Transfiguration Sunday - Grace Changes Us - Transfiguration Sunday

02.27.2022

Scripture Luke 9:28-36

Luke 9:28–36 NRSV

28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

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God’s Timing

Timing is important.

God's timing can be difficult to see in one moment, but across time we see God's work. We can follow the timing of Jesus and His disciples almost as if looking at a map.

Jesus sent out the 12 on mission

They returned and debriefed in Bethsaida

The crowds followed them and Jesus worked through the disciples to feed over 5,000 of them with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

Dinner Conversation - Who do the crowds say that I am? Who do you say that I am?

The Christ will be killed and those that follow will have to carry crosses too. "Some will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."

See John 8:52 “52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’”

See Hebrews 2:9 “9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

It is hard for us to understand God’s timing, especially when we feel like we are on a roller-coaster ride with no way off. Sometimes we catch glimpses that seem to be leading somewhere. All too often, it just doesn’t make sense to us.

Those are the moments we need to remember that God is in charge of us, not the other way around.

We are transformed when we give up control of our story.

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Sleeping

As you read through the Bible, one of the common themes is God doing something amazing while the world is not paying any attention. How many times in the life of Jesus can you remember this happening? His birth in the manger. Teaching in the temple as a young boy. The water turns into wine.

What is Jesus doing during these moments? He is right in the middle of them. Usually, He is not soaking up the spotlight or telling people what to do. Instead, He is healing, getting down on His hands and knees, and serving, or, in this instance, He is praying. His face and His clothes were glowing with a bright light, and suddenly, Jesus is listening to Moses and Elijah who joined Him. This is one of those miracles that has layers of miracles embedded together and significance that grows out of multiple meanings. It is overwhelming trying to understand and appreciate what all happened in this moment. So what did the disciples do? They struggled to stay awake.

Some people might say that this was all a dream. It would have to be a dream that three people had at the exact same time, which is not how dreams work. Luke tells us that it was a real event, but that it happened late in the evening when the weariness of the day had overwhelmed the three disciples. Luke shows us that God does not work regular day shift hours. Instead, He comes, "as a thief in the night." These disciples almost missed it, but they were paying attention to Jesus despite their exhaustion.

Have you ever stopped to just watch what Jesus does?

Are you close enough to Jesus to see what He is doing right now?

Has He slipped away to pray and left you sleeping?

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Awake

Peter, James, and John stayed awake to witness this miracle they did not understand. They could tell it was very special but were not sure what it meant. They got to see the heroes of their faith: Moses and Elijah, who had lived centuries before them. It was like winning the lottery without ever buying a ticket.

Peter said, what I'm guessing they were all thinking:

"Master, it is good for us to be here." We have finally arrived. We've seen the big show. Let's stay here and let others come to visit Moses and Elijah too. We don't want them to miss out. I can't wait to tell them and be the one to show them this miracle.

They were awake and they saw, but they were not listening. Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about His departure. Jesus had no intention of staying on this mountain or any mountain. He had no interest in putting on a show. There would be no musical performances, no sing-alongs, not even a good bible lesson. No, Jesus had work to do, and He was getting down to it because the time was arriving. The disciples had seen the miracles, witnessed and experienced the power of God. It was getting very close to the time Jesus was going to hand it all over to them and ask them to lead others into His Kingdom. The time was coming when Peter, James, and John would no longer be disciples, they would become disciple-makers.

There would indeed be three tents filled with the Holy Spirit shared by Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, but they would not be made of wood and animal skins. They would be named Peter, James, and John. In those days, people would not go to this mountain or that mountain to learn about and worship God. They would go find Peter, James, and John and the church they carried with them wherever God sent them.

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That would be later. At this moment, they were not ready to be the Church yet. So God showed up again (miracle #2 of this passage) and spoke from heaven the exact words that would help them get to their next place in the great plan of God.

"This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

The God who spoke to Jesus, making His face and clothes glow, Who brought Moses and Elijah to encourage Him in the mission that would change all of creation for all time... this God, turned His gaze upon three sinful men and spoke them into the story of Jesus with one command. Listen to Him!

These disciples had already been out preaching and teaching in Jesus' name throughout Galilee. They told friends, family, neighbors, and strangers to REPENT and BELIEVE. Now God reminded them that they as disciples still had to grow more and that they would do that by listening to and obeying Jesus.

Then suddenly everything went back to normal. The miracle was over. And that is part of how we define what is normal. We keep busy working, doing things the way we are used to doing them so that we don't have to stop and think. We go through the motions, we say whatever comes to mind, we flip through our memory or our hymnal, and pick out whatever song comes to mind to sing for the day. We pray the same way we always do. We fall into our habits, both good and bad.

God shows up from time to time, and we want to mark out that territory. God did this here. We do not control God and cannot make Him do it again, but we can keep coming back to the well in hopes of getting another drink of living water. We keep hoping that the next stop will be the end and we miss the truth that each challenge has a miracle right behind it and that each miracle prepares us for the next challenge.

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Let me get very specific here: January was a hard month. There was a lot of prayer going on for our church. In the last two weeks, God has provided for us in some incredible ways, and we have the opportunity to respond to what He has done. We had over 40 guests last week with us who shared the work that they do with us, and we don't have to go very far to connect with them. They are here with us almost every week.

The financial provision came when right when we needed it. As you look around some of you notice those who have passed away in the last couple of years. You may also notice that there are more people who cannot come to church in person any longer, who rely on our online service to stay connected in worship with us. Some of you have stepped up and visited them regularly, and a few of you have seen this as an opportunity to bring them to church yourselves. Challenge accepted! Mission accomplished! Way to go!

Our miracles do not cancel out our challenges, nor do the challenges negate the miracles. When we are blessed, what do we do? We listen to Jesus. Not to the world. Not to the million voices that want to pull us onto our self-made path. We listen to Jesus. When we are hurting, frustrated, angry, hurt... what do we do? We listen to Jesus. Not to all the other voices tearing us down. We listen to Jesus.

If we listen to Jesus, He will tell us our story that will lead from miracle to challenge to another miracle to another challenge. Life will never feel normal, and at some point, we will recognize that Jesus tells our story better than we tell it ourselves.

Will you listen to Jesus?

Will you follow Him and live the story He is telling of your life with Him?