Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-9 Two old men are chatting. One man says, "My friend, you must try this memory pill I'm taking. I remember everything.

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1 Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-9 Two old men are chatting. One man says, "My friend, you must try this memory pill I'm taking. I remember everything. It's an amazing memory booster." The other man says, "Sounds wonderful. What is the name of the pill?" The first man says, "Hmm! The name of the pill... Let s see... Hmmm, what is the name of the flower produced on a garden plant with thorns? It's red... You give it on Valentine's Day." The other man says, "A rose?" The first man says, "Yes, that's right!" Then, calling for his wife, he says, "Rose, what is the name of that pill which I take to boost my memory?" Some people say that they can't understand the Bible, and sometimes I understand why. In the story we read from the Gospel of Matthew this morning, Jesus leads three of his disciples Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. Then Matthew says that Jesus was "transfigured." What does that mean? I looked up "transfigured" in the dictionary. Transfigure means to have AN EXALTED APPEARANCE OR A SPIRITUAL APPEARANCE. When was the last time you used the word "transfigured"? You probably did not use it around your breakfast table this morning although you could have. When Suzy came to the table in her PJs and robe, you could have said, "Suzy, it's almost time for church. Get in there and transfigure yourself right now!" In other words, you would be saying, "Transform yourself to have an exalted appearance or a spiritual appearance." That seems appropriate for church, doesn't it! But I'd be willing to bet that you didn't use the word "transfigure" around the breakfast table this morning or around the dinner table last night.

2 In fact, I would guess that very few of you use that word once a month in regular conversation or even once a year. So, I can understand why you might find it difficult to understand Matthew when he says that Jesus went up on the mountain with his disciples and was transfigured before them. But Matthew goes on to explain what he means by transfigured. He says that Jesus' "face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white". OK, so Jesus took on an exalted or a spiritual appearance, just as the dictionary said. But why? What does this transfiguration mean? Matthew doesn't really lay it out for us in clear, simple language. He simply tells the story and leaves it to us to figure it out. No wonder we have trouble understanding. This is one of those places where it helps to know something about the Old Testament. Let me tell you briefly about one of the stories a story with which you are already familiar but you might not remember all the details. It is the story of Moses at Mount Sinai where God gave Moses the tablets with the laws written on them. Listen now for the parallels between Moses' story at Mount Sinai and Jesus' story on the Mount of Transfiguration: In Moses' story, a cloud covered Mount Sinai for six days before Moses climbed it. The story of Jesus' transfiguration starts with these words, "Six days later." So, six days are the first parallel between the stories. In both stories the story of Moses and the story of Jesus both men climbed a high mountain. In the Bible people often experienced the presence of God atop a mountain. So, the high mountain is the second parallel between the two stories.

3 Moses took three men up Mount Sinai with him. Jesus took three men up the Mount of Transfiguration Peter James and John. The three men are the third parallel between the two stories. Then there is another parallel and this is the big one. After Moses came down from Mount Sinai after being in God's presence Moses' face shone so brightly that it frightened the people. Moses had to wear a veil over his face to dim the Godglory that he had picked up on his face while he was on the mountain. Now, in the Jesus story when he climbs the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John Matthew tells us that Jesus' "face shone like the sun." Furthermore, "his clothes became dazzling white". Keep in mind that every Jewish child knew the story of Moses at Mount Sinai. Early Christians, most of which were Jewish, would have caught the parallels between the Moses' story and the Jesus' story. When they heard that Jesus' face "shone like the sun," they would have thought, "Just like Moses!" That would have been the first thing that occurred to them just as if our current president had cut down a cherry tree as a boy, we would think, "Just like George Washington!" So, this story of Jesus' transfiguration his shining face and dazzling clothes was intended to convey the idea that Jesus was another Moses but greater than Moses. Moses' face, you see, did not shine until he had spent time on the mountain in God's presence. Moses' face was like the moon. The moon does not have any internal light.

4 When we look at a full moon, the light we see is not the moon's light but is the sun's light. The light of the moon is really just sunlight shining on the moon and reflecting off the moon. So, it was with Moses. His face did not usually shine. But at Mount Sinai, Moses was in God's presence long enough that his face absorbed some of God's glory. Until that had time to wear off, Moses had to wear a veil so that the people could bear to look at him because his face shone so brightly. Jesus, on the other hand, went up the mountain with his three disciples, and his face IMMEDIATELY began to shine. Jesus did not have to spend days in God's presence for his face to shine. Jesus' face did not shine because he had spent enough time in God's presence to absorb some of God's glory. Jesus' face shone ON ITS OWN, because Jesus SHARED God's glory. His face would have shone like that ALL THE TIME, but that would have interfered with his ability to relate to the people as one of them. What really happened on that mountain, then, was that God permitted Jesus' disciples Peter, James, and John to see, for a moment, who Jesus REALLY WAS. Jesus' shining face was not the absorbed glory of God the reflected glory of God. Jesus' shining face was the REAL glory of God. It was not temporary. It was permanent but hidden so that Jesus could interact with people without a circus-like aura around him. What really happened on that mountain was that Peter, James, and John were permitted to see Jesus AS HE REALLY WAS IN HIS FULL GLORY. It was as if a curtain had been pulled aside for a brief moment so that these three disciples could see that Jesus really was God in their midst.

5 That's what the transfiguration was about God's pulling back the curtain so that the disciples could see Jesus as he really was could see Jesus as God in their midst. God still does that today. He still pulls back the curtain to give us a glimpse of his glory to give us a glimpse of the truth to give us a glimpse of what we could be if we would just give him our lives. That does not happen every day, but it does happen. We need to keep our hearts and minds open to God's presence, so that we will recognize those Transfiguration Moments when they come. Could that happen for you? Is it possible that God could, in some manner, pull back the curtain so that you could see Christ's glory? Is it possible that God would give you one of those Transfiguration Moments? I will tell you that it can happen but it isn't something that we can program. If we are open to seeing Christ in all his glory, God will allow us to see him but in his own good time. We have only to keep our hearts and minds open to see Christ when God reveals him to us and to see what God can do with our lives when God reveals that to us. In our scripture today, after the disciples see the transfigured Jesus, a voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him." Listen for him! Listen to him! He reveals himself to us in ways great and small. If you listen with your heart, you will hear him you will see him. He will reveal himself in the expected moments in your prayers or Bible reading. He will reveal himself in the unexpected moments when we are just going through the routines of our day. Today, listen for Him! Listen to Him. AMEN