Two word for today Seed
and Transfigured: the
dictionary meaning states transformed into something new, something more
beautiful or elevated. Can you give me some examples of things you
cannot see or touch but you know are there.
What
do you know is inside this apple seed?
Feb 23, 2020: Romans 14: 5-9, Matthew 17:1-9
For at least the last five
hundred years the Western World - the industrial and scientific world - has
been intolerant of biblical mystery.
Ours is an age which is obsessed with the idea of knowing and explaining
everything. A story
is told of a little boy who lived in a religious home whose father expressed
the usual before dinner command -- "Hurry up, and wash your hands and
come to the table so we can say a prayer and eat." As the boy went toward
the bathroom, he was heard to mutter, "Germs and Jesus, germs and
Jesus! That's all I hear around here,
and I have never seen either one of them."
There are many things that we
can't see, many things that we can't touch yet but we know they are there. The flower, the fruit or the tree within its
particular seed, we know they are there in all their fullness.
Despite all the evidence that
there is a creative genius behind the reality of all things, many still refuse
to believe in God. In fact may I say
that there are many within the church today who refuse to believe that all
things are possible with God, things that are outrageous and out of the
ordinary. Many are skeptical when it
comes to the miracles - the power of the
Holy Spirit – or the healing power of pray as instruments of change and
transformation. This seems especially
visible within the Christian Church in the Western world. May I suggest that many have become out of
touch with the invisible forces that underlies our faith and our beliefs. There has been an upswing of interest by those
outside the church but also by many professed Christians in what we might call
the New Age Movement of Spirituality involving a fascinations with the occult,
readings to help us look into the future not only to include the rise of hundreds
of self-help therapy’s and publications on the subject. All of which offer a reliance on one’s self
rather than teaching us to reach out to God who has the ultimate power over
disease, depression, anxiety and death. Many here today may scoff but such beliefs
have a great appeal for many. May I suggest that many of the mainline
religions in the western world have failed in their commitment to teach a
reliance on God not self. The emphasis
placed upon offering certainty to a congregation has resulted in many who have
become distracted or preoccupied with sin, the end times, heaven, purgatory, hell,
and death. May I suggest that this
preoccupation has opened the door to charlatans and self-proclaimed prophets
who teach a false Gospel and many are following? The Mystery of a mystical experience is very
much a part of our faith and for the most part will remain a mystery until the
day we become face to face with our creator.
Indeed that which is mystical and
cannot be explained lay at the very root of all that we believe in especially the
virgin birth and the resurrection of the Christ. Yet
there are witnesses and there is testimony to guide us. Throughout history right until the present day
many notable persons of faith have reported experiences that are outside the
realm of the rational mind. Moses,
Jonah, Sampson, Elijah, Mary, Lazarus and the apostle Paul just to mention a
few. Most important of all to the
Christian is the resurrection of Jesus who defeats death once and for all. But
again as I have so often expressed in the past let us not get caught up in
trying to prove a particular miraculous event, to include the transfiguration
of Jesus as we heard read this morning.
Our job here is to look for the wisdom nuggets that can be minded from
those who witnessed this experience.
That is will help our faith to grow deeper. So first let us look at who the characters
are in today’s story?
First we have Moses a scribe who penned for us the beginning
stories within the Holy bible upon which he introduces us to a God who, out of
kayos creates good, galaxies, planets
and living beings, how outrageous can it get? For the Jews He is their major prophet. Moses represents not only freedom for the
Israelite but He brings to the world the written law, the 10 principals for
living a Godly life.
Second we have Elijah who ranked right up there with Moses by the
Jewish people. He was the first prophet to raise someone from the dead, could
he be the Messiah they though? But what was their commonality? Both of these men were among the dead not the
living.
Thirdly we have the three chosen men: Peter, James, and John. Peter is significant as he will be the rock
on which the church will be built. He does not know this yet but Jesus is
preparing him for this role. James is
family he is the brother to Jesus who like Jesus will die as a martyr of the
faith. Then we have the beloved one who
was the only disciple to be by his side at the crucifixion. The mystic John who
introduces us to the Word made flesh, that which was there with God in the
beginning, The Christ Genesis 1: 26.
So then what are we to make of all
this mystery? These three very creditable men offer for us testimony, they are our witnesses to this extraordinary event and their commonality is: they are among
the living yet are able to visual see and be there with two dead prophets from
the Old Testament. Now to top it off, Jesus is no longer the same Jesus these
three men have known up to now. No,
we have a transfigured Jesus, a Jesus who has been transformed into something
more than just a human being. May I
suggest that this transfigured Jesus is giving us a glimpse of the true meaning
of what is to come at Golgotha, his resurrection? The scripture tells us they didn’t understand
the significance of what they witnessed but
because we, who know the rest of story, we should. Jesus is showing them that He is not just
Lord of the living as they thought, but He is both Lord of the living and the
dead. Do you recall hearing it read from
Roman 14:9 this morning. They didn’t quite get it, but we can because of their witnesses and their
testimony. Just as we know by faith that an apple tree in
all its fullness and glory exists within this apple seed, we know by faith that
our eternal life exists in all its fullness and in all its glory within the one and only seed Jesus The Christ. All that is required of us is to take that
seed and plant it into our lives, follow
in His way and we to will become part of the transfiguration for ever. Don’t you see it folks. I know all of you here today know Jesus as
did the disciples at first, as God’s only begotten Son, a prophet, a physical
person who walked, taught and cared for all whom He came into contact with but
we also need to know the transfigured and resurrected Jesus who is much, much more
than that. He asks, who do you say I
am. Let us
pray.
