The Transfiguration Of Our Lord
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle A
Object:
Seasonal Theme
The dawning on many who Jesus was and the dawning of a new light into the dark world as promised.
Theme For The Day
Transfiguration of Jesus, the disciples, and us; the possibilities of glory and God's presence with us.
Old Testament Lesson
Exodus 24:12-18
Moses On Mount Sinai
As background for the transfiguration of Jesus on "a very high mountain," we have Moses going up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and instructions for a sacred tent and a sacred chest. The cloud represents God's presence and the fire as a sign of God's special glory. One could also claim that this was an "epiphany" for Moses as the "very high mountain" was for Jesus, the greatest of all dawnings. Six days before the culmination and forty days and nights are often used as time periods of writing in the Priestly code.
New Testament Lesson
2 Peter 1:16-21
Peter's Account
This passage has it all. Verse 16b and 18 is the disciples' eyewitness account of the transfiguration. It includes the disciples seeing the change in appearance and the voice which, according to verse 18, was heard by the disciples Peter, James, and John.
Second Peter emphasizes the majesty of Jesus. Some claim the transfiguration was a foretaste of the second coming of Jesus. We also have the Epiphany theme of a lamp shining in a dark place (v. 19b). Verses 20-21 tell us that not only does the spirit inspire the writers of scripture but that same spirit guides us in understanding the scripture when we read it.
The Gospel
Matthew 17:1-19
The Transfiguration
Most likely this is 9,400 feet high Mount Hermon, fourteen miles from Caesarea Phillippi where Peter had confessed Jesus as Messiah. It must have happened at night. Jesus was on his way to the cross. Jesus needed to pray and decide if the cross was God's wish for him. Moses and Elijah, two heavy hitters in the Old Testament who had had their own mountain top experience, appeared to him. The lawgiver and the forerunner of the Messiah confirmed Jesus' intention to go to Jerusalem. All through Israel's history the luminous cloud was part of the great scenes. It stood for the shechinah which equaled the glory of God (Exodus 13:21, 22; 40:34; 34:5; 1 Kings 8:10, 11; 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14; 7:2). Hermon is still famous for the clouds which come over it.
This was a spiritual mountain peak for Jesus which enabled him to go to the cross. It was also a great and deep experience for the disciples. It was glory for both and they tried their best to describe this spiritual experience to the rest. Peter wanted to build something to commemorate the occasion. He was always ready to act. But now was a time for soaking up the glory and being quiet. We have moments like this when we ought just be still and bask in the glory of it all. Still these glorious moments are given us and these disciples in order to equip us to serve off the mountain in life's tough valleys. Glory exists not only to lift us up but also to cover our everyday drudgery in a new light.
Preaching Possibilities
A. The three readings support each other beautifully. The Exodus account, the 2 Peter witness, and the transfiguration on Mount Hermon all connect with the cloud of God's presence and especially God's wonderful glory. It's a Sunday about the Glory of God: in Jesus' life, in our lives, in Peter's life, and in Moses' life.
A contrast might be drawn about the clouds in our lives which bring misery and this "God's presence" cloud which brings glory. I often wonder who really changed on Hermon that night. Perhaps it was those three disciples who saw Jesus in a whole new light. They saw him who fulfilled the Law of Moses and kept the promises of Elijah and experienced the glory of God.
Notice this came after Peter confessed who Jesus really was. This is the greatest epiphany of them all in the season of Epiphany and is saved for its last Sunday. It still talks of light and dark and shining, and God's glory resting on people.
The three readings together are full of illustrations.
1. Old Testament: Exodus -- Moses goes into a cloud on Sinai and receives the Ten Commandments.
2. New Testament: 2 Peter -- Peter is an eyewitness to seeing and hearing God say Jesus is God's dear son.
3. Gospel: Matthew -- The three disciples see Jesus in a different light now that it dawns on them who he is. Peter learns you can first bask in the mountaintop experience. Now it's down in the valley to serve as disciples.
B. But it's the Matthew account of this religious experience for Jesus and his disciples on which I'll focus.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Using my homiletical formula based on listener's reaction,1 consider the following as your outline:
1. Build a fire: There are scary, magical, mystical times in our lives which we cannot ever explain. Jesus and James, John and Peter had such a religious experience up on the side of Mount Hermon.
2. Build a bridge: We all have special experiences which are not altogether explainable to those who were not there with us at the mystical moment. We all have needs of experiencing God's glory up close and real in our otherwise humdrum existence.
3. Focus: The transfiguration of our Lord helps us know the intimate presence and glory of God in our lives. Jesus models a prayerful obedience to God's will and the disciples model an appropriate response to God's nearness in the clouds over us.
4. Example: The time Jesus and three of his disciples were on a spiritual retreat. After consulting the words of the greatest lawgiver Moses, the greatest prophet Isaiah, and Jesus' own conversation with God whose nearness was like a cloud, Jesus became clear his mission was to the cross. The disciples' mission was to follow the Messiah and then take the message and ministry into the world. Jesus appeared to them quite different. They saw him in a whole new light. All four were thus changed by God's glory.
5. Witness: Here tell of your own experience of God's glory and God's closeness like a cloud.
6. Action: We must structure our lives to allow the glory of God to come near to us and change the way things appear to us. We must plan now for our congregational life to include times of retreat as well as times of service in the world.
7. Frame: Although it may have been a while and we may have been educated right out of believing in the cloud of God's presence, it's still possible to see it all again in a new Epiphany light.
Prayer Of The Day
Hover over us too, O God, with your cloud of intimate presence. Let your glory be revealed to us and also through us to others who so need it in their lives. Show us the way up and down the mountain of discipleship. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Stories
At a community Thanksgiving service at the First Methodist Church, Des Moines, the Drake University Choir sang from the Messiah: "... he shall reign forever and ever..." and left the sanctuary before the sermon. The "forever" got shortened up a bit.
Not everyone enjoys Monday night football as much as I do. In 1997 the Green Bay Packers had an ad which showed a bunch of fans touring Lambeau Field. The guide ran his hand over the grass and said: "Feel the power," and the cheeseheads all smiled. We also have a power which the spirit wants us to have.That same spirit gives us the power to forgive, love the unlovely, get through grief, get over disappointment, have compassion for the unfortunate, and to love and love... feel the power.
On NBC news there was a piece about restoring the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Workers built the scaffolding exactly as Michelangelo designed it. Experts removed decades of grime and dirt and rediscovered vivid color underneath. Likewise, the Christian life and faith can accumulate a build-up of years of habit, and so forth, which we must cut through so that the brightness might come through to us and through us to others.
I saw the movie Awakenings. The setting is a hospital in the Bronx where a Dr. Sayers worked with people in the psychiatric unit who seemed alive inside but in a trance outside. With an experiment in drug therapy, these patients had awakenings which let them come back to reality for a while. Can we bring awakenings in our spiritual lives gone dead on the outside? Memories of first communion, confirmation, youth groups, and so forth, awaken in us the near presence of God.
____________
1. See Jerry Schmalenberger, The Preacher's Edge (Lima, Ohio: CSS, 1996), p. 45ff.
The dawning on many who Jesus was and the dawning of a new light into the dark world as promised.
Theme For The Day
Transfiguration of Jesus, the disciples, and us; the possibilities of glory and God's presence with us.
Old Testament Lesson
Exodus 24:12-18
Moses On Mount Sinai
As background for the transfiguration of Jesus on "a very high mountain," we have Moses going up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and instructions for a sacred tent and a sacred chest. The cloud represents God's presence and the fire as a sign of God's special glory. One could also claim that this was an "epiphany" for Moses as the "very high mountain" was for Jesus, the greatest of all dawnings. Six days before the culmination and forty days and nights are often used as time periods of writing in the Priestly code.
New Testament Lesson
2 Peter 1:16-21
Peter's Account
This passage has it all. Verse 16b and 18 is the disciples' eyewitness account of the transfiguration. It includes the disciples seeing the change in appearance and the voice which, according to verse 18, was heard by the disciples Peter, James, and John.
Second Peter emphasizes the majesty of Jesus. Some claim the transfiguration was a foretaste of the second coming of Jesus. We also have the Epiphany theme of a lamp shining in a dark place (v. 19b). Verses 20-21 tell us that not only does the spirit inspire the writers of scripture but that same spirit guides us in understanding the scripture when we read it.
The Gospel
Matthew 17:1-19
The Transfiguration
Most likely this is 9,400 feet high Mount Hermon, fourteen miles from Caesarea Phillippi where Peter had confessed Jesus as Messiah. It must have happened at night. Jesus was on his way to the cross. Jesus needed to pray and decide if the cross was God's wish for him. Moses and Elijah, two heavy hitters in the Old Testament who had had their own mountain top experience, appeared to him. The lawgiver and the forerunner of the Messiah confirmed Jesus' intention to go to Jerusalem. All through Israel's history the luminous cloud was part of the great scenes. It stood for the shechinah which equaled the glory of God (Exodus 13:21, 22; 40:34; 34:5; 1 Kings 8:10, 11; 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14; 7:2). Hermon is still famous for the clouds which come over it.
This was a spiritual mountain peak for Jesus which enabled him to go to the cross. It was also a great and deep experience for the disciples. It was glory for both and they tried their best to describe this spiritual experience to the rest. Peter wanted to build something to commemorate the occasion. He was always ready to act. But now was a time for soaking up the glory and being quiet. We have moments like this when we ought just be still and bask in the glory of it all. Still these glorious moments are given us and these disciples in order to equip us to serve off the mountain in life's tough valleys. Glory exists not only to lift us up but also to cover our everyday drudgery in a new light.
Preaching Possibilities
A. The three readings support each other beautifully. The Exodus account, the 2 Peter witness, and the transfiguration on Mount Hermon all connect with the cloud of God's presence and especially God's wonderful glory. It's a Sunday about the Glory of God: in Jesus' life, in our lives, in Peter's life, and in Moses' life.
A contrast might be drawn about the clouds in our lives which bring misery and this "God's presence" cloud which brings glory. I often wonder who really changed on Hermon that night. Perhaps it was those three disciples who saw Jesus in a whole new light. They saw him who fulfilled the Law of Moses and kept the promises of Elijah and experienced the glory of God.
Notice this came after Peter confessed who Jesus really was. This is the greatest epiphany of them all in the season of Epiphany and is saved for its last Sunday. It still talks of light and dark and shining, and God's glory resting on people.
The three readings together are full of illustrations.
1. Old Testament: Exodus -- Moses goes into a cloud on Sinai and receives the Ten Commandments.
2. New Testament: 2 Peter -- Peter is an eyewitness to seeing and hearing God say Jesus is God's dear son.
3. Gospel: Matthew -- The three disciples see Jesus in a different light now that it dawns on them who he is. Peter learns you can first bask in the mountaintop experience. Now it's down in the valley to serve as disciples.
B. But it's the Matthew account of this religious experience for Jesus and his disciples on which I'll focus.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
Using my homiletical formula based on listener's reaction,1 consider the following as your outline:
1. Build a fire: There are scary, magical, mystical times in our lives which we cannot ever explain. Jesus and James, John and Peter had such a religious experience up on the side of Mount Hermon.
2. Build a bridge: We all have special experiences which are not altogether explainable to those who were not there with us at the mystical moment. We all have needs of experiencing God's glory up close and real in our otherwise humdrum existence.
3. Focus: The transfiguration of our Lord helps us know the intimate presence and glory of God in our lives. Jesus models a prayerful obedience to God's will and the disciples model an appropriate response to God's nearness in the clouds over us.
4. Example: The time Jesus and three of his disciples were on a spiritual retreat. After consulting the words of the greatest lawgiver Moses, the greatest prophet Isaiah, and Jesus' own conversation with God whose nearness was like a cloud, Jesus became clear his mission was to the cross. The disciples' mission was to follow the Messiah and then take the message and ministry into the world. Jesus appeared to them quite different. They saw him in a whole new light. All four were thus changed by God's glory.
5. Witness: Here tell of your own experience of God's glory and God's closeness like a cloud.
6. Action: We must structure our lives to allow the glory of God to come near to us and change the way things appear to us. We must plan now for our congregational life to include times of retreat as well as times of service in the world.
7. Frame: Although it may have been a while and we may have been educated right out of believing in the cloud of God's presence, it's still possible to see it all again in a new Epiphany light.
Prayer Of The Day
Hover over us too, O God, with your cloud of intimate presence. Let your glory be revealed to us and also through us to others who so need it in their lives. Show us the way up and down the mountain of discipleship. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Stories
At a community Thanksgiving service at the First Methodist Church, Des Moines, the Drake University Choir sang from the Messiah: "... he shall reign forever and ever..." and left the sanctuary before the sermon. The "forever" got shortened up a bit.
Not everyone enjoys Monday night football as much as I do. In 1997 the Green Bay Packers had an ad which showed a bunch of fans touring Lambeau Field. The guide ran his hand over the grass and said: "Feel the power," and the cheeseheads all smiled. We also have a power which the spirit wants us to have.That same spirit gives us the power to forgive, love the unlovely, get through grief, get over disappointment, have compassion for the unfortunate, and to love and love... feel the power.
On NBC news there was a piece about restoring the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Workers built the scaffolding exactly as Michelangelo designed it. Experts removed decades of grime and dirt and rediscovered vivid color underneath. Likewise, the Christian life and faith can accumulate a build-up of years of habit, and so forth, which we must cut through so that the brightness might come through to us and through us to others.
I saw the movie Awakenings. The setting is a hospital in the Bronx where a Dr. Sayers worked with people in the psychiatric unit who seemed alive inside but in a trance outside. With an experiment in drug therapy, these patients had awakenings which let them come back to reality for a while. Can we bring awakenings in our spiritual lives gone dead on the outside? Memories of first communion, confirmation, youth groups, and so forth, awaken in us the near presence of God.
____________
1. See Jerry Schmalenberger, The Preacher's Edge (Lima, Ohio: CSS, 1996), p. 45ff.
