February 10, 2013
Transfigured Sunday
2 Cor. 3:12-4:7
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Transfiguration Sunday. Just the day you’ve been waiting for,
right? When I mention it, many people
in the church say, “Huh?” Talk about
Easter or Christmas or even Pentecost, the day we celebrate the birth of the
Church and the power of the Holy Spirit, but don’t talk to me about
Transfiguration. It’s just a weird story
about Moses and Elijah coming down to chat with Jesus, and his face shining,
and the disciples who were there being confused by the whole matter, and
thinking that they needed to do something, when probably Jesus just wanted them
to sit and reflect on the meaning of human life. Imagine that!
Well, we’re not reading the unusual
story of the Transfiguration today, but we are reflecting on what it means to
be human – of all creation, we humans the ones who are created in the image of
God. Further, God was not satisfied
because we tarnished that image badly with our sin, so God came to earth in the
person of Jesus Christ to forever change our image back to its original
beauty. Imagine that! God was willing to die to love us back into
being who we were created to be – beautiful, wonderful people. But here’s the thing: God cannot transform us, apart from our
cooperation with God. God is sovereign
(able to do all things) but God doesn’t turn us into puppets with no ability to
choose, because to do so would make us less than human – not in the image of
God.
So
what I have come to appreciate about Transfiguration Sunday is that it invites us
to consider the mystery of Christ dwelling in us. That we have been created in the image of
God twice. Once in the creation, and
again, in the Incarnation. Galatians
3:27 says “as many of you as were baptized into Christ are therefore clothed
with Christ.” Colossians 3:10 says we
have clothed ourselves with the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
And our text today tells us
that we, as clay jars, broken, leaky, imperfect earthen vessels are being
transformed into the same image as Christ – from one degree of glory into
another. Before we hear the scripture,
let us ask God to dwell richly in us by praying through song. (Sing Sanctuary)
2
Corinthians 3:12-13;18-4:7
12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13
not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from
gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside…
18 And all of us, with unveiled
faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being
transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this
comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
4:1 Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this
ministry, we do not lose heart. 2
We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice
cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we
commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds
of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For we do not proclaim ourselves;
we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus'
sake. 6 For it is the God
who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that
this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
(NRSV)
We have this treasure in clay
jars. The treasure is the light of
Christ, the fullness of God which inhabits our humanity now through Jesus
Christ. Imagine that – the fullness of
God, shining through you! Yet that
reflection of the glory of God can be hidden by the veil of our sin, by the
masks, the personas we wear that are not the true person God created to be good
and holy and faithful.
What is so surprising is that
the treasure (this light of Christ, this glory of God) is held in these
imperfect vessels – our human persons. We
with our broken selves – body, soul, and spirit, are called to carry the
treasure of Christ. Through our
weakness, God’s glory can be made visible.
But when we live in an authentic relationship with Christ and one
another, God’s glory can beam – can shine brightly to illumine our community
and our world. God has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is trying to
shine brightly from your heart, the heart that God is transforming with your
participation. But that shining/that
reflection happens best with our co-operation.
It is like the Faith Church
Property we are purchasing. God clearly
was ready to give us a gift, but the gift could not be given apart from some
very hard work on the part of the Building Vision Team. The gift could not be given apart from some
very generous giving on the part of the congregation. Thank you.
Christ’s Peace will grow in Faith.
We are counting on every single person participating, as a symbol of our
complete commitment as a church body to glorify God in the building we
purchase. It doesn’t matter how much
you give, but it does matter that you give.
It is a joyful thing to participate in leaving a legacy – to do it
together.
And another analogy related to
the Faith Church property. Notice that after
a year of total neglect, the building/the vessel is not a shining light for
Jesus Christ. It looks tired and worn
and unkempt. The same thing is true of a
Christian life not nurtured in faith. See
how much more energy and time it will take to get a church building that has
been neglected for a year to shine with God’s glory. Same with you. If you neglect your faith, your life will
not shine.
Growing in Faith full of Peace
will take some time and energy and discipline.
I hope you are gearing up for that.
God is responsible for the
growth but we participate in our own and one another’s growth in faith. The word is sanctification (becoming holy
and true and faithful.) You take an
active part in unveiling yourself for the light of Christ to shine
brightly. You take off the mask of sin,
of fear, of pride, of self-hatred.
Imagine that. Real Christians
are real. They admit their struggles,
and turn to God and one another for support.
They do not dwell obsessively on their own problems, to the neglect of
others, but they do not cover up. We
have this treasure in clay jars – not fancy porcelain, not silver or gold. Ordinary clay jars – so it will be clear
that the power comes from God – not us.
Great example of someone growing
in faith, being transformed by God right here among us is Glenn Kiplinger. Glenn gave me permission to share his
story. Glenn has been dreading the
second anniversary of Martha’s death, February 13, but he had a revelation from
God about a week ago that he is holding with confidence. The Spirit of God reminded Glenn of the
tremendous blessing of his long, happy marriage to Martha, of all the good
times they had together and of the blessing she was to him. Glenn’s profound gratitude has overcome his
profound grief. Glenn was listening when God spoke to
him.
Some people ask if there is
life after death, but wiser people also ask if there is life before death. There is no life before death unless we are
living in the glory of God, giving off a refection of that glory. "The
Glory of God is a human being who is fully alive." - Saint Irenaeus Glenn has chosen life!
We are called to something
greater than ourselves. As St Benedict
put it, way back in the 6th century, “In God’s goodness, we are
already counted as God’s own, and therefore, we should never grieve the Holy
One…” For disregarding the glory of God
that has been given to us, for refusing to use the resources that God has given
us to bring to reality the reign of God here and now, we lose what is
ours. The price is high. We miss out on the life that we are meant to
have.
In failing to respond to God
everywhere God is around us, we may lose the power of God that is in us. Imagine that! What a waste. Benedict challenges us to listen today, to
start now, to begin immediately to direct our lives to following God’s way,
shining Christ’s light. The spiritual
life is not something gained by just wishing for it or even praying
occasionally for it. The spiritual life
is a life of discipline. It is
something to be learned and internalized in the day-to-day life of Christian
community. It is a way of life, an
attitude of mind, and an orientation of soul, a way of seeing. It’s like the man in the hospital with his
bed by the window, describing for his very sick roommate all the beautiful
things God had placed outside their window.
He keeps his roommate alive by describing in great detail all wonders of
God’s creation. When the man by the window
suddenly dies, the roommate asks to be put by the window, only to realize the
window looked out just to a blank wall – the other tower of the hospital. He had been blessed by a roommate with a faithful
imagination and a joyful spirit. People
who see the glory of God are able to transform lives, no matter their
circumstances.
It is the practice of all of
us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory
of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, and being transformed into the
same image from one degree of glory to another; this comes from the Lord, the
Spirit. And since it is by God’s mercy
that we are involved in this ministry (not passive but involved), we do not
lose heart.
Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross, author of Death and Dying
said, people
are like stained-glass windows. They
sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their
true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
The
light within is the glory of God, I tell you.
Imagine that.
Imagine glory, seek to uncover, unveil that glory of God until the whole
world is illumined by it.
