Shine / Based on Matthew 17:1-9 / Delivered on February 23,
2020 to CCH
Hymns: Fairest Lord
Jesus, I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, We are Called
Matthew 17:1-9
1 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the brothers James and
John with him. They went up on a very high mountain where they could be alone.
2 There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. His face was
shining like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
3 All at once Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus.
4 So Peter said to him, “Lord, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three
shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was still speaking, the shadow of a bright
cloud passed over them. From the cloud a voice said, “This is my own dear Son,
and I am pleased with him. Listen to what he says!” 6 When the disciples heard
the voice, they were so afraid that they fell flat on the ground. 7 But Jesus
came over and touched them. He said, “Get up and don’t be afraid!” 8 When they
opened their eyes, they saw only Jesus.
9 On their way down from the mountain, Jesus warned his
disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had
been raised from death.
Good morning and happy Sunday to you! I am Darci Strutt McQuiston, a Lay Servant of
the United Methodist Church up on the hill from here. It is my joy to be with you each today. I missed you in January because I celebrated
Christmas with my children late. So, it
feels like Christmas is just over and yet next week we already move into Lent
with Ash Wednesday. Today is set apart to
celebrate Transfiguration Sunday.
Here’s what I’m hoping to convey today as we look at this
scripture together.
Three ideas about this scripture:
Connection to the past
Connection to the disciple's present
Connection to us in the future
Connection to the past
The first obvious connection to the past is that Moses and
Elijah were standing with Jesus. They represented
the law and the prophets which Jesus fulfilled.
The companion scripture in the lectionary from Exodus was of
Moses going up to a mountain to meet God.
He too had to wait six days and on the seventh go up. His face also glowed after his visit with
God.
Exodus 34: 29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the
Ten Commandments. His face was shining brightly because the Lord had been
speaking to him. But Moses did not know at first that his face was shining. 30
When Aaron and the others looked at Moses, they saw that his face was shining,
and they were afraid to go near him.
The link with Moses was solid.
Elijah had a mountain top experience of his own where he
spoke directly to God and heard God’s voice.
There was no glowing involved in that experience, but it does document
another mountaintop conversation with God between these three.
1 Kings 19: 7 Soon the Lord’s angel woke him again and said,
“Get up and eat, or else you’ll get too tired to travel.” 8 So Elijah sat up
and ate and drank. The food and water
made him strong enough to walk forty more days. At last, he reached Mount
Sinai, the mountain of God, 9 and he spent the night there in a cave.
Connection to the disciple's present
I looked ahead to understand what happened six days
before. It had been a mixed conversation. Peter was praised one moment for his understanding
and then failed to understand.
Matthew 16:15 Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I
am?”
16 Simon Peter spoke up, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.”
17 Jesus told him:
Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn’t discover
this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven. 18 So I will call
you Peter, which means “a rock.” On this rock I will build my church, and death
itself will not have any power over it. 19 I will give you the keys to the
kingdom of heaven, and God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth.
But he will not allow anything that you don’t allow.
20 Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was
the Messiah.
Soon after that Jesus described his death and Peter’s
rashness came out.
Matthew 16: 21 From then on, Jesus began telling his
disciples what would happen to him. He said, “I must go to Jerusalem. There the
nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will
make me suffer terribly. I will be killed, but three days later I will rise to
life.”
22 Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like
that. He said, “God would never let this happen to you, Lord!”
23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Satan, get away from me!
You’re in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.”
Perhaps the mountaintop experience was to strengthen Jesus as
he moved closer to his crucifixion, but I believe it mostly was for Peter,
James, and John who stood and watched it unfold.
Peter describes being an eyewitness in his writing.
1 Peter 1: 16 When we told you about the power and the return
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had
made up. But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness. 17 God, our great and
wonderful Father, truly honored him by saying, “This is my own dear Son, and I
am pleased with him.” 18 We were there with Jesus on the holy mountain and
heard this voice speak from heaven.
19 All of this makes us even more certain that what the
prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as
you would to a lamp shining in some dark place. You must keep on paying
attention until daylight comes and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20
But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies
in the Scriptures. 21 The prophets did not think these things up on their own,
but they were guided by the Spirit of God.
The experience on the mountaintop increased his belief. He also heard loud and clear that listening
was important.
John didn’t write of the experience specifically but his
whole gospel is called the gospel of light and love.
John 1:5 The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness
has never put it out.
6 God sent a man named John,
7 who came to tell about
the light and to lead all people to have faith.
8 John wasn’t that light.
He came only to tell about the light.
9 The true light that shines on everyone was coming into the
world.
One of my favorite passages from John’s Revelation also feels
inspired by this mountaintop event.
Revelation 21: 23 And the city did not need the sun or the
moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.
The shared experience was a private one between Jesus, Peter,
James, and John. So private that Jesus
asked them not to share it with the rest of the disciples. It was as if Jesus wanted to strengthen these
three specifically for the days ahead. The
three came up as chosen again as Jesus came to the end of his ministry.
Matthew 26: 36 Jesus went with his disciples to a place
called Gethsemane. When they got there, he told them, “Sit here while I go over
there and pray.”
37 Jesus took along Peter and the two brothers, James and
John. He was very sad and troubled, 38 and he said to them, “I am so sad that I
feel as if I am dying. Stay here and keep awake with me.”
Peter, James, and John shared his moment of shining on the
mountaintop and his agony in the garden.
Connection to us in the future
Like those three disciples, we can feel strengthened in our
faith from this mountaintop experience. The
link to Moses and Elijah gives confidence Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.
The strength of the disciple’s faith did not waver, even
though most were martyred while sharing the gospel message. Let that knowledge add to your confidence in
this truth.
If you’ve wanted a clear message from God, this scripture
passage provides one.
5 While Peter was still speaking, the shadow of a bright
cloud passed over them. From the cloud a voice said, “This is my own dear Son,
and I am pleased with him. Listen to what he says!”
We are to listen. Or
as Peter put it, “So you should pay close attention to their message, as you
would to a lamp shining in some dark place. You must keep on paying attention until
daylight comes and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
I mentioned John saw Jesus as light. It was one of Jesus “I am” statements.
John 8:12 Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he
said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the
dark. You will have the light that gives life.”
Earlier in Matthew, Jesus encourages us to take on that role.
Matthew 5: 14 You are like light for the whole world. A city
built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, 15 and no one would light a lamp and
put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give
light to everyone in the house. 16 Make your light shine, so that others will
see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.
Every year before Ash Wednesday we experience the
transfiguration. It prepares us for what
comes next. This year it speaks to me of
the importance of listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and the importance
of faith in who Jesus is as he walks the final path to the cross. He is the light that gives life. We are called to be filled with that light
and let it shine on our world. It is the
light of Christ’s love within us. Listen
and believe!
I pray blessings on your personal Lenten journey. Shine on!
Amen
