Mark 9:2-10

This is the last Sunday before Lent begins. This Wednesday we will be marked with the ashen cross on our foreheads as we come forward to receive Jesus in the bread and wine.

This day is called Transfiguration Sunday when Jesus appears dazzling white with the super heroes  of the Old Testament, Elijah and Moses.

But this is also President’s Day weekend.  School is out both Friday and Monday.  The stores are having President’s Day sales.

If we combine Transfiguration with President’s Day we could possibly get something like this.

There are a few details from the text for us to be aware of prior to going directly to the message.  We need to look at them because these details can be distractions from the real message.

Detail number one-the text begins

‘six days later’

That phrase begs the question six days later or after what?

To answer that we look at what happened six days earlier so we look at Mark chapter 8.

In chapter 8 Jesus began to teach the disciples saying he must undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders and the scribes and be killed.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him and Jesus calls out ‘get behind me Satan’.

Then Jesus talks about discipleship and picking up the cross, losing their lives and following him.

We are not told what was said or what they did for the next five days in Mark’s gospel.  So it is now six days later.

Detail number 2.  Peter gets a bad rap in most sermons on this text because he wants to build booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.  So he comes off as wanting to prolong the moment or as someone who has no idea what is going on.

But in reality Peter as a good Jew is doing the proper thing.

The transfiguration takes place just prior to the festival of sukkot.

Sukkot (SCREEN image of Jew by a temporary shelter with sukkot underneath).

Is one of the three major festivals in Judaism.  Sukkot literally means booths.  The festival celebrated the forty years Moses led the people wandering in the wilderness during which the Hebrews stayed in temporary booths or tents.  Even to this day in Jerusalem Jewish people erect booths in which they stay for seven days.

So the festival is quickly approaching, Peter a good Jew, suggests to Jesus that he, Moses, Elijah stay in booths he would build for the seven days of the festival of Sukkot.

3)  The third detail is: how did Peter, James and John know it was Moses and Elijah?

They had not seen photos.

There were no oil paintings of them in the Temple.

They weren’t on the face of any currency.

They certainly wearing one of those blue stick tags that says “Hello, my name is . . . .”

Perhaps it was the Holy Spirit, perhaps as good Jews they knew enough to make the connection.

‘listen to him’

Listen to him the voice from heaven says.  Listen to him.

Scott Hoezee writes ‘Are we sure that God did not say ‘this is my Son, whom I love, look at him’.

After all the visual display going on is far beyond any Super Bowl halftime extravaganza we have ever seen.

Listen to him.

Peter, James and John are given a foretaste of eternity to help them stay the course alongside of Jesus because shortly after this Jesus starts towards Jerusalem where he is arrested, beaten, and crucified.  Then he is raised to eternity by God on the third day.

In the same manner as we prepare to begin Lent we are given a foretaste of the eternal image of Jesus as well before we begin our Lenten journey.  Our focus is on the words spoken from the voice of heaven-this is my Son,    the one I love, listen to him.

That is what we are called to do during Lent. ‘transfiguration moments’

Listen to Jesus.

When we do that we will have what I call ‘transfiguration moments’.  During the beginning of Lent on Wednesday and April 8 when we celebrate Easter God will speak to you in some manner.  That is what Transfiguration is all about.

Here are some tips to help you identify your transfiguration moments because when they do happen, they happen in an instant just like that first transfiguration.

Tip one-transfiguration moments are of God.  They happen on God’s time not at our choosing or in our time frame.

You can try to cause one, wake up to pray at dawn, watch the sunset on the beach but the moment may or may not come.  It is dependent on God’s time not ours.

Lee Martin when he lead the Kairos prison ministry retreat at a prison gave a temple talk prior to leading it.  He talked about the difference between our time which the Greeks call chronos and God’s time which is called kairos.

A great example of God’s time is found in Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come God sent his Son born of woman so that we might receive adoption as children.  That is kairos, that is God’s time not ours.

Gary Harris writes about a father and daughter playing basketball in the driveway.  The young teenager shoots over her dad, perfect shot. The dad smiles and say ‘now you shoot better that I do’.

They smile at each other but for an instant they are given a glimpse of the future.

They are not in the driveway shooting baskets but they are in a hospital room where the father is dying.

They both are given the same vision.

In a flash the glimpse of mortality is over but both had sensed it.  It scares both of them but a couple of quick breaths and it is over.

You see anytime the future is made present, the reality of the future floods into your present. You get goose bumps and your breath is taken away.  Then it is over because your brain cannot handle transfiguration moments for very long.

That is God’s time, that is a transfiguration moment.

Tip number two

Listen to Jesus.

Our LCC Lenten theme is focused on prayer. Each day in the devotional Intern Leslie has put together you have opportunity to listen to Jesus.

Each Sunday the sermon will focus on an aspect of prayer so you will have opportunity to listen to Jesus.

Each Wednesday at 7 pm we will read a psalm and share a message on that psalm.  The psalms are the prayers of the people.  You will have opportunity to listen to Jesus.

Our Bible studies which are on Sunday at 10, Monday at 9:30 am, Wednesday 6:55 am at Panera Bread, and Wednesday at 6:15 pm you will have opportunity to listen to Jesus.

If you have not done so, pick up one of the pamphlets outlining the entire Lenten Listening to Jesus.  God will choose a time to give you a transfiguration moment if you are intentional about your Lenten journey.

Tip number three is that transfiguration moments are revealed by the face.

Jesus face shone brightly for an instant.  Then his regular face returned.  As fully human Jesus had a face just like you have a face.

His face became weathered in the hot weather of Israel.  Remember they did not have sunscreen.

His face revealed his feelings just as your face reveals your feelings.

He wept, he laughed, he frowned, at times he was at peace, at times he was troubled.  The wrinkles revealed how he lived.

What does your face reveal about you?

Does it reflect the joy of being loved?  Does it glisten with peace?

Does it reveal the worry of being in debt to the max?

Does it show just a hint of guilt you feel at cheating on your spouse?

Does it glimmer with a grudge?

Have you ever noticed how some people just look like they have been redeemed because they appear to be at total peace with God?  Their faces reveal an inner glow of the spirit they have and there is a sense of beauty to them.

Jesus face was transfigured revealing his eternal relationship with his heavenly father.  I like to believe after the transfiguration Jesus face appeared different.

In Luke’s gospel right after the transfiguration the gospel writer writes ‘he set his face towards Jerusalem’.

Then one verse later it says ‘the Samaritans did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem’.

There must have been something different after he was transfigured.

Jesus only had an earthly life of a little over 30 years.  Most of us will live a lot longer.

It has been said that for the first fifty years of life we wear the face that nature gave us but from fifty on our face is our responsibility.

Our faces become the sum of our choices, our victories, our defeats, and our priorities.

Our faces reveal what we honor, what we do, and even who we are, who we love.

Have you ever noticed how married couples after years of marriage the couples start to look alike?

Our faces reveal the number of transfiguration moments we have experienced as well.

Our transfigured God deeply loves and deeply cares for each one of us.  I believe the more and deeper we feel that love, the more our faces will reflect not only who we are but whose we are.

Transfiguration moments are awaiting you during these forty days plus Sundays.

God already has those moments lined up for each one of us but the choice is up to us

‘do we choose to listen to God or not?”

Amen

There is an old story about a sea captain who was the best in the business.  He had earned a reputation as one who could make excellent decision in times of crisis.   People did notice though that just before it was time to give his orders to the crew, he would go down to his stateroom, open his safe, and pull out a slip of paper and read it.

Then he would confidently stride on the deck and make the right call.

The curiosity was high.  When he died one of the first things the crew did after his funeral was to gather in the stateroom and watch as the first mate opened the safe and pulled out the well used piece of paper.

He read aloud to the crew:

Port left, starboard right.

In difficult times, the captain knew to mind himself repeatedly of the very basics of his job.

That is what Jesus did in our gospel text today.

He was still in Capernaum, at Peter’s home where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law.

At sundown everyone in Capernaum came out, bringing all of the sick, diseased, and possessed.  He cured them and as I said last week Jesus did not allow the demons to speak because they knew who he was.

In the morning he gets up and goes off by himself to pray.

The disciples hunted him down, they wanted to bring him back to Capernaum where he could continue to cure people and cast out demons.

The disciples were excited and proud that they were followers of this miracle worker.

The cultural conditions remind us this town called Capernaum was where many of the disciples lived.  They were loyal to their town and wanted Jesus to continue to do his healing but Jesus knows that is not his basic mission and purpose.

It is as if Jesus like the captain of the ship had taken out a little sheet of paper from his robe and read it to remind him of his basics.

“Now after John was arrested Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God ‘the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe in the good news’” Mark 1:14-15.

That was his basic purpose, that is what God had sent him into the world to accomplish, proclaim the kingdom of God.

In Luke’s Gospel in the midst of healing miracles Jesus moves on quickly saying to the disciples “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God for that is what God sent me to do.”

Jesus kingdom oriented leadership meant three things:

staying with the original mission, not being distracted by worthy but not mission related needs and paying the price for disappointing his disciples in order to preserve his purpose.

1) The kingdom of God has come near.  Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer we recite the basic reason why Jesus came to earth.   Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

When we finish the prayer we open our eyes but we do not see any such kingdom.

It is difficult for us to visualize a kingdom that is not also a definable place.  A place with borders and visible signs which make it different from all other places.

‘thy kingdom come’

Kingdoms are defined by their different customs, different currency, different habits, and different signage.

So when we pray the Lord’s Prayer and say ‘thy kingdom come’ we often assume that this is something that will happen only in the future.

We think when God’s kingdom comes we will know it because it will be like living in another country.

But for Jesus God’s kingdom was not some other place or dimension.  For Jesus God’s kingdom was not a place but rather God’s reign or rule in the hearts of people.

God’s kingdom is real and God’s kingdom is now!

It is present whenever people pray the way Jesus taught them to pray.

God’s kingdom is present whenever people live out their lives based on the fruits of the Spirit.

‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control’

God’s kingdom is present whenever we pour water on someone’s head in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God’s kingdom is present whenever we take bread and wine to our lips in remembrance of Jesus.

God’s kingdom is present when someone at work refuses to fake a report.  It is present when a retired person helps a young child learn to read.  It is present when a friend calls because she hasn’t seen you for a while and wants to check in.

Whenever and wherever such things are done because these people believe there is a Lord and King named Jesus who came to bring forth such a kingdom.

It came to bring light to a dark and evil world so it only makes sense that the demons knew exactly who Jesus was.

So we pray ‘your kingdom come’ as we turn over our lives and allow God to rule in our hearts and actions.

2)  The kingdom comes when we become prayer warriors praying to God for the needs of God’s people.

Early in the morning Jesus goes off by himself to pray.  Many times throughout his ministry he sneaks off to spend time with his Heavenly Father.

Remember in Mark’s gospel as I said last week Jesus is a man with a mission, a man of action, a man with a definite purpose.  So he slips out on occasion to spend time by himself and with God his Father.

I envy people who can do that, take a couple of hours for prayer.  I have tried that but it just didn’t work for me.

We live in a culture where being perceived as being busy makes us feel worthwhile.  If we are not busy doing something we feel like we are wasting our time or we feel we are being a slacker.

Add to that the amount of stimulation our brains receive by twittering, texting, and watching little screens continually when we are not doing something our stimuli addicted brains cry out I’m bored.

Jesus slips away to pray.

Epiphany moments happen at times of solitude, silence, and simply being with God.

“be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10.

In principle we agree solitude and meditation and reflective times are good but we have responsibilities, work, homes to maintain and errands to run.

Lettie Cowman wrote a book entitled Springs in the Valley about living in colonial Africa.

Travelers would employ natives to carry the loads of stuff they took with them as they travelled across vast expanses of the continent.

On one such trek the British travelers walked rapidly the first day barely stopping for a break.

They stopped for the night, their spirits were high.  They got up early to continue their rapid pace.

But the lead guide informed them the baggage carriers would not move.  The guide went on to say they believed they moved so fast the first day that they had to wait for their souls to catch up to their bodies.

There is some truth to that.  There are times when we are on the go so much we need to slow down and let our souls catch up to our bodies.

One such time to do that is during the season of Lent.  This year Lent begins February 22 which is Ash Wednesday.  We are focusing on prayer this year.

A Lenten focus on prayer for forty days plus Sundays can be a time when you let your soul catch up to your body.

I pray you will make the time to do just that this year.

3)  Mark’s gospel goes quickly.  Consider Peter’s mother-in-law.

We read ‘now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever and they told him about her at once (immediately).  He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.  They fever left her and she began to serve them.  The poor lady didn’t even have time to change out of her housecoat into a regular every day robe.

Pastor Roy Howard writes that medical anthropologists distinguish between disease which is a biomedical condition affecting an organism and illness which is a condition which de-values a person causing a loss of meaning and disrupting social relationships.

For Peter’s mother-in-law the sign of her healing is not that her fever is gone but that she is once again serving her household.

The true purpose of healing is to restore people to be in relationships and to be able to serve others with grace and gratitude.

Charles Hoffacker writes all true healing is the work of Christ.  Each of us need to ask ourselves now ‘where is Christ at work healing me?  In what aspect of my life do I feel his touch?

How is Christ at work in my life to change me so I can become the person God wants me to be?

Is it through forgiveness?  Is it through restoring a broken relationship?  Is it through feeling unconditionally loved and accepted by Jesus.

Kingdom living means precisely having our brokenness whatever it may be restored by the power of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.  Amen.