Luke 9: 28-43
Glory, Hallelujiah!
Luke’s gospel tells us that Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.
This was the time of Jesus’ transfiguration.
This was the time that the glory of the Lord shone so bright, that it was visible to the naked eye, for Peter, John, & James to witness.
It was a luminous manifestation of the presence of the Holy…pure light…unblemished radiance…magnificent splendor.
Luke tells us that while Jesus, Peter, John, and James were on the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to them in glory.
We come across this concept of glory throughout the Bible and throughout our Christian heritage.
Glory is not something we can hold in our hand and say for example, I have an ounce of glory or a pound of glory.
If someone who was not raised in the church would ask you what glory is, how would you describe it?
The holy scriptures tell us in John 1:14, the glory of God’s Word was uniquely manifested in Jesus Christ.
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
We know from many Christmas carols that the angels appeared and glory shone around.
The angels sang, “Glory to the newborn king.”
“Celestial choirs from courts above shed sacred glories.”
“Angels from the realms of glory took flight over all the earth.”
“Angels we have heard on high, sing Gloria, in Excelsis Deo”
“While shepherds watched their flocks by night, the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around.”
“It came upon a midnight clear, that glorious song of old.”
In the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” we sing, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord and in the refrain we sing “Glory, Glory, Hallelujiah! …
His truth is marching on.”
Jesus is the light of the world.
Jesus came to show us truth.
Pure truth.
Unadulterated truth.
And we have been singing about His truth ever since.
Glory can be described as extreme elation.
It can be described as exalted praise, thanksgiving, contentment, magnificence.
It can also be described as light radiating around one’s head or the whole body of a sacred person such as Jesus.
Truth and light go hand in hand.
For in the light, our true intentions are exposed.
Truth is a very important element in the glory of God.
Being true to one’s self is an essential element for the Godly Christian.
What you and I do behind closed doors, when no one is looking, is often our true selves revealed to ourselves.
Sometimes we put on our masks, or our makeup, or comb our hair, before we present ourselves to the world.
But what do our true selves look like?
At night, when we are sleeping, and it is dark, we have little concern about our appearances.
But when morning comes, and the light exposes us, our true selves are no longer hidden.
It is in these times, that I often find myself the most vulnerable, and the most open to God.
I am not concerned if every hair is in place.
I am not concerned if my clothes match or if they are of the latest fashion.
It is in these times, when my meditation with God is the most pure.
I am open to hear God’s Word for my life, unaffected by the noise of other people…the pressures and demands of society….the expectations of the outside world.
We all need to find those places, where we can be vulnerable to God…
Where we can be ourselves, not embarrassed to expose our true selves to God…
Not afraid to be uncovered…
Not afraid and hidden like Adam and Eve in the garden.
Fully exposed to God.
I’m not talking about clothing and fig leaves…but I am talking about our true selves.
Jesus went on a mountain to pray…
To get away from the hustle and bustle of the world…
Unaffected by what others might think…
He went there to pray…
Our scriptures teach us of the importance of prayer…
And they warn us about boastful praying in public…
The scriptures encourage us to pray without public notice…
It is in these times, that we will receive revelation from God…
When our lives are not so cluttered, that we have no room to hear God’s voice.
What does God’s voice sound like to you?
When is the last time you stopped and took the time to listen?
What is God saying to you?
God’s glory will be revealed to you, just as it was revealed to Jesus Christ on that mountaintop, when we stop and take the time to pray…to be in the presence of the Holy One…to be in the presence of the Almighty…to be in the presence of God.
One of the meditations on my daily devotional calendar has the following message…
Listen carefully…, then I will pause for a brief moment of silence, so that we as a community, in the House of the Lord, can allow God’s voice to speak to each of us.
“Thy will be done.
Four short words
Four seconds in time
To repeat them aloud.
The whole of life
The whole of me
To live them out.”
(Pause)
In that time, did you hear God’s voice?
Did you open yourself to receive the glory of the Lord?
I don’t know how else to explain glory.
We can sing about it in songs.
But for me, I have to experience it.
I cannot sufficiently describe it in human terms.
It is too pure, too perfect, too peaceful, too magnificent, too miraculous to describe.
How do you describe the experience of a Holy Encounter with God?
Luke described it as the appearance of the man of Jesus Christ, with dazzling white clothes.
Dazzling white is the color of heavenly garments.
Listen to the verse of scripture from Luke 24:4. It is the account of two women after they found the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb.
“While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.”
Hear again, the description of heavenly garments from Acts 1:10, describing the ascension of Jesus…
“While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.”
And in Revelation 4:4 “Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.”
As we return to today’s gospel lesson, listen once again to verse 32:
“Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.”
What if Peter, James, and John had been too tired from all the hustle and bustle of their lives?
What if they had been out the night before, partying, and living it up, hungover?
What if they had worked at their jobs so hard, that they were too tired to stay awake?
What if they were too busy taking care of the laundry and the cooking and cleaning and they were unable to stay awake?
The would have missed God’s glory.
They would not have seen it.
It is possible for us to live our lives, and be too busy to ever see God’s glory.
That does not mean that God’s glory does not exist.
That does not mean that we will not see God’s glory.
It does mean that we need to spend more time in quiet, solitude, meditation, and prayer.
On my meditation calendar, the day before the meditation I shared with you previously, was this message…
“Sometimes, Lord, You come up with such unpredictable answers.
Today, for example: I related my predicament, I explained my desperation, I begged You to get me out of this mess.
Your only answer: Dear child, Let ME IN this mess.”
God wants to show us God’s glory.
God wants our lives to be as pure as newly fallen snow.
God wants to be in relationship with you and me.
In whatever mess we get ourselves into.
God doesn’t want to shut us out.
When we make a space for God in our lives, we will see God’s glory.
Listen carefully to the next verse of scripture from our gospel lesson.
“Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.”
Here was Peter, in the moment of Jesus’ transfiguration…God’s glory,
and he wanted to be busy doing something…making a tent.
And a cloud came over them.
Instead of being with God, Peter wanted to be doing.
How often do we let our “doing”, get in the way of our “being”.
“Being” can be scary.
Sitting in complete silence, and opening ourselves to the Holy One, can be a frightening thought, until you actually do it, and experience it.
Some of us are so afraid of ourselves…so afraid to stop occupying our minds, in fear of what we might see.
But what we will see, is an encounter with God…a glimpse of God’s glory.
Don’t let the clouds of life…the busyness….get in your way.
Spend time in complete silence and openness to God.
Amen.
