Second Presbyterian Church

"Hear Him!
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
October 24, 2004

Upcoming Events

Worship Schedule

Sermons

About the Church

• Accessibility to the Church

• Directions to the Church

• History of the Church

Church Staff

Groups & Organizations

• Boy Scouts of America - Troop 175

• Choirs

• Presbyterian Women

• SPY (Second Presbyterian Youth)

Committees

• Building & Grounds

• Church Growth

• Congregational Care & Fellowship

• Education & Nurture

• Finance

• Office & Personnel

• Stewardship

• Witness & Service

• Worship & Celebration

Ad Hoc Committees

• Architectural - Engineering

• Building Fund

Presbyterian Internet Sites of Interest

Virginia Links

• Virginia Cities

Web Site Statistics

Site Map

Second Presbyterian Church Homepage

Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for October 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#33 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Exodus 24: 12-18
• Luke 9: 28-36

There is a scene from the book of Revelation in which the Lamb (Jesus Christ exalted) opens seven seals. Seal one was the white horse that conquers. Seal two was the red horse of war. The third seal was the black horse of judgment. The fourth seal was the pale horse of death, and so on. Seal after seal was broken by the Lamb and the judgment of the Lord went forth throughout the earth.

When we finally get to the seventh seal, after an interlude of the 144,000 and the calling forth of the elect to the throne of the Lamb, the Lamb opened the seventh seal. There was silence. The judgment was so awesome that all heaven was struck silent for a half hour.

And it is that sense that this experience of the Transfiguration brings forth in me when I contemplate the scene. Whatever is said takes away from the power that this event emitted. Why, because the event was an epiphany; it is a visible manifestation and experience of God. And when I consider God and how dreadfully awesome He is, there are no words in the English language to describe Him. There are no words in any language that does God, or the experience of the Glory of God justice.

And that is a great problem today. We are so technical and so sophisticated in our living and thinking that we have little-to-no room left for the Mystery and majesty of God. God seems to be either a crutch or a figment of our imagination. Too often we are going through the motions of religion because we have been doing so for most of our lives. We can say the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer so automatically that we can allow our minds to drift off to yesterday's football game or to Sunday dinner without missing a single word in our recitation.

There is more to the problem. On the one hand we have those who are automatic Christians, but on the other hand we have many people around us who don't seem to have any idea about the existence of God and the majesty of God. God and Jesus are simply words used to express feelings - or used as swear words.

The disciples had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah of God. Jesus had just made his first prediction of his coming crucifixion and resurrection. And then he makes, not so much as a call to discipleship, but a warning about discipleship. "If anyone would follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." Jesus doesn't want his disciples to be fooled; he gives them the "heads up." Discipleship is tough. It will cost you your life. Nothing else in your life can get in its way; follow Jesus comes first, period.

And then Luke describes the incredible scene from our lesson. Jesus, Peter, John, and James are on the mountain. Jesus is praying and the other three are asleep. When suddenly Jesus' face changes and his clothes become dazzling white. Two others appear with Jesus: Moses and Elijah. And what are they talking about? They are talking about Jesus' pending departure that would take place in Jerusalem. Translation: Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were discussing Jesus' crucifixion and ascension.

Peter and the other two disciples awake, still groggy, and witness Jesus in his glory and see the other two men. Moses and Elijah depart and Peter makes some suggestion about making three booths, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

Then the cloud appears. This brings great fear to the disciples. Clouds are a marvelous way to describe the manifestation and presence of God. It reveals God's presence; it protects people from looking upon God directly. Remember the cloud on the mountain with Moses? Remember the smoke that filled Solomon's brand new temple when he dedicated it to the LORD? Remember the pillar of cloud by day that led the Children of Israel through the wilderness?

When the cloud enshrouded the four on the mountain, the voice of God speaks. Just like it did to Jesus when he had been baptized by John. And it said similar words. "This is my Son, the Chosen One, hear him!" As the commentator on the New Interpreter's Bible noted, "If God were to say nine words to us it would be, 'This is my Son, the Chosen One, hear Him!'"

And that is our message; it IS the message from God. "This is my Son, the Chosen One, hear Him!" It is not, "This is one of my sons, one of several chosen, listen to whomever you feel the most comfortable." It is not, "There is but one God and Mohammed is his prophet."

Peter had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah of God. The disciples had already heard, for the first time - without understanding, that being the Messiah meant that Jesus would be rejected, executed, then raised from the dead. The transfiguration, in part confirmed the validity of this truth - Jesus is the Son of God and Savior.

And for this truth to benefit us, we must hear Him. We shall see in the next chapters and verses just how much the disciples had yet to learn. Knowing that Jesus is the Messiah is one thing. But are we willing to let Jesus teach us how to be his disciples? In anticipation of this, we can be encouraged that the disciples had much to learn. We can be encouraged that they really did not understand what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah of God until AFTER his crucifixion and resurrection. Then it all came together. We can be encouraged in our own journey as disciples, because our understanding about God, Jesus Christ, etc. is not complete either.

This mountain-top experience didn't mean much to Peter, John and James at first. They kept it to themselves. They were fearful. But AFTER the passion of Jesus, they beheld Jesus in all his glory as resurrected. They remembered the experience of praying on the mountain. THEN they understood. They understood who Jesus was and that following Him was worth the risk of dying.

And I believe that this is true for us. Perhaps we shall never experience anything like the transfiguration of Jesus. After all, only 3 of the twelve disciples did, and perhaps Paul when he was on the road to Damascus. But the glory of Christ is ever before those of us who are willing to see and hear Jesus. His glory is in the love he showed to humankind when he chose to die on the cross for our sins. His glory is in the Grace and Mercy He has given us so that we are forgiven and reconciled to God. His glory is in his choosing us to be His disciples and to become part of the People of God - The Church of Jesus Christ. His glory is in the promise that He shall return and creation shall be totally renewed. Jesus' glory is in His calling us to follow Him even when it means dying, because death as we know it shall also die and no longer exist. The glory of Christ is also in the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. In that the common elements of nature; water, wine and bread; are used to provide Divine nurture to our spirits. The two sacraments reflect the work of Jesus of Nazareth in that He was God who lived with us as a man; who died on the cross for our salvation, and rose from the dead for our redemption.

Words just plain cannot grasp this mighty, glorious, majestic, self-less love that Jesus Christ poured out for lost humankind. Thank you, Lord, thank you.

Now, if we believe this, can we obey Jesus and "Hear Him?" Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.