This is my sermon that I preached at Trinity Lutheran in Alberta, Minnesota on Sunday, February 17
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50: 1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
Grace and Peace to you, from the God of Moses and Elijah;
and from God’s Beloved Son, Jesus the Christ, Amen
“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.” (Mark 9:2-7 NRSV)
Today is Transfiguration Sunday.
Transfiguration is the fancy word for the act of changing into something more
beautiful or wonderful than before. (See, there I go teaching to you again…) When
important stuff happens; when significant events transfigure us, there are
times when we want to record it, so we can look at or watch it again. We want
that important time in our lives to last… because this is a big deal, and of
course we want that amazing moment to last beyond our ever-shrinking memories…
 |
| Like a Butterfly! |
How many of you have a cell phone?
Okay, so how many of you have a smart phone? We take pictures on our phones. We
take videos on our phones. Back in the day, we had to have two separate devices
for such things, and they’d take up an entire backpack to fill. Never mind all
the film, tapes, batteries, memory cards we had stored with them. Now, they fit
in our pocket, and when something important happens, we just whip our phones
out of our pocket and hit a couple buttons to accomplish the same task. (Talk
about transfiguration!) Some phones even have quick little buttons on the side
that are very convenient when you
have your phone OUT of your pocket, but not so convenient when it’s still in
your pocket… and it starts taking pictures of… well, your pocket.
Even if we’re not truly present at
the time of the transfiguring event, we strive to savor it by recording it with
our devices. When the baby starts crawling for the first time, there we are
watching it happen for the first time… through the lens of a camera, or our
phone. We watch our children grow; hitting those milestones like baptism,
turning over for the first time, crawling for the first time, walking for the
first time, and running for the first time… and then… it’s hard to take
pictures of them because they’re always moving… and then… and then…. And then I don’t know what happens next,
because Sam hasn’t gotten that far in the book of life yet… but when he does
that next thing… Someone will be recording it somehow.
“He did not know what to say, for
they were terrified”… When these transfiguring, transformative things happen,
we don’t know how to stop and smell the roses. We don’t want to stop and smell the roses, because we’re too busy wanting to
preserve the smell somehow. Fumbling with our phones; our cameras, just to get
that perfect moment recorded. When we see an old friend, we want to stop and
talk with them for a while; to make sure that we get that all-important
‘selfie’ to post on our facebooks and instagrams and twitters later…
Peter, literally the rock on which
Christ would build His church seemed to be the disciple that never knew what to
say when walking with the twelve. In the Gospel of Matthew, the disciples were
out on the boat when Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. That night, the
wind was strong and sent the disciples farther out into sea. They awoke the
next morning to Jesus walking out on the water, and again, were terrified. Once
again Peter, that old rock… (Rocks float right? At least the very small ones do…)
Peter that old rock steps out of the boat, and starts walking out on the water…
until he notices the wind, that transformative change in weather, and like the Πέτρος that he is, begins sinking. “Oh ye of little faith,” right?
Change happens. In a few weeks, the
snow will melt and the ground will thaw, (I know, it may be hard to believe,
but it always does…) you’ll get out the tillers and plows and the planters and
start planting those crops, and Spring will be right around the corner. Hey, at least one of the groundhogs confirmed
it!
But change is coming. Lent is
coming. Spring is coming, and Peter
shows up again in another memorable scene during our forthcoming Holy Week. For
it is Peter that denies Christ three times, just as Jesus predicts. Change had
happened rather quickly for Peter, and in that change brought with it the same
confusion; the same bumbling as to what to say in that moment; the same broken
humanity that he found himself in. Jesus, the man whom Peter had been following
around for years, was going to die. Change had happened rapidly, and while
ultimately and eventually a very transfiguring experience for the world; this
change was too much for Peter to handle. It was too much for the people around
them. It was too much; for us.
That transfiguring change on that
mountain with Moses and Elijah and his disciples looks very reminiscent to the
upcoming scene on a similar hill, with two other individuals and disciples
around him. Both scenes depict a transfigured Jesus. Peter wants to sit and
take it all in the first time, and denies it the second time. Without the second
transfiguring experience however, the secret at the end of today’s Gospel message
makes no sense.
“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. So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.” (Mark 9: 9-10 NRSV)
Jesus, the Son of God and Son of
Man – our Beautiful, Beloved Savior would die on a hill with two other figures,
and disciples watching from afar. What Feast of Love is that; to die for the
sins of the world; to die to save us from those sins. Death is not the end for
the Son of Man, for the transfiguration experience of resurrection; is where we
place our own transfiguring experience. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Agnostics, and
Atheists all agree that Jesus of Nazareth lived, and then died. It is the
promise that awaits us on Easter morning; the transfigured, resurrected Christ that
we rest our faith in; that we are called and named in the waters of Baptism.
That Feast of undying love and salvation that we remember in the celebration of
our own Feast of Love this morning.
Change can be exhilarating. We get
caught up in the whirlwind of emotions, and wish to capture it with whatever
device can fit in an accessible location, so as to not forget the overflowing
of positivity. Peter wanted to hold onto the Transfiguration with using tents
to stay a while. We hold onto our transfiguring moments with our own
transfigured devices right at our fingertips. We get caught up, without
remembering that what is happening out there, is just as important as what’s
happening right here. What we feel in the moment of transfiguring, can never be
reproduced or recorded, so live in the moment.
Change can be frightening, or even
terrifying. Jesus’ disciples were often terrified in the Gospels. Change can
look like an unwanted, unwarranted, and unneeded thing. In the moment, it may
look unbearable. How can one go on when so much change has happened? How can we
remember who we were before; before all the change happened? Without changing
who we are, how can we learn to live in this new reality?
Change may happen suddenly or
slowly over time. One major change may uproot our sensibilities, but how can we
live with this sudden or slow change, and learn to embrace it? How can we learn
to see the changes in our lives, so that they can begin to look very similarly
to that of today’s Gospel lesson? How is God calling us to be transfigured in
our own lives? Changes can seem to overwhelm us completely; causing us to lash
out and create barriers, rather than spaces for growth and conversation.
That, my friends, is where we find
the hope of Jesus Christ – in the growth areas. For we are all sinful beings;
all part of a broken humanity. It is the Grace of God that allows us to live in
those growth areas; where conversation can be held, rather than abandoned. If
we allow the Spirit to send us forth, into the unknown of silence; we may begin
the bridge the gap between change and growth. That gap by the way; is where our
own transfiguration happens. Where we change for the better, in order to learn
from one another, be with one another, and live in peace with one another.
In this upcoming season of Lent, I
hope that we all learn to slow down to smell the roses and hear how God is
calling us to change in our lives; to transfigure; to reorient our lives for
the betterment of all. To paraphrase Red
Green, God’s pulling for us; we’re all in this together. Amen.
