"Change"

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February 18, 2007 Transfiguration Sunday Year C

Sermon Title: “Change”

Series: None

Text: Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Cor. 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36

Dr. Steve Jackson

NewSong Community Church

Delivered on February 18, 2007

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of our 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

Change

There are moments in life—fleeting instances—when the curtain of our own perception is drawn back and we glimpse—even if just for a moment—something we’ve never seen or experienced before. This can happen even if we’ve been in the same situation many times before. Do you know what I’m talking about? They’re just glimpses, a “blink of an eye,” but when they happen they challenge us to stand, even for that split second, in that new reality and they offer to change us forever.

These occur in a variety of settings in our lives. Let me give you a few examples:

I’ve been golfing before—and having my usual horrible day on the course—and then I’ll tee up the ball and hit the drive of my life. It’s perfectly fluid, I’ll hit the ball in the sweet spot and just stand there watching the ball soar out of sight. Instead of the golfers off to my left or right scattering, this time it’s the foursome on the green ahead that have to move because I’ve crushed the drive. For a moment you stand in awe of what your body has suddenly been able to do, something you couldn’t recreate if your life depended on it.

Or I remember a time when my daughters were little girls. I vividly remember one night I went in to do my usual bedtime prayer with Amy. I bent over her bed and did my normal “God bless mommy and daddy…etc…” And when I finished praying Amy suddenly reached up and hugged my neck and launched into the most beautiful prayer for me you can imagine. I remember encountering a new reality, just for an instant, and I was able to picture Amy praying and sharing her faith with many, many others as a grown woman.

Or just the other day I was driving out of my neighborhood like I have hundreds of times before and it had been raining and now the sun had come out and the sunlight was filtering through the trees around the lake in our neighborhood in a magical way that movie producers would have paid millions to recreate through special effects. Suddenly I grasped, for just an instant, the wonder and majesty of God who can turn an ordinary rain shower into a gorgeous demonstration of his beauty.

Do you know what I’m talking about? Just for a moment, a glance across a room, or the play of sunlight or a shadow, or the aroma of a favorite dish catches your senses, and suddenly something clicks and a new reality floods in. Lucky for us it’s just for a moment; we probably couldn't stand much more. And thankfully we don't need much more than a moment to change us.

Today’s texts are about such a moment. They’re about the ways in which those moments can change us—forever. The centerpiece of today’s texts, of course, is Luke’s account of the Transfiguration. According to most commentators, the meaning of the Transfiguration is that it was to demonstrate to the disciples that Jesus is the King of Glory despite the fact that he would soon suffer and die on the cross. It’s a foreshadowing of the Risen Lord. As such it forms the perfect text to read and think about on this last Sunday before we begin the season of Lent and our journey to the cross, and ultimately to the empty tomb on Easter. The experience the apostles had on the mountain was a brief, important encounter with God's glory, it happened in just an instant, but it changed them forever.

This morning as we look at these texts I want to make two basic points with you, and then I want to give you some “what to do about it” teaching that I think will help us as we make the turn and head towards Lent and Easter.

Let me give you an overview of the texts first though.

The Exodus text is about the change in Moses’ face after he had been on Mt. Sinai in the presence of God. Moses had to cover his face with a veil after being with God.

Psalm 99 is a hymn of praise celebrating the Kingship of and holiness of Yahweh with allusions to Moses and the mountain of God.

The 2 Corinthians passage is Paul’s interpretation of the veiling of Moses’ face where he points out that not only was Moses’ face veiled, the Israelite’s understanding of God was veiled, but that now Christ’s appearing has effectively removed the veiling Moses put on.

And then the passage from Luke is his account (Matt. 17 and Mark 9 also tell the story) of the Transfiguration.

Keeping in mind those “glimpses of glory” I began today’s message with, let me give you the two points I want you to take away from today’s message.

Being in the Presence of God Changes You

The first point is that being in the presence of God changes you; it’s transformative.

I think that’s pretty obvious in the example of Moses given in the Exodus passage. Exodus 34:29 says that when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, “the skin of his face shown because he had been talking with God.” His face was radiant—beaming because he had been in the presence of God. Moses had “been to the mountaintop” he’d had one of those experiences—you might call it an epiphany, and because he had, everything was different, even to the point where his physical appearance was altered. Being in the presence of God tends to do that.

The Transfiguration account is also about the transformation that occurs when we’re in the presence of God. The Transfiguration is not so much a story about Jesus being changed as much as it is about the disciples, and eventually you and me being changed. Jesus wasn’t changed. Jesus was, is, and always will be the Eternal Son of God. The Transfiguration simply allowed him to be revealed to his friends in a new light... they were able to see him in his glory as the Chosen One... the Messiah... the Son of God. Suddenly they caught a glimpse of his glory and they could never view him the same again after that. But it wasn’t him that changed—it was them. It’s also you and me.

I get that from what Paul said in the 2 Corinthians passage. Look at 2 Cor. 3:16, let’s read that together: “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of our 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.”

Here’s Paul’s point, and it’s a little deep, but it’s an important understanding for you to grasp this morning so I hope you do.

Moses went up on Mt. Sinai and got the Law from God. He came down and his face was glowing and that frightened the people, so he put a veil on his face when he was meeting with them and he’d take the veil off when he went in to meet with God. Moses was the only one who could meet “face to face” with God, he acts as an intermediary between God and the people. Unfortunately just as Moses’ face was veiled so he wouldn’t scare off the people, so too did Moses message become veiled to Israel. Israel had seen Moses through a veil, but they had also heard Moses through a veil. In Paul’s understanding the true meaning of the words from God were obscured from the people of Israel. That’s what he means in verse 15 of 2 Cor. 3 where he said, “a veil lies over their minds.” But he goes on to say that in Christ, “the veil is removed.” (v. 16). This explains what’s happening at the Transfiguration. The word of God as revealed through Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the Prophets) had become short-circuited. What we see at the Transfiguration is the old way of knowing God through the law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) gives way to the dazzling brightness of the transfigured Son of God, upon whom the divine voice from heaven bestows his blessing and says, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Christ’s appearing removed the veil Moses had unwittingly put on the people’s minds. As a result, our view of God takes place now with “unveiled faces” (v. 18) and through the transfigured face of Christ we gaze at the glory of God.[i]

Most importantly, and more to the point I’m making here—when we do gaze on his face, when we are in his presence, it is transformative we are changed. Paul declares that as we see the glory of the Lord with our unveiled faces we, “are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another” (v. 18).

Being in the presence of the Lord changes you; it’s transformative. Moses demonstrated it, Paul explained it, and Jesus confirmed it at the Transfiguration.

The Disciples were “Weighed Down With Sleep”

The second point I want to make is also found in the story of the Transfiguration and it’s something that Luke alone includes in his account. It’s found in verse 32 where Luke adds an interesting and important bit of information to the story. He writes,” Now Peter and his companions where weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory…”

Such an odd addition isn’t it? Perhaps it’s because Luke was a physician and he was always more sensitive to tiredness, hunger, and our “humanness” in general than the other evangelists. Perhaps he wanted us to understand that this was more like a vision of the sort many of us have in that fuzzy state between consciousness and sleep. I’m not sure why he included this, but I have a theory (I bet you saw that coming).

My theory is that this was Luke’s way of making a very important point to the church and to you and me. Namely, that many of us are weighed down with sleep, just like the disciples were. It reminds me of another time—in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked these same disciples to “watch and pray” with him, and they promptly fell asleep (see Luke 22:39-46).

I’m not saying Luke wants us to literally get more sleep (although that may be the case for many of us). I believe what Luke means by this “sleep” is our limited perception. He’s’ talking about the fact that our “God antennae” isn’t fully extended, our “God radar” is down and we’re asleep at the wheel for several reasons.

Sleep #1 – Familiarity with the Holy

One reason I believe we are “asleep” with limited powers of perception spiritually, is because of “familiarity with the holy.” It’s part of the more general “curse” of familiarity.

Our brains and minds are quite amazing. We can multi-task, we can smell, feel, taste, think, all at the same time. But in his mercy God created us with the ability to function without responding to every stimulus, or without having to consciously think about much of what we accomplish in the course of a day.

I’ve mentioned this before. You get in your automobile to drive home, you remember cranking the engine, and the next thing you know you’re pushing your garage door opener and you can’t remember a thing about the actual drive home. You wonder how you arrived safely at all. Or you get up in the morning and you mindlessly go through your routine, quiet time, breakfast, shave, shower, etc… and the first conscious thought you have you are actually sitting at your desk checking your email. It’s amazing how our minds function on autopilot. It’s a wonder we don’t get killed!

The “curse” of that is things can get so routine, so familiar, that we miss so much of the good stuff God sends our way. Our minds are constantly stuffing new experiences into old categories. And nowhere is this more prevalent than in our spiritual lives.

In many ways we’ve lost sight of the holiness of God; we’ve become too familiar with Him. That’s why Psalms like Psalm 99 are so important—to wake us up to the reality of God’s holiness. Look at the first verse of that Psalm, “The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!” Let me ask you, when is the last time you thought about God and you trembled? What do you think about when we sing that song, “Our God is an awesome God” ? Most of us, today anyways, think of that song in terms of the more modern usage of that term—“He’s like…you know…like…an awesome dude, man…” But if you look at each one of the four texts for today you’ll find “fear” and “terror” associated with the presence of or knowledge of the Lord. The Israelites feared God when Moses’ face glowed, the people in this Psalm are trembling, Paul talks about “not losing heart” in his passage, and in the account of the Transfiguration verse 34 says the disciples were “terrified.” And us? We yawn through church and mumble our praise songs and nod off during the pastoral prayer.

So what I’m saying is, let’s don’t be weighed down by the “sleep of familiarity” with that which is holy.

Sleep #2 - The Cares of this World

Let me mention one more type of “sleep” I believe we’re especially susceptible to today. And that is “the cares of this world.”

This form of limited perception, or veil, or sleep, however you want to think of it, comes from having to live in this world and have a job, a house, a family, all the “stuff” this life requires (or seems to require). Most of these things are great blessings of God and they bring us great happiness, but they can become a drag, they can literally put us to sleep when it comes to knowing the will of God and following him in our lives.

This is perhaps one of the saddest things I experience as a pastor. People sometimes ask me how can I cope with all the sick people I have to pray for, and the needs of the congregation, and deaths and funerals, and people’s “stuff” I’m supposed to help with as a pastor. I get the impression that many feel like a death or a funeral is perhaps the saddest thing I have to deal with. It’s not. Nor is a divorce or a grave illness, as difficult as those are. The thing that actually makes me saddest—and the thing I feel the most powerless to help with—is working with someone who is tied down by the cares of this life. I believe Jesus felt the same way. Did you know there’s only one account in the whole New Testament (other than the Pharisees) where Jesus gives someone what I call a “life prescription” – what they need to do – and the person doesn’t do it and eventually find great joy? I’m talking about the story of the rich young ruler who, when told to lay aside his wealth in order to follow Christ went away sad, choosing the things of this world instead of Christ. The gospels record for a fact that the man went away sad, but after being a pastor for a few years, I have a strong suspicion that the sadness in Christ’s own heart was far greater than the sadness of the young man who walked away.

I’ve heard all the excuses for not putting God first you can imagine over the years; things about people’s jobs, their children, their health, their pets, their travel schedule, you name it. But bottom line it’s the “sleep induced by the cares of this world” and as the days go by and the person keeps on slumbering, justifying his or her behavior by comparing themselves to ungodly neighbors or co-workers, or people they read about or see on TV, their slumber gets a little deeper each day until they’re in a kind of coma, and it seems there’s no wakening them. Oh, how they need to go to the Mountain of Transfiguration! Not to see Christ be transfigured, but to have their own lives transformed!

Summarize

I’m rambling. Let me refresh your memory about what I’m talking about. I’ve said today that there are two points to these passages.

First – being in the presence of God changes you.

Second – The disciples—and we—are “weighed down with sleep.” The sleep of familiarity and the sleep of the cares of this world.

What to Do About It

So what are we going to do about it?

I think the texts give us three things we should all take to heart concerning how to be transformed. Let me briefly mention these. Please notice that I’ve phrased them using the word “be” rather than “do.” This really is more about “being” than it is about doing.

Be Silent

First, Be Silent. Be quiet before the Lord. There’s an interesting facet of the Transfiguration story found in verse 38, “When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.” Some commentators have said the disciples were silent because it was such an unbelievable experience they didn’t dare talk about it. But I believe they didn’t talk about it, even among themselves, because some experiences require time to process, to think through what has happened, what they mean, and what their impact is going to be on your life, before you blurt them out and let others interpret them for you.

Our world is a noisy place. We’ve got to be silent, we’ve got to quiet the interpretations swirling all around us. We’ve got to quiet the busyness of our lives to allow God space to be seen and heard. I believe God gives us experiences that we need to process in silence before him and only then will their true meaning become clear. Silence clears the ground for us to be able to hear God.

Be Attentive

And that’s the second “be” I want to mention, Be Attentive to God. Moses had to call Aaron and the people over to himself to “hear the word of the Lord.” The Psalmist says the people “cried out to the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud” (Ps. 99:5-6).

This is true on so many levels. Not just the spiritual. Many of the “special glimpses” I mentioned when I began this sermon are happening all around us all the time, it’s just that we aren’t seeing them! They are little “transfigurations” in our world that God wants us to have “eyes to see” and “ears to hear.” Be attentive.

Be Worshipful

And finally, Be Worshipful – by this I mean do your best to recapture your sense of the holy in your life. Psalm 99 verse 9 says, “Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.” If you don’t get anything else out of what I’ve said in today’s sermon, hear this: Be worshipful!

Give God a little silence, give him some space in your life; be attentive to Him, and remember to be worshipful. For our God is an awesome God.

As I close, my prayer for you this week is that you will begin to have, or actually to notice, more and more of these little epiphanies or theophanies in your life in the days ahead. I pray that in the season of reflection and repentance between now and Easter the Lord will draw you ever closer to his heart and soul and that as he does you will be transformed and experience the “new reality” our Lord has in mind for you.

Will you yield your life to him and “listen up” today? He’s calling you to do just that. Let’s pray.