TRANSFIGURATION (LAST EPIPHANY )
February 3, 2008
SCRIPTURES
SCRIPTURES
SCRIPTURE
-The Season of Epiphany begins (Jesus' Baptism) and ends (Jesus' Transfiguration) with a heavenly voice making Jesus known to the world. (epiphany = "to make known"). I've often wondered why Bible publishers don't print the words of God in a separate color: perhaps green for God, red for Jesus, black for everyone else. Note also that the "green" Epiphany Season begins and ends with "white" Sundays. The same is true of the "green" Pentecost Season, starting with Holy Trinity and ending with Christ the King. Stoffregen
-Instead of reading: "Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain," try reading this: "Jesus took with him Sue and Bob and Mike and you and me up the high mountain."
The Rt. Rev. Robert Johnson-"This is my beloved son. Listen to him." The disciples, in a way, represent us in that passage. "Listen to him." Listen to Jesus. Marcus Borg
-Jesus was the new Moses. This scripture is patterned after Moses' experience at Sinai
- Peter mentions The Transfiguration in 2nd Peter 1:16-21
-Transfiguration--a bridge between Epiphany and Lent...means change or metamorphosis. Scholars would later describe this occasion as a theophany -- a visitation form God.
- There are fewer and fewer oases of silence in our noisy world. Communication has higher value for us than contemplation. Barbara Brown Taylor
-Listening for the Voice of God, by Marcus Borg - explorefaith.org This is a wonderful sermon about "The voice of God"
-There is one more mountain for Jesus to face...Mt. Calvary
- Mountain top experiences like Moses at Sinai and Elijah at Horeb, Jesus at Mt. Hermon
- “Peter wanted to fix that transfiguring, mountaintop moment in concrete, seal it in epoxy for all time. But we can't. Glimpses like that come, and they go. When such a glimpse is given you, on a mountaintop in Judea or in a Sunday pew in this congregation, cherish it, but don't even try to capture it for it is a gift, a glimpse, a fleeting, blessed, gift of revelation. ”William Willimon
-The festival of the Transfiguration was instituted by Calixtus III in 1457 to commemorate the defeat of the Turks on August 6 of the previous year. Lutheran usage has moved the feast from August 6 to the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
-The Celtic peoples talk of "thin places" where the distance between heaven and earth seems thin.
-There are just enough mountain peaks to get us through the lonesome valleys. We cannot stay on the emotional high forever.
- The test of a vision is what we do when we get back down to the bottom of the mountain.
-There are many who would guide us on our journey, many who know the answers. We may be tempted to enshrine their wisdom, build a "booth" for them as it were. Yet, there is only one we must hear; we must "listen to him." Rev. Bryan Findlayson
-Peter has an “edifice complex.” He experienced the most powerful event in his life, and he wanted to build three booths to commemorate the event. We human beings are builders. We build monuments to our faith. Some of the greatest buildings are the cathedrals that have been erected throughout the world.
Yet faith is not about buildings, despite their majesty. It is about the ordinary things of our life. When faith centers on building, be it churches, cathedrals, or building church membership—it has an edifice complex. Sermon by Brent J. Eelman,
QUOTES
-Transfigurations are big business today. I don't know anybody who doesn't want
one, including me. And many of us work hard and spend a lot of money to get one
-- a new face, a new look, a changed appearance.
-“We visit the mountaintop; we inhabit the valley.”
- - I f you ain't tribulatin, you ain't near the kingdom of God. (get off the mountain)
- Visions do not last, reality intrudes!
-Seeing with Your Ears Stoffregen
- We need a new perspective...we need to see the big picture.
-Life, especially the life of faith, is an uphill journey
-The Hebrew word for “shine, glow” resembles the word for “horn.” When Jerome translated the Vulgate, he mistranslated and inserted the Latin for “horns” in verse 34:29. Thus, Michelangelo’s famous statue of Moses shows him with horns!
-The dwellings (or booths) suggest residency, permanent placement. Peter wanted to hang on to the moment, to capture Jesus as transfigured. But the mission was in the valley, not on the mountain.
- From the rarefied atmosphere of prayer we find new perspectives, etc.
-We go to the valleys for the forty days of Lent in anticipation of those dark days of Holy Week. The journey through the valley serves as a needed prelude before we climb the hill of Calvary and then once again experience the joy of Easter. Mickey Anders
HUMOR
-"Let's stay here forever! Can't we go past noon, just this one Sunday?" William H. Willimon]
-Jesus is coming back. Look busy!
- Then there was the man who was asked how he felt about the beautiful mountains and he said, "Well they're alright but they do sort of obstruct the view".
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
1. A whole sermon could be built around Prayer Phrase # 3 below.
2. Here's some quotes on which to build a sermon on God's silence.
-God talk is poetry not pros. Feeling not facts, experience not analysis. (Stendhal)
-Absurd living is not hearing and not listening toGod. Absurd means “deaf” world noise drowns out God
-Silence is God's hiding place.
-Silence is the only voice of our God. H.Meville
- Only an idol always answers. B.B. Taylor
- I always begin my prayer in silence. God speaks to us in the silence of our hearts. Mother Teresa
- Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." Jimi Hendrix
- God is not mute...God speaks not only out of the whirlwind but out of the human larynx....Phillip Yancey
- Human beings are God's language. God speaks to all of us through all of us
- In Biblical days it was a miracle for ass to speak. Now it's a miracle if one keeps quiet.
- Silence as deep as eternity; speech as shallow as time. Carsyle
- Silence is a fence around wisdom. Hasidic/ - Silence is an answer for a wise man. Euripides/ Silence is also speech /- Silence is God's hiding place
- God’s silence is deafening
-
- Noise is derived from the Latin word 'nausea' meaning seasickness. Noise is a pervasive pollutant
ILLUSTRATIONS
- Years ago there was a book written called A Touch of Wonder We all need a touch of wonder...some transfiguring experience when we see what we never saw before. Willimon
-A woman and her little boy were battling the crowds on the E train. They were on one of two working escalators with zillions of others. Moving along, the little boy looked up at his mother and asked: "Are we in line?" His mother said, "No, there is no line. This isn't school. This is life."
-"Tell no one" Why do you think Jesus wanted to keep the transfiguration hush-hush for all but these three? Perhaps he knew it wouldn't make as much sense to them until later? What do you think? What would cause you to keep a really awesome experience of God quiet? When and why would you tell or would you not tell what you saw? Beth Quick
-In the same way, Frances Gum transfigured herself and
her image into Judy Garland. Archibald Leach became Cary Grant. Aaron Schwalt
became Red Buttons. And would you have paid money to see Marion Morrison in the
movies? Maybe, but Marion didn't take that chance, he became John Wayne.
Remember that in Holy Scriptures many people got new names to go with a new life
and a new image. Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Jacob became Israel.
Saul became Paul. Simon became Peter, "The Rock." Transfigurations are not the
exception. They are the rule. We are all being altered in the appearance of our
face, our countenance. We are all changing. To live is to be continually
transfigured. So who are we becoming? The Rt. Rev. Robert Johnson
-. illustration Martin Luther King's
"Mountain Top speech" the day before he was shot: "Well, I don't know what will
happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me
now. Because I've been to the mountain top. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I
would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned
about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to
the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not
get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will
get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about
anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming
of the Lord."
-The mountains naturally lead a person to worship because they point heavenward. Almost every church has a steeple for the same purpose. They draw our eyes from our mundane surroundings toward the wonder of the skies. They remind us of the things from above. Jesus loved the mountains. Too often we see only what's in front of us, not above us.
-
The work of the world is as common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.Greek amphoras for wine and oil,
Hopi vases that hold corn are put into museums
But you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real. Marge Piercy
- See Psalm 121
-In 1970, Barbara Streisand "On A Clear Day," which has amazing parallels for the mount of Transfiguration. Streisand sang, "On a clear day Rise and look around you And you'll see who you are. On a clear day How it will astound you That the glow of your being Outshines every star. You'll feel part of every mountain sea and shore. You can hear, From far and near, A world you've never, never heard before? And on a clear day? On a clear day? You can see forever? And ever? and ever more."
CHILDREN
-Bring in some navigational guides such as a compass, street signs, maps, etc. Have a discussion on ways we can receive direction.
-Read the Transfiguration story and then ask these questions:
1. Who went up on the mountain with Jesus?
[The disciples Peter and John and James went up the mountain with Jesus.]
2. Who appeared with Jesus on the mountaintop?
[Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the mountaintop.]
3. What did the disciples offer to do?
[They offered to build three dwelling places, one each for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.]
4. What did the voice say from the sky?
[The voice said, "This is my son, and I love him; listen to what he says."]
5. When did we hear the voice speak before?
[We heard the voice speak at Jesus' baptism.]
- Talk to children about locks. Transfiguration is an uplifting experience like a ship going through a lock...ship doesn't change but has been uplifted. Everything looks different. New perspective,
PRAYER PHRASES
1. Often, we wonder if we are alone on this spinning globe. Call us back to that Transfiguration moment so that we remember that we are not alone. Open our eyes until there is enough light to make it through whatever the world throws our way. Unstop our ears, that amid all the voices that surround us we will hear that clear sure word that comes from you. We give thanks that we are not alone. Willimon
2 ."O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain. Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into the likeness from glory to glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen." Episcopal book of Common Prayer
3 .Oh God so often we fail to hear your voice. Sometimes we are simply too busy. Sometimes our noisy world drowns out what you are saying. Sometimes what we hear is not what you mean. Sometimes we fail to hear your silence. Sometimes what you said centuries ago seems more important than what you are saying right now in our daily lives. Most of the time we hear only what other people hear you say. Oh God help us with our deafness. Lindy
4. we give you thanks for this place to know you . Set our feet on lofty places so that from this day forward t we may speak with the lang. of the heart and see with a clear inward vision that which you have for us to see and to know.. Gomes
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