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The Transfiguration of our Lord (B) In the Name of Jesus, whose glory fills us with light and life. Amen. When my son Matt was about six years old, he was really into a line of toys called THE TRANSFORMERS. The Transformers were various persons who, when they needed to, could TRANSFORM themselves into a machine or vehicle or whatever in order to accomplish a necessary “superhero” task. For a year of his young life, Matt just couldn’t get enough of TRANSFORMERS. He knew all of the characters, and wanted to collect every one of them – as well as various action posters, and even articles of clothing. He would go around singing their signature commercial line – “Transformers, more than meets the eye!” That is, until one time when I amended that song to remind him of what he was wearing that day – “Transformers underwear, more than meets the eye!” Perhaps partly because of that, Matt’s obsession with Transformers soon began to fade afterwards! But perhaps that phrase “more than meets the eye” is a good description of what Jesus’ TRANSFIGURATION is about. The significance of this event is not so much that Jesus was “changed” (that is, becoming something that he wasn’t before), but rather that the true nature of Jesus’ glory suddenly became fully revealed to his disciples Peter, James, and John. Before this event, those disciples had only a vague “intuition” of who Jesus was. But now in today’s gospel, they suddenly saw with absolute clarity that Jesus was indeed filled with the glory of God, that he was the fulfillment of all the prophets and the law (as represented by the appearances of Elijah and Moses), and that he was God’s beloved Son. Because of this vision, those disciples never again would see Jesus in quite the same way – because now they knew that in him there was truly “more (much more!) than meets the eye”! But what does the transfiguration of Jesus mean for us in our lives? Peter in today’s gospel obviously got it wrong when he proposed starting a building program in order to try to capture the glory of that moment. Jesus’ transfiguration was not revealed to the disciples in order to get them to build shrines. It rather was revealed to them so that they could begin to experience Jesus’ glory in their hearts, and therefore (from the inside out) begin to become more and more like him! As St. Paul writes immediately before the text of today’s second reading: “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18) Jesus’ transfiguration gives us a “foretaste” of the glory that will one day be fully ours. A glory that is not so much seen outwardly, but rather one that transforms us inwardly so that we will more and more become like Jesus in our thoughts, words, and deeds. For the rest of my sermon this morning, I would like to focus upon two special characteristics of Jesus’ glory that he has – and that he wants to reveal and give to us so that we can become more like him. These two characteristics are GRACE and TRUTH. As John writes in his gospel (Jn. 1:14): Jesus is “full of grace and truth” and that “we have seen his glory, glory as of a father’s only Son.” (Jn. 1:14) Let’s look at these two characteristics in greater detail… First of all, Jesus, like God himself, is full of grace to the depths of his being. Even when we do not deserve it, Jesus’ essential quality is always to love, help, and forgive us come what may. This love is an aspect of his glory that he wants to share with us so that it will more and more guide our lives and how we think, speak, and act in our relationships with each other. The god of this world – as St. Paul writes in today’s second reading – tries to keep us from seeing and understanding this aspect of Jesus’ glory. He tries to convince us that we have to “earn” or “deserve” God’s love, and that others should also have to earn and deserve our love! But Jesus clearly shows us the glory of his grace! By his words, and most of all by his life and willingness to die for us, Jesus shows us how much he loves us, come what may. And when we understand that, believe that, and most of all experience it – then our lives are changed and transformed. We are freed from our bondage to the feelings of shame, inadequacy, and guilt – and instead are filled with joy, peace, and new life. It has happened to me, and I hope and pray that it has happened – or will happen – to all of you! The other major aspect of Christ’s glory is that he is full of truth. With Jesus, there are absolutely no hidden motives or false pretense in what he says and does. Many people say one thing while meaning something else, or they do something (even if it is good) with an ulterior motive in mind. The god of this world constantly tries to blind us into thinking that it is OK not to be completely open and honest in all things – either because we may not get our way if others know the truth, or because we are afraid of what others might think or do. But Jesus by his words and his life shows and gives us the glory of truth! He is completely honest and trustworthy in all things with no hidden motives. When we have that quality as a foundation for our living and for our relationships with each other, we are then freed from our self-erected barriers of deceit and mistrust. We are freed to be just who and what we are with no pretenses in any way. What a gift that is! Yes, the Jesus’ glory that was revealed at his transfiguration was indeed more (much more!) than meets the eye! It is a glory that may not be seen or appreciated by many people, but it is a glory that gives us the power to become the children of God. I would like to conclude this message by once again reading the final verse from today’s second reading. St. Paul writes: “For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6) So may it be for us. Thanks be to God! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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