Sermon Archive
The Feast of the Presentation
Year A
The
LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait
there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the
commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses set
out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of
God. To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you
again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to
them."
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
2 Peter 1:16-21
We did not
follow cleverly devised myths when
we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and
glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the
Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am
well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we
were with him on the holy mountain.
So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Six days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, 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."
Sermon
The Rev. Susan B. P. Norris
Transfiguration 2008 (on Presentation+1)
Consider
this morning’s gospel.
Jesus appears to his closest friends.
He shines from the glory of his relationship to God and is
surrounded by the great prophets who have shared similar experiences.
The story is full of allusions to earlier Jewish traditions and stories,
Matthew tells it to show who Jesus is - "God’s beloved"
and what we are to do about Jesus - "Listen to Him."
Jesus appears to his closest friends.
He shines from the glory of his relationship to God and is
surrounded by the great prophets who have shared similar experiences.
The story is full of allusions to earlier Jewish traditions and stories,
Matthew tells it to show who Jesus is - "God’s beloved"
and what we are to do about Jesus - "Listen to Him."
The disciples must have thought, "Finally - we've made it,
all that secondary stuff, all our preaching, teaching, healing, traveling
This is what it was all for - We’re here! ! ! We’ve done it right. Hallelujah!!
No wonder the next words out of Peter's mouth are
“Rabbi, let us build three dwellings (we would say shrines)
one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. “
Jesus orders them not to tell anybody what has just occurred.
Why?
Certainly the disciples’ faith in Jesus has just been vindicated.
This is the first glorious sign since his Baptism
(which we presume none of them saw)
The shining glory is a sign that Jesus is the person they suspect him of being –
the Messiah, the “Christus”
Now that the disciples have, so to speak, seen proof of Jesus’ divinity
they naturally desire to hold onto that seeing – that certainty
- to hang onto the joy of the mountaintop vision,
to Glory in that LIGHT.
They
want to freeze – here and now - their experience of the glory
of God.
They hope to return to that experience any time they want or need to return.
So Peter suggests to Jesus, and thus to all of us here as well,
that they set up a cult of adoration – of worship –
a place to protect and pass on the tradition -
a location in which everyone could hope to experience and re-experience
the mountaintop high.
But. . . the voice (presumably God's voice) says instead "listen to him"
They hope to return to that experience any time they want or need to return.
So Peter suggests to Jesus, and thus to all of us here as well,
that they set up a cult of adoration – of worship –
a place to protect and pass on the tradition -
a location in which everyone could hope to experience and re-experience
the mountaintop high.
But. . . the voice (presumably God's voice) says instead "listen to him"
Just
listen.
Jesus' preaching has already said it all.
Jesus' preaching has already said it all.
Jesus
adds,"Don't
say anything at all until you actually understand
the meaning of
resurrection.Right
now you still don't get it,Seeing
the miraculous light is not what
really matters
not even God’s confirmation of my calling really matters.”
I’m not preaching, teaching or healing so that you will worship me -
I’m not doing these things so that you will experience the blinding glory of God.
I am preaching and teaching and healing and traveling
because God wants me to preach, teach, heal and travel.
Yes, that life contains, now and again, for you and for me,
Transfiguration experiences,
revelations of God’s glory yet to come.
But the seeing that glory isn't my point –
Faithfulness to God is my point.
My doing what I am called to do,
not even God’s confirmation of my calling really matters.”
I’m not preaching, teaching or healing so that you will worship me -
I’m not doing these things so that you will experience the blinding glory of God.
I am preaching and teaching and healing and traveling
because God wants me to preach, teach, heal and travel.
Yes, that life contains, now and again, for you and for me,
Transfiguration experiences,
revelations of God’s glory yet to come.
But the seeing that glory isn't my point –
Faithfulness to God is my point.
My doing what I am called to do,
Your
doing what you are called to do,
That is the point.
Seeing God’s glory is NOT the goal of being faithful
God’s glory is CONTAINED IN our faithfulness --
as it is and was contained in Jesus’ faithfulness.
God’s glory lives inside faithfulness whether that faithfulness is walking
through light or through darkness.
That is the point.
Seeing God’s glory is NOT the goal of being faithful
God’s glory is CONTAINED IN our faithfulness --
as it is and was contained in Jesus’ faithfulness.
God’s glory lives inside faithfulness whether that faithfulness is walking
through light or through darkness.
This
is the reality lesson, the
truthfulness check, if you will,
the place where we really need to “get it.”
And we need to understand this over and over again.
The goal of discipleship, of faithfulness, of following Jesus, of the Christian life,
(Choose whichever name you prefer)
is not for us to have mountaintop experiences,
is not to hide away in God's ample bosom,
the place where we really need to “get it.”
And we need to understand this over and over again.
The goal of discipleship, of faithfulness, of following Jesus, of the Christian life,
(Choose whichever name you prefer)
is not for us to have mountaintop experiences,
is not to hide away in God's ample bosom,
is
not for us to find protection
from life’s storms.
The goal of discipleship is not even to experience resurrection.
All these things may, probably will happen, but -
they are not, Not, NOT God’s reasons for our being disciples.
The goal of discipleship is not even to experience resurrection.
All these things may, probably will happen, but -
they are not, Not, NOT God’s reasons for our being disciples.
The
goal of
Christian faithfulness, - from God’s
point of view, is
to be
faithful disciples.Nothing
else
-- just for us to be faithful disciples.We
will continue to find strength while
kneeling in shrines in rapt adoration.We
will continue finding courage and
safety in God’s presence.Yet,
our calling is to teach, preach, heal and followas
we go through the “villages of the Galilee ,”(Which is a metaphor for our own daily lives.)
When
we set our faces toward Jerusalem Galilee
Peter's
letter says today of the
Transfiguration story"You
would do well to pay attention
to thisas
to a light shining in a dark place.”PRECISELY
The
Good Friday Cross is not the high price God pays
for
Easter,The
Cross of Good Friday contains Easter.
They come together or NOT AT ALL.Their Galilean ministry is not the price the disciples pay for the Transfiguration.Being disciples contains transfiguration,The Transfiguration does not redeem or crown all itinerant the wandering & preaching of the kingdom.Its glory is contained within all the wandering around and preaching.They come together, or NOT AT ALL.
All these things hold death and life, light and darkness --
which all come together – or they don’t exist at all.
They come together or NOT AT ALL.Their Galilean ministry is not the price the disciples pay for the Transfiguration.Being disciples contains transfiguration,The Transfiguration does not redeem or crown all itinerant the wandering & preaching of the kingdom.Its glory is contained within all the wandering around and preaching.They come together, or NOT AT ALL.
All these things hold death and life, light and darkness --
which all come together – or they don’t exist at all.
Jesus says that his
presence lives within
our preaching, walking, & healing.
More than that,
Jesus’ presence, God’s
light -
is
what powers
our
preaching, walking & healing.
Jesus’
presence among us is NOT the aim of the life of faith.
Jesus’
presence
lives within the life of faith.
Discipleship and
transfiguration don’t cause each other
Instead, both are
interwoven parts
and parcels
of our living and
active trust in God.
So it is with our
lives.
Jesus
came not to be worshiped (to be ministered unto)
but to minister
Jesus came to
preach, teach, heal and
challenge.
If we listen and
follow, our listening
and following will transfigure our lives,
heal our shadows and shine
light into our
and the world’s dark places.
Unbelief
is the despairing conviction
that nothing can really change,
that transfiguration of the world, of our lives, is impossible,
that transfiguration of the world, of our lives, is impossible,
that
there is no light in this or that
(or any) dark place
A
friend some years ago was suffering
from a stunning depression -
his
motif as
we waited endlessly for the medicine to work
was
"keep
on, keeping on."
When
I commented afterwards that I
admired
his
continuing to hope for relief, he
replied,
"I
simply had to believe that the doctors
knew what they were doing."
We
do not demonstrate our faith by
building shrines in which to worship,
We
do not
exercise faithfulness by hiding in a silent wilderness to keep our
faith pure.
We
show our
belief by trusting absolutely that
God
knows what she is
doing.
by
knowing that God's light is somewhere
in every darkness
by
finding, in the noise and confusion of
the wilderness of our everyday lives,
God’s
light for the transformation of all
life.
To
be faithful, we need to get up and go
back down the mountain
into
the streets of Mercerville ,
into our everyday living and working,
because we believe that God
knows what
She's doing.
It
is easier to leave the mountain when
we are
certain
that the Transfiguration light is always part of life;
when
we’re sure that all mountaintop
experience doesn’t require shrines,
does
not even require solemn teachings
on
how and when and where such
experiences happen.
Mountaintop
experiences require
“Moses, John, Peter, Andrew,
(Susy, Kim, Chris, Scott, Tim, Joyce) (Dani, Roberta, Gladys, Erin, Jack)
“Moses, John, Peter, Andrew,
(Susy, Kim, Chris, Scott, Tim, Joyce) (Dani, Roberta, Gladys, Erin, Jack)
“Follow
Me”
In nomine . . .