Small-Church Sermon, Big Impact

‍The Rev. Jan Dantone is our small-church sermon-writerfor this edition of our newsletter. She shares this sermon on the lectionarytexts of the last Sunday of Epiphany for otherchurches in the diocese to use. If you don’t have regular clergy to preach on February15 or you are the regular preacher at yourchurch and could use a little break – especially right before Ash Wednesday andjust ahead of Council! - please consider reading this sermon out loud to thecongregation as the sermon on the day, with proper attribution, of course.

The scriptural texts for the day can be found here.

Sermon for Last Epiphany C
The Rev. Jan Dantone              
Purpose: Listen to Jesus whenhe says he will suffer, be crucified, and rise again.

“You can’t make this stuff up.”  That phrase is often spoken either before or after a series of true events that would seem too outrageous or contrived if they were written in a piece of fiction.

For example, during a 10-mile race in 2019 in Minnesota, 25-year-old runner Tyler Moon had "JesusSaves" on his race-bib along with his race number. Tyler had a heart attack and collapsed mid-race. A registered nurse happened to be running right behind him and performed CPR on the stricken man.  The name of the nurse who helped to saveTyler’s life was Jesus Bueno. You can’t makethis stuff up.

In today’s gospel lesson, Peter, James and John follow Jesus up a mountain and witness the Transfiguration.  They seeJesus in his heavenly glory.  It sounds crazy.  Jesus suddenly shining like the sun. Out of nowhere Moses and Elijah appearing from the past for a trans-temporal meeting.  A dense cloud popping up in a climate that usually hascloud-less skies.  A voice booming out of the cloud.  Peter’s first-century hearers have probably heard some of these elements in storiesfrom Mount Olympus or wherever the pagan gods and demi-gods hang out. Today, we might think these could be plot points for a new super-hero movie.  But Peter writes, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths.”  That’s his way of saying, “We couldn’t make this stuffup.  What I’m telling you really happened.  It’s the truth.” 

And when it comes to good news and not acleverly devised myth, Peter is also talking more generally about the wholetruth of the Incarnation: he and the other disciples are eyewitnesses that theSecond Person of the Trinity lived in human flesh, died a human death for thegodly purpose of forgiving human sin, and then rose to life again.  And this amazing grace of the Incarnation,that God came in person to do for me what I could not do for myself, to save mefrom the deathly effects of my own sin, does sound too good to be true, if youhaven’t heard all the story behind it from eyewitness accounts.

So what is Peter talking about when he’s talkingabout what happened with the Transfiguration? And what happened in Jesus’ ministry as a whole?  If it wasn’t acleverly devised myth, just what was it that he and James and John wereeyewitnesses of?

Peter, James and John were eyewitness tosomething that they wouldn’t, they couldn’t make up.  Something they couldn’t and wouldn’t makesense of until after the Resurrection.  Peter,James and John were eyewitnesses to the full revealing that the Jesus theywalked with on dusty Galilean streets was indeed the fullness of God’s glorypacked into human flesh.

The voice is the center of the Transfigurationstory.  A voice that comes out of the suddenly-appearing cloud.  During the 40 years of Exodus wandering, thepillar of cloud was the sign of God’s continuing presence with the people.  Moses entered the cloud of God’s presence onMount Sinai to receive the Tablets of the Law. So too this cloud that comes over Peter, James and John is God theFather’s immediate presence with them.

And the Father’s voice booms out, “This is my Son, theBeloved.  With him I am wellpleased.”  The same words the Fatherspoke at Jesus’ baptism (Matt 3.17). Then the Father adds something new, threelittle words.  “Listen to him!”

Back at Jesus’ baptism the Father spoke as the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon the Son in the water.  The Trinity together to kick off Jesus’ earthly ministry.  And now the Father says the same thing as Jesus’ time on earth draws to its end.  Plus those three simple little words: “Listen to him!”

Listen to Jesus. Listen to him when he tells you that he must go to Jerusalem and must suffer many things, and be killed and be raised on the third day (Matt16.21).  Listen to him, even though you don’t want to hear these things.  Listen to him, even though you don’t want such awful things to happen to him.  Listen to Jesus, and trust him.

For Peter, James and John, it’s all just toomuch.  The sights, the voice.  They’re actually in the immediate presence ofAlmighty God with no barrier.  They falldown, paralyzed with fear.

The next thing they know, Jesus is touchingthem, healing their fears.  God’s glorycan heal them when it is Jesus’ touch. He comforts them with a purpose, “Get up and do not be afraid.”  When Peter, James and John are calmed enoughto lift their eyes, they see Jesus alone. They just need to look to Jesus.  

Peter, James and John are three eyewitnesses ofGod’s glory deliberately and purposefully walking to the cross.  Moving forward to defeat the power of sin anddeath through suffering, dying and rising. It doesn’t make any sense to them yet. It doesn’t sound like any kind of good news to them.  That’s why Jesus orders them to keep quiet aboutthis Transfiguration vision, to wait until he’s been raised from the dead totell anybody else.  

In three days, Lent begins with AshWednesday.  We begin our season to deliberately and purposefully remember Jesus walking his last days to the cross for us.  God is willing to suffer and die for us to defeat the power of sin and death. Then Jesus rose from the dead so that we would know he won the victory he set out to win.  This is indeed good news.  You can’t make this stuff up.