Sermon Illustrations for Transfiguration Sunday (2024)
Illustration
2 Kings 2:1-12
Have you ever asked someone to bless you? As a pastor I am usually doing the blessings, offering the anointing, and praying the prayers. Every so often though someone blesses me – with prayer, with gratitude, and with grace. My heart sings when I am blessed and when I am remembered.
Throughout this passage from 2 Kings, Elijah is promising Elisha that he will be with him, that Elisha can count on the presence of Elijah in his life. That goes on for some time, from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho and into Jordan. Then it’s time for Elijah to go home to God and the chariots and horses separate them and Elisha is alone. Elisha tears his garments, a sign of deep grief. Elijah will no longer be physically present. Elisha is ready to prophesy on his own. Taking that step is a hard one, and yet I am almost certain that Elisha remembers the teaching, blessings and presence of Elijah as he goes out on his own.
That happens to us too, when the ones who have blessed us are physically absent from us. And we remember and walk on.
Bonnie B.
* * *
2 Kings 2:1-12
Sharing a legacy is a transcendent experience, and the Transfiguration is certainly a transcendent experience (seeing Christ in all his glory). Sociologist Richard Sennett has observed that sharing a legacy provides or nurtures a sense of fidelity to oneself which in turn enhances character and so is good for society (The Corrosion of Character, pp.145-148). Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate Paul Tsongas has elaborated nicely on this point:
We are a continuum. Just as we reach back to our ancestors for our fundamental values, so we, as guardians of that legacy, must reach ahead to our children and their children. And we do so with a sense of sacredness in that reaching.
Elisha’s entire prophetic ministry involved carrying on the legacy of Elijah who had mentored him. We all crave mentors (at least Elisha certainly did) as this lesson makes clear. Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way: “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” This point is made in an exciting way in the lesson. If we read the story of Elijah being taken away from Elisha and us by horses of fire, bathed in light not unlike Jesus’ Transfiguration we are reminded that the stunning light which surrounded him, and all observers contained all sorts of energy. It is logical to conclude, then, that large doses of the energy of this light were conveyed on Elisha. Is that not what being mentored and having a legacy are all about? They enhance us with the energy it takes “to keep on keepin’ on.”
Mark E.
* * *
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
In his Feb. 4, 2016, Turning Point Daily Devotional, David Jeremiah writes: “Imagine walking into a pitch-dark room: no windows, no lamps, no shadows, no light of any kind. You light a single candle and hold it over your head. When your eyes adjust, you can see a bit of what’s in the room. Now imagine that same room with five people with candles—the overall light is brighter. Then imagine ten people with candles, then twenty-five, then fifty. At some point the darkness is overcome by the light.
That’s a wonderful way to envision what God has done in the coming of his Son Jesus Christ. “For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (vs. 6). The darkness is overwhelmed by the glorious light of Jesus. What is our response to be? J.R.R. Tolkien said, “No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.” May we live in light today.
Bill T.
* * *
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
C.S. Lewis once critiqued the obsession with current events (and if anyone lived through current events it was Lewis, what with two world wars, a worldwide depression, the paradigm shift of the atomic bomb, and his own journey from faith to atheism and back to faith) by writing, “Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date.”
That phrase came to mind because Paul speaks about how “the god of this age” (sometimes translated as “the god of this world” but ainos, not kosmos is the word behind it all) that we forget how quickly the idol of a particular era, decade, year, or week passes. One obsession grips our society, only to be replaced by another. I remember an experience decades ago when I was going through a file of clippings and discovered a list of best sellers I had clipped and set aside. I didn’t recognize any of those titles. My shelves were filled with books of weight, substance, humor, and meaning, books that I loved, well-thumbed, that I loved and had lasted. I still enjoyed rereading them.
This god of the age blinds the eyes of those who fall under its sway to the truth of the good news, but Paul tells us, “…if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” We must look beyond the heresy of this moment, as if we were the first to experience love, life, loss, instead of recognizing that people have come before us and will come after, and God is with all of us in all time, unchanging, are not fooled. Our golden age is now, and always, and forever.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 9:2-9
The Transfiguration is about seeing Christ in his glory, though John Calvin reminded us that it “did not altogether enable his disciples to see Christ, as he now is in heaven, but gave them a taste of his boundless glory, such as they were able to comprehend.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/2, p.310) In another comment on the event, he reflects on the lessons it teaches us for everyday life: “Let us therefore endeavor to enter by faith alone, and not by the eyes of flesh, into that inaccessible light in which God’s dwells.” (Ibid., p.314) Pope Francis has made a similar point, reminding us that we need to be alert to the Holy Spirit at all times, and stop trying to domesticate him:
To put it simply: the Holy Spirit bothers us. Because he moves us, he makes us walk, He pushes the church to go forward. And we are like Peter at the Transfiguration: “Ah, how wonderful it is to be here like this, all together!” ... But don't bother us.
We want the Holy Spirit to doze off ... we want to domesticate the Holy Spirit. And that's no good. because he is God, he is that wind which comes and goes, and you don't know where. He is the power of God, he is the one who gives us consolation and strength to move forward. But: to move forward! And this bothers us. It's so much nicer to be comfortable. (Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 9:2-9
The disciples are so very human, so like us. They want to hold on to the miraculous, mountaintop moment. They want to hold it and house it. And they, like us, are disappointed. The prophets of old do not remain. Jesus remains. The ministry of Jesus leads them into unforeseen dangers and pathways. They can hold on, however, to the knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is still with them, and that they have heard the voice of the Creator.
How is it that we hear the voice of God, experience the life of Jesus, and walk up to the mountaintop and down into the valleys without losing hope and faith? We remember. We hold the prophets and the message and the love of God, not in houses but in our hearts. We shelter the messages within ourselves. Truly that is a gift.
Bonnie B.
Have you ever asked someone to bless you? As a pastor I am usually doing the blessings, offering the anointing, and praying the prayers. Every so often though someone blesses me – with prayer, with gratitude, and with grace. My heart sings when I am blessed and when I am remembered.
Throughout this passage from 2 Kings, Elijah is promising Elisha that he will be with him, that Elisha can count on the presence of Elijah in his life. That goes on for some time, from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho and into Jordan. Then it’s time for Elijah to go home to God and the chariots and horses separate them and Elisha is alone. Elisha tears his garments, a sign of deep grief. Elijah will no longer be physically present. Elisha is ready to prophesy on his own. Taking that step is a hard one, and yet I am almost certain that Elisha remembers the teaching, blessings and presence of Elijah as he goes out on his own.
That happens to us too, when the ones who have blessed us are physically absent from us. And we remember and walk on.
Bonnie B.
* * *
2 Kings 2:1-12
Sharing a legacy is a transcendent experience, and the Transfiguration is certainly a transcendent experience (seeing Christ in all his glory). Sociologist Richard Sennett has observed that sharing a legacy provides or nurtures a sense of fidelity to oneself which in turn enhances character and so is good for society (The Corrosion of Character, pp.145-148). Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate Paul Tsongas has elaborated nicely on this point:
We are a continuum. Just as we reach back to our ancestors for our fundamental values, so we, as guardians of that legacy, must reach ahead to our children and their children. And we do so with a sense of sacredness in that reaching.
Elisha’s entire prophetic ministry involved carrying on the legacy of Elijah who had mentored him. We all crave mentors (at least Elisha certainly did) as this lesson makes clear. Ralph Waldo Emerson put it this way: “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” This point is made in an exciting way in the lesson. If we read the story of Elijah being taken away from Elisha and us by horses of fire, bathed in light not unlike Jesus’ Transfiguration we are reminded that the stunning light which surrounded him, and all observers contained all sorts of energy. It is logical to conclude, then, that large doses of the energy of this light were conveyed on Elisha. Is that not what being mentored and having a legacy are all about? They enhance us with the energy it takes “to keep on keepin’ on.”
Mark E.
* * *
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
In his Feb. 4, 2016, Turning Point Daily Devotional, David Jeremiah writes: “Imagine walking into a pitch-dark room: no windows, no lamps, no shadows, no light of any kind. You light a single candle and hold it over your head. When your eyes adjust, you can see a bit of what’s in the room. Now imagine that same room with five people with candles—the overall light is brighter. Then imagine ten people with candles, then twenty-five, then fifty. At some point the darkness is overcome by the light.
That’s a wonderful way to envision what God has done in the coming of his Son Jesus Christ. “For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (vs. 6). The darkness is overwhelmed by the glorious light of Jesus. What is our response to be? J.R.R. Tolkien said, “No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.” May we live in light today.
Bill T.
* * *
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
C.S. Lewis once critiqued the obsession with current events (and if anyone lived through current events it was Lewis, what with two world wars, a worldwide depression, the paradigm shift of the atomic bomb, and his own journey from faith to atheism and back to faith) by writing, “Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date.”
That phrase came to mind because Paul speaks about how “the god of this age” (sometimes translated as “the god of this world” but ainos, not kosmos is the word behind it all) that we forget how quickly the idol of a particular era, decade, year, or week passes. One obsession grips our society, only to be replaced by another. I remember an experience decades ago when I was going through a file of clippings and discovered a list of best sellers I had clipped and set aside. I didn’t recognize any of those titles. My shelves were filled with books of weight, substance, humor, and meaning, books that I loved, well-thumbed, that I loved and had lasted. I still enjoyed rereading them.
This god of the age blinds the eyes of those who fall under its sway to the truth of the good news, but Paul tells us, “…if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” We must look beyond the heresy of this moment, as if we were the first to experience love, life, loss, instead of recognizing that people have come before us and will come after, and God is with all of us in all time, unchanging, are not fooled. Our golden age is now, and always, and forever.
Frank R.
* * *
Mark 9:2-9
The Transfiguration is about seeing Christ in his glory, though John Calvin reminded us that it “did not altogether enable his disciples to see Christ, as he now is in heaven, but gave them a taste of his boundless glory, such as they were able to comprehend.” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVI/2, p.310) In another comment on the event, he reflects on the lessons it teaches us for everyday life: “Let us therefore endeavor to enter by faith alone, and not by the eyes of flesh, into that inaccessible light in which God’s dwells.” (Ibid., p.314) Pope Francis has made a similar point, reminding us that we need to be alert to the Holy Spirit at all times, and stop trying to domesticate him:
To put it simply: the Holy Spirit bothers us. Because he moves us, he makes us walk, He pushes the church to go forward. And we are like Peter at the Transfiguration: “Ah, how wonderful it is to be here like this, all together!” ... But don't bother us.
We want the Holy Spirit to doze off ... we want to domesticate the Holy Spirit. And that's no good. because he is God, he is that wind which comes and goes, and you don't know where. He is the power of God, he is the one who gives us consolation and strength to move forward. But: to move forward! And this bothers us. It's so much nicer to be comfortable. (Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday)
Mark E.
* * *
Mark 9:2-9
The disciples are so very human, so like us. They want to hold on to the miraculous, mountaintop moment. They want to hold it and house it. And they, like us, are disappointed. The prophets of old do not remain. Jesus remains. The ministry of Jesus leads them into unforeseen dangers and pathways. They can hold on, however, to the knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is still with them, and that they have heard the voice of the Creator.
How is it that we hear the voice of God, experience the life of Jesus, and walk up to the mountaintop and down into the valleys without losing hope and faith? We remember. We hold the prophets and the message and the love of God, not in houses but in our hearts. We shelter the messages within ourselves. Truly that is a gift.
Bonnie B.
