Sermon illustrations for Transfiguration Sunday, Cycle C (2019)
Illustration
Exodus 34:29-35
Every now and then I get out my telescope and point it at the moon. Though I’m used to thinking of it as a flat disk circling our planet, magnifying the image suddenly turns it into a world. Not only do I see mountains, I see the shadows those mountains cast.
But every amateur astronomer learns pretty quickly that the worst time to point your telescope at the moon is when more of it is visible than any other time — at the full moon. When the entire side of the moon that faces the earth is reflecting the glory of the sun it gets too bright to see the surface clearly. We lose the contrast, and our ability to focus on our celestial neighbor.
The case of Moses climbing down from Mount Sinai is similar, but more so. Having stood in the presence of the Almighty, Moses is reflecting so much of God’s glory that the people can’t stand to look at his face.
My favorite hymn, “Immortal Invisible,” includes the phrases “in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,” and “thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.” Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and has to wear a veil.
Frank R.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
James Marshall, the first prospector to find gold at Sutter’s Mill, stated that when he first saw gold, “My eye was caught with the glimpse of something shining in the ditch.” From this small beginning, the Gold Rush became a national, and then international, sensation. A gold miner, in 1850, described his journey from New York to the American River in California with these words: “We pitched our tents, shouldered our picks and shovels and with pan in hand sallied forth to try our fortunes at gold digging. We did not have very good success being green at mining, but by practice and observation we soon improved some, and found a little of the shining metal.”
Ron L.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
I read this story in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette and watched an accompanying YouTube video. During an assembly at Carnegie Elementary School, the sixth-grade students read from essays that they were assigned to write about the heroes. When 11-year-old Damon Chiodo read his essay about his older brother, U.S. Army Specialist Devin Tomei, who has been stationed in Germany, he got the shock of his life. His big brother came on stage to surprise him. Watching that scene on the internet, it was moving to see Damon’s face as he saw his brother for the first time in over two years. His face glowed with joy.
I like watching videos like that. Military reunions are fun to watch whether they are at airports, sporting events or schools. They always tug at the heart. Watching the people’s faces as they see their loved ones is priceless. I suppose seeing a loved one can impact a person in such a way that their countenance radiates it.
In our text today, because he had been talking with God, Moses’ face shone. It radiated with the glory of God. It was so intense that Aaron and all the Israelites were afraid to go near him. It was such a powerful thing, Moses had to put a veil over his face to talk to the people. God’s glory is like that. Augustine wrote, “Because the face of God is so lovely, my brothers and sisters, so beautiful, once you have seen it, nothing else can give you pleasure. It will give insatiable satisfaction of which we will never tire. We shall always be hungry and always have our fill.”
Bill T.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
Is that old veil the Ten Commandments? Not that they were evil, but that they represented a burden. Only Jesus could lift that burden.
There were many rules to obey in all of my schools — all laid down by the principal. The only thing that lifted the burden was a loving teacher.
Moses passed on the “principal’s” rules and only God’s son could lift the burden.
Only our parents can forgive a bad report from our school.
I wish our president and congress would read this scripture.
Pastors remember this. Is this why churches are not growing because we are always warning our people to obey every rule — like giving 10% of our income to the church.
Bob O.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
Doubt is a difficult experience to face. Shakespeare writes in his Measure for Measure that “Our doubts are traitors...” They “make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Modern life is filled with this sort of crippling anxiety. And this doubt may lead us to doubts not just about ourselves but also about God. On this day, when we begin Lent later this week, this Festival of The Transfiguration of Christ, we see God in Christ in all his glory. The Spirit comes to set us free. All the doubts can begin to wither away. Methodist founder John Wesley nicely explained this freedom from doubt:
There is liberty from servile fear, liberty from guilt and the power of sin, liberty to behold with open face the glory of the Lord. (Commentary On the Bible, p.524)
In the presence of God, all the doubts whither. Seeing God in all his glory creates certainty. This experience is just what we mean today by the Holy Spirit. John Calvin nicely explained how we have that certainty, this experience of God in all his glory, even when the gnawing doubts continue:
.... the blindness of unbelievers detracts nothing from the clearness of the Gospel; for the sun is not less resplendent, that the blind do not perceive its light. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XX/2, p.192)
Even when we don’t get it, even when we fail to experience God in all his glory, as we can when reading the Bible, in communion, in a beautiful sunrise, God is no less glorious in his presence with us. Hang out with Christ in these ways, and all the fears and doubts start to wither away!
Mark E.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
Freedom often seems a nationalist subject, a recognition of constitutional freedoms enacted to preserve our way of life. But Paul writes of freedom in a different sense, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (3:17). In the Spirit of the Lord there is freedom. Certainly, we are not talking about a freedom to do anything and everything one desires. Rather Paul reminds us that in the Spirit of the Lord we have freedom from fear of condemnation or of eternal damnation. Rather in the Spirit of the Lord we have the freedom of knowing that we are welcomed into the family of God, into kinship with Jesus, and into the Body of Christ. This not a freedom for the end of our lives and our resurrection lives with God, but rather, this freedom is with us in the moments of each and every day.
Just as Jesus is transformed on the mountain top in the Gospel lesson, so too are we transformed, in the here and now, in the everyday actions and moments of our lives. That, my friend, is truly freedom we can and should celebrate.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36
The headline in the February 2010 issue of Christianity Today was sobering: “Strong on Zeal, Thin in Knowledge.” Thus began the article reporting on the ten missionaries who were arrested for illegally removing 33 children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic for adoption. The article reported they had “good intentions with ill-advised plans” for they failed to understand the culture and the laws of the nation whose borders they transgressed. Their action, according to author Jedd Medefind, is “a strong lesson on the need to match zeal with knowledge.” Instead of blindly marching forward they should have taken the time to study and reflect, and to listen to the people they were trying to help. Their worthy cause could have succeeded if these tactics had been employed. Instead, “sloppy do-goodism,” as Medefind described it, resulted in an international incident of epic proportions.
Ron L.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
There’s the old saying, “Seeing is believing.” The implication is that if you see for yourself you’ll believe. But is this true? In this particular scripture three of the disciples see something extraordinary — Jesus is revealed on the mountaintop to be more than the human he appears to be. Moses and Elijah flank him and speak with Jesus about what lies ahead, while a voice from heaven proclaims, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
Yet despite this magnificent revelation the disciples are shown in the next scene lacking the faith to cast out demons. Nor is this experience enough to prevent them from running away when Jesus is arrested.
We learn in scripture that “We walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In Hebrews we read that faith is not based on what we see, but that “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” Abraham is declared to be righteous because he did not see what God had promised, but believed (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6). And in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Father Abraham tells the rich man in torment that he will not send Lazarus back to earth to warn his relatives because if they don’t believe the Law and the Prophets, they won’t believe a man who comes back from the dead (Luke16:29-31).
Maybe we shouldn’t say “Seeing is believing.” Maybe we should say “Believing is seeing.”
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a
Salena Zito, in the New York Post, shares the story of Jared Gyure. Gyure is an eight-year-old boy with whom Zito shared a recent flight. His love for U.S. presidents was obvious to her immediately as he had no trouble sharing the moment he plopped himself down next to Zito in seat 17E on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Pittsburgh. For the entire 90-minute flight this little boy talked to and shared his interest in presidents with Zito. She writes, “With this audience, I have to brag. I tell Jared I just interviewed the current president, Donald Trump, and his eyes grow wide like saucers. When I mention I had also interviewed both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Jared gasps. In that moment, I understand that cynicism about our country’s foundations and institutions and government isn’t something built into our DNA, or something that followed inevitably from the competitive nature of politics.”
This story is a heart-warning and refreshing story and I urge you to look it up and read it. What struck me, though, in connection with this passage, was Gyure’s awe and amazement as Zito told him how she’d met and interviewed presidents. It isn’t hard to imagine what the little boy’s reaction would be to meet a president. Is it any wonder that Peter, James and John had stunned reactions to seeing the glory of Jesus? What an incredible thing. The text here paints it as almost an afterthought. “Since they’d stayed awake, they saw his glory.” Seeing the glory of Jesus, though, must be an amazing thing. John Owen, a Puritan pastor in the seventeenth century said, “One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ.” May we truly see him.
Bill T.
Every now and then I get out my telescope and point it at the moon. Though I’m used to thinking of it as a flat disk circling our planet, magnifying the image suddenly turns it into a world. Not only do I see mountains, I see the shadows those mountains cast.
But every amateur astronomer learns pretty quickly that the worst time to point your telescope at the moon is when more of it is visible than any other time — at the full moon. When the entire side of the moon that faces the earth is reflecting the glory of the sun it gets too bright to see the surface clearly. We lose the contrast, and our ability to focus on our celestial neighbor.
The case of Moses climbing down from Mount Sinai is similar, but more so. Having stood in the presence of the Almighty, Moses is reflecting so much of God’s glory that the people can’t stand to look at his face.
My favorite hymn, “Immortal Invisible,” includes the phrases “in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,” and “thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight.” Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and has to wear a veil.
Frank R.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
James Marshall, the first prospector to find gold at Sutter’s Mill, stated that when he first saw gold, “My eye was caught with the glimpse of something shining in the ditch.” From this small beginning, the Gold Rush became a national, and then international, sensation. A gold miner, in 1850, described his journey from New York to the American River in California with these words: “We pitched our tents, shouldered our picks and shovels and with pan in hand sallied forth to try our fortunes at gold digging. We did not have very good success being green at mining, but by practice and observation we soon improved some, and found a little of the shining metal.”
Ron L.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
I read this story in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette and watched an accompanying YouTube video. During an assembly at Carnegie Elementary School, the sixth-grade students read from essays that they were assigned to write about the heroes. When 11-year-old Damon Chiodo read his essay about his older brother, U.S. Army Specialist Devin Tomei, who has been stationed in Germany, he got the shock of his life. His big brother came on stage to surprise him. Watching that scene on the internet, it was moving to see Damon’s face as he saw his brother for the first time in over two years. His face glowed with joy.
I like watching videos like that. Military reunions are fun to watch whether they are at airports, sporting events or schools. They always tug at the heart. Watching the people’s faces as they see their loved ones is priceless. I suppose seeing a loved one can impact a person in such a way that their countenance radiates it.
In our text today, because he had been talking with God, Moses’ face shone. It radiated with the glory of God. It was so intense that Aaron and all the Israelites were afraid to go near him. It was such a powerful thing, Moses had to put a veil over his face to talk to the people. God’s glory is like that. Augustine wrote, “Because the face of God is so lovely, my brothers and sisters, so beautiful, once you have seen it, nothing else can give you pleasure. It will give insatiable satisfaction of which we will never tire. We shall always be hungry and always have our fill.”
Bill T.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
Is that old veil the Ten Commandments? Not that they were evil, but that they represented a burden. Only Jesus could lift that burden.
There were many rules to obey in all of my schools — all laid down by the principal. The only thing that lifted the burden was a loving teacher.
Moses passed on the “principal’s” rules and only God’s son could lift the burden.
Only our parents can forgive a bad report from our school.
I wish our president and congress would read this scripture.
Pastors remember this. Is this why churches are not growing because we are always warning our people to obey every rule — like giving 10% of our income to the church.
Bob O.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
Doubt is a difficult experience to face. Shakespeare writes in his Measure for Measure that “Our doubts are traitors...” They “make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Modern life is filled with this sort of crippling anxiety. And this doubt may lead us to doubts not just about ourselves but also about God. On this day, when we begin Lent later this week, this Festival of The Transfiguration of Christ, we see God in Christ in all his glory. The Spirit comes to set us free. All the doubts can begin to wither away. Methodist founder John Wesley nicely explained this freedom from doubt:
There is liberty from servile fear, liberty from guilt and the power of sin, liberty to behold with open face the glory of the Lord. (Commentary On the Bible, p.524)
In the presence of God, all the doubts whither. Seeing God in all his glory creates certainty. This experience is just what we mean today by the Holy Spirit. John Calvin nicely explained how we have that certainty, this experience of God in all his glory, even when the gnawing doubts continue:
.... the blindness of unbelievers detracts nothing from the clearness of the Gospel; for the sun is not less resplendent, that the blind do not perceive its light. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XX/2, p.192)
Even when we don’t get it, even when we fail to experience God in all his glory, as we can when reading the Bible, in communion, in a beautiful sunrise, God is no less glorious in his presence with us. Hang out with Christ in these ways, and all the fears and doubts start to wither away!
Mark E.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
Freedom often seems a nationalist subject, a recognition of constitutional freedoms enacted to preserve our way of life. But Paul writes of freedom in a different sense, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (3:17). In the Spirit of the Lord there is freedom. Certainly, we are not talking about a freedom to do anything and everything one desires. Rather Paul reminds us that in the Spirit of the Lord we have freedom from fear of condemnation or of eternal damnation. Rather in the Spirit of the Lord we have the freedom of knowing that we are welcomed into the family of God, into kinship with Jesus, and into the Body of Christ. This not a freedom for the end of our lives and our resurrection lives with God, but rather, this freedom is with us in the moments of each and every day.
Just as Jesus is transformed on the mountain top in the Gospel lesson, so too are we transformed, in the here and now, in the everyday actions and moments of our lives. That, my friend, is truly freedom we can and should celebrate.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36
The headline in the February 2010 issue of Christianity Today was sobering: “Strong on Zeal, Thin in Knowledge.” Thus began the article reporting on the ten missionaries who were arrested for illegally removing 33 children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic for adoption. The article reported they had “good intentions with ill-advised plans” for they failed to understand the culture and the laws of the nation whose borders they transgressed. Their action, according to author Jedd Medefind, is “a strong lesson on the need to match zeal with knowledge.” Instead of blindly marching forward they should have taken the time to study and reflect, and to listen to the people they were trying to help. Their worthy cause could have succeeded if these tactics had been employed. Instead, “sloppy do-goodism,” as Medefind described it, resulted in an international incident of epic proportions.
Ron L.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
There’s the old saying, “Seeing is believing.” The implication is that if you see for yourself you’ll believe. But is this true? In this particular scripture three of the disciples see something extraordinary — Jesus is revealed on the mountaintop to be more than the human he appears to be. Moses and Elijah flank him and speak with Jesus about what lies ahead, while a voice from heaven proclaims, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
Yet despite this magnificent revelation the disciples are shown in the next scene lacking the faith to cast out demons. Nor is this experience enough to prevent them from running away when Jesus is arrested.
We learn in scripture that “We walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In Hebrews we read that faith is not based on what we see, but that “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” Abraham is declared to be righteous because he did not see what God had promised, but believed (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6). And in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Father Abraham tells the rich man in torment that he will not send Lazarus back to earth to warn his relatives because if they don’t believe the Law and the Prophets, they won’t believe a man who comes back from the dead (Luke16:29-31).
Maybe we shouldn’t say “Seeing is believing.” Maybe we should say “Believing is seeing.”
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a
Salena Zito, in the New York Post, shares the story of Jared Gyure. Gyure is an eight-year-old boy with whom Zito shared a recent flight. His love for U.S. presidents was obvious to her immediately as he had no trouble sharing the moment he plopped himself down next to Zito in seat 17E on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Pittsburgh. For the entire 90-minute flight this little boy talked to and shared his interest in presidents with Zito. She writes, “With this audience, I have to brag. I tell Jared I just interviewed the current president, Donald Trump, and his eyes grow wide like saucers. When I mention I had also interviewed both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Jared gasps. In that moment, I understand that cynicism about our country’s foundations and institutions and government isn’t something built into our DNA, or something that followed inevitably from the competitive nature of politics.”
This story is a heart-warning and refreshing story and I urge you to look it up and read it. What struck me, though, in connection with this passage, was Gyure’s awe and amazement as Zito told him how she’d met and interviewed presidents. It isn’t hard to imagine what the little boy’s reaction would be to meet a president. Is it any wonder that Peter, James and John had stunned reactions to seeing the glory of Jesus? What an incredible thing. The text here paints it as almost an afterthought. “Since they’d stayed awake, they saw his glory.” Seeing the glory of Jesus, though, must be an amazing thing. John Owen, a Puritan pastor in the seventeenth century said, “One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ.” May we truly see him.
Bill T.
