Shine / Based on Matthew 17:1-9 / Delivered on February 23, 2020 to CCH

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