We Are Witnesses!

 Transfiguration Sunday!

                                                                          Prayer

                                                     Matt. 17:1-9 & II Peter 1:16-21

First Movement:

            We grow up with a lot of Myths!  If a black cat crosses your path, you will have bad luck!  If you break a mirror, you’ll have seven days bad luck!  If you step on a crack, you’ll break your grandmother’s back!  If you walk under a ladder, you’ll have bad luck!  If it is Friday thirteenth, it is going to be a bad day; something bad is going to happen!  Some people believe these Myths with varying degrees.  My sister, if she wakes up and realizes it is Friday thirteenth, she just waits with expectation on what will go wrong that day.  She just knows something bad will happen, and when it does, it is because it is Friday thirteenth! 

             There were a lot of Myths circulating at the time of our scripture.  The word myth in our scripture “implies a false or pernicious tale.” (Interpreter’s)  Myths were used to discredit the teaching of an opponent; it happens today!  There was the myth that someone proposed that the followers of Jesus had stolen his body, that he didn’t really resurrect.  There was a myth voiced by Plato that divine punishment was used by nursemaids and rulers to enforce morality!  Someone else argued that tales of punishment in hell and rewards in paradise merely reflect the anxieties and desires of the mind in this life! 

 

Second Movement:

            Our Matthew text records what we have come to call the Transfiguration of Jesus.  We’ve come through a teaching time in the church where we typically talk about the teachings of Christ.  This year, we talked about practices of fruitful congregations. Matthew has arranged his gospel topically rather than chronologically.  Therefore,  Matthew has grouped the teachings of Christ together for us!  He follows it with the Transfiguration to further drive home the fact that Jesus is indeed the Messiah!  This is the last Sunday of this teaching time before we begin Lent next Wednesday with Ash Wednesday. 

             Matthew records the accepted belief about what happened on the Transfiguration.  There are no surprises here; the synoptic gospels all pretty well agree on this.  Jesus appears alongside Moses and Elijah, who were both already dead.  They represent early prophets and teachers of the law.  Jesus’ face glows and his clothes become dazzling white, and God announces this is my beloved Son, listen to him!   This is believed by the church to be a claim by God of Jesus as the Messiah!  This is an epiphany moment!

             But along with all that this passage stands for, it is also one of the most hard passages for modern people to swallow, because it is so other-worldly!  Here we are to believe that Moses and Elijah suddenly appear with Jesus; I mean they would already be decayed!  Is this a record of an actual historical event in which Moses and Elijah both come back to life for a moment, or is this a miracle of a vision where Peter, James, and John are given a glimpse of something to help them better understand who Jesus is? This, at the very least, is an epiphany about who Jesus is; Matthew wants to say that Jesus is indeed the Messiah!   It would have been equally as difficult for non-Christians of Peter’s day to swallow or believe.

 

Third Movement:

            Our passage from Peter gives us Peter’s take on what happened that day.  Peter says, we didn’t get caught up in some cleverly devised myth about Jesus.  This is not a myth!  We are eyewitnesses of his majesty!  We received honor and glory from God to be his witnesses.  This tells us two things: first, this was a message from God.   Peter is wanting to say, if you call this into question, you are calling God into question!  We did not make this up!   Second, it is an honor to be entrusted with this message from God!  Peter considered it to be an honor to be God’s messenger of the transfiguration, to be entrusted with the message that Jesus was indeed the Messiah!  Peter says, we saw this, and we heard the voice of God!  Peter says, do not be deceived, we are witnesses!!  Peter then says with determination, we will keep being a lamp shining in a dark place, “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 

             Peter says, we are determined to be lights in the darkness.  We are determined to tell God’s message, “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”  He will tell it until when?  Until the day dawns: maybe a reference to the day Christ comes back, or until the morning star rises in your hearts: maybe until you get it and believe!  Either way, Peter is determined to keep telling it!  Whatever happened that day at the Transfiguration of our Lord, it made a lifelong impression on Peter!

 

Forth Movement:

            What about us?  We too are witnesses!  Maybe we aren’t witnesses of the literal Transfiguration of Jesus, but we are witnesses of what Jesus has done in our lives!  We are witnesses of our understanding of Jesus!  Do we have that same burning desire to be lamps in the darkness?  We have what people need!  Are we determined to tell it until he comes again or until people believe?  Oh, that we would!  There is so much more at stake here than a so so commitment.  We have been given so much!  We have been given grace!  We have been given forgiveness!  We have been given a second chance!  We have been given a purpose in life!  Will we pass it on?  Or will we not pass on the saving, power of God?  It is up to us today!  We are the messengers of our time!  What will we do with this awesome responsibility?

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion