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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
J January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
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October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
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The Transfiguration of our Lord (C) 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’ appearance was “changed” (that is, becoming something that he wasn’t before) or that his clothes became dazzling white – but is rather the message which was being communicated through this. Luke in today’s gospel tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory in order to speak of Jesus’ departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Immediately before this, Jesus had told his disciples that he would undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Lk. 9:22) That is, his “departure” from this life. But this was a message which the disciples did not want to hear. According to Matthew in his gospel, Peter even went so far as to rebuke Jesus saying “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you!” (Mt. 16:22) If we are honest, we have to admit that in many ways we are just like those disciples. We do not want to deal with suffering, grief, and pain – either for ourselves or for our loved ones. Indeed, when this happens our first instinct is to feel that God isn’t blessing us. We wonder why God – if he truly loves us – would allow bad things to happen. The same is true for our understanding about Jesus. We want to see him as he was on that mountain – shining bright in dazzling white. Seeing him that way, we can be sure that he is indeed God’s Son – the Chosen One. However, seeing Jesus later dying on the cross, we might not be so sure about him. When Moses and Elijah are there at Jesus’ side, we are convinced that he is really someone special. However, when later it is two convicted criminals who are at his side on Golgotha, people might wonder about this Jesus. When Jesus heals the sick and raises the dead, we know his power. But when our friends get sick and die, we begin to question if Jesus really is who we believe him to be. As human beings, we always want to focus upon glory. We want to believe that this is what our faith should be about. We want to believe that if we are good Christians, then we will know God’s power and everything will go well in our lives. But Jesus, if we are really listening to him, tells us again and again that true glory is not exaltation and a life of ease. True glory comes from giving of our lives to serve others, and taking up our cross daily and following him. True glory comes from being obedient to God’s will, even if that may mean suffering and death. Just like Jesus was about to do at Jerusalem. Yes, there was “more than meets the eye” to Jesus’ transfiguration – something which Peter, John, and James failed to understand. On the mountain, they were focusing only upon the outward manifestations of the glorious event they were seeing – but they did not listen to the message of what that event was about. Indeed, Peter (as was his habit) not only failed to listen but also then tried to come up with his own agenda for the experience. As he said; “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He wanted to freeze the moment and commemorate the place by building shrines to help them remember the glory. As one commentator put it, Peter (like many of us) was always quick to speak and slow to listen. The prophet Samuel when he was a boy (at the Tabernacle) once said “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” But Peter – like many of us – often tended to turn that around by saying “Listen Lord, for your servant is speaking!” That is what he was doing in today’s gospel when he proposed making dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He had not listened to the message about Jesus’ departure at Jerusalem (which would involve their leaving the mountain), but instead wanted to stay there and prolong that glorious event for as long as possible. But as the voice from the cloud then said; “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!” The actual verb means keep listening to him. To me, that phrase is the heart and the glory of the Transfiguration experience. More than just what we see, we need to always keep listening to Jesus. Keep listening to Jesus – not only through the good times but also through the hard times as well. No matter what life may bring, may we keep listening to Jesus during each and every moment, and follow him wherever he leads. THAT is how we can truly experience the glory of Jesus each and every day – not just during the mountaintop experiences of life but also in the valleys as well. Yes, the glory of Jesus – “more than meets the eye”. It comes from LISTENING to him each and every day. May it be so for us – today and always! Amen! -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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