Thanks to 2020, I got way behind in posting sermons, so it’s mid-October as I’m posting this sermon from February 23. At the time, I was back from parental leave and ready to focus on leading our congregation to improve attendance at worship. Looking back, this was an absolutely terrible time to try to push for people to come to worship – in fact, this was two weeks after I first mentioned the coronavirus in the prayers.
Anyway, here’s my sermon on evangelism and outreach on the Transfiguration Sunday Gospel reading, Matthew 17:1-9.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
The transfiguration is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, mostly because I appreciate Peter’s reaction to what happens.
We’re going to use this story today to talk about evangelism, but first, picture the scene: Jesus takes a few of the disciples up a mountain, and then suddenly Moses and Elijah are there. Peter’s awestruck at seeing some of the greatest heroes from the Bible standing there talking with Jesus, and oh yeah, Jesus is shining like the sun.
Peter is overwhelmed. He doesn’t know what to do, and so he starts babbling, offering to put up some tents, camp out for a while. Then, while he’s still speaking (and I like to imagine he might be rambling on for a while), a bright cloud appears and a voice says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
The disciples collapse with fear, which seems like an entirely rational response. But Jesus touches them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”
It’s such a fun story to imagine yourself in, to wonder about how you’d react. I think I’d be like Peter, processing it out loud, trying to figure out a plan and fit this miracle into something I can handle.
The important thing about this story, though, is not how Peter and the others react in the moment, but what this miraculous event does for their faith.
In the transfiguration, the disciples start to realize this rabbi they’re following is more than just a great teacher and miracle worker. They get a momentary view of Jesus’ true glory as the Son of God, the Messiah, God in the flesh.
As brief as it is, this glimpse into who Jesus really is gives the disciples the framework they’ll need later to interpret what happens on the cross and at Easter.
Of course, they don’t understand it yet. But months later, as they’re trying to figure out the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection, you can picture them debating, “You think maybe Jesus really is alive? Who is this guy?” “Wait, remember up on the mountain, when we heard that voice from heaven say ‘This is my Son.’ Hmm…”
Pull out your bulletin and read with me what Jesus says in the last verse of the gospel reading. As they’re on their way down the mountain, Jesus orders them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
This amazing thing has happened, but Jesus doesn’t want them to share it….at least, not until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. Not until after Easter. Until they have the lens of the cross and the empty tomb to interpret what they’ve experienced, it would be premature to tell others.
But once they’ve seen Jesus raised from the dead, once they have that framework, everything will fall into place. They’ll be ready to tell people about Jesus, to invite others to see the world through the lens of faith.
So what about us?
Two thousand years later, we know Jesus has died for us on the cross, and we know he is alive today. The glimpse the disciples got of Jesus’ glory confirmed his identity, but even more than that, the empty tomb confirms that Jesus is God in the flesh.
As Peter writes, “We have the prophetic message more fully confirmed.” And knowing who God is gives us a framework of faith to understand the world, to see the Holy Spirit at work.
The lens of faith lets us see that we have a purpose in life, to respond to what God has done for us by loving and serving our neighbors. Faith gives us humility, and a call to work for peace and justice.
By faith, the Holy Spirit gathers us together into God’s people to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, as we talked about a few weeks ago. Faith even allows us to make sense of tragedy, knowing that death never gets the last word. We see everything in light of the resurrection. We see everyone as people for whom Jesus died, people who need to hear the good news, who need the hope we know.
Sometimes I think we fall into a trap of thinking we need to have everything figured out before we can share about Jesus. We think evangelism is for some other professional people who have perfect faith, or if not perfect, at least much more polished, people who are better writers or speakers, who can answer any question someone might throw at them.
But listen to what Peter writes: “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
The world does not need to hear a perfectly polished fairy tale. If the flashiest story with the highest production value carries the most meaning, then the most important story in the world is something like Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Our neighbors don’t need us to give a polished, practiced speech, or have everything all figured out.
They need us to share the story we know, the story to which we are all witnesses because we’ve lived it. They need to encounter the church not as a holier-than-thou institution, not as a group of people claiming to have it all together; they need the same thing we do: A church that’s a hospital for broken people, a community of ordinary, sinful people relying on God’s grace for forgiveness and meaning.
We haven’t had the same experience Peter, James, and John had of seeing Jesus for ourselves. We didn’t get to hear the voice from heaven. Your witness is probably not as flashy as someone else’s, let alone the disciples.
But because you know the truth of what God has done in your life, because you know what difference faith has made for you, you have something worth sharing.
The story we are trusted with is the story of God breaking into the world out of love, coming and living with us. Our lives have meaning not because we’re so great or perfect or holy, but because we know we have been claimed in the waters of baptism and joined to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
I suspect there are days for you when that feels more true, and days when it’s harder to believe or even when you forget all about that you are baptized, washed and claimed by God.
Sometimes we forget to look through the lens of faith, which is exactly why we all need to regularly come to worship to keep hearing about what God’s doing, to keep polishing that faith lens.
I certainly have some days when it’s hard to believe, or when I’m not thinking about faith and ultimate meaning and eternal life, calling, and purpose.
That’s ok, because God’s claim is still true. What God has done for you is just as true whether you’re thinking about it or not.
Even when you’re not thinking about it, you’re still living as a follower of Jesus, as a member of Christ’s body. And the way you live is your witness to your neighbors. Everything you do, everything you say, everything you are has meaning because God has given you a purpose and a mission. The Holy Spirit is at work through you, beloved children of God. As Jesus said to the disciples so he says to you: “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
As we move into the season of Lent, think about who you know who needs to hear the good news of Jesus, maybe for the first time, or who just needs a reminder, a nudge to remember who God is in their life and who they are in God’s eyes.
Perhaps it’s a neighbor, or a co-worker. Maybe someone who’s a member of this church who you haven’t seen here in a while.
Think of a particular person, and I want you to write down the name of the person you’re thinking of on the little card. You can write down a couple of people if you want, or maybe a family, but write down at least one name.
Now, commit to pray for that person, to lift them up to God every day this week. Take that card and put it somewhere where you’ll see it, on your kitchen table, in your fridge, on the bathroom mirror. Pray for God to work in their life, helping them through whatever they might be struggling with, giving them meaning and purpose through faith.
One more thing—and this is the challenging part—reach out to that person and invite them to come to worship in Lent.
Take the postcard, write a note on it, and mail it to them. Call them up, offer to give them a ride to church next weekend.
The Son of Man has been raised from the dead, so it’s time to tell what we’ve seen. Amen