St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
Transfiguration Sunday
February 27, 2022
Gospel: Luke 9:28-36
Lord, take our minds and think through them. Take our mouths and speak through them. Take our hearts and set them on fire! Amen.
The 2015 animated film, “Inside Out,” tells the story of a young girl, Riley, who is suddenly uprooted by an unexpected change in her world—her dad’s promotion. While great news for the family, their relocation to a new city would be the source of great loss and grief experienced by the young Riley. For Riley, she had no words to name her sense of helplessness as her world crumbled. The viewer is witnesses Riley’s traumatic experience through, not only her eyes, but through her human emotions, personified as characters inside her mind—sadness, fear, anger, disgust and joy.
As the avalanche of changes bombard Riley, the viewer is to notice that the emotions at the control center inside Riley’s mind, are not contained there; they are outwardly expressed, most directly, to her parents who notice her acting out. In the end, Riley would find that, with the help of her parents, and by embracing all of her emotions on the inside, the joy which she so desperately sought could be reclaimed as her broken world slowly began to be restored to wholeness. “Inside Out” is a compassionate story that reminds the viewer that our human emotions on the inside, have the power to reveal our authentic selves to the outside world.
“…Jesus took with him Peter, John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray…And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became a dazzling white… (v. 29). Our gospel passage features God’s divine action upon his human son Jesus, which brought forth into the world, Jesus’ divine light, from the inside out. Jesus’ inner-circle disciples, Peter, John and James, witnessed the fully-human, fully-divine Jesus’ outer appearance change before their very eyes.
In the midst of this dazzling transfiguration, the disciples witnessed Jesus talking with the prophets Moses and Elijah. Moses represented the old covenant and God’s promise with the Israelites, which would soon be fulfilled in Jesus’ death. Elijah represented the arrival of the fulfillment of “all things.” The presence of Moses and Elijah pointed to the kingdom of God that had already come in the person of Jesus, and the not-yet kingdom come, fully realized when Jesus returns to judge all of creation.
This passage in Luke is called the “Transfiguration of Jesus,” not the “Transformation of Jesus.” I make this distinction because transfiguration means that the outward expression of something is visibly different. The disciples witnessed Jesus’ physical appearance change, as the divine light emanated from the core of his being.
Transformation, however, implies that while external changes may be noticeable, the internal characteristics are also changing—unseen characteristics such as the nature, substance and character of something. Jesus was transfigured, not transformed because Jesus’ dual nature—truly human and truly divine—did not change. This was God’s way of revealing the true nature of Jesus, and therefore, God’s own nature, to Peter, John and James. When God acts upon Jesus, Jesus is transfigured and the three disciples, witnesses to this happening, are forever transformed.
Before the transfiguration, we must remember the fact that Jesus went up to the mountain with the intention to pray. Prayer plays a necessary role in the transfiguration of Jesus. Leading up to the miraculous change in his appearance, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and while he was praying, God acted upon him to reveal His divine nature. Jesus participated in God’s revelation of God’s self by submitting to God’s action in prayer. We know, from the scriptures, that it was customary for Jesus to go off to pray. A life grounded in prayer was vital to his existence, and in fulfilling his purpose on earth.
For Jesus, prayer was a matter of life and death, and we must regard it in the same way. Prayer, allows us to be intentional about connecting to the source of our souls, and enables us to be caught up in the ongoing self-revelation of God to His people. When we choose to participate in God’s unfolding of God’s self, through the act of prayer, God acts upon us, so that our human nature and our character are internally transformed to the nature of God.
And, as we grow, we are nurtured by our community of faith, into the full stature of Christ—the nature of Light which cannot be contained within our human selves, and which exists to be the light of the world for those who walk in darkness. The myriad transfigurations of the faithful, vessels through whom Christ’s light shines, are lifelong events.
As the event unfolded, the disciples were terrified by the overshadowing of a cloud. From that cloud, God’s voice said to them, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (v. 35). This imperative by God, “listen to him!” is found, also, in Matthew and Mark. I’m struck by the word, listen. Hearing is a human sense which is dependent upon the physical instrument of an individual’s ears.
Listening, however, involves a depth of perception beyond the physical ear, and taps into a deeper layer of soul-communication—God’s unceasing revelation of God’s self. In prayer, we may not always hear God’s voice, as the disciples did, but we are certainly able to listen to God speaking from the depths of our souls. It is that kind of soul-listening that makes space for discernment about God’s will directing our faithful forward movement or faithful stillness.
In two short days from now, we will enter the holy season of Lent. It is a time in our liturgical calendar marked by intentional prayer; wondering and wandering in the wilderness; and engaging God with the intention of deep soul-listening. Soul-listening that, by God’s grace, can transform us, from the inside out, so that we might show up in this dark world as transfigured beings outwardly reflecting Jesus—beings through whom Jesus’ divine light breaks through.
When I was very young, there was a public service campaign that ran on television. The goal of the campaign was to ingrain into the minds of children that if they ever found themselves in a life-threatening situation involving fire, they should do three things. Stop, drop and roll. I remember that message to this day, and it probably saved a lot of lives over the years.
Friends, we live in a death-dealing world that thrives on the physical, mental and spiritual assault of others. But, Jesus Christ died on the cross to save all who believe in him so that all may have eternal life. That message absolutely saves lives. That message is fueled by a holy fire that sets hearts ablaze with the love of God. That holy fire can never be extinguished when we commit to faithfully pray, listen and respond to Jesus. When we pray to Jesus; when we listen to Jesus; and when we respond to Jesus, we just might find that it is Jesus who faithfully responds by changing us—from the inside out. May it be so. Amen.
