Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
February 22, 2009 – The Transfiguration

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (NRSV)
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 (NRSV)
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.

“Only Jesus”
During Lent, one church chose as its theme, "Forty Days of Love." Each week members of the congregation were encouraged to show their love and appreciation in different ways. The first week they were encouraged to send notes to people who had made positive contributions to their lives.
After the first service a man in the congregation wanted to speak to the pastor. The pastor describes the man as "kind of macho, a former football player who loved to hunt and fish; a strong self-made man." The man told his pastor, "I love you and I love this church, but I'm not going to participate in this Forty Days of Love stuff. It's OK for some folks," he said, "but it's a little too sentimental and syrupy for me."
A week went by. The next Sunday this man waited after church to see his pastor again. "I want to apologize for what I said last Sunday about the Forty Days of Love. I realized on Wednesday that I was wrong."
"Wednesday?" his pastor questioned. "What happened on Wednesday?"
"I got one of those letters!" the man said. He went on to explain that the letter came as a total surprise. It was from a person the man never expected to hear from. It touched him so deeply he decided to carry it around in his pocket all the time. "Every time I read it," he said, "I get tears in my eyes." It was a transforming moment in this man's life. Suddenly he realized he was loved by others in the church. This changed his entire outlook. "I was so moved by that letter," he said, "I sat down and wrote ten letters myself."
Receiving that letter was a transforming experience for Mr. Macho. It came from a mailbox rather than a mountaintop, but the effect was the same - his perspective was altered. The love of Christ broke into his life and he was changed.
This morning our scripture reading is about the transfiguration of Jesus. The disciples, Peter, James, and John, saw the glory of God in a way that they never had before. As they stood there with Jesus on the top of the mountain, “His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. (2,3) Their perspective of Jesus was forever changed.
Peter, James and John were stunned by what happened. Jesus, their friend and teacher, was transfigured into a white glow – the likes of which they had never seen. They were terrified. Then, as they stood there, they saw two people of the past, Elijah and Moses, in deep conversation with Jesus.
Peter, the impulsive one, said to Jesus: “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials. He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing.” (5, 6) Peter didn’t understand what was happening yet he knew that this was a great occasion. All he wanted was to be with Jesus so his first impulse was to stay on that mountain – as long as he could. It was then that “a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.” Jesus – his friend and teacher, is God’s Son. Peter’s heart was filled with awe. He sensed that this experience with Jesus on that mountaintop was life altering; life changing.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to experience something like that! We may not be interested in a sappy, touchy-feely emotional experience but, given the choice, we’d choose to know Jesus better. We’d choose to be filled with awe of the majesty and glory of our Lord.
Thankfully, in order to experience this, Jesus does not require us to get emotionally charged or touchy-feely. For those of us that are more tactile oriented, Jesus finds ways to meet us. Jesus also knows how to meet those who claim to be staid and proper. Whether we were raised as Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptist, Methodist or Catholics, Jesus will meet us on the mountaintop, the level plain, or the deepest valley. You see, Jesus wants to reveal Himself to us even more than we could ever want! And He is willing to go to great lengths to make that happen.
Think back to that macho guy. When he heard about the Lenten program at church, he was not interested. It was too sentimental and syrupy for him. Yet, the love of Jesus Christ touched his life in a way he did not expect. He received a letter from a member of the church validating his Christian faith and his life was changed. He had a mountaintop experience as he read that letter. Jesus met him and changed his heart.
Jesus’ transfiguration happened on the mountaintop. “His appearance changed from the inside out. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them.” (2, 3) But Jesus did not stay up there. Jesus chose to come down the mountain to be a Savior.
Yes, Jesus wants us to encounter the mountaintop with Him – to experience His love, His grace, and His glory; to be filled with awe and wonder and hope. But Jesus knows that we must also come down from the mountain to the reality of daily living; life that is challenged by hurt and sorrow, pain and anguish, struggles and trials. When we journey through the valley of life, we need the unconditional love of our Savior, Jesus Christ to embrace us and see us through.
            Fred Craddock tells a story about a young minister, newly graduated from seminary, serving his very first church. He gets a call that an elderly woman is in the hospital. She's so weak she can't even get up out of bed, and the doctors don't hold much hope for her recovery. Would he go up and visit? Well, of course he will and he does.
            All the way to the hospital he's thinking about what he will say to this Christian lady, what words of comfort he can give her to prepare her for her eminent death. He arrives at the hospital and goes up to her room. He sits and talks with her a few minutes, just small talk really, nothing earth shattering. When he asks if she would like him to pray for her, she answers, "Yes, of course. That's why I wanted you to come."
He then asks politely, "And what exactly would you like me to pray for?"
            "Why, I want you to pray that God will heal me," she answers in a surprised tone of voice.
            Haltingly, fumbling over the words, he prays just as she wanted, that God will heal her, even though he's not really sure that can happen. When he says the "Amen" at the end of the prayer, the woman says, "You know, I think it worked! I think I'm healed!" And she gets out of the bed and begins to walk up and down the hallway of the hospital, crying, "Praise God! I'm healed! Praise God! I'm healed!"
            Meanwhile, the young minister, in a stupor, stumbles to the stairwell, walks down five flights of stairs, makes his way to the parking lot and somehow manages to find his car. As he fumbles to get his keys out of his pocket, he looks heavenward and says, "Don't you ever do that to me again!" He had a mountaintop moment, but he didn't know what to do with it!
            Like this pastor we, too, have experienced God’s presence and purpose in ways that are deep, profound, and real. We have been to the mountaintop. Maybe our mountaintop experience was during a worship service or on a retreat or in the intimate moments of our personal devotion time. Maybe we have experienced the glory of God through a special song, the message of a sermon, or in the margins of a good book. The key is to see it and believe it; to want it and accept it; to experience it and be willing to be changed by it.
Peter, James, and John, were changed on that mountaintop. That macho guy was surprisingly changed by a letter delivered to his home. And that newly ordain pastor was shockingly changed by an answered prayer at the bedside of a dying woman.
The glory of Jesus Christ was revealed in his transfiguration. But the love of Christ is shown in mission and ministry here – in our daily living. Yes, Jesus meets us in transforming experiences – on mountaintop, level plain, or deepest valley. We just need to accept the experience. For when we do, Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior, will touch our hearts and transform our lives. Only Jesus can do that. Friends, be willing and be ready to be changed by Jesus.
Amen and amen.