THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS is another of those major events in the Bible that speak directly to us of his divine nature and point us strongly to the truth that he was indeed God’s unique and personal revelation of himself. Transfiguration Sunday therefore, is an important day on the Church calendar, not only for the Church to celebrate, but also to confirm and be affirmed by it.
But before we get into that, let us observe first why the Transfiguration is where it is on the Church calendar.
The Church liturgical calendar, as you heard me say before, begins with the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is that season, which occupies our calendar for the four weeks immediately proceeding Christmas. During Advent, the church focuses on the fulfillment of God’s promise of Messiah’s coming and points to his anticipated return to rule as King of the Ages. Advent is the appropriate time to begin the Church liturgical year, signifying that Christ alone is the author and finisher of all that goes on in Church life and ministry.
Advent comes to an end on Christmas day. Christmas then continues as the shortest season on the church calendar. Its theme extends for only twelve days, which end with the beginning of another important but longer season, known to us as Epiphany, the season of divine revelations and manifestations.
Epiphany goes on for six weeks and concerns itself with biblical topics that shed more light on Christ’s true identity. Some of those topics, with which Epiphany deals, are: the Wise Men’s recognition of Jesus as God’s Messiah, heaven’s recognition of Jesus as the Son of God at his baptism, and the miracles of Jesus’ recognition of him as One who possesses divine powers.
Epiphany comes to a climax at the Transfiguration, which happens to be the occasion of this Sunday. The Transfiguration of our Lord marks the end of the six weeks of Epiphany, which began January 6th. It is a remarkable incident that serves two purposes. It brings Epiphany to a close in a most assuring way and opens the door for Lent. Lent, like Epiphany is another season of six, which in turn comes to an end on Easter Sunday. Then the Church goes through the seven weeks of Easter, which end on Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost Sunday begins the longest season of the church year. The Pentecost season covers all the weeks from Pentecost to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, known to us as “Christ the King Sunday,” the last day of the Church year.
The reason for sharing with you this background is twofold: First, it helps us put the Transfiguration of our Lord, in its legitimate theological context. The Transfiguration is another revelation of who Jesus really is. It is part of Epiphany. Secondly, such background is a reminder for us to be intentional in learning to place our theological beliefs in their historical biblical spot.
As we worshipfully celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord, and close the season of Epiphany in anticipation of Lent, let us reflect on what this most beautiful of the days Jesus spent on earth, mean to our daily living and to all that we have learned so far about Christ’s identity.
FIRST: THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD IS HEAVEN”S CONFIRMATION OF HIS UNIQUENESS AS GOD’S PERSONAL REVELATION OF HIMSELF.
The Transfiguration confirms that Jesus alone is divine. No human in all of history, past, present or future, can share in Christ’s divine attributes.
We live in dangerous times, times that have confused the truth about God. Among even some of the men and women of the faith, there are those who have compromised biblical truth, encouraging the acceptance of other faiths as inspired and divine. My friends, if there is anything in our beliefs that calls for inflexibility and narrow-mindedness, it is this: Jesus Christ alone is God. He alone is the direct personal revelation of the Eternal Lord of heaven and earth. He alone possesses divine attributes. When we speak of him, we should never speak of him as one of several others.
The inspired word of God, the creedal confessions of our faith, and our own personal convictions will not agree with making of Jesus Christ a deity among many others. Our Reform teachings prohibit equating Jesus to other men who taught as he did. In fact, the Church, from the days of its perception, has always believed that to equate Jesus with others is to throw God’s ultimate Truth in Satan’s hell.
Do I sound like a fundamentalist? Do I sound narrow-minded? So does God’s word.
We must be aware of the temptation within our pluralistic society to recognize and express spiritual loyalty to all who have influenced our thinking and our philosophy of life. Like Peter, our culture wants as many shelters for those “inspired examples and figures in history,” as possible. A dwelling must be erected on the same line of respect and recognition to each one of them. In the name of commitment to religious tolerance, many have lost their spiritual sense of direction and have forgotten that Jesus Christ alone is God Incarnate.
The Transfiguration story recognizes the uniqueness of Jesus as the only one worthy of true spiritual loyalty and honor. No one beside him is divine.
It is no accident that this glorious of all the days that Jesus spent on earth, is the climax of the season of Epiphany. It is the seal of all revelations and manifestations about him. It comes to us as a ‘sneak preview’ of who he really is throughout all of eternity.
Reflect then with me on how this incident reveals that only Jesus is divine:
Christ’s divinity is seen, first of all, in what happened to his appearance. Luke tells us that while Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face was dramatically changed and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightening. Matthew refers to the same incident by saying, “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
From an Old Testament perspective only God, Jehovah God, is spoken of as “blinding light,” figuratively and literally. The angels around the throne had to cover their faces in his presence. When Isaiah saw God’s glory fill the temple, Isaiah shouted, “Woe am I.”
When we speak of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we are dealing with a Greek verb that indicates the act transforming so as to exalt or glorify.
Light and purity have always referred to divinity and holiness. What happened to Jesus on the Mount of the Transfiguration speaks therefore of his divinity.
But, secondly, this divine nature of our Lord is also seen in the appearance of two remarkable saints from the ancient past: Moses and Elijah descended to the Mount of the Transfiguration at the moment Jesus’ appearance was changed.
But why in particular was Moses and Elijah’s presence significant to that experience?
Moses and Elijah represent the beginning and the end of Israel. Moses as the ‘Law Giver’ established the nation. Elijah as the forerunner of Messiah is the usher to the New Kingdom. Thus the presence of these two saints at the moment of Christ’s Transfiguration, is God’s way of saying: “Now, this Jesus is the fulfillment of both the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) wait for—or expect no other. This is he of whom the Law and the Prophets (from Genesis to the end of O.T. writings) spoke as the true Messiah of God.
A third evidence of the divinity of Christ seen in this episode is the drama heaven employed itself in performing. Heaven opened and a voice proclaimed, “This is my Son, the physical form of my invisible nature.” God was the one speaking. “You must listen to him.”
From the beginning God was in the business of getting our attention. From the time Adam and Eve were created, nothing was more important to God than the human ear.
In paradise, God wanted Adam and Eve to hear and obey. In the commandments, God wanted human beings to listen to God’s voice. Through the prophets, and the final days in Jesus, the word of God. Had Jesus not been divine the voice from heaven would not instruct the disciples to listen to him.
But the fourth evidence in Christ’s Transfiguration which speaks of his divinity is also and equally remarkable. When Peter was tempted to treat Jesus with the same treatment he offered to Moses and Elijah Moses and Elijah vanished, and Jesus remained. This is heavens’ way of placing Jesus at a level that could not be shared by someone else.
So, the first focus of the Transfiguration incident is to reveal the true nature of the Christ, the man—which he was indeed like no other—he was the Eternal God on a mission to the human race.
SECOND: THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD WAS HEAVEN”S WAY OF GIVING HIM A FORETASTE OF HIS FUTURE GLORY.
The Transfiguration incident was a glimpse of the glory promised to him after his death and resurrection, a ‘sneak preview’ of how his exaltation after enduring the crucifixion.
Two comforting points branch out from this theme:
The first is this: Having experienced a taste of the exaltation and the glory, which awaited him, Jesus received comfort and strength to endure the pain and suffering he expected to experience at the time of his crucifixion.
Secondly, This Transfiguration episode serves also as a reminder that we too, need to be sensitive to mountain top experiences and be reminded of them often. They are a reminder for us that there is a glorious side to life, which will be fulfilled at the end of our days. Mountain top experiences are to be viewed as a source of strength and hope when we are face to face with trials and tribulations.
Christianity has, at its core a basic joyous and optimistic view on life. It proclaims: Look at the total picture; the end is not what you see. The Transfiguration episode is a reminder for us to go through life with the assurance that our future is “out of this world.”
And just as Jesus was transfigured while he was praying, we too can catch a glimpse of God’ s promise of our eternity with him, when we come before him with all that disappoints and disturbs us. Only when we are in the presence of God, can we really foretaste our future presence with him.
THIRD: THE TRANSFIGURATION HELPS US UNDERSTAND THAT MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES ARE MEANS TO AN END. THEY ARE DESIGNED TO EQUIP US TO SERVE IN THE VALLEY.
They are usually rare but have their place in life. They don’t usually repeat themselves in the same manner, but they are equally unique. They are brief but should have a lasting, energizing, renewing impact on us personally and as a church.
The disciples were ecstatic when they were surrounded with God’s peaceful, illuminating, and refreshing presence. They did not want to go back to life in the valley.
To them, nothing else mattered. They did not care to be found. That mountain top experience was the escape they never imagined possible.
One can just imagine high above the earth, the light of God’s actual presence, the visitants from heaven—who needed anything else? Fishing nets, lepers, laboring for a living, suffering, persecution and death?
“Lord, it is good to be here let us build our dwellings here…” Peter said. Can anything else be better?
Haven’t we all had wonderful moments, which we wished would last?
But life, my friends, from the time of the Fall of Adam and Eve, has been life in the valley—not on the mountaintop. Jesus compelled the disciples that they had a mission in the valley. So they came down from the mountain only to face a huge crowd of needy and hurting people. This teaches us two things:
1. To be thankful for and never take “mountain top experiences” for granted. They are designed gifts from God to you.
2. To be able to use those experiences as a source from which we can draw energy and power as we serve and relate to others in our lives.
