A Time of Transformation

A Time of Transformation

Luke 9:28-36, Romans 11:33-12:2, II Peter 1:16-21

A Sermon Prepared For the Hollywood Presbyterian Church, Greenville N.C. 

February 14, 2010 (Transfiguration Sunday) 

Rev. Stephen A. Herring

            Just before our scripture reading for today, Jesus spoke the following words in Luke’s Gospel.  “I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”   (Luke 9:27)  It was after speaking these words that Jesus took with him Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray.  On that mountain they did indeed see the kingdom of God.  They saw that Jesus looked differently.  The appearance of his face had changed; his robe became shining white, sparkling like a shining light.  There appeared two men with him.  There is no indication of how exactly they knew, but they knew that these men were Moses and Elijah.  They spoke with Jesus about what he was about to do in Jerusalem.  They saw the glory of Jesus.  They saw a great cloud overshadow them.  They were afraid as they entered the cloud, and they heard a voice from within the cloud which said; “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!”  (Luke 9:28-36)  

            Peter, James, and John went on from there back into a busy life that was much the same as it had been before they had climbed that mountain to pray.  The world was more or less the same, but they were different.  They had seen something and heard something that was extraordinary.  For a moment they had stepped outside of the conventional world of ordinary reality.  For a moment they had stepped outside of time.  They had drawn close to the Shekinah glory of God.  They had seen Jesus in a different way.  Years later, Peter would describe his experience as follows.      

            “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye witnesses of his majesty.  For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with him I am well pleased,” we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”  (II Peter 1:16-18)   

How can we come to behold that “Majestic Glory?”  How can we see Jesus in a different way?  How can we see each other in a different way?  How can we see these lives we are living in a different way?  How can we be transformed?  How can we renew our minds?  How can we see everything in a brighter, newer, more miraculous light? 

Paul tells us; “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good, and acceptable, and perfect.”  (Romans 12:2)    How can we experience such wonderful transformation?  The word “transformed”, is the same as the word “transfigured” as we find in Matthew 17:2, and Mark 9:2 where we read about Jesus being “transfigured.”  Transfiguration and transformation are the same thing. 

To start with, we need to believe that the key to finding transformation is found in God’s own holy word.  These scriptures can guide us to be transformed us if we are willing to encounter them in a deeper way.  After his own description of his experience on the mountain with Jesus, Peter says; “We have the prophetic word made more sure.  You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  (II Peter 2:19) 

The idea is that, like Peter, John, and James, we can be transformed by paying attention to the word as to a lamp shining in a dark place.  The word opens the path for us to see Jesus transformed.  When we see Jesus as he was on the mountaintop, he is no longer the same.  He is transformed into the Son of God before us.  The way to do this is by entering the prophetic word.  To find the transformation Jesus offers us on our mountain top we must first find our way into the story as it is recorded for us by Luke, Matthew, Mark, and Peter.  The only way to salvation is the way shown to us in God’s word.  If we are going to be saved, we must accept the plain testimony of scripture about Jesus.  We must believe the story and feel that we are part of the story. 

One way of finding our way into the story is by looking at the five men who were with Jesus on that mountain.  Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John were all together with Jesus on that mountaintop.  Each has a story that can help us to re-envision Christ. 

            Moses was cast into a river at birth, and raised as a prince of Egypt.  He was cast out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness until he saw God in the form of a bush that was burning, yet it was not consumed.  From the moment of his vision, he became a miracle worker.  He led his people out of slavery in Egypt and continued to work miracles as he led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  He met directly with God on a mountain top and received the Torah, the Law and Commandments, the Testimony which would provide direction to his people.  Moses is the author of the first five books of the Bible. 

Elijah the Tishbite was a prophet and miracle worker. He lived in the wilderness by being fed by ravens as he hid from the armies of Jezebel.  He raised a widow’s son from the dead.  Elijah commanded that it would not rain upon the earth and it did not rain.  He slew the prophets of Baal and called the fire of God down from heaven. 

James was a man “of like nature” with Elijah.  (James 5:17)  Like Elijah, James was a miracle worker and a man of God.  Tradition labeled him as “James the Just,” as “the Crowned One,” and as “the Teacher of Righteousness.” 

Peter is the one who would receive the keys of the kingdom from Jesus.  He would become the foundation stone of the church.  As Jesus said; “You are Peter, and upon this stone I will build my church, and the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  (Matthew 16:18-19) 

John was the one who would have the final, detailed conversation with the risen Lord Jesus at the end of the Biblical narrative.  He received the vision of the end of the age and the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth.  John was the author of the last section of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. 

Taken as a whole, Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Peter, James, and John represent the whole story of the Bible from the Torah through the Book of Revelation.  The whole set of events we know as the story of the Bible was summed up in one amazing magic moment when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, and when he was joined by Moses and Elijah.  To be transformed, we also must enter that moment. 

One other amazing detail of this story is that both Moses and Elijah had left the earth some centuries before.  Moses had died in Moab 1,200 years earlier.  Elijah had been taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire over 700 years previously, yet there they are speaking with Jesus about the departure he would soon make from Jerusalem.  It is as if this story is somehow outside of normal time.  This event did not happen within the flow of time as we know time.  It happened in God’s time, in eternity.  When we enter God’s word deeply, this is exactly where we go.  We leave this time and this place, and we encounter the Shekinah glory of God in eternity. 

In seeking transformation, what we are really doing is trying to see the presence and the power of Jesus more clearly.  Transformation is all about the power and presence of Jesus.  Whenever we encounter any broken down, botched up, totally messed up situation, we need to look for two things.  First, where is Jesus?  Second, what is Jesus doing here?  Take any catastrophe that might befall us.  Jesus will be present and Jesus will be powerful within that situation.  It could be a hospital room.  It could be a funeral home.  It could be an accident, or an illness, or a conflict, a crisis, or a tragedy of any sort.  Jesus is there and he is acting in power.  If we can learn to recognize him we will be transformed.  Moses, Elijah, Peter, John, and James all provide us with examples of how this works. 

Moses witnessed to the transforming power of God in the wilderness, and in Egypt.  His life consisted of contrasting the Shekinah glory of God with the normal confines of slavery and freedom that consisted of being basically lost in the wilderness.  Yet Moses continually lifted up the miracle working power of God.  Like water flowing in a dry place, Moses showed the way to find God in the wilderness.  Moses demonstrated how the perfect Torah, the Law of God could guide us through all the pitfalls of our own failures. 

Elijah consistently lifted up the transforming glory of God against the lies of the followers of Baal.  Baal and the followers of Baal represent the lies that become incarnate on earth through false teaching.  Elijah lifted up God’s truth, the truth of God’s power and God’s presence against those lies.  Elijah demonstrates that God’s truth will always triumph in the end. 

Peter represents our own ability to fall back into denial in the face of hardship.  Peter denied Jesus three times.  Yet he was also the rock on which our church would be built.  Peter reminds us that God’s power and God’s presence is better than our ability to deny.  God can work towards God’s victory even through our weakness.  Peter reminds us that in Jesus Christ, even our weakness can become strength.  (See also II Corinthians 12:9) 

James represents the power of mercy and righteousness.  If you read the Book of James you will find an amazingly powerful testimony to the effectiveness of simple, old fashioned mercy, righteousness, and good works.  The message of James is; “You know what the right thing is, just DO THE RIGHT THING and God’s transforming power will follow your works. 

John bears us the ultimate testimony of how Jesus will come again to deliver us all during the moment of our worst tribulation.  As bad as the world’s tribulation might ever get, as the powers of heaven are shaken and the powers of earth come tumbling down, God’s deliverance in Jesus Christ is ever so much more powerful.  God will triumph over any tragedy that could befall us. 

If we need transformation in our lives today, we need to be transformed by a closer encounter with the word.  We need to learn God’s prophetic word and we need to apply it in all the dark corners of our lives.  We need to learn how the whole of scripture is a great lesson about the power and the presence of Jesus, and we need to apply those lessons to all the dark corners of our world.  By doing this, we will be with Jesus on that mountain.  By doing this we will make this time a time of transformation.  Amen.