Introduction: Our scripture passage took place six days after Jesus asked the disciples who people thought He was, and Peter recognized that He was the Messiah. Still the disciples didn’t really understand. As Jesus began His journey to Jerusalem, He was transfigured in front of Peter, James and John. Witnessing His transfiguration was what they needed to understand Jesus’ true nature, fully human and fully divine.
On two occasions in Jesus’ life the heavens opened above Him and a voice declared His identity as the Son of God. His baptism and His transfiguration validated Jesus as the bearer of divine revelation, both in His teaching and His person. Jesus stood between Moses and Elijah, the center of God’s revelation.
Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Prayer: Transport us, O God, to the mountaintop with you. Let us leave behind in the valley anything that would blunt our hearing of your word. Blind us with the dazzling truth of your glory, once again. Let the gospel address us as if for the first time, through the power of the Spirit. Amen.
I have a pastor friend whose hobby is astronomy. Since he lives in West Virginia, he has a better view of the night sky than we do. We bought a small telescope a few years ago, but we haven’t had much luck. Whenever we hear that something is going to happen in the night sky, John pulls it out and we look, but the lights interfere. We live in a place filled with distractions that interfere with out seeing the true light.
In Tucson, Arizona, they actually have “light regulations” that limit the amount of street light at night so it won’t interfere with the “good seeing” of the telescope nearby. When I heard that term, “good seeing,” I was curious.
A “good seeing” happens when the earth’s atmosphere is calm and free of dust, and the sky takes on a dark blue color. Astronomers climb to the very tops of mountains, well above the cloud deck, in search of a sky clear enough to allow them to capture sharp and stable images of heavenly bodies. [“The Stormy Star,” Homiletics, February 2005, 47]
Today, astronomers are particularly interested in the star at the center of our solar system: the sun. It produces virtually all the energy that supports life on earth. It’s the source of our weather, the controller of our climate, and our closest connection to the processes that power the universe.
You could say that Peter, James, and John experienced a “good seeing” when they followed Jesus up to the top of the high mountain on the day of the transfiguration. They climbed up to an altitude where the sky was a luminous blue, and at the peak Jesus was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun.
Reverend Charles Duvall says,
Before this [Peter, James, and John] had seen [Jesus] as a wonderfully insightful rabbi with remarkable healing powers. Now they experience Him shining with the glory of God. He’s not reflecting God’s glory. God’s glory is radiating from Jesus…Jesus is God. He is that unique individual in all of history who is fully human (they had seen Him tired, hungry, irritated) and yet fully divine (the heavenly voice calls Jesus: My Son, My Chosen). Now they realize that to know Jesus is to know God. What is God like? Look at Jesus. What is God’s attitude about us humans? Get to know Jesus and His attitudes…
[Also]…this new insight about Jesus being God changed their view of God. Since Jesus, the involved rabbi, is God, it is clear that God is very involved in human life. No longer could they view God simply as the awesome other. God is present in their lives because Jesus is present in their lives…They now saw, in a new light, what God had been trying to show to His chosen people from the beginning: God wants to be known by us humans. [God] even takes the ultimate step of becoming one of us so that we might see God in images that we understand…
Their view of people also changed. If God is involved in human lives, then humans must be of value or God wouldn’t bother with them. [The Rt. Rev. Charles F. Duvall, “Seeing Things in a New Light,” Day 1 Ministries, Transfiguration Sunday, February 18, 2007, Luke 9:28-36]
When we realize that Jesus is not just an outstanding teacher, a wise leader, or a powerful preacher, when we realize that Jesus is God, everything changes. We can no longer accept His teachings as just teachings. His words are the Word of God. Everything He says is precious. And God has affirmed the importance of Jesus’ words by saying, “Listen to Him.”
On this glorious day when Jesus is transfigured, God proclaims “Listen to Him.” This leads us back to Jesus’ words. What are His consistent messages? I think His most consistent message is to “repent.” We hear it again and again, but it’s kind of a church word and doesn’t really connect to our modern language or culture.
People don’t talk about “repenting” except in church on Sunday morning. If you asked someone outside the church what “repent” means, they would either shrug or say something about sin, but sin is only a part of repenting. Repenting is about much more than sin. Repent means to change directions. It means to turn from one thing and face another. Repenting is turning from the world’s values to God’s values, setting new priorities.
When we turn from our culture’s values to God’s values, just about everything that seems important to the world, isn’t so important, and just about everything that seems unimportant to the world, is important. Jesus expressed it simply, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” The people that the world considers “throw aways,” are the very people that Jesus tells us to treasure.
This past week I heard a man named Paul Peck speak. He talked about watching the riots in Los Angeles in April of 1992 following the acquittal of the four white officers who beat Rodney King. Paul watched in horror as African Americans burned down their own communities and businesses, but instead of judging them harshly, Paul thought, “The only way you would destroy your home is if you have no hope.”
Then Paul went to the next step: How do you find hope? He concluded that education was the best first step to hope. With education there was hope for a better future. That year, Paul Peck began the “STAR” Scholarship Foundation. (STAR stands for Stand Tall and Reach.) It is an all-volunteer, non-profit initiative that provides a roadmap to a better life through teaching that studying pays and life is merit-based. It gives scholarships to African-American and Black students starting in the 6th grade. The scholarships are based on grades and essays. For middle school students, the awards are between $25 and $150. When the students reach high school, they can begin earning scholarship money of up to $3000 for college or trade school. Paul says you can change a life for as little as $25 because that money brings positive recognition and encouragement. Ninety-eight percent of all the funds generated by the STAR Foundation goes to scholarships. (I have put materials about STAR in the narthex in case you would like to know more.)
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Paul Peck is how normal he is. He is just like you and me, but he is changing lives. He is in the same business as our Lord and Savior. He is helping young people turn from despair to hope, from crime to responsibility, from fear to understanding. Not only did Paul stop and turn when he saw what was happening in Los Angeles in 1992, he found a way to turn around the lives of young people. He is an amazing man who is making an incredible difference because he turned, he repented.
The second consistent message that Jesus gives is to sacrifice. As a successful businessman, Paul Peck has earned the right to enjoy his wealth, but he’s given up the extras. He’s given money, time, and talents. He has sacrificed.
The idea of sacrifice seems to have been lost. We have been praying for my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Julie. They are the kind of people who know what it means to sacrifice. Daddy’s youngest sister,
Even though my Uncle Bruce was only 16 when his father died, he made a promise to get his sister and brother college educations. Margaret was only 6 years old and Jack was 9 years old when their father died. Uncle Bruce waited to get married until they finished. As a matter of fact, Uncle Bruce proposed to Aunt Julie on the day that Margaret graduated from college. They were 33 years old. I remember Julie being kidded for being an old maid. Eventually they were blessed with two beautiful daughters and now have two wonderful grandchildren. But they sacrificed.
We are called to sacrifice, too. What should we be doing that calls for a sacrifice? Should we be spending time helping homeless people? Teaching at risk children? Visiting nursing homes? Volunteering for a non-profit organizations?
The third thing that Jesus calls us to do is to look for the good in everyone and everything. I’m not talking about ignoring the problems. If we are sacrificing for the better good, then we are not ignoring the bad things. I’m talking about finding the good in others and celebrating it. I’m talking about encouraging others. That is what Paul Peck does.
He didn’t go out on the streets and throw money at the rioters in Los Angeles. He looked for the ways to grow the good. He looked for ways to reward positive efforts. He looked for hope.
The other day, I heard someone say something that was both profound and painful. We were talking about how easy it is to be critical, and this person said, “Sometimes I want to tell my friends, ‘You don’t have to say every mean thing that comes into your head.’”
WOW. It is easy to say every critical thing we think. With little or no effort, we can find something wrong in everyone. Paul Peck could have done that as he watched the riots. He could have thought, “How stupid to burn down your own community. How self-defeating. How ignorant.” But he didn’t say those things. He said, “These people feel completely hopeless. How can I help give them hope? What can I do to bring about positive change?”
On Transfiguration Sunday, we see Jesus for who He really is: the source of all that is good and true and kind. He calls us to repent, to turn away from the world’s value system. He calls us to sacrifice our comfort. And He calls us to find the good in others and nurture it in His name. As we begin our Lenten journey, let us think on these things. Amen.
