Service intro
The word Epiphany means …. Appearing. You’ve heard this more than once during this
season of Epiphany. Today you will meet
a man by the name of Simon. You may know
him better as Cephas or Peter.
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter,
John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face
changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two
men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious
splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his
departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter
and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw
his glory and the two men standing with him. 33
As the men were
leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us
put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did
not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped
them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A
voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen
to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus
was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time
what they had seen.
Good
morning! My name is Peter. You may know me by a number of different
names. Simon or Cephas. I’m
the disciple that earned the reputation of having a big mouth. For better or for worse, it wasn’t uncommon
for me to speak first and think later.
For instance there was the time I jumped out of a boat in the middle of
a lake to walk on water with Jesus. That
was amazing. The text that was just read
for you was just as amazing! That was
when I saw Jesus transfigured right before my eyes.
Tis good Lord to be here! I wanted Jesus to forget the suffering, go
for the glory. That day on the mountain
taught me that without Jesus’ suffering there is no glory.
Eight days… Time passed so quickly when I look back. You see eight days before walked up that
mountain. I made my great confession.
Jesus asked the question, “Who do men say I am?” I replied, some said Elijah, or the prophet –
that’s what they used to call Moses.
Then Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” I responded right away – this was an easy
one, “You are the Christ the Son of God.” This is just what I believed. I don’t really know why. I had seen his miracles; I had heard him
preach. I just believed what he
said. Jesus said that The Father had
revealed this to me. I think he was
telling me that God had given me my faith.
I surely didn’t figure this out because I was so smart. My faith was a gift.
Jesus
began to tell us what he would go through – that the chief priests and the
other teachers of the Law, who were jealous of him. He said that they would kill him! I thought he was crazy. I took Jesus aside –think about what you’re
saying. Things are looking up! Sure the crowd didn’t understand what you
were saying about food for their souls, but just give them time. I have to admit – even though I started as
just a fisherman, I have big plans for the kingdom of God. First Jerusalem, tomorrow
Rome? Is the world not within our
reach?! Let’s take this show on the road. All will see and bow to the greatness of
Jesus. As for going to Jerusalem to die,
never Lord this shall never happen to you!
He
didn’t take that very well. He took me
aside and said Get behind me Satan! I
couldn’t believe my ears. He said that he
must suffer and die. He must go to
Jerusalem. I didn’t understand why, but
he seemed very committed to go, so for the moment I let the matter drop.
Eight
days after this happens, we come past a mountain. Jesus calls me, James and John to him and we
follow him a little ways up the mountain.
This was not uncommon at all.
Jesus liked the peace and seclusion when he could go off by himself to
pray. The three of us – an inner circle,
I guess you could call us – had gone off with Jesus before. We just saw him raise a little girl from the
dead. This time no one was rising from
the dead – well not exactly – but it was just as amazing! Listen to Luke’s account one more time. 29 As
he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as
bright as a flash of lightning. As
Jesus was praying something amazing happened!
He became different; he began to glow, and then he was bright like the
sun. Not just his appearance,
that was part of it, but it was an inner glory that I had never
seen. It seemed to flash out of him –
like a flash of lightning. He face was
changed, incredible. His clothes were
blinding.
Standing
right next to Jesus was Moses and Elijah.
They were talking to Jesus too- just like I’m talking to you right
now. Moses was a great prophet – this
was the man whom God used to lead his people out of Egypt. The Bible tells us that God buried him just
before the Israelites entered Canaan.
Elijah was a powerful prophet whom God used to call Israel back from
their sins of idolatry. They also were
dazzling white and bright, but what they were talking about was just as
amazing. They spoke about his departure, which he was about
to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. After Jesus’ resurrection I understood that
Jesus was going to fulfill everything that God had promised in the Old
Testament. At the time – on the mountain
I thought, WHY!? His departure! Why does he think he needs to go anywhere?
I
was only half awake through all of this.
You know how you are after a little fresh air. You get off your feet for a second, spend some time in prayer, and the next thing you
know you’re out. I tried to fight it – I
was kind of dozing. It was kind of like
a dream now that I look back. I was
still a little groggy, but I know what I saw.
This is what heaven will be like!!
32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they
became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As
the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be
here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
I
didn’t know what I was saying… I think
all of you have been in my shoes. Where
something sounds good, but after the words cross your lips you can’t believe
you said that? Why would Moses and
Elijah who enjoy the glories of heaven want to camp in a tent that I could put
up?! What I don’t want you to miss is
that there was a reason I was talking out of my mind. It was so incredible to be in the presence of
the glory of God. That brings us to the
next verse. 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped
them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A
voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen
to him.”
In
just a few days you will begin a remembrance of Jesus passion, his suffering
and death for your sins. Even though
you’ll only be concentrating on a few hours of his life, this is very
important. The glory that I didn’t want
to leave was just a foretaste, an appetizer for the main course that is
heaven. That is the glory that you and I
will enjoy one day. We cannot have that
without suffering. I know times are
tough these days. Tell me about it – I
fished for a living. We worked all day
and never got ahead. We barely made ends
meet. I’m not talking about the
suffering that you or I endured. I’m
talking about Jesus suffering and death on the cross. If we would have suffered like Jesus we would
be getting what we deserved. Jesus was
perfect in every way. Over the next few
weeks – listen to Jesus very closely; watch what he does it is through his
suffering and death that you and I not only are forgiven, but can enjoy the
wonders, the glories of heaven forever.
There
will be a temptation during Lent to forget who Jesus is – to look away, because
to spent any time in Lent looking at Jesus forces us to consider what we are
like, to see our sin. When Jesus died he
may have looked like any other criminal or loser being executed, but the
transfiguration reminds us that he is so much more, that he had to depart and
go to Jerusalem.
I hope
this morning that when it comes to being on the mountain of transfiguration you
too have seen that it is good to be here.
Amen.