Sermon for February 15, the Transfiguration
The reading
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and
John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was
transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one
on earth could bleach them. And there
appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah." He did
not know what to say, for they were terrified.
Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice,
"This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no
one with them any more, but only Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one
about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
The message:
Today’s Gospel reading is one my favorites to share at the
children’s Church services I do each week with the young students in our
preschool. Each year, when this story
comes up, I get one of my church robes that has a very shiny gold satin
lining. I hide that robe in a bag and take
it with me to children’s church. Everyone asks “what’s in the bag” and I simply
say it’s a surprise to help me tell the bible story. I start normally with our
song and prayer, then I talk about Jesus looking just like everyone else did
back then, that he was not 10 feet tall, he did not glow in the dark, that he
was not really fat or really skinny, he was not really black or really white,
he looked just like everyone else did back then. Then I tell them we’re going
to hear a story about this one time, when something amazing happened and Jesus
did look really special. During the
story of the Transfiguration, when we get just before the part where Jesus
clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them, I ask
the kids to all close their eyes and then I throw the shiny gold robe on. When all the children open their eyes, they
are awed, surprised and even a little confused.
(The whole scene looks a lot like magic being performed by someone how
has no idea how to do magic)
Of course, 50 or so days later, we come to Maundy Thursday
and Good Friday, the days when we remember Jesus Passion, his betrayal,
anxiety, suffering, trial, torture and execution. This time around, things are not so easy to
talk about with 3-7 year olds. Talking about transfigured Jesus, literally
shining with power and dazzling in the indescribable glory of God is pretty
awesome. Talking about the events around Jesus death, not so awesome. This time
around the message for the children is not so much fun, there are no props and
no shiny robes. All I can really say is that “very bad things happen to Jesus. His friends do not think they will ever see
him again”.
Honestly, for most of us, thinking about signs of power and
glory like the Transfiguration is much easier to do then it is to really think
about God’s power being revealed in weakness, suffering and common things. If you think about it, if you could fly for
15 minutes after you received holy communion, if every person who prayed for
it, won the powerball each week, if whatever teams fans donated the most money
to the church won the super bowl every season, if every time we prayed for the
hungry, they received food and each time we prayed for the sick, they were
healed, If any of those things happened,
this church and every other would be full.
Every discussion about doubt or disbelief, every conversation I had with
people who think “the bible is not real” or “God might not exist” would be
settled with a mighty sign, I would simply say “yes it is” and perform an
incredible sign of power to prove it.
Of course, as anyone who has lived in this world (which
should include everyone here) knows that’s not how things work. This is one of
the great uncomfortable things in our faith. It is much easier to talk about the
transfigured Jesus as savior, as God with us, as the redeemer, as the one to be
worshipped, followed and obeyed than it is to talk about Jesus on the cross as
any of those things. While that is true,
God is revealed to us by the cross.
In theological terms, this great uncomfortable thing is
called the theology of the cross vs the theology of Glory. Jesus does not
reveal God to us through glory and power. That is there, I mean there are the
healings, the casting out of demons, the transfiguration, the stopping of
storms, calming of seas and making the broken whole. Through Jesus, there are
many signs of God’s power and authority in the world, over all things, but
these things are all just glimpses.
Jesus reveals God to us in unexpected ways, through unexpected people,
in unexpected places. Jesus reveals a God who is present with us in suffering,
who walks with the poor, cries with the mourning, hungers with the starving, worries with the
anxious, sits with the lonely, accepts the hated, and welcomes the stranger. This
means God’s ways are not our ways, God is changing things and God does not
value what we value.
It’s not just the Transfiguration and signs of power vs some
other events, The theology of the cross
happens again and again, at the most important moments in God’s story: the weak defeat the strong, the people of Israel conquer places they
should not, things change that should not change, the unknown prophets confront
power and win, Christ our savior and king is born as a born child out in a
barn, Christ our savior and king has no army and is killed by people who have a
big one, women witness the resurrection and run churches, fishermen, tax
collectors and persecutors become the first bishops, illegal and underground
Christians convert an empire,
That’s why two weeks ago in our Gospel reading, Jesus is
casting out a demon and orders it to be quiet, That’s why last week, Jesus
would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. God would not be
revealed to the world through the cries and knowledge of supernatural beings, Even
today, immediately after the transfiguration, as Jesus and the witnesses walk
back down the mountain Jesus orders them “to tell no one about what they had
seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead” God would not be first
revealed to the world through the transfiguration either, that would happen
through the cross and resurrection
As we end the season
of the Epiphany, the last story we have of the world figuring out what happened
on Christmas, about discovering who exactly the child born that night was, we
are challenged, curious and strengthened for the approaching time of Lent. We know who it is that we are walking on the
journey with
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