Sermon St E          9.45 14 February 2021         Year B         Transfiguration
2 Kings 2v1-12         Psalm50v1-6         2 Cor 4v3-6                  Mark 9v2-9

Let us pray:

Perhaps one of the foundational beliefs of our Christion faith are the words spoken by God the Father at the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus, “This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to Him”. A lesson for all of us as believers that we must always be ‘listening to Jesus’ if we are truly to become His disciples. So let us take a look at this important, and theologically significant, story of Jesus’ transfiguration recorded in all three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, and referred to by St Peter in his second epistle (2Pt1v16), saying “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty”.

The first question we may have is why did Jesus only take three of his disciples with him up that high mountain to witness his glory? We read in our gospel that this event took place six days after Jesus had been with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi in the north of the Galilee. There Jesus had asked the disciples a searching question “Who do you say that I am?” A question that Jesus still askes of all people today, and a question that each one of us has had to make an answer to, so can we, have we, said like Peter, “You are the Messiah”, you are the anointed one from God. Perhaps it was in recognition of this great confession from Peter that Jesus took him, together with James and John, his closest three disciples, up the high mountain to witness His glory.

So where was that high mountain? If you visit Israel the tour guides will take you to mount Tabor in the Galilee, where there is an easily accessible commemorative church, but in Jesus time there was a Roman garrison at the top. The more probable true location is on the slopes of the towering mount Hermon, in the north, and not so accessible for the average tourist.

Then it was there on Hermon’s holy slopes that Jesus was transfigured, changed in appearance, in the presence of Moses and Elijah, and clothed in ‘dazzling white raiment’, in Luke’s words, or as Matthew says, ‘white as light’, and this reclothing of Jesus was a clear indication of His divinity.

You will remember that throughout the scriptures we see descriptions of God surrounded by light, and as the Hebrew people made their exodus from the bondage of Egypt, what accompanied them? Yes, the shekinah glory, the pilar of dazzling light that hovered over the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting between God and Moses, and signified that God was travelling with them on their journey to freedom in the promised land. And we as Christians have that same light of God, the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, travelling with us along the path of our present earthly pilgrimage.

But why Moses and Elijah? And of course you know the answer to that. Because they signified how both the Jewish law, the Torah, and all the Prophets, pointed to the coming of Jesus as Messiah. The Torah and the Prophets had maintained throughout Jewish history, a testimony to the coming of Messiah, the anointed One from God the Father. Do you remember the words Jesus spoke to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, that the words of the prophets spoke of him, and of his suffering. Jesus takes up that same theme, in Luke’s account of the transfiguration, speaking to those three disciples of, ‘his departure which was soon to be accomplished at Jerusalem’, through his death on Calvary’s tree.

We then read of what I take as some often misunderstood words from Peter, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”, and Mark adds, ‘for he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid’. Clearly the three disciples had recognised who was with Jesus, Moses and Elijah, but were they afraid, or were they in exceeding awe at the majesty and person of their Lord being transfigured before their eyes in this spectacular way?

I think Peter’s words held in them a pointer for us to indicate the time of year when this event actually took place. Can you make that link?

In speaking of booths the thought that may have flashed into Peter’s mind may have been the upcoming Jewish festival of booths, or Tabernacles. A time when the people still dwelt in temporary shelters for a week, a time to remember their ancestors who had dwelt in tents, or booths, as they moved across the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan during the 40 years.

If that was the case then the transfiguration may have been in late summer of AD 29 just before the celebration of Tabernacles in the September.

But then we have recorded the ultimate testimony to the divinity and person of our Lord Jesus in the words of God coming from that voice from the bright cloud that had overshadowed them all on the mountain slopes.

Matthew records those words more fully than Mark saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him”. What do you notice? There are three short, but very significant, phrases. And just where did each of those phrase come from?

Maybe you already know that the Jewish bible, our Old Testament, is divided into three sections, ‘the Torah’, the law of Moses; the Prophets, the Nevi’im; and the Writings, the Ketuvim. These three divisions form the acronym Tanakh, the name describing the Hebrew Bible.

The three phrases spoken by God’s voice from the cloud, each have their origin in one of those three sections of the Tanakh, showing how God was specifically affirming the person of His beloved Son Jesus from the ancient scriptures.

‘You are my Son’, is a quotation from the great psalm two where God says, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”. This now forms part of our creedal statement, so here reference was being made to the writings.

Then we had, ‘with whom I am well pleased’, a quote from the great prophet Isaiah, where at the start of chapter 42 God says, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights”. Clearly God took great delight, and was well pleased, with the obedience shown by Jesus in doing the will of his heavenly Father. A delight God still experiences as we his children today chose to obey His commandments and statutes.

And finally, the little phrase ‘listen to him’, comes from the Torah, the first five books of the bible, it is a quote from Deuteronomy chapter 18 (v15). There Moses makes a prophetic promise to the people saying, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me, from among you, from your brethren-him you shall heed”, or listen to.

I guess Moses when he also heard the voice from the cloud thought, ‘I told you so, and here he is’, the prophet like me God promised to raise up.

What clearer witness could there be from God the Father in heaven to the person of our Lord than reference to all three sections of the Hebrew scripture, references that would not have been missed by those three disciples. Reference that we, and all humankind, neglect at our peril.

Jesus was indeed shown to be greater than all the law and the prophets.

No wonder Matthew tells us that the disciples hearing that testimony ‘fell on their faces and were filled with awe’. Jesus then went to those three disciples and touched them saying, “Rise and have no fear”, the cloud with Moses and Elijah vanished, and the disciples looked, and saw ‘no one but Jesus only’

What an encouragement for us that at all times and through all our various situations, we only need to look and to see Jesus for us to be able to move along our path with no fear as we exercise our faith and trust in him.

But just why, after such a transformational encounter, as they came down from the mountain to meet up with the other disciples, did Jesus instruct them to tell no one of their experience till after He had been raised from the dead?

Perhaps it was to avoid any possible misunderstanding that such an early revelation of his true and unmistakable identity as the Messiah, could have if too many people shared in that knowledge before his resurrection.

The writer to the Hebrews (1v3) may have seen in the transfiguration a clear indication that Jesus reflects ‘the glory of God, and bears the very stamp of God’s nature, upholding the universe by his word of power’.

That is the Jesus we have been called to love and to serve. The Jesus who  not only fulfilled all that was written of him in the Tanakh to be the Messiah and to be ‘the lamb of God who was to take away our sin’, but also the very word who in the beginning was with God the Father.

That is the Jesus who has promised to you and to me an ‘eternal life’, and the hope of a future together with him in the coming new creation. Now that should bring about a transfiguration of our lives and our ways.

Let us take a moment of quiet as we reflect upon the awesome nature of Jesus our Lord, our Saviour and our coming King. Amen

This is my sermon for last Sunday (31 January) that I should have give at Peter and Mary Tavy, but they have now closed!

Sermon for Candlemas 31 January 2021 Year B Epiphany 4 Presentation
Malachi 3v1-5 Psalm 24v 7-10 Hebrews 2v 14-18 Luke 2v22-40

Let us pray

Even from before the time of King David the Jewish people had been looking forward to the coming of a ‘Messiah’ figure, a prophet like Moses to lead them out of bondage, and to fulfil the promise to be a light to the nations. And then it happened, just as the prophet Malachi had said, but not as most of the people were expecting, one who was to deliver them from the oppression of the Romans. No, Messiah suddenly came into the Lord’s Temple as a babe, the one who was to purify and refine through His suffering upon a Roman cross.

Simeon and Anna represent those who had down through the centuries held fast to the hope of a Messiah who would suddenly appear in the Temple. And Simeon had been given God’s promise that he was not to die till he should see that promise fulfilled, and in responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit he entered the Temple at the very moment the Holy family arrived with Jesus.

I wonder, would you have placed in the arms of a complete stranger your precious baby as Mary did when meeting the old Simeon? Clearly this too was a prompting from the Holy Spirit in Mary, and the response was a revelation from God to Simeon enabling him to declare the grace and mercy that God was to provide to all humankind through his gift of baby Jesus. Simeon broke into praise and thanks to God in the beautiful words of the ‘Nunc Dimittis’.

Simeon, after his wait of many years, could at last ‘depart in peace’ for he had now seen the one who was to provide ‘God’s salvation’; a salvation not just for the Jewish nation who had been awaiting the Messiah, but a salvation for the peoples of all nations who would put their faith and trust in this babe.

Jesus was indeed to be a light to the Gentiles, a light that was to make known the mystery that Saint Paul speaks of that had been hidden for generations; a mystery that God’s salvation was to be for all peoples as well as for the glory of God’s people Israel. There we may have a controversial issue, which we shall not touch on here, but to say that not only did Jesus fulfil all the Old Testament prophecies concerning his birth, but there are still many more prophecies still to be fulfilled both those relating to the coming return of Jesus, and prophecies relating to the nation of Israel which we see being fulfilled in our time.

Simeon also declares to Mary a hint of her son’s future death in the words, ‘a sword will pierce your own soul too’.

I guess that Mary did not understand what those words meant at that time as she rejoiced in the joy of having just fulfilled God’s purpose for her declared by the angel Gabriel at the annunciation of Jesus birth. Emmanuel, God was now with us in her baby, but when she looked back after the dark afternoon of Calvary, all must have started to fall into place.

After Simeon handed the precious babe back to Mary we see the faithful Anna coming onto the scene, she was also directed by the same Holy Spirit. Anna was 84, and had probably been married around the age of 13 to 14, as was the custom in her society during the second Temple period. Her life had not been easy, only married for 7 years and then living as a widow for over 60 years. We read that Anna had spent her lifetime in the worship and praise of God in the Temple. The phrase implying that she spent her time ‘night and day’ in the Temple needs some comment for the Temple doors were shut at night apart for the time around ‘Yom Kippur’, the day of atonement. So was Jesus presented in the Temple around the time of that special day? Jesus was the true high priest who was going to atone for our sin once and for all?

Anna is a lesson for all of us as disciples of our Lord and Master. Our lives like hers should be filled with praise and worship to God, and our lips should be speaking of the redemption that Jesus still brings to this world, a world still held in its bondage to sin and death, until freedom comes through the liberating massage of the gospel.

After their time in the Temple the Holy family returned to their home in Bethlehem, and remained there until after the visit of the Magi, the wise men, some 15 months later, that time which we remember during the Epiphany. The holy family then had to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod, and the tradition of the Egyptian Coptic Church is that they remained in Egypt for some two to four years before making their move back to Joseph’s home in Nazareth. I don’t know about you but I would love to have some of the details of Jesus early home and family life. There are many stories dating from the second century relating to this time, but most of them are far to fanciful.

However, we are told in the gospels that Jesus became strong and was filled with wisdom, and we have evidence for this in the later gospel story when Jesus was twelve years old and we read of him debating with the scribes in the Temple.

Jesus also found favour in his Father’s sight, a favour that was to remain with him throughout his life as he sought to do the ‘will of him who sent me.’

That is again a lesson for us to who seek to follow our master who said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments”. We are called to do the will of Jesus who has called us, and then sends us as his ambassadors to our world.

Through Jesus obedience to God’s will, and through his death on Calvary, Jesus overcame the old order of sin and death. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus came that he might ‘destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil’.

Remember that, because of our faith, you and I are described as the descendents of Abraham, and we are thereby set free from the fear of death. Our faith and trust in Jesus make us brothers and sisters with our Lord, truly an amazing promise and hope of things to come. It is so important to grasp that it is through Jesus death and resurrection, and through our faith and trust in Him, that we are now God’s adopted children.

And that faith gives to us the promise of hope as we enter another new year, a hope that so many long and need to hear. It is the promise of sharing in the eternal life of Jesus, and in the kingdom that God has prepared for those who love him. It is a promise that with all the saints we shall be partakers of God’s new creation, a creation where ‘sorrow and sighing will have passed away’. Now if that hope does not set our hearts on fire I do not know what will.

So as we gather round the table of our risen Lord once again this morning, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made of his body and his blood in order to bring us into fellowship with the one true and holy God, to give us that promised share in his eternal life. May we resolve this new year that through God’s grace, and the power of his indwelling Holy Spirit, we may live out our lives in a way that finds favour in God’s sight.

Let us pray: The shorter Collect for the 4^th Sunday of the Epiphany,

God of heaven,
you send the gospel to the ends of the earth and your messengers to every nation:
send your Holy Spirit to transform us by the good news of everlasting life that we now have in Jesus Christ our Lord and Master. Amen