Matthew 17:1-9

Common English Bible (CEB)

17

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain. 2 He was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, Lord, its good that were here. If you want, Ill make three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
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While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him! 6 Hearing this, the disciples fell on their faces, filled with awe.
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But Jesus came and touched them. Get up, he said. Dont be afraid. 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
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As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, Dont tell anybody about the vision until the Human One is raised from the dead.
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Many people wonder about the veracity of this story, as they do with most of the Bibles miraculous tales. They wonder why its so important to have Jesus transfigured, changed into a radiant version of himself. You may be one of those who find a story like this hard to relate to. But I think that it should be very easy for our church to relate this. Think of about it. It is the story of small gathering of people. They gather on top of mountain to receive a word from God. The mountain is covered in a cloud that separates it from the people at the bottom of the mountain. Matthew is writing about our church. Most Sundays, we gather up here in the clouds, just a few of us, and we hope to hear a word from God as well. I think if we pay attention to this story we just might learn something. To understand this story we have to understand how it fits into the whole narrative of Jesus. Jesus has been traveling with his followers around Galilee. He has been healing the sick and preaching about the kingdom of God. People were trying to figure out who Jesus was. Was he the the one who will set Israel free from Rome? Or was that John the Baptist? Some people saw Jesus and John as a reincarnations of Elijah, or Jeremiah, two of Israels greatest prophets. In the chapter just before this story (Matthew 16:13-27), Jesus asked his disciples, Who do you say that I am? Peter is always the first to give an answer, so he shouts out, You are the Christ, the Son of the living the living God.

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Jesus is so pleased with Peters recognition of this truth, he tells Peter that he will be the foundation on which Christ will build his Church. Thats some pretty high praise. But wait, theres more to this story. Jesus went on to tell his disciples about what would happen in Jerusalem, betrayal, suffering, and death. Once again Peter shouts out, God forbid, Lord. This wont happen! Jesus again answers Peter exultation, but this time he says, Get behind me, Satan. Now, to call someone Satan is a pretty strong statement. When Jesus calls you Satan, that is about as bad as it gets. Jesus has just said Peter is the rock on which the church will be built, and a rock which could cause Jesus to stumble. Peter rightly knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah and the Son of God, and yet he had more to learn. So Jesus talked to his disciples about denying themselves and bearing a cross. Peter just needed to learn about sacrifice, enduring suffering, and then he would finally understand who Jesus was. But wait theres more to this story. Immediately after Jesus talked to his disciples about the great cost of discipleship, we find todays reading. Six days pass and Jesus grabs his closest friends, Peter, James, and John. And they head up on the mountain. Maybe this is special lesson about suffering. About carrying a cross. As they reach the top of the mountain, something starts to happen to Jesus. The word we use in Church is that Jesus is Transfigured. His appearance changes right in front of the their eyes. Basically, he begins to glow. And then the three

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disciples see Moses and Elijah. Both Moses and Elijah had gone on top of a mountain to encounter God. (Exodus 24:12-18, I Kings 19:8-18) Once again, Peter thinks he has everything figured out. He speaks again, Lord it is good that we are here, let us make three shelters, three booths, three tents, three tabernacles, one for the each of you. But wait, theres more, Peters voice is overshadowed by another voice- a voice hidden in a cloud that engulfs the mountain. The voice names Jesus as the beloved Son of God. And commands the disciples to listen to Jesus. They fall to the ground in fear. Moses, Elijah, Jesus glowing in the dark. The voice of God in a cloud. They finally see Jesus for who he is. He is Moses, who met with God on the mountain, who led Gods people out of slavery and into freedom. Jesus is Elijah, speaking truth to power, calling the wicked to repentance. He is Gods son, so full of Glory that he glows. Peter thinks he finally has Jesus figured out. But wait theres more. Peter is cowering on the ground. He has heard the voice of God speaking, he has seen a vision of the heroes of scripture, the Law and the Prophets manifest before him. It was so awesome it was frightening. His eyes are closed, He has know idea what will happen next. Will God reveal more laws like God did for moses? Will God send a whirlwind and sweep them all to heaven, like God did to Elijah? As he trembles on the ground. He hears Jesus say, Do not be afraid. Peter opens his eyes and things are back

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to normal, and Jesus is headed down the mountain. That scene, the mountain, the cloud. Moses, Elijah, Gods voice, that should have been the end. That should have been it. End of story. But Jesus is heading down the mountain telling them to not tell this story until after he has been raised from the dead. Peter thought he had Jesus figured out up on that mountain, but Jesus was not done. If you keep reading, you will see that this cycle of Peter thinking he has Jesus figured out, speaking his mind and then finding out there is more to following Jesus than he knew, it repeats itself again and again. Peter the rock on which Jesus built his church was always discovering new things. After he had taken leadership of the Jerusalem Church, Jesus appears to Peter in a vision to tell him that the Gentiles can be brought in as gentiles, affirming what the Apostle Paul was doing (Acts 10:9-17). Peter again and again thought he had reached the end. He thought he knew God. He thought he had Jesus figured out, only to realize there was more to know, more to do, more to be. Have you ever seen these infomercials on TV. 35 knives for 2 easy payments of $17.99. Its a grew deal, But wait, theres more! If you call in the next hour you will get a second set of 35 knives free, all you have to do is pay the $35 shipping and handling. Thats incredible, but wait theres more! If you tell the operator you saw it on TV, they will throw in a combination mandolin-slicer and can opener. For sixty minutes they keep adding things on. But wait, theres

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more theres more theres more If their commercial were longer they might start paying you to take these knives off there hand. That is the life of the Christian. God is continually offering us more: more for us to know, more for us to do, more for us to be. Our Christian life is journey. We follow Jesus who leads us out of the wilderness and back to our God. But the thing is, its a Journey we must travel everyday. Wherever you are are on your journey is OK, as long as you dont stop. If you stop, if you think that you have come far enough, that you know God as good as you need to, that you have done for God all that was required, that you have figured out what it means to be a Christian and dont need to grow or change, then you have missed it. Then you sound like Peter just spouting off an answer. The lesson for us on this mountain is that just as Jesus was changed, we too must be changed- continually changed. Some of you may have been a Christian for 40, 50, 60 years, but if you are the same Christian today that you were then, then you have missed out on a lifetime of following Jesus. Jesus leads us to new places, up onto mountains and down into valleys. Jesus never stayed put. He walked all over Galilee, and when he had been everywhere in Galilee, he walked to Jerusalem. This spring we have some opportunities to put our faith in action. This spring we have the chance to start acting like a church again. We can stop waiting for our situation to

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change, and we can change. Perhaps your church has never asked you to sign up to greet kids at an art show or to volunteer with an elementary school homeroom before. Perhaps, your church has never asked you to help start a Farmers Market. Perhaps, you have never had a bible study on Tuesday nights. Thats not what it meant to be a church when you started going here. Well, maybe its time that Lookout Mountain United Methodist was transfigured. Perhaps, its time for us to do some new things, so that we can meet some new people, so that they can hear the good news that Jesus is Gods beloved Son, and he has offered salvation to every single one of us. The story of this church has not always been happy. There have been set backs and struggles. Some of you have watched as membership dropped, giving declined, and the building aged with all the people. What if this is just who we are. What if all we will ever be is a small little church, that only comes together for 60 minutes a week. That would be a sad story. I hope you are not satisfied with that story. I hope you are wanting more than that. I hope you want more for yourself and your faith. I hope you want more for this congregation and its witness to the community. I hope you want more for Gods kingdom, and how it can transfigure the whole world. We have been called to follow a God who is always offering us more. There is more ahead. Lets follow Jesus together, Amen.

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