Pastor S Notes for Transfiguration of Our Lord, B Date: 2/15/15

Pastor’s Notes for Transfiguration of Our Lord, B Date: 2/15/15

Theme: The Transfiguration

Bible Ref’s: 2Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; 2Corinthians[3:17-4:2] 4:3-6; and Mark 9:2-9.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, the resplendent light of your truth shines from the mountaintop into our hearts. Transfigure us by your beloved Son, and illumine the world with your image, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Brief Sermon Outline: “Good to Be Together”

Focus Statement: Peter realizes he’s in the presence of a Holy Communion, invery good company…

1. There are several “High Holy Days” in the church calendar, but there are two of them that the Pro-testant church has tended to downplay in favor of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Those two high festival days are the Baptism of our Lord and the Transfiguration of our Lord.

2. Both these festivals are unique for the way in which Jesus’ identity is reinforced by a voice from heaven “This is my Son, the Beloved…” and they both reveal Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testa-ment righteousness. After his baptism by John the Baptist and John’s arrest, Jesus says in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled & the kingdom of God has come near; repent, & believe the good news.”

3. Jesus’ identity is reinforced a 2nd time on the Mt. of Transfiguration. Peter, James & John witness Moses/Elijah talking to Jesus surrounded by God’s majestic glory. (2Pet. 1:17) Moses/Elijah repre-sent the Law & Prophets. By the exodus Moses led Israelites out of slavery & gave them the Law.

4. God dwelt with them in a traveling booth, & Moses was the go-between God & the people…Moses would enter the tent of meeting & when he came out he’d have to veil his shining face from the pe-ople who feared God. When Paul talked of “unveiled faces,” he was referring to Christ-followers not needing to veil their faces anymore before God. “[The gospel of God’s love] has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of J.C.” (2Cor. 4:6)

5. Thru prophet Elijah, God’s glory also presented itself to the people in an awesome way. In 2Kings, Elijah is described as “a hairy man w/ a leather belt around his waist” (1:8) which sounds a lot like John the Baptist. But tradition held that Elijah (greatest of prophets)didn’t die but was assumed by fiery chariot into heaven only to return “before the great & terrible day of the LORD.” (Mal. 4:5)

6. So with Moses & Elijah together with Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration, it all comes together: the Law & the Prophets fulfilled in Jesus’ presence; God’s glory unveiled to Peter James & John; the Kingdom of God come near in the person & work of J.C. It’s good they had all come together!

7. On Jan. 30th, my family was suddenly ripped apart by a violent car wreck—Meghan whisked away by ambulance to Virginia; Maddie by helicopter to Duluth; I was in the cities at the time; our son Krehl in Duluth. But then it all started coming together Friday night: I headed to St. Mary’s from the cities, K4 caught a ride from a friend to where I picked him up outside the hospital, we met Maddie in the Emergency Room, & about an hr later, Meghan arrived in the ER & our family was reunited.

8. And over these days and weeks, we’ve continued to come together not only as a family, but as an extended family of love & faith from so many family, friends & strangers that continue to embrace us as we heal from this terrible accident. Through community Jesus brings us health & wholeness.

9. Sin, evil and tragedy intruded on God’s good creation and tore it apart: the Fall of Adam/Eve; Cain murdering Abel; Noah & the Flood; God’s people enslaved in Egypt, then wandering in the desert 40 yrs; the 450 prophets of Baal killed by Elijah; the Split Kingdom; the Assyrian/Babylonian Exile.

10. All these biblical events represented the tearing apart of what God had created good, & it was up to God to bring it all together, to make all things good/whole—which God did in the person & work of J.C.—by his incarnation, baptism, transfiguration, passion, death, resurrection & ascension.

11. “In Christ” Paul tells the Corinthians “God was reconciling the world to himself…” (2Cor. 5:19a) re-creating world communion & a dwelling place for God among God’s people to the ends of earth.

12. The moment wasn’t totally lost on Peter. He was scared out of his wits, for sure, but this event of going up the high mountain with Jesus, James & John was during Sukkot, the Festival of Booths (viz. the time that Jews rejoice & give thanks to God for God’s dwelling among them in the tent of meeting, & themselves as tent-dwellers, during their 40 yrs wandering in the desert (Lev. 23:24)).

13. Peter’s religious instincts kick in, & squinting thru dazzling white, he says to Jesus “It’s good for us to be here together; let’s make 3 booths or dwellings, one for you, one for Moses & one for Elijah.”

14. Peter realizes he’s in the presence of a Holy Community, invery good company w/ Jesus, Moses & Elijah. Never had the Festival of Booths (God’s dwelling among God’s chosen people) held so much significance for his life, and he didn’t want this holy, blessed communion with God to end.

15. The same could be said re: the sacrament of Holy Communion. Everything we hope dream for comes together for us in H.C.—community for the lonely, strength for the weary, health & whole-ness for the broken, forgiveness for sinners, comfort for the afflicted, guidance for the wayward.

16. “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, you have brought us this far along the way. In times of bitterness you did not abandon us, but guided us into the path of love and light.” Is it any wonder H.C. is the high pt of worship—not optional, but foundational to our worship every Sunday.

17. It is good for all of us at Faith United to be here together—joined to the new life of Christ in the waters of our baptism, gathered by the Holy Spirit to rejoice & give thanks to God for all the blessings God gives us, moved by God’s Spirit to take and eat with the communion of saints, and sent down the mountain to embrace all creation in the community of God’s love. May our religious instincts kick in that we might affirm right along with St. Peter, “It is good, Lord, to be here!” Amen

Hymn of the Day: “How good, Lord, to be here!” (LBW #89, ELW #315)

Children’s Sermon

Let’s pray: We thank you, Lord Jesus, for making us one huge family of faith by your cross and resurrection. Teach us how to share this good news with all people. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen

The Word

(2Kings 2:1-12)

Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

(Psalm 50:1-6)

1 The mighty one, God the LORD,speaks and summons the earthfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,God shines forth.

3Our God comes and does not keep silence,before him is a devouring fire,and a mighty tempest all around him.

4He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

6 The heavens declare his righteousness,for God himself is judge. Selah

(2Corinthians [3:17-4:2] 4:3-6)

[Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the 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.

4:1 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.] 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

(Mark 9:2-9)

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Sermon Notes

The JewishFestival of Boothswas a feast of the dwelling of God with human beings, and the transfiguration of Christ reveals how this dwelling takes place in and through the Messiah, the Son of God in human flesh…In the Transfiguration, the apostles see the glory of the Kingdom of God present in majesty in the person of Christ. They see that in him, indeed, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 1:19, 2:9). They see this before the crucifixion so that in the resurrection they might know who it is who has suffered for them, and what it is that this one, who is God, has prepared for those who love him. This is what the Church celebrates in the feast of the Transfiguration.

Besides the fundamental meaning which the event of the Transfiguration has in the context of the life and mission of Christ, and in addition to the theme of the glory of God which is revealed in all of its divine splendor in the face of the Savior, the presence of Moses and Elijahis also of great significance for the understanding and celebration of the feast…These two figures actually stand for the Old Testament itself:Moses for the Law and Elijah for the Prophets. And Christ is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Mt 5:17).

They also stand for thelivinganddead, for Moses died and his burial place is known, while Elijah was taken alive into heaven in order to appear again to announce the time of God’s salvation in Christ the Messiah. Thus, in appearing with Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah show that the Messiah Savior is here, and that he is the Son of God to whom the Father himself bears witness, the Lord of all creation, of the Old and New Testaments, of the living and the dead. The Transfiguration of Christ in itself is the fulfillment of all of the theophanies and manifestations of God, a fulfillment made perfect and complete in the person of Christ. The Transfiguration of Christ reveals to us our ultimate destiny as Christians, the ultimate destiny of all humanity and all creation to be transformed and glorified by the majestic splendor of God himself.

Adapted from the article, “Transfiguration” on the Orthodox Church in America website,