Sermon Illustrations for Transfiguration Sunday, Cycle C (2025)
Illustration
Exodus 34:29-35
In August of 2017, much of the North American continent experienced a total solar eclipse when the moon came directly between earth and the sun. Writing before the eclipse, NASA explained, “This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere—the corona—can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina.”
A total solar eclipse is a rare phenomenon, and lots of people were excited to see it. NASA warned people, “Looking directly at the sun is unsafe except during the brief total phase of a solar eclipse (‘totality’), when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s bright face, which will happen only within the narrow path of totality. The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as ‘eclipse glasses’ or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun; they transmit thousands of times too much sunlight.”
That is a powerful and direct warning. You cannot look directly at the eclipse. It is dangerous. Similarly, the people of Israel could not look at Moses’ face after Moses had been with God. God’s glory radiated from Moses so much, it was too difficult for the people to see. As incredibly bright as the sun is at an eclipse, the glory of the Lord is so much greater. Rick Warren wrote, “What is the glory of God? It is who God is. It is the essence of his nature; the weight of his importance; the radiance of his splendor; the demonstration of his power; the atmosphere of his presence.”
Bill T.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
How many of us have seen the face of God? We read about the transformation of Moses’ face after he sees God and has been in God’s presence. The change in him, the shining of his face, frightens the people and so Moses begins to wear a veil — removing it when he goes to be with God, and putting it back on when he brings the commands of God to the people.
I had an experience of seeing Jesus while I was doing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius while in seminary. My face didn’t change, but my acceptance of God’s steadfast and all-encompassing God did.
How are we changed by our experiences of God? How could we share those changes with fellow believers or even those who question the existence of God? What is God commanding us to do and say and be in these days? These are important questions. They are important to us and to those we encounter. Transformation happens. When it does, we need to be unafraid to share the transformation in our lives. Although our faces may not shine, we can still be light in the world.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
Transfiguration Sunday is when we recall when Jesus was revealed on the mountaintop for who he truly is, a divine being of glory.
If we are not exactly transfigured, we can certainly reflect the glory of God. God’s light shines through us. In this passage from Exodus, the people of God come to fear Moses because they finally see Moses as he truly is, one who reflects the glory of God.
I am reminded of what C.S. Lewis wrote in his essay “The Weight of Glory.” The Hebrew word translated as ‘glory’ is also the word for ‘weight.’ His point is that we are all substantial, weighty if you will, but that the vision is shielded from us for the most part. If we truly saw each other as God sees us, we might be astounded by the weight of glory as we are revealed as creatures reflecting God’s light in a glorious fashion — or be repulsed by the darkness in others.
I don’t doubt we have all met people who humbly, without claiming they are the light, reflect the divine light in all they say and do. They are the least likely to claim credit for the will of God which they allow to shine in their lives.
Frank R.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
Americans say they want law and order. But a 2018 Deseret News poll reveals that barely 50% of American millennials find four of the Ten Commandments still relevant. Many do not think we need to preach the commandments, because we should be uplifted in church, not brought down with a bunch of rules or reminders that we are not living up to them.
It is clear that human beings need the law of God in order to reveal to us how messed up we are and to prepare us to realize how badly we need God’s forgiveness. We are messed up. St. Augustine made that clear once, as he observed how we are “A people curious to know the lives of others, but slow to correct their own.” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Frist Series, Vol.1, p.142). Martin Luther concisely summarized the law’s use in a hymn he wrote, well expressing why the commandments demand our veneration and attention. (The lyrics could be read with a rap beat.):
That man a godly life might live
God did these Ten Commandments give
By his true servant Moses high
[Up] Upon the Mount Sinai…
Help us Lord Jesus Christ, for we
A mediator have in Thee.
Our works cannot salvation gain;
They merit [nothing] but endless pain. (What Luther Says, pp.746-747)
Mark E.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
The apostle uses the image of the veil Moses used to cover his face because it reflected so fully the blinding light of the unseeable God and compares this to Jesus, who is the light, but who was while being fully human, so that we are able to see, without flinching (but not without wonder), the great love of God. But he then repurposes the image to suggest the minds of those who oppose him are still veiled so that “Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds, but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed (3:15-16).” (The term “Moses” is a synonym for the law, the first five books of the Bible.)
Try to avoid saying the minds of “the Jews” are veiled. There was and is no such thing as “the Jews.” Just as in Christianity, there are many different expressions of Judaism. Pretty much all of the companions of Jesus and many, if not most, of Paul’s companions were Jewish. The multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Corinthian milieu would have included some with a Jewish background.
Focus on why our minds might be veiled. The minds of people who fail to see Jesus in both the written and living word may be self-veiled for any number of reasons. It’s very important to ask ourselves if our faith is confrontational and judgmental rather than healing and hopeful. There was a legitimate reason the face of Moses had to be veiled, but like most of us, he had some rough edges.
A more helpful approach is to use these verses to remind folks we all read scripture through a filter, and this affects our reading if we don’t acknowledge this is the case. We all have life experiences, church experiences, and faith experiences that affect the way we receive the Word of God. There’s nothing wrong with these filters, necessarily, but it helps to acknowledge them, and then try to understand the same verses through the filters of two thousand years of church history, our denominational history, our choice of commentaries on the book shelf, and conversations with preaching colleagues and other fellow believers.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)
Game 5 of the 2024 World Series was a roller coaster of emotions for Yankees star Aaron Judge. In the first inning of the game, he blasted his first World Series homerun and gave the Yankees a two-run lead in the pivotal game. Later, he made a spectacular catch crashing into the center field fence in Yankee Stadium. However, in the fifth inning, he dropped a line drive hit right at him, a costly error that contributed to the Dodgers scoring five runs and toppling the Yankees to win the World Series.
It was a mountain top and a valley experience for Judge. Peter, James and John could identify with Aaron Judge. Not the ball game aspect, but the mountain top and valley experience. Perhaps many people can identify.
Peter, James and John were on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured. They saw his glory and Moses and Elijah with him. It was such an incredible scene that they were moved to commemorate it and make it a place of worship. They heard the voice from the cloud proclaim Jesus’ identity. However, when they came down from the mountain, there was the real world and problems. A man’s son was demon possessed, and the disciples couldn’t do anything about it. Jesus, though, could and did. Jesus’ glory was powerfully displayed on the mountain. It was also seen in the ugly “real world” below. Henry Drummond once wrote, “God does not make the mountains in order to be inhabited. God does not make the mountaintops for us to live on the mountaintops. It is not God’s desire that we live on the mountaintops. We only ascend to the heights to catch a broader vision of the earthly surroundings below. But we don’t live there. We don’t tarry there. The streams begin in the uplands, but these streams descend quickly to gladden the valleys below.”
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
We all say we believe in God’s love, but how easy it is to take it for granted. That is why we need the Transfiguration to remind us of the awesome character of God’s love, a “love [in words of the 19th-century hymn title) that will not let me go.” John Calvin offers a compelling testimony about Christ’s persistent and omnipotent shepherding of us. He wrote:
We ought to gather from this passage a useful doctrine, that when we are not thinking of Christ, we are observed by him; and it is necessary that it should be so, that he may bring us back, when we have wandered from the right path. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/2, p.79)
Regarding the power of this omnipotent love, Martin Luther adds:
And so this sermon, [is a ] message about believing in the forgiveness of sins through the Son of God… For the Holy Spirit does not wish us to fear in such a way that we are overwhelmed by fear and despair… But he wills that you should fear and so escape pride or presumption, and you should rejoice and so escape despair… [Then you will] fear God not as a tyrant, but as children fear their parents, with respect. (Luther’s Works, Vol.12, p.75)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
The transfiguration story is one that intrigues me. What must it have been like to see Jesus with Moses and Elijah?! What might it have been like to see the light shining in, around, and even through Jesus? I might have wanted to hold on to that moment, to keep the prophets with me. Peter, James, and John wanted to hold on to this mountaintop moment — to keep the prophets with them — to know that they would always be on that mountaintop. And yet, that was not to be. Rather, the voice of God came to them — they were to follow Jesus, listen to him, to be with him. Even when Jesus told them to be silent, there was this experience of Jesus with the prophets and the voice of God that they would carry with them.
This story always brings to mind a question. Why do we want to hold on to the mountain top moments? What is it about joy that makes us want to cling to it, to hold it, to box it in and keep it like a treasure? All of life is provided for us to experience. If we only experienced the mountain tops, how would we know how to navigate the valleys, encounter the stumbling blocks, and move forward in times of challenge? There is joy, to be sure, but that is not the only place to find Jesus. Sometimes we feel Jesus even more in the stumbling, journeying, and climbing toward joy. That is what transfiguration reminds me of.
Bonnie B.
In August of 2017, much of the North American continent experienced a total solar eclipse when the moon came directly between earth and the sun. Writing before the eclipse, NASA explained, “This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere—the corona—can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina.”
A total solar eclipse is a rare phenomenon, and lots of people were excited to see it. NASA warned people, “Looking directly at the sun is unsafe except during the brief total phase of a solar eclipse (‘totality’), when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s bright face, which will happen only within the narrow path of totality. The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as ‘eclipse glasses’ or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun; they transmit thousands of times too much sunlight.”
That is a powerful and direct warning. You cannot look directly at the eclipse. It is dangerous. Similarly, the people of Israel could not look at Moses’ face after Moses had been with God. God’s glory radiated from Moses so much, it was too difficult for the people to see. As incredibly bright as the sun is at an eclipse, the glory of the Lord is so much greater. Rick Warren wrote, “What is the glory of God? It is who God is. It is the essence of his nature; the weight of his importance; the radiance of his splendor; the demonstration of his power; the atmosphere of his presence.”
Bill T.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
How many of us have seen the face of God? We read about the transformation of Moses’ face after he sees God and has been in God’s presence. The change in him, the shining of his face, frightens the people and so Moses begins to wear a veil — removing it when he goes to be with God, and putting it back on when he brings the commands of God to the people.
I had an experience of seeing Jesus while I was doing the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius while in seminary. My face didn’t change, but my acceptance of God’s steadfast and all-encompassing God did.
How are we changed by our experiences of God? How could we share those changes with fellow believers or even those who question the existence of God? What is God commanding us to do and say and be in these days? These are important questions. They are important to us and to those we encounter. Transformation happens. When it does, we need to be unafraid to share the transformation in our lives. Although our faces may not shine, we can still be light in the world.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
Transfiguration Sunday is when we recall when Jesus was revealed on the mountaintop for who he truly is, a divine being of glory.
If we are not exactly transfigured, we can certainly reflect the glory of God. God’s light shines through us. In this passage from Exodus, the people of God come to fear Moses because they finally see Moses as he truly is, one who reflects the glory of God.
I am reminded of what C.S. Lewis wrote in his essay “The Weight of Glory.” The Hebrew word translated as ‘glory’ is also the word for ‘weight.’ His point is that we are all substantial, weighty if you will, but that the vision is shielded from us for the most part. If we truly saw each other as God sees us, we might be astounded by the weight of glory as we are revealed as creatures reflecting God’s light in a glorious fashion — or be repulsed by the darkness in others.
I don’t doubt we have all met people who humbly, without claiming they are the light, reflect the divine light in all they say and do. They are the least likely to claim credit for the will of God which they allow to shine in their lives.
Frank R.
* * *
Exodus 34:29-35
Americans say they want law and order. But a 2018 Deseret News poll reveals that barely 50% of American millennials find four of the Ten Commandments still relevant. Many do not think we need to preach the commandments, because we should be uplifted in church, not brought down with a bunch of rules or reminders that we are not living up to them.
It is clear that human beings need the law of God in order to reveal to us how messed up we are and to prepare us to realize how badly we need God’s forgiveness. We are messed up. St. Augustine made that clear once, as he observed how we are “A people curious to know the lives of others, but slow to correct their own.” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Frist Series, Vol.1, p.142). Martin Luther concisely summarized the law’s use in a hymn he wrote, well expressing why the commandments demand our veneration and attention. (The lyrics could be read with a rap beat.):
That man a godly life might live
God did these Ten Commandments give
By his true servant Moses high
[Up] Upon the Mount Sinai…
Help us Lord Jesus Christ, for we
A mediator have in Thee.
Our works cannot salvation gain;
They merit [nothing] but endless pain. (What Luther Says, pp.746-747)
Mark E.
* * *
2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2
The apostle uses the image of the veil Moses used to cover his face because it reflected so fully the blinding light of the unseeable God and compares this to Jesus, who is the light, but who was while being fully human, so that we are able to see, without flinching (but not without wonder), the great love of God. But he then repurposes the image to suggest the minds of those who oppose him are still veiled so that “Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds, but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed (3:15-16).” (The term “Moses” is a synonym for the law, the first five books of the Bible.)
Try to avoid saying the minds of “the Jews” are veiled. There was and is no such thing as “the Jews.” Just as in Christianity, there are many different expressions of Judaism. Pretty much all of the companions of Jesus and many, if not most, of Paul’s companions were Jewish. The multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Corinthian milieu would have included some with a Jewish background.
Focus on why our minds might be veiled. The minds of people who fail to see Jesus in both the written and living word may be self-veiled for any number of reasons. It’s very important to ask ourselves if our faith is confrontational and judgmental rather than healing and hopeful. There was a legitimate reason the face of Moses had to be veiled, but like most of us, he had some rough edges.
A more helpful approach is to use these verses to remind folks we all read scripture through a filter, and this affects our reading if we don’t acknowledge this is the case. We all have life experiences, church experiences, and faith experiences that affect the way we receive the Word of God. There’s nothing wrong with these filters, necessarily, but it helps to acknowledge them, and then try to understand the same verses through the filters of two thousand years of church history, our denominational history, our choice of commentaries on the book shelf, and conversations with preaching colleagues and other fellow believers.
Frank R.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)
Game 5 of the 2024 World Series was a roller coaster of emotions for Yankees star Aaron Judge. In the first inning of the game, he blasted his first World Series homerun and gave the Yankees a two-run lead in the pivotal game. Later, he made a spectacular catch crashing into the center field fence in Yankee Stadium. However, in the fifth inning, he dropped a line drive hit right at him, a costly error that contributed to the Dodgers scoring five runs and toppling the Yankees to win the World Series.
It was a mountain top and a valley experience for Judge. Peter, James and John could identify with Aaron Judge. Not the ball game aspect, but the mountain top and valley experience. Perhaps many people can identify.
Peter, James and John were on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured. They saw his glory and Moses and Elijah with him. It was such an incredible scene that they were moved to commemorate it and make it a place of worship. They heard the voice from the cloud proclaim Jesus’ identity. However, when they came down from the mountain, there was the real world and problems. A man’s son was demon possessed, and the disciples couldn’t do anything about it. Jesus, though, could and did. Jesus’ glory was powerfully displayed on the mountain. It was also seen in the ugly “real world” below. Henry Drummond once wrote, “God does not make the mountains in order to be inhabited. God does not make the mountaintops for us to live on the mountaintops. It is not God’s desire that we live on the mountaintops. We only ascend to the heights to catch a broader vision of the earthly surroundings below. But we don’t live there. We don’t tarry there. The streams begin in the uplands, but these streams descend quickly to gladden the valleys below.”
Bill T.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
We all say we believe in God’s love, but how easy it is to take it for granted. That is why we need the Transfiguration to remind us of the awesome character of God’s love, a “love [in words of the 19th-century hymn title) that will not let me go.” John Calvin offers a compelling testimony about Christ’s persistent and omnipotent shepherding of us. He wrote:
We ought to gather from this passage a useful doctrine, that when we are not thinking of Christ, we are observed by him; and it is necessary that it should be so, that he may bring us back, when we have wandered from the right path. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/2, p.79)
Regarding the power of this omnipotent love, Martin Luther adds:
And so this sermon, [is a ] message about believing in the forgiveness of sins through the Son of God… For the Holy Spirit does not wish us to fear in such a way that we are overwhelmed by fear and despair… But he wills that you should fear and so escape pride or presumption, and you should rejoice and so escape despair… [Then you will] fear God not as a tyrant, but as children fear their parents, with respect. (Luther’s Works, Vol.12, p.75)
Mark E.
* * *
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
The transfiguration story is one that intrigues me. What must it have been like to see Jesus with Moses and Elijah?! What might it have been like to see the light shining in, around, and even through Jesus? I might have wanted to hold on to that moment, to keep the prophets with me. Peter, James, and John wanted to hold on to this mountaintop moment — to keep the prophets with them — to know that they would always be on that mountaintop. And yet, that was not to be. Rather, the voice of God came to them — they were to follow Jesus, listen to him, to be with him. Even when Jesus told them to be silent, there was this experience of Jesus with the prophets and the voice of God that they would carry with them.
This story always brings to mind a question. Why do we want to hold on to the mountain top moments? What is it about joy that makes us want to cling to it, to hold it, to box it in and keep it like a treasure? All of life is provided for us to experience. If we only experienced the mountain tops, how would we know how to navigate the valleys, encounter the stumbling blocks, and move forward in times of challenge? There is joy, to be sure, but that is not the only place to find Jesus. Sometimes we feel Jesus even more in the stumbling, journeying, and climbing toward joy. That is what transfiguration reminds me of.
Bonnie B.
