<p>Pastor’s Notes for Transfiguration of Our Lord, A Date: 3/2/14 Theme: The Transfiguration Bible Ref’s: Exodus 24:12-18; Psalm 2 or Psalm 99; 2Peter 1:16-21; and Matthew 17:1-9.</p><p>Prayer of the Day O God, in the transfiguration of your Son you confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the witness of Moses and Elijah, and in the voice from the bright cloud declaring Jesus your beloved Son, you foreshadowed our adoption as your children. Make us heirs with Christ of your glory, and bring us to enjoy its fullness, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.</p><p>Brief Sermon Outline: “When They Looked Up” Focus Statement: With concrete, holy love, we are sent with Jesus to touch others in their grief.</p><p>1. I had a brief talk with my sister-in-law Trina this past Friday. Her husband Mario died from cancer in November. I asked her how things were going—ups & downs as you might imagine, persistent grief, esp. w/ 3 young kids. But then I asked re: the kids, & she shared something remarkable with me. That her children had such a concrete belief in their Dad’s continuing love in their lives. Where Jesus is, there Dad was also living. 2. Children so often lead the way for us adults w/ their unfailing, concrete trust in God’s promises to love us, esp. when life has really got us down in the valleys of suffering/death. The Israelites’ exodus out of slavery into the wilderness on the way to the promised land had many ups & downs. As Moses went up the mountain & into the cloud, God’s glory looked to them like a devouring fire. 3. Well, these people had all seen some pretty amazing, concrete things w/ the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, the pillars of cloud by day & fire by night. These were very trying times; the people needed concrete reminders of whose they were & where they were going. In Judaism, the Exodus is all about God’s concrete acts of mercy on their behalf. 4. Trina draws great strength from the concrete faith of her kids; I imagine it comes most profoundly when they touch—when Mario’s absence is disrupted by the concrete touch of his flesh & blood. 5. This reality is captured in the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration. Peter, James& John were at a parti- cular low point in discipleship. 6 days before, Jesus had laid down his first passion prediction— that he must go to Jerusalem & undergo great suffering and be killed. How depressing is that?! 6. For six days, they’d been mulling over that one—and who could possibly make sense out of a crucified Messiah? Then again, they’d witness some pretty amazing, concrete miracles from this guy. So they followed him up the mountain, but in their hearts they were really downcast & in fear. 7. Now it was long-standing oral tradition that to stand in the presence of God was not only to stand on holy ground, but on dangerous ground. To face God meant you were going to die. It was amazing to see Moses coming down the mountain alive w/ the 10 Commandments in his arms. Elijah, too, encountered God on a mountain and survived. Just as amazed were Peter, James and John when they beheld the Majestic glory and didn’t burn up! 8. They see Moses & Elijah on either side of Jesus, giants in Israel’s story, concrete reminders of the law & the prophets. In Luke, they’re even conversing with Jesus about his “exodus” to Jerusalem. So far, this is all visual until a mystical voice from the cloud says “This is my Son, the Beloved… listen to him.” That’s it! The disciples collapse in fear—they had dared to face the Majestic Glory, now was coming the Majestic Recompense. 9. But right here is our connecting point with Trina’s experience of hope & strength thru her children. When the heavenly voice stops speaking & the bright cloud vanishes, the disciples lie stunned, face down in terror. And what does Jesus do? Yes, he says to them, "Get up & do not be afraid." 10.But what happens 1st? He touches them. Jesus comes to them not as a mystical voice from above but as flesh and blood, fully human, right there. As they come down the mountain Jesus makes it even clearer he isn't some invulnerable being: he tells them he will die & be raised from the dead. 11. Luther commented that the human heart needs concrete things to cling to, promises attached to things like water, bread & wine that can be seen and touched and taken inside—which is why the sacraments are such a profound, concrete experience of hope/strength for the lonely & suffering. 12, “Jesus came & touched them, saying, “Get up & do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.” Not a vision or voice, but God’s love incarnate in flesh and blood. Jesus alone would travel the exodus to Jerusalem, to concrete cross and empty tomb. 13. With Jesus’ initial touch in baptism & his sustaining touch in communion, Jesus encourages us to look up & not be afraid, to see only him as the one who casts out fear with his concrete, holy love. And w/ that concrete, holy love, we are sent to touch others in their grief, to come down the mountain with Jesus into the valleys of life to give hope and strength to the weary.</p><p>Hymn of the Day: “He Comes to Us as One Unknown” (ELW #317, WOV #768)</p><p>Children’s Sermon </p><p><We take up the topic of holiness again (explored at length last Sunday) to talk about the holy mountain on which Moses encountered God and received holy instructions. God wrote the instructions on stone tablets as a way for the people to remember God’s care for them. We have the cross as a way for us to remember what Jesus did for the salvation of the world.></p><p>Pastor: Good morning, kids. I want to ask you a question: What was the sermon about last week? <take their guesses, but it involved Batman & Robin talking about holiness,> Yes, holiness is about God setting aside special things for his special purposes—holy baptism, holy Bible, holy communion, and holy people. And God’s holy purpose or will is to love the world.</p><p>So God gives us holy things to help us remember his love and share it with others. When God spoke to Moses, God told him that he had some special, holy instructions he wanted to give to the people. Do you know what those holy instructions were called? Yes, the Ten Commandments. But did God just say to Moses, go tell the Israelites my holy instructions? </p><p>No, God wrote those Ten Commandments on stone tablets so that the people could always see them and remember those holy instructions. Now, I have something here to show you that’s very special to me. It’s a rock from Hong Kong that my brother, Phil, engraved for me while he was at seminary in Hong Kong. <show the kids, especially the engraved cross></p><p>We have the cross as a way to remind us of Jesus’ love for the whole world—that Jesus died on the cross to forgive us our sins, and so we could be God’s holy people doing God’s holy will of loving the world.</p><p>Let’s pray: Holy God, we thank you for setting us aside as your holy people to do your holy will in the world. Remind us with holy baptism, holy communion, the holy Bible and the holy cross to give you thanks for your love and to do your holy will of loving the world in Jesus’ name. Amen.</p><p>The Word</p><p>(Exodus 24:12-18) The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.</p><p>(Psalm 2) 1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, with trembling 12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all who take refuge in him.</p><p>Or</p><p>(Psalm 99) 1 The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he! 4 Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he! 6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them. 7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them. 8 O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. 9 Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy.</p><p>(2Peter 1:16-21) For 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. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.</p><p>(Matthew 17:1-9) Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”</p><p>Sermon Notes</p><p>Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. (Mt. 17:1-3)</p><p>Here we see Moses and Elijah—two all-stars of faith, two giants in Israel's story—and they're talking with Jesus. How exciting for the disciples who followed Jesus up the mountain! They already believed Jesus was worth following—but great enough to merit this ultimate summit meeting? Simply amazing. </p><p>Peter proposes setting up camp to keep this grand threesome together. But then the voice from the cloud declares "This is my Son, the Beloved ... listen to him." And when Jesus tells his terrified disciples to get up off the ground, "they saw no one except Jesus himself alone."</p><p>While Jesus continues God's work through Moses and Elijah, only he is traveling where no prophet has walked before: to the cross and an empty tomb. Ever since, he has kept traveling with his followers, leading them ever further and deeper into the world. </p><p>Gracious God, open my ears to listen to Jesus Christ today. Keep my eyes on your Beloved who is always and everywhere out ahead of us, calling us to follow. Amen.</p><p>Jonathan Strandjord, ELCA Churchwide Office, Chicago, Illinois</p>