Transfiguration Sunday
February 17 & 18, 2007
TEXTS: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Luke 9:28-36
Pastor Chad E. Hoover
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction
Even though we find mention of the Transfiguration in all four gospel accounts and in Peter’s second epistle, it’s still difficult for us to imagine how magnificent the sight must have been. By piecing all of these accounts together, we can formulate some idea of what it must have been like. John, who along with James and Peter was an eyewitness to the event, speaks of the Transfiguration only briefly in the first chapter of his Gospel account saying, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Mark in chapter 9 of his Gospel account describes the Transfiguration in terms of Jesus’ Clorox Bleach-like appearance. Matthew does the same but includes also that “His face shone like the sun.” So just as you can’t stare directly into the sun, looking into His face on the mountain would have been blinding.
In today’s Gospel reading Luke simply states that the appearance of His face changed and that His clothing became as bright as a flash of lightening. Our reading today, however, includes something that the Gospels do not mention, “A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.”
Peter’s description of the event is consistent with Luke’s, “We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain” (2 Peter 1:19).
So what are we supposed to focus upon? The glorious appearance of Christ or the voice of God the Father that came from heaven?
Without a doubt this was an extraordinary sight. What Peter, James, and John witnessed on that mountain could not be described in ordinary human words. The Transfiguration of Christ was truly beyond description. When Jesus became a human being, there was nothing in His appearance that singled Him out from anyone else. But at the Transfiguration these disciples saw very clearly that Jesus is not an ordinary man. He came in the appearance of a man, yet all the while he kept this dazzling radiance and glory of God hidden in His very flesh. A flesh which was and is without sin. Unlike Christ’s miracles where the glory of God is seen in what Jesus did, in the Transfiguration the disciples saw that glory in Jesus Himself ~ in His very person!
But we cannot ignore the voice. In fact, the voice commands us to listen to this one whom He has chosen. Strangely, “when the voice had spoken, (the disciples) found that Jesus was alone.” The glorious splendor that the disciples witnessed had gone. But the glory was not really gone. It was simply hidden, as it had been before. Whether hidden of shining forth, Jesus is who He is. Where Jesus is there is the fullness of God’s glory.
This brief look behind the curtain of Christ’s humility gives credence to the words of His Father from the cloud. “Listen to Him,” He said. He did not, however, say, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; look at Him.” “Listen to Him?” That we can do! For us the revelation of Christ’s glory appeals not to our sense of sight but to our sense of hearing. And I don’t mean physical hearing simply with the ears but a listening that comes to us through a heart of faith. A heart which has been transformed and hears the Word of God and desires to listen to His Son.
This is not a natural, inborn desire either. For we are all born in sin and therefore born into unbelief. As we heard in our Epistle reading for this morning “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Because of this dark world that we live in, it is not difficult to see that believers and unbelievers alike experience a great number of struggles, difficulties, and hardships in this life. If you serve on any boards and committees here at Trinity, you’ve probably heard Pastor Zagore mention that many of our members and their families are facing trying times right now. And that is true ~ but then again, when is it ever not true?
What’s remarkable to me, though, is that the individuals that I’ve spoken to and visited with these past few weeks especially have demonstrated a great amount of trust in the promises of our Lord despite the very difficult and grave circumstances that many of them are facing right now. That’s so remarkable, because by all appearances these people should have just about every reason not to. Whether they’re in and out of the hospital, suffering from a chronic condition, facing surgery, recovering from surgery, mourning the death of a loved one, or even nearing death themselves they have peace ~ a peace which truly surpasses all human understanding.
“How can that be possible?” I wonder. How can it be possible for someone who is suffering from various forms of cancer to say, “It’s in the Lord’s hands. He’s always been very good to me.” How can it be possible for someone who’s been laid up for months with a number of different ailments to laugh and say, “If it’s not one thing it’s another. Oh well, I’m a tough bird. The Lord must have something else in store for me here in this life.” How can it be possible for someone who is facing the imminent death of a parent to say, “I don’t think I’m ready for this, but the Holy Spirit is bringing me peace and comfort. I trust Him. He’ll get me through this, Pastor.” In situations like these, even though I’ve come to minister to them, these faithful members of the body of Christ are ministering to me and encouraging me in my faith.
Where does this hope come from? Certainly not from anything that we can see! We weren’t on that mountain with Peter, James, and John. We didn’t see this unimaginable sight of Christ’s glorious splendor. But then again, even if we had would that really give us the kind of faith that we need to see the light of Christ outshining the darkness of this world?
After all, consider Peter when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, did he demonstrate great faith in our Lord when He drew the sword and sliced off the ear of one of the soldiers? What about the next morning, did Peter hold that glorious sight of Christ’s transfiguration close to his heart when he denied our Lord three times in the temple courts? No. The sight has penetrated his eyes, but the truth of what it all meant had not yet penetrated his hearing and understanding of the Lord’s Word.
But Peter did get it right in the end. Just before Christ ascended into heaven, “He opened (the) minds (of His apostles) so they could understand the Scriptures (and) told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’” (Luke 24:45-48).
Proclaiming the truth of Christ is precisely what Peter and the other apostles did. At first, as indicated in today’s reading, “the disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.” But as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, they proclaimed the truth of Jesus Christ to all nations.
This proclamation of God’s Word has come to you as well and through very simple means. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” And we don’t need our eyes to see this. We’ve been given hearts of faith to listen when God speaks and believe in His promises.
What does it mean to listen to God’s Son in this world of sin? It means that we are connected to the body of Christ through His church. Consider your Baptism, where Christ’s promise was connected with ordinary water. It was through this gift of God that you were given the ability to hear Christ speaking to you. He’s continued to serve you ever since.
Our hearts of faith hear His Word every time we come into the Lord’s house to worship. Our hearts of faith are strengthened and encouraged as we receive the very body and blood of our Lord through His supper. Our hearts of faith listen when God speaks.
Our hearts of faith speak when the Holy Spirit directs us to proclaim the hope and peace to others in this dark world of ours. As believers we have the opportunity, just as the apostles did, to speak His Word of truth for the encouragement of our fellow believers in the body of Christ. Whenever we gather together informally for fellowship, prayer, and the study of His Word, the Holy Spirit opens the ears of our hearts and so we are listening to God’s Son.
According to John’s revelation on the Island of Patmos, in heaven there are thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand angels encircled the throne of Christ singing in a loud voice: ”Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
And every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them are singing: ”To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
That shall be our song as well. Forever and forever we shall sing the praises of our savior. In this life, we sing them without our eyes being able to see that glorious splendor of God which is hidden. But we sing by faith and have a sure and certain hope that this glory of Christ, which shone brightly on the Mount of Transfiguration is a glory that He shares with us.
This glory is ours on account of Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross and we can see that with our hearts of faith. It is ours, yet not fully realized. On that Last Day when Christ comes again, that glory will be fully revealed in us as well. The Resurrection of Christ’s body is the promise of resurrection for our own bodies. On that Last Day, we will experience our transfiguration. These ordinary bodies of ours, worn and tattered from sin and suffering, will be glorified with Christ and we shall see the light even more fully that we see it today!
Conclusion
It will be good, indeed to be with Him for all eternity singing His praises and with all the company of heaven: ”To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.