Transfiguration Sunday (7) - Transfigure Our Hearts

Welcome Statement

Good Morning Everyone. We finally made it. We started with the Epiphany of the lord’s birth, but we have now made it with the fitting close of this news, with a new thing, this powerful experience, where Jesus Christ reveals much about himself through an event we call the Transfiguration. Transfiguration means to go under a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state. We don’t know entirely all of the changes Christ undergoes, the art we have does not entirely capture these changes, other than he is radiantly bright, and makes it clear he is divine. In this Transfiguration, he too transfigures in a sense, those around him spiritually, he changes them. But this story radical change doesn’t start in here, today we are also going to talk about Elijah and Elisha, as Elijah also undergoes a radical change as he is carried off into heaven. These moments of radical change can be inspiring, but also emotional, and really hard to process. We will witness that Elisha finds it both full of awe, and hard to accept that he will be by himself from Elijah, that great prophet, we have become comfortable with these past few weeks prophesying on Jesus.

Old Testament Reading - 2 Kings 1-12

2 Kings 2:1–12 ESV

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Our Trouble with Accepting The Loss of Old

We see here Elisha and Elija traversing from Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho, and to the Jordan, with many sons of the prophets stopping to remind Elisha that Elijah will be taken away. Elisha can’t bear this news, and tells them to to keep quiet twice, once at Bethel, and another time at Jericho. Elijah begs him to stay, to prophesize for him, but Elisha just cannot bear to let this journey end, and follows him. To the very end. Saying Goodbye to loved ones is never easy, whether it is friends or family, even though Elijah in this case didn’t even die, Elisha had to say goodbye all the same as he was raised up to the very heavens through the whirlwind. In the very same way, we have a hard time accepting the loss of generations gone past, we have a hard time accepting, the winds of change.

Double Portion of Our Spirits and the Transference

One thing Elijah begged him for was a double portion of his spirit. There is struggle to know what this completely means. One thing we do know is that one can be blessed with a double portion of inheritance. One thing I found interesting when researching, was that Elisha had twice as many miracles occur in his ministry as Elijah’s (28 to be exact!). We also witness later that Elisha would then begin his ministry as affirmed that he would be the next prophet, going across the Jordan, splitting it himself, once again, just like Elijah did, proving that Elijah’s spirit was with him, meaning that he had been given the prophetic vision to continue the lineage as promised. This transference was guaranteed due to God’s faithfulness despite Elisha’s pain. We see Elisha go on to do many great things through this transformation as the next prophet, like turning bitter water sweet, and reviving the son of a Shunammite woman. We see in Elisha’s faithfulness both to God and his master, he receives many blessings and goes forth to do many things to minister to those around him. This becomes a thematic vision for what we celebrate on Transfiguration Sunday, the complete change of form, of spiritual renewal, the changing of the old into the new, the mending of hearts.

New Testament Reading - Mark 9:2-9

Mark 9:2–9 ESV

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Divine Transformation

One of the most mesmerizing and confusing passages for anyone as a Christian is the passage about the Transfiguration. Since the days of the early church fathers, people have debated on what this passage has meant. There is quite a tension and struggle to understand what is actually revealed to Peter, James, and John during this time up on this mountain. We see Jesus’s closes become so radiantly bright, so white, they couldn’t be bleached any whiter. This would be the purest and brightest white imaginable. Imagine taking a camera, pointing it at the sun, and getting the glare, that gives you that perfect white brightness, this would be brighter than that, but somehow hard to distinguish for our imperfect human eyes. Maybe we would be able to tell, maybe it would have been obvious. This is a human description of what is observed after all. There is clearly an otherworldy transformation. What is also revealed, is Elijah and Moses, alongside Jesus. Peter, in his confusion, tries to go along with this. What I find so peculiar, is how Peter could have immediately known they were Elijah and Moses. Something must have stirred in their hearts, that spirit, to inform them of this revelation of truth. This transfiguration of spiritual revalation. The only people being transformed on this Mountain wasn’t just Jesus, it was the apostles as well, that was quite clear.

Fullfillment of The Law & Prophecy

Peter struggles, like we do, to know what Moses and Elijah are doing here. Peter immediately suggests to setup 3 tents. in other translations the term tabernacle is used, meaning shrine for reverence. This is why God, the father, immediately shows up and speaks through a cloud (sounds familiar, to the Old Testament doesn’t it?) immediately replies to listen to Jesus only, that he is the only one to be worshipped and revered. The Reason Elijah and Moses are here is twofold. Moses represents the Mosaic Law and Covenants of the old, and Elijah represents the line of the Prophets. The point is, this is to represent the legitimate backing of Jesus Christ. Moses and Elijah are behind him, he is a part of that family tree of people faithful to the mission. Christ not only embodies the fullfillment of the law, but he also embodies the fullfilmment of Elijah’s prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah himself, is also, a prophet, who speaks legitimate, and divine wisdom, straight from God, which is a weird thing to think about, considering Christ is God, but he is, in this sense, a prophet, but he is not ONLY a prophet. Peter here, is confused, misguided, but well-intentioned.

A Mystery Revealed

The Mystery is revealed to us through this powerful reading, that Christ isn’t just some random person, he isn’t just some apocalyptic preacher, he isn’t starting a spinoff Jewish Sect with a specific philosophy, he isn’t another prophet, nor is he even just divine, he is literally the Son of Man, the Son of God, Emmanuel, God With Us. He is something, so paradoxical, so mind-bending, it is impossible to capture into words, the entirety of his nature. He is the truth, and the light of this world that allows us to move forward, and grow into a deeper faith. It becomes really easy to box God into a specific idea, or a specific mindset, that we have grown comfortable into, but our scripture, plainly makes clear, that there is always more, to learn about our God, our transfigured Christ, who revealed to us our bright futures in heaven with him, bright like the morningstar, it is hard for us to imagine what it all means. But this strangeness, this warmth we feel, we should let it transform our hearts, I dare say, transfigure our hearts, and let ourselves be closer to the God who loves us so dearly, infinitely, and completely. Let Us Pray

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, We thank you for these powerful and prophetic words you proclaim through our scriptures, that you reveal these powerful stories about change and deliverance, about how you revealed yourself to the world, that we might have eternal life. Today, we ask that you transfigure our hearts, oh Lord, transfigure us, like the perfect santification talked about in the philosophical writings of John Wesley, so that we would feel the way Jesus felt, when witnessing to those on the Sermon of the Mount, those unimportant in society he said were blessed in his beatitudes, so that we can love like he did. Let us feel brightly that image, like he shown brightly to Peter, James, and John, during the Transfiguration, so we can truly witness your Kingdom come, and thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, this day, today! We say this in your gracious, transformed, powerful, beautiful, holy, righteous, revealed, glorified, and proclaimed name for all time.

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

As you go out this week, reflect, on how the Spirit of Christ has transformed your own heart. How has Christ changed you? How has he changed your family? How will he continue to do so this week? Allow him in, allow that union with Christ to occur. We must allow our spirits to be filled with the Holy Ghost so we can do the work Christ has called us to do, and also, so we can truly rest, when we find ourselves bleak and exhausted. This is the power of the transformation of Christ. He is what makes us fulfilled, and joyous.

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!