 714 home runs and was  world famous, but  his throwing arm and his base-running legs were not what  they once were. As he walked off the field after the last out some  jeers and boos were heard in the stands.

At that moment a boy jumped over  the railing and with tears streaming down his face threw his arms. about the knee of his hero. Babe scooped the boy up, hugged him and set him .back down on his feet. The noisy fans stopped booing. A silent, hush fell on the ball park.   The scene of  one little boy who cared about the feelings o:f another human being melted the hearts of the crowd.

Like the little boy at the baseball park who accepted the Babe with his slower legs, and faltering arm,  God is accepting of us with our sin racked souls. He is more than the God who demands perfection through the law. He is the God who fulfills the demands of the law through the life, death and resurrection of his only son..

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale  January 28, 2008

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