C, The Transfiguration of our Lord - Luke 9:28-45 "A Flash of Holy Glory"

Luke 9:43–44 (ESV) And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marvelling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

A cataclysmic flash in the sky is followed by the sound of an explosion of kilotonic proportions.  The sound is accompanied by a pressure wave that stuns and shocks to the core of a person’s being.

Possibly you’ve seen the footage of the British Government testing nuclear bombs at Maralinga in South Australia, or at other places where countries test these weapons of destruction.   Vision of people with their backs turned to the initial blast, quickly turn around to see the ugly mushroom cloud of another atomic test.

Or, perhaps you remember seeing the destruction of the Beirut Port explosion in 2020.  There was fire, and substantial explosions, before the mega-blast that was heard up to 240 kms away in the countries surrounding Lebanon.  It measured a magnitude of 3.3 on the seismic scale and is considered the largest non-nuclear explosion on record.

The fire where the 2750 tons of ammonia nitrate was stored was huge.  A billowing tower of smoke meant many were watching and recording it on phones, not expecting the main event was still to come.   So, many angles of the blast were captured by Beirut locals, along with their reactions as the blast wave rippled out through the city. 

What happened in a second, left its ugly mark on the city and those who lived in it.  We watch, mesmerised by the magnitude of these types of detonation — the flash, the blast wave, and the earth-shattering destruction.  However, those who survive these mega-explosions live dumfounded and numb, dealing with the fallout from a cataclysmic moment in time, long after the fact.

The impact of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain with Moses and Elijah, dumfounded  Peter, James and John.   It was good for Peter and the others to be there, but they didn’t know why. 

Unlike a nuclear explosion or the Beirut blast, this cataclysmic event was beautiful, as God’s holiness and glory flashed only for a moment.  But like the blast wave of a nuclear event or the fallout after Beirut, the three apostles were shocked and shaken by the holy glory, that altered Jesus’ face and made his clothes dazzling white with holy brilliance.    

We’re told Peter, James, and John were praying with Jesus, and they were heavy with sleep.  We’re not told whether they were falling asleep because they were struggling to pray, or that God had allowed them to enter a trancelike state.  Nor do we know if God’s glory woke them up or if they woke to discover his glory.

But what we do know is once awake, the event had a lasting impact on the three.  Jesus appeared with two others, Moses and Elijah, speaking of a “new” exodus.  Like those dumbfounded and shocked by an explosion and its sound wave, Peter deliriously seeks to halt their exodus and wants to build three shelters.  He knows it is good to be there, but he doesn’t yet know why it’s better to leave.

Now came the holy blast wave, as it were, as a cloud overshadowed them.  “And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’” (Luke 9:35 ESV)

Eight days earlier Jesus said to the twelve, “But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:27 ESV) Now on the eighth day they heard their holy God and saw a flash of God’s glory and his kingdom.  Albeit, for just a moment.

Like a cataclysmic earth-shattering explosion that ripples out from its epicentre, Jesus and the disciples leave the mountain and are confronted by the reality of what might be considered anything but glorious and holy. 

They encounter by a man whose son is possessed by a spirit, that seizes him and convulses him.  In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear it grips him so much it throws him into fires and water.

To see the flash of God’s holy glory, then to see this convulsing boy, would’ve been chalk and cheese events.  But like Peter’s inability to act on the mountain, the other disciples who didn’t go up the mountain are dumbstruck and cannot cast out the spirit.  So, the father of the child begs Jesus to cast it out.

After Jesus confronts the convulsing spirit, rebukes it, and heals the boy, and gives him back to his father, all who witness the event, “were astonished at the majesty of God.” (Luke 9:43 ESV)

Three of the disciples saw the majesty of God on the mountain and heard, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him.”  The three saw and heard God’s majesty, but only after the resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, would they have fully understood this Chosen One, this Son, was God the Son.

The glorious holy flash of Transfiguration, seen also in the healing of the boy, was rippling from God’s holy glory towards the human ugliness of the cross.  This was the exodus, the way out, about which Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah.  Now having seen God’s holy glory and hearing the declaration from God that, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, is his Son, Jesus adds to their astonishment.

We hear, “But while they were all marvelling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.’” (Luke 9:43b-44 ESV)

Jesus reveals that not only is he the Son of Mary, and the Son of God, but he sinks  into them  that he’s the Son of Man who was about to be delivered into death as the Anointed One, the Christ.

The three-part picture is complete, this human, the second member of the Trinity, makes a turn, a very good turn, a Good Friday exodus turn.  Better than Peter’s idea to build three shelters and stay on the mountain, Jesus has another mountain in view.  This is the mountain of Calvery, gory Golgotha, the place of the skull, the mountain of death.  At Calvary, Jesus became the Christ.  The Son of God and the Son of Man, serves God and serves humanity.

Not only did the holy glorious flash of Transfiguration mesmerise the disciples, but it also revealed Jesus as the only one who could atone for all the failures humanity has inflicted upon creation.  Everything we do to break from our brokenness reveals so many more layers of unrepairable brokenness.  Like a pandoras box of despair, the flash of God’s glory shows we have no human exodus from the goriness of our flesh into God’s glory.

As we stand here in memory on the Mountain of Transfiguration, let us stand with Jesus on the cusp of our Lenten season of reflection as we learn why it's good to see Jesus in transfigured glory, but is better that he walked the way of the cross.

As Jesus resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem see what was before him.  As you resolutely walk with him, know from what you’ve been delivered, and into what his death delivers!  See at the cross on the mountain of Calvary, his hidden glory exchanged for the hidden gore of your nuclear explosive nucleus, that ripples out of your humanity in cataclysmic proportions.

But see further to Jesus on the mountain of ascension and your resurrection ascension with him.  See that the end is in sight, the night is nearly over, and what awaits you.  Be mesmerised by the explosion of God’s glory welling up in eternal streams of life, won by Jesus, who is returning to finish your eternal healing, and accompany you into the majesty of our Father’s presence.  Amen.

B, The Transfiguration of our Lord - 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 "A Transfigured View"

2 Corinthians 4:3–6 (ESV)  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Standing on top of a mountain, on a beautiful day, one can feel invigorated by what they can see.  One may have laboured to get to the top, making the view all the more sweeter looking down from where they’ve come.  But even those who ascend by an easier mode of transport are no less stimulated by what the top of the mountain reveals.

Travelling up the mountain on foot or by vehicle, both experience a veil of types getting to the top.  Walkers walk with heads down stepping over rocks, cracks, and bush, trying not to fall.  Driving up a mountain one keeps their eyes on the road as the shrouding canopy of trees keeps the twisting road hidden as it winds its way up the mountain.  Either way there’s an expectation there’ll be visions of grandeur having arrived at the peak at where the view can be marvelled.

There are three main mountains from where we see Jesus in his ministry.  The mountain of Transfiguration is the first.  There is speculation on what mountain the transfiguration occurred.  For us the important thing is not what mountain, but that it occurred on a mountain. 

The second mountain is the mountain of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified.  And the last mountain is the mountain from where Jesus ascended.  The exact location of all three places is the focus of much conjecture, and again for us the importance is not on where the mountains are, but what happened on the three mountains and why it occurred.

Mountains were places where God met with man.  Moses received the Ten Commandments and other parts of the Law on Mt. Sinai or Horeb.  Through Elijah God overcame the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.   From there Elijah fled to Horeb where God commissions him to anoint Elisha and promises there are seven thousand, he will leave in Israel, who have not bowed to Baal.  (1 Kings 19:18)  We also remember Noah’s Ark coming to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

Mountains were understood as the pillars on which the heavens stood.  A holy place for a Heavenly God to meet with his human hosts on earth!  A place of sacrifice where people sought God’s favour or angered God by sacrificing to false gods.   Mt. Carmel and the tradition of Baal worship on mountains comes to mind again.  Think about the mountain built on the plain at Babel to challenge God.  We also can remember God testing Abraham on Mount Moriah when he is reprieved from sacrificing Isaac at the eleventh hour.

Spectacular things happen on mountains, opening the eyes of those there, regardless of the event being very good or very bad.  It’s no different at the three mountains of the Gospel, there is much to see on these mountains!

Peter, James, and John were overcome with the brightness of God the Son on the first mountain.  At this mountain they saw but at the same time they were veiled too!  It was not until after the second mountain that the veil began to come off.  Then in the fullness of time after Jesus’ resurrection and ten days after his ascension from the third mountain was their veil fully removed at Pentecost.

Not only is there much to see on the three mountains, but there is also much to be seen from the mountains! 

On the mountain of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John saw but only for a moment.  Yet they did not see what Jesus saw.  While they were looking at Jesus, Jesus was looking from the mountain at the whole of God’s creation groaning under the weight of humanity’s sin.  He was viewing all the kingdoms of the world and their glory that Satan earlier had tempted him to covet,  when human hunger and fleshy desire tested him in the wilderness.

Jesus looked out and saw another mountain!  He saw the mountain of Calvery on which the cross would be raised, onto which Jesus would truly be stretched out in sacrificial glory.

Peter, James, and John, could not see this mountain, nor could they understand that the Son of God was the Son of Man.  Nor did they know that to be the true and faithful Son of Man, he would die on this mountain, serving and saving humanity, in a seemingly evil event, from a truly evil event.

However, the evil intentions humanity had for Christ on the cross, God worked for our good on that Friday!  Blinded by sin and evil, we saw him put in the grave, but God had greater intentions for Jesus’ innocent sufferings, death, and descent into hell.  God raised him in glory.

But back on the mountain of Transfiguration, the three disciples did not see this glory, for they did not even understand the glory of the Son of God.  How could they have even begun to perceive the glory of the Son of Man, dying, and being raised in victory over sin and death?  All they could do was, “listen to him” as the Heavenly Father had commanded them!

The veil under which humanity stood, only began to be lifted, once the Holy Spirit came ten days after Jesus ascended from the third mountain.   At Pentecost, those formerly veiled were turned, having had the Holy Spirit shine the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In the beginning God first said, “Let there be light.”   But sin’s darkness veiled the light of life, and instead we saw only death.   Now by the Holy Spirit the veil is removed and “God… has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6b ESV)

At first the three disciples were veiled, then in the fullness of time, having been sent as Apostles in the power of the Holy Spirit, their eyes were unveiled and turned having received the light of knowledge.  Now they could see as Jesus saw from the mountains of Transfiguration, Calvary, and Ascension.

You too now bear the light of God!  The mountain on which you see the spectacular view is the mountain of God’s Word, having been given the Holy Spirit, when you were baptised into Jesus’ death and resurrection.  You are a light for Jesus Christ, fully unveiled to shine Jesus into the darkness.  You shine the Light of Light, the very God of very God!  You are a light of the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, to illuminate the Light of Life, Jesus Christ!

We, having had the Word of Life shone in our hearts, not only have a glimpse of the transfigured glory that God promises for us eternally.  We now stand on the mountain of God’s Word with transfigured faith and see as Jesus sees, just as the Apostles saw with the eyes of Holy Spirited faith after Pentecost. 

Just as Jesus served, we too can serve bearing the image of God, for we bear the image of his resurrected Son!  Our knowledge is one of Law and Gospel, death and resurrection. 

Whether the mountain ascent is simple and easy or it’s difficult and dangerous, the view from the top is resurrection glory.

As Jesus leads you up the mountain, there will be times when the going is good and times when it’s downright tough.  Keep in mind the transfiguration of Jesus Christ as he looked out from the mountain of Transfiguration!   He set his sights on the hardships of death on the mountain of death, but endured it, seeing the joy of resurrection victory and the heavenly mountain of ascension glory.

We too live in the knowledge of the all-encompassing power of God the Holy Spirit who sustained and raised Jesus’ flesh, will also sustain, and raise us.

Therefore we, “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.  For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:10–11 ESV)

So, like Paul, who is given over to death, for the life of the Corinthians in Jesus Christ, we too, “do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV)

Paul says, “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,  knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.”  (2 Corinthians 4:13–14 ESV)

The vision we see from the top of the mountain is our resurrection and eternal transfiguration with Jesus.   The Holy Spirit unveils the way of Jesus through the valley of the shadow of death into the glorious cleansing day of the cross and our resurrection.  Amen.

A, Ascension of our Lord - Luke 24:44-53 "The Forty Day Bracket"

Luke 24:44-53 (ESV)  Then Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,  and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”  And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Jesus’ ministry of salvation is bracketed between two periods of forty days.  After Jesus was baptised in the Jordan by John, he received the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit drove him out into the wilderness for forty days.  It’s here he suffered want and was tempted by the devil. 

Then after his resurrection from the dead, for forty days he was caused to be seen periodically by individuals and groups, to show he was raised from the dead.  He ate fish and cooked for his apostles, to show them he was raised back to life as a glorified man, before his ascension.

The apostles were witnesses of Jesus’ way, Jesus’ truth, and Jesus’ life between these two periods of time.  Not a lot has been made known to us about Jesus in these two periods of forty days.  But from what we know, the first was a time of testing and tribulation, a foretaste of his three years of ministry culminating in his crucifixion. 

Then the next forty-day period, begins at sun-up on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, Sunday, the first day of victory, the first day of the new week of eternity.

As it was for the apostles, it is hard for us to understand Jesus’ resurrected existence.  At his appearance they were still uncertain and confused as to how this could be.  They were witnesses to his death.  And now they were witnesses to his resurrection.  On their own they were still full of doubts!

But at this time, he breathed the peace of the Holy Spirit on them (John 20:19-23).  And he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).  Scriptures here must be understood as the Old Testament, since they were yet to write down what they witnessed of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and the Holy Spirit’s beginning of the calling and gathering of the church at Pentecost.

Jesus makes plain the fulfilment of his way in the Law of Moses, his truth in the mouths of the Prophets, and his life in his prayers prayed in the Psalms.  He gives the apostles understanding of his submission under the word of God, as the Word made flesh, to be the victor through being the fulfilment of the Word, having been the sacrifice for our salvation.

Not only does Jesus open the minds of his apostles to the Scriptures, with the Holy Spirit, he also gives them clarity of remembrance, bringing back to mind the events of his ministry leading up to his death.

The apostles are witnesses, and all but John, were martyred for their remembrance and proclamation of it.   Therefore, it will not surprise us, that the Greek word Jesus uses for his apostles is witness or martus, hence martyr in English.

The apostles were caused to remember the fulfilment of Jesus’ resolute way to Jerusalem, where he fulfilled his purpose in the great reversal at the cross.  They were caused to remember Jesus on the Mountain of Transfiguration when they saw a glimpse of the glory into which he was raised after the resurrection.  They were caused to remember his conversation with Moses and Elijah, the great law man and prophet of the old covenant, discussing his exodus after completing the way of the Law and the glorification or unhiding of his truthfulness unto death, and then his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God our Father.

Like Jesus, we now walk in the forty-day lifetime of tribulation set out for us in this life.  But as we do Jesus walks with us, within us, and gives us his Holy Spirit so we can carry our crosses to the cross.  Just as the Holy Spirit rested upon him as he walked the way of the cross.

But we also walk in the resurrection to eternal life, having had the Holy Spirit rest on us in baptism, enabling within us the reality of the resurrection from the dead and the forgiveness of sins.  Like Jesus was not always seen after the resurrection, but caused to be seen by the Holy Spirit after he was raised by the Spirit, we too do not see the full reality of the resurrection into which we have been baptised.  But we see glimpses of it through faith as we hear the Word of God, just as Peter, James and John had a transfigured glimpse of it.

Jesus’ ascension at the end of his forty-day glorification, after his resurrection, is a reminder to us of our resurrection and glorification.   So, like the apostles, we live with this revelation unhidden by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.   We too having received the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  The Spirit wills us to continue our perseverance in Jesus’ way, truth, and life, worshipping God and returning to our daily callings where we face testing and trials. 

The Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus as he served humanity with his submission.  Therefore, like Jesus, we know the Spirit will lead us in service of others and worship of God.  

Therefore, we also patiently wait and know the Holy Spirit will one day bring us into the eternal temple, to worship face to face before our Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.     

A, The Transfiguration of our Lord - Matthew 17:1-9 "Uncovered Glory"

Matthew 17:1–9 (ESV)  And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, 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 white as light.  And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.  But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”  And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

My dog loves to get bones.  Unfortunately, because he is part Labrador, he tends to gulp them down, with an expectation that another is coming.  Therefore, we often give him bones that are frozen, so at least he has to work on them longer, so you might say, to get better value for money out of them.

To my dismay, when we give him a frozen bone, he waits till no one is watching, then finds a secret place in the garden to bury it. 

This is a terrible practice. A nice clean bone gets covered in dirt and once retrieved from the ground any meat on it is shrivelled and engrained with grit, often with the addition of meat ants who’ve come to join the festivities.

But it just doesn’t happen with frozen bones.  If the bone is large and he is not finished chewing it, he has to hide it, to keep it for later, so he can enjoy its goodness later on.

Like my dog, Peter sought to cover Jesus, Elijah, and Moses when they were uncovered on the Mountain of Transfiguration.  Perhaps he sought to keep Jesus’ glory covered for later on!

Up on the mountain the figure of Jesus changed.  Strikingly, vividly, and with this change appeared Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus. 

The three disciples did not understand what was going on. And nor should they!  Not until Jesus had been raised and had ascended into heaven.  Not until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost giving understanding and knowledge of who Jesus is, and what he did for us in his life and death with them at that time.  Not until his resurrection then ascension to the right hand of the Father for us.

Glowing in all the glory of God, Jesus is the Son of God, radiantly reflecting his holiness which had been hidden within.  God was giving Peter, James, and John, a glimpse of the eternal glory hidden within Jesus’ human body.

Having seen Jesus’ form change into something glorious, Peter pipes up with an idea.  To build shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  Just like my dog burying his bone in the dirt, Peter seeks to cover the uncovered through his dirty human effort, to freeze in time the radiance that was now shining from Jesus.

But Peter’s covering was inappropriate.  His tent was not needed and nor could his work of building it contain the glory of God. Jesus was on the wrong mountain, and the time was not right for his work to be nailed into history.

However, God covered Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John, with the bright cloud of his Word saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5b ESV)

It’s interesting to note that the brilliance of Jesus’ transformation pleased the disciples as Peter says, “Lord, it is good that we are here.  If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4 ESV)  But when God the Father envelops them with his covering Word, they fell on their faces in overwhelming fear.

God cannot be locked away from us, nor can the Son or the Holy Spirit.  We cannot build a place to hide God within and without God we cannot be uncovered and made free.  In fact, we cannot cover God in love, “we cannot  love God unless we have received the forgiveness of sins.” (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Art 4:311, Tappet Edition)

Goodness or pleasure are not found in Peter building three coverings, but in God’s pleasure in Jesus Christ and the goodness of God’s Word where we are called to, “listen to him”, “listen to Jesus”!

Now, I like to talk to my dog.  I talk to him most of the time when I am with him.  My daughter thinks talking to my dog is a sign that I have lost my mind.  Maybe she has a point.  I often ask my dog for advice when I am trying to fix or make something at my workbench.  He looks at me, listening with full attention, with his head cocked to the side.  Surprisingly, he does not answer.  The other day I was telling a relative this and he said, “I bet if the dog spoke back to you, you’d drop dead!”

Hopefully unlike my dog, I do listen to God and his Word.  That I don’t act like I’m listening just to have the pleasure of getting a pat.  But that I hear, and in hearing Jesus’ Word, I receive the uncovered glory of God.  In receiving his Word, I allow the Holy Spirit to temple grace, faith, and love for others, within me.  And I respond in kind, with joy, confessing my sin in the protection of God’s covering, showing others that God’s covering shields me from sin and death.  And that they can have this eternal covering too.

Jesus is present with Moses and Elijah transfigured on the mountain.  He stands with the two great men of the Law in the Old Testament.  The Word of God is joined to the Law on the mountain and the experience of the three disciples turns from, “it is good to be here”, to “not good”.  The disciples fell face down with fatal fear, seemingly death was about to touch them.

Yet the touch they felt was not death but that of Jesus.  “Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear.’  And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”  (Matthew 17:7–8 ESV)

They left the Mountain of Transfiguration and glory, but Jesus left knowing full well he was on the way to the mountain of disfiguration and goriness, Golgotha, where death would touch him.

Jesus calls you to follow him.  He touches you with his Word, he touches you with the Holy Spirit, so we stop building our own coverings of pleasure that neither protect us from sin nor death.

God has no pleasure in death.  On the Mountain of Transfiguration Jesus stood with the Law men uncovered in glory, but for only a moment, revealing his perfection under the Law.

He took that perfection under the Law and bore your disfiguration on the Mountain of Atonement, at the cross of Calvary.

As we walk through these days, Jesus does not want you to seek your own coverings.  But rather, from him and the Father, the Holy Spirit continually comes to rescue you from the deadly shelters of your own efforts, your own truths, and your own lives. 

The Holy Spirit seeks to cover you with Christ, and in this covering, he smothers to death the human spirit, that seeks to bury and hide your need for forgiveness.  Your human nature continually seeks to cover God’s need for forgiveness with the dirt and grit of your own good and evil.  Such is the dogged nature of us all.

The Holy Spirit covers you in Christ, so you can be transfigured with Christ, so you can be with God the Father in the eternally pleasing place of Paradise.

Amen.

C, Transfiguration - Luke 9:28–43 & 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 "Cross-figuration"

Luke 9:28–43 (ESV) 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 face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.  And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,  who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.  And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.  As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”  And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.  On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.  And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.  And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”  Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”  While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV)  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

From the mountain of Transfiguration to the mountain of disfiguration,  Golgotha, the place of the skull, Calvary, Jesus walks for our reconfiguration!

When Jesus was transfigured, Peter wanted to build three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  He did not know what he was saying.  For if he did, he would have known if this happened, the unveiled glory and perfection of the Law, would kill him, James, and John.

However, Jesus was not to bask in this glory!  His face was not to shine like Moses’ face did!   He would resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem, and take the road to the city named “flowing peace”, where his blood would flow from the cross of Calvary for true peace.

Rather, in his transfigured state, we see the curtain of Jesus’ flesh pulled back, to see the holiness of his Spirit within.  But only for a brief moment.   Here he talks, with two great men of the Law, about his exodus from Jerusalem.   This is the holy eternal exodus to which Moses and Elijah faithfully looked forward with hope.  This was during the days when Moses and Elijah repeatedly led Israel out of sin, into peace with God the Father.

Jesus must come down from the glory of Transfiguration into the presence of the sinful crowd and disciples.  Jesus, who was glorifying the Law in his flesh, meets a father concerned for his son.   In the Spirit of his Gospel walk he hears the father’s plea…

 “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out.  It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.  And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”  (Luke 9:38–40 ESV)

The disciples could not cast it out.  How could they have done so?  They were infant hearers and witnesses; only learners of Jesus and yet to receive the forgiveness of sins at the cross and the sweet breath of the Holy Spirit, who would reconfigure their hearts through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Still reeling from the transfiguration, Peter, James and John with the other disciples continued to stumble, unable to help when confronted with the unclean spirit’s disfiguration of the child.  They had not learnt from their helplessness to pray in humility like Jesus.  But that would come once the Holy Spirit revealed the depth of their helplessness, so they would trust in their resurrected Lord Jesus Christ like he trusted and prayed to his Father.

On the mountain God declared, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35 ESV)  Now God’s Son, Jesus, answers the convulsing child’s father; and the disciples, and crowd, listen and learn…

 “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here.”  While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him.  But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.  And all were astonished at the majesty of God.  (Luke 9:41–43 ESV)

How faithless and twisted we are too, because of our flesh!  How long is Jesus to be with us and bear us by his Word? 

Thanks be to God Jesus comes down.  He comes down from heaven, he comes down into flesh at the manger, he comes down into the Jordan and is baptised into his ministry of death and resurrection.  Jesus does this and it pleases our Heavenly Father, and down in the depths of human sin and death, he bears us up from sin and death. 

He cleanses the boy of uncleanness and gives him back to his father clean.  The Holy Son of God, transfigured in glory, leaves the mountain, and descends into the darkness of our sin and knowledge, to cleanse us and give us back to our Heavenly Father. 

Even his chosen twelve did not know or understand.   Having seen the healing, having been with Jesus they still did not take hold of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Peter, James, and John saw the unveiled glory of God in Jesus but the veil of darkness still covered them so they could not understand.

After Jesus’ transfiguration and cleansing of the boy, he says to the disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”  But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. (Luke 9:44–45 ESV)

Jesus comes from the mountain of transfigured glory, from the mountain of Holiness and Law, but the listening and learning does not finish here for the disciples, nor does it for us. 

We must now walk with Jesus from the mountain of glory to the mountain of disfiguration and goriness.  But it’s at gory Golgotha, the mountain of Calvary that we receive the Gospel of glory. 

It’s at the mountain of disfiguration, we learn of our faithlessness and twistedness.  It’s where Jesus bears us up in glory under the weight of our gory sinful being and sinfulness.

It’s at the place of the Skull where our Head was hung.  And we his body receive his Spirit of freedom. 

We hang our heads in sinful shame, we feel the sting of death, and know we are a sinful and twisted generation.  Left to our own devices we throw ourselves down and convulse in our old Adam.

But look and see that this Transfigured One, who came down from heaven, down from the mountain and was lifted up disfigured on the cross, is now refigured in eternal resurrection glory and is reconfiguring us in the good news of his resurrection.

Today we walk from the celebration of Transfiguration Sunday and on Wednesday we will remember, we are dust and to dust we shall return.  We will be marked with an ash cross on the forehead.  We will begin the walk of remembrance through Lent to the mountain of gory Golgotha, the mountain of reconfiguration, the mountain of Gospel glory.

But as we walk the walk of remembrance, we also continue our walk to the cross of our earthly death.  But as we do, we walk with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, raise from the dead.  We continue to walk and learn from life, just what a sacrifice it was for Jesus to make his walk to the mountain of Cross-figuration, for our transformation, and our eternal transfiguration.  Amen. 

C, Transfiguration - 2 Corinthians 3:12,16-18, 4:1-4, 6-7 "Maze of Mirrors"

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see perfection looking back at you? Perhaps you see something you don’t like? Or maybe without your glasses you have trouble even seeing the mirror or anything in it! Is the person you see too tall or too short, too old or not old enough? Maybe you see someone who could be smarter or wiser, or alternatively you see someone who is too smart for their own good! Are you content with what you see? Should your hair be straighter, curlier, darker, lighter, less grey? Or would you just like to have more hair? What about your fitness? Do you see someone who could be stronger, not so bony; or not so broad in the nether regions? Stand in front of the mirror for long enough and study your body, your mind, and your conscience, and more than likely you will see many areas for improvement!

We all have times when we feel, flat, fat, fed up, fragile, flustered, frightful, frustrated, furious, foolish, false, unforgiven, unforgiving, unfaithful, forgetful, and forgotten. This often leads us to think we have been forbidden and forsaken because we see, all too well, the fruits of our fallenness. Mirrors are brutal things, the harder and closer we look into them the more we see what they reflect.

But there are more mirrors in this life than just the glass mirrors in the home or car or shop. Another type of mirror most people fear are the bathroom scales. In fact you might be led to believe that to stand on scales, is to stand on holy ground. For you must take off your shoes, and anything else that weighs you down! Therefore, most don’t stand in this place for fear of condemnation from the scale itself, which might groan because of the weight being placing upon it.

Diaries are also a mirror which might help a person reflect on themselves and their life. But a diary found years later, or in the wrong hands, can be a dangerous instrument.

Then there is the family, with the many mirrors they hold in front of us and we hold in front of them – the genetic mirrors, the disobedient mirrors, the nagging mirrors, and all the other mirrors that show us and them who we are.

Have you ever been tempted to mask these mirrors in you life?

How many of you, as children or parents, have refused to hear the family mirrors and put your fingers in your ears and said, “La, la, la… I can’t hear you”?

Or on starting a diary, who hasn’t given up writing in it after awhile, or on seeing what is written in it become disturbed by your younger thoughts and throw it out?

How many of you have placed the bathroom scales in the cupboard, or under the bed, in a place where this seemingly sacred instrument won’t be found or disturbed?

And when you have a shower, isn’t it nice sometimes for the bathroom mirror to steam up just a little, so when you step out of the shower your reflection doesn’t frighten you quite as badly as if it was easily seen?

These mirrors of image, weight, individuality and family, are mirrors of the flesh. Most of the time they tell us what’s wrong with us! These mirrors examine the person by sight and cast their judgement. We look at our own flesh and person and see what’s wrong with us; we look at others around us and see what’s wrong with them too. Perhaps we see the same things in others that we see in ourselves! Sometimes seeing these things in ourselves hurts, and having them shown to us hurts even more!

On the other hand, sometimes what we perceive in others is only our perception. In the projection of our own short-fallings onto others, we miss the mark and misinterpret the person or family member next to us. We all have the capacity and the ability to do this. Often we get hurt, or we hurt one another.

There is no doubt that we humans are complex creatures. We have mirrors that reflect, but we also have mirrors that deflect too. And most of the time the mirrors in our lives do both at the same time. Like a magic maze of mirrors, the same mirror that tells us to go the right way is also the same mirror that deceives us and veils the truth that lies behind the mirror. As we stand in this house of mirrors the chance of being lost forever in this maze is real. “Which way is out; which way do I go?”

The word of God is a mirror given to every Christian at baptism. And with this mirror comes the Holy Spirit, our counsellor and our guide through the mazes of this life. He calls us to put on God’s word, like x-ray glasses of truth. And with the Word of God faithfully put on, we see through the facade of our veiled fragile flesh, and see Jesus Christ. We see who we really are, despite our fallenness!

However, the Holy Spirit’s job is no easy feat! He discerns each of us — guiding, correcting, and turning the fragile mirrors of our humanity. Within the folds of our sinful nature, the Spirit works. Sometimes this work is painful as he removes the masks, and smashes the mirrors with God’s holy law. But the Holy Spirit does this for our good as he leads us and counsels us to trust him, to trust God’s Word, and to trust that veiled in the ever-present sinful nature is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Holy Spirit turns us to Jesus Christ, to trust his work on the cross, to trust the word of the gospel, despite the swinging mirrors, that deceive us at every turn.

Hear again God’s word that Paul speaks to the Corinthians…

12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 16 …whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 3:12, 16–18, 4:1-4, 6-7)

We are jars of clay, we are fragile mirrors. We can destroy ourselves and each other as we walk through the maze of this life. But we have been freed to trust the Holy Spirit, who comes through the Word of God, who turns the mirrors, who lifts the veil, and who destroys that which stops us from seeing who we are in Jesus Christ. This is the all-surpassing power from God and he will lead us to the end of the maze, and once that last mirror is removed we will see Jesus face to face. Amen.

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