Sermon- Last Sunday after the Epiphany 2007
    The Rev. Fr. Jeff Reich, Vicar
    The Church of Saint John, Aberdeen MS

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli’jah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Today is by tradition known as The Sunday of the Transfiguration. Every year, on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, or the last Sunday before Lent begins, we read the story of Jesus being transfigured on the mountain.

So, if you have been coming to Church for a while, it is doubtless that you have heard many a sermon on the event of the Transfiguration. If you go ‘online’ you can also find thousands of sermons on the Transfiguration. It is everywhere, it is a major part of who we as Christians are.

And one of the most curious things about this Sunday, the Sunday of the Transfiguration, is what a goodly portion of the sermons speak to concerning this event. Many sermons look to Jesus’ being transfigured, or becoming dazzling white with the glory of God, as a prototype for the average man.

Or that when Jesus becomes dazzling white, those blessed enough to be on the mountain with Jesus, see what they too can become. I myself have even preached on that idea- that there are moments in our lives when we are transfigured and the glory of God shines through us.

But to preach on the idea of the average man and the Transfiguration in the Gospel of Luke is a bit more difficult. It is more difficult because we are privy to what Moses and Elijah speak to and the teaching of Jesus that precedes the event of the Transfiguration itself.

The teaching Jesus gives immediately before Jesus and Peter and James and John go up the mountain is this:

“”The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised…”And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

So, with those words the men make the trek up the mountain. When they arrive Jesus begins to pray and the apostles fall asleep. Moses and Elijah appear and begin to speak with Jesus. We understand them to speak to Jesus of his exodus or departure, which will happen in Jerusalem- they speak of His crucifixion and death.

Moses and Elijah are important figures because they represent the Law and the Prophets…or the witness and approval of the Old Testament. And they confirm for us the teaching of Jesus- that He must suffer many things, be killed, and on the third day rise again from the dead.

And the voice of God confirms this as well as He speaks: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”

So, with all that being said, the transfiguration is not as warm and happy as might want it to be. It is difficult to glean from it an image of someone helping another in some soup kitchen and shining with the glory of God. This is not a Hallmark moment.

Rather it is the confirmation of the way of the Cross. It is the Divine Confirmation of the suffering and death of the Son of God.

So, looking at the image of the Transfiguration through the lens of the Gospel of Luke, it is bittersweet. One the one hand, we see fully and with clarity the glory of God in the person of Jesus.

And we also see fully and with clarity the sinfulness of the world. We see that humanity has the desire and the ability to cause suffering and death to all that is good and true in the world.

The image on this week’s bulletin is an icon of the Transfiguration. I spent an hour or so in front of this icon as I prepared for the Bible Study and the Sermon. And it brought tears to my eyes. Tears of joy at the thought of the goodness and love and light of God…and sadness as I thought on the evil that resides in the world. And it brought a sense of wonder and awe at the life of Jesus.

And try as I might, I could not escape the notion of the cross…the notion that our salvation came by means of suffering and death. I could not help but think how lonely that mountaintop must have been. I could not help but think how painful it must have been to know that Jesus had to travel to Jerusalem and knew that when he arrived, His life would end, and It would be accomplished.

And I could also not help but think that in our own lives, if we begin to dazzle with the brilliance of God…the cross is not far off.

Meaning that God’s will…God’s plan for humanity is all too often in direct conflict with the ways of the world. And if we truly and honestly begin to live as fully as possible into the will of God…we will find ourselves more and more going against the ways of the world.

And when we honestly and as fully as we can, live into the will and the glory of God…when we find ourselves going more and more against the ways of the world…we will begin to more clearly hear that difficult teaching of Jesus:

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”

These instances, the Transfiguration…they are indeed not Hallmark moments.

Rather they are moments of decision…moments of choice. Which brings us to the Apostle Paul and his letter to the Church in Corinth. We have been reading this letter for some weeks…and we have been hearing him instruct them…and honestly, chastise them for their lack of understanding in regard to the Christian faith and practice.

The Corinthians have taken on the idea that things such as prophesying, speaking in tongues and fits of ecstasy are signs of spiritual maturity…or that these emotional outbreaks are the greatest signs of Christian faith.

This week Paul speaks to their misunderstanding very clearly, the Apostle tells them that love is the greatest of the Spiritual gifts, followed or bolstered by faith and hope.

And the Apostle understands love as a choice to sacrifice self. And the Transfiguration points unmistakably to Love…as Jesus stands on the mountain top, sure in the knowledge of what is to come…he chooses love…he chooses to sacrifice Himself for others. And in this choice, He shines.

Perhaps we would do well to hold near and dear this image of the Transfiguration. When we begin to doubt…when we begin to lose sight of the important things in the world…we must look no farther than the Transfiguration to understand Love and understand what goodness and beauty are…and to understand the forces of evil that work against them.

And most importantly, we should look to the image of the Transfiguration as the realization that Truth and Beauty- though they must suffer…shine with the glory of God and will in the end overcome the powers that seek to destroy them…Truth and Beauty will overcome everything.

And that is Good News and light indeed for us who must live in darkness at the foot of the Mountain.