Transfiguration Sermon Outline, February 15, 2015

My sermon post this week is a bit different then usual. Instead of preaching from a manuscript, as I have for every other sermon I’ve ever preached, I preached from a (very detailed) outline. That meant that what I actually said was different at each service, especially the last one, where I rearranged some sections around into an order that I think made more sense.

I still want to post something for this week, so I’m posting the outline here. Just keep in mind that this isn’t exactly what I said. The texts for this Transfiguration Sunday sermon are 2 Kings 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, and Mark 9:2-9.

• Intro
  • What would your perfect day be?
    • Find someone near you and share with them what a perfect day would look like for you.
    • Ask for a few examples
    • One way to describe your perfect day might be as a “mountaintop experience.” That’s what today’s reading is about.
  • Rich text, many directions we could go
    • Focus on the miraculous, on the glowing
      • Similar to Moses receiving 10 commandments at Mt. Sinai
      • Identifies Jesus
        • Sets him apart
        • Reminds disciples Jesus is more than just a mere man
    • Focus: Bookends to season of Epiphany
      • Again, it’s a focus on Jesus’ identity

• Epiphany tarted with Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan by John, punctuated by a voice from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The Father sounds proud.
• That voice was talking to Jesus. Here, it’s a little different. The voice is talking to the disciples, and it again makes it clear that Jesus is God’s Son, but this time there’s a command. Listen to him.
• Good transition to season of Lent, which starts on Wednesday. At Christmas, we heard about Jesus’ birth. During Epiphany, we’ve talked about who Jesus is. Now, having established that Jesus is God’s Son, we’ll talk about who we are. On Ash Wednesday, we’ll hear we are, and be reminded of both our own mortality and God’s claim on us.
• Focus: Israelite history
  • This passage’s context: Jesus had just talked about the coming of the Kingdom of God as this imminent event. The people of Israel have been waiting a long time for this.
  • They’ve been waiting for God to act, to break in, to rescue them.
  • And it’s immediately fulfilled. Two of the most important characters from Israelite history appear, Moses and Elijah. This is the fulfillment of the promises. To see Jesus with Moses and Elijah reaffirms his importance. The disciples realize this is it: the Kingdom of God. This is what they’ve been waiting for!
  • Realization: They might be just a vision, or maybe we’re expected to believe it’s actually them. Moses died, but off alone, apart from all the people, outside the promised land. We just heard about Elijah not dying.
• Peter
  • We’re at St. Peter Lutheran Church, so I want to focus on Peter and his reaction.
  • We know Peter’s part of the inner circle, Jesus’ closest friends who he takes on a retreat with him. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up this mountain, by themselves.
    • This isn’t unusual. Jesus is a little bit of an introvert, and he frequently goes away by himself to pray, and it’s not that unusual
  • As they’re up there, this great moment happens, with Moses and Elijah appearing, and the disciples are terrified. Something big is going on.
  • Of course, it’s Peter who starts babbling.
  • Unsure what’s going on, but he suggests building tents. He’s a practical sort of guy.
  • Peter gets carried away and seems to want to hold on to the experience.
• Mountain top experience
  • The term has caught on. Maybe it’s how you feel on your perfect day.
  • Great story for TEC, other retreats
  • Mountain top experiences don’t always end the way we expect them to

• I climbed a mountain at a camp in Colorado, and it was this great experience. Beautiful scenery, we had lunch with us, etc. We expected to stay a while.

• There was a cross on top. But when we got to the top, we could see a storm quickly approaching.

• Mountains and valleys (crises) bring out faith. On your perfect day, maybe you’d take time to thank God for how wonderful it is. When you’re out in nature, or with family, remembering to praise God is easy.
• Or in the opposite situation, in a valley. It can be easier to pray in a hospital room, or in a crisis. Or, it can be harder, wondering where God is. But crises force us to wonder, to respond in faith, or doubt.
  • It’s the monotony of the plain that’s hard. It’s when everything is going ok that it becomes easier to rely on ourselves, to abandon God. Everyday life is on the plain.
  • On the plain, we can forget to respond at all. We can get so wrapped up in our own lives, in the day to day mundaneness, that we forget about God.
• I think that’s part of why this story comes right before Lent. It’s a reminder that the everyday is not what it might appear to be.
• Transfigure comes from Greek “metamorphosis” meaning to change. On what Peter, James, and John thought was a normal day, Jesus is transfigured before them, and their perception of him, their understanding of what they’re doing, is changed. They’ve been waiting for God to break through, but when they’re on the mountain, they’re told that the mountain isn’t the point.
• Listening to Jesus
  • Maybe my favorite part
  • Peter is babbling about pitching tents to stay in, everybody’s terrified, and then God speaks.
  • Actually, God interrupts.
  • Same as at baptism, but with a command.
  • This is my Son; Listen to him!
  • Listening to Jesus is dangerous.
    • What do we expect to hear when we listen to God?
    • What do we want to hear?
    • Might want answers (Moses and Elijah are there!), but then they look around and there’s only Jesus.
  • They might want to hear about Jesus rescuing them from the Romans, but in a few chapters, Jesus will be killed.
  • For much of the rest of Mark, Jesus will tell the disciples things they’re uncomfortable hearing, like that the kingdom of heaven is found in children, like that they should pay taxes to the oppressive government, like greatness is found in being a servant and the first will be last and the last will be first. He’ll tell them that he, their leader, will suffer and die.
  • What do people hear when they listen to us?
    Do they hear Jesus?
  • In 2 Corinthians 4:5, Paul writes, “We do not proclaim ourselves, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.”
  • If we’re obeying God and listening to Jesus, our message won’t always be comfortable. We proclaim Christ crucified and risen.
• Conclusion
  • As we move into Lent, our message gets more and more controversial. We move from the joy of the Father proclaiming joy and pride at the Son, to reminding ourselves of our mortality, proclaiming the disconcerting message of Christ, our savior, crucified for us. But we also proclaim that that is good news. The Transfiguration isn’t the point; it’s only a stop on the way to the cross, and to resurrection.We proclaim that God is with us not just on the mountains and in the valleys, but also in the every day life on the plain.