March 2, 2025
Transfiguration of Our Lord
Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-43a
The context of this sermon is
100% written by a human
We are living through a time of stressful, and anxiety-inducing change. Much of it we cannot do anything about - at least not directly. But we can make changes in ourselves, and in our communities. And that is the very theme of Lent: to enter into a deeper conversation about faith, about our values and purpose, and emerge on Easter Sunday, changed.
Change is central to Transfiguration Sunday, and the theme of our readings.
First, we find the disciples enjoying their time on the mountain away from the crowds. They witness the transfiguration of Jesus, and they are suddenly nervous about what that means. They want things to stay the same. What’s more, they want to stay on the mountain as a way to keep things the same, to preserve their relationship with Jesus. “Can’t we just hang out here?” they ask. “Do we need to move ahead?”
Secondly, we have Jesus, in a rare moment of anger, frustrated with the crowd. “How long,” he rails, “do I need to deal with you people? How many times do I need to show you the way to change, before you actually listen?” Jesus is angered by the lack of change he sees happening.
And thirdly, we hear the request of a worried father, seeking change for his son, the healing of his condition. He wants to make this change happen – he needs it to – so he comes to Jesus with his request, and it is granted.
Change we resist. A lack of change that frustrates us. Change we seek.
What can we learn from each of these stories?
Let us consider the times in our lives when we have resisted change that deep down, we know needs to happen, or is going to happen anyway. Perhaps we needed to make a move, or change out of a crappy job, or leave the safety of our parents’ home. In this case, we can see that the disciples achieve nothing by trying to talk Jesus into staying up the mountain. They might have said instead: “We are afraid of what happens next. We are not sure we can handle it. How can we move forward in the most helpful way?” Sometimes our resistance to change, prevents us from exploring what is really at the root of that resistance, and from making an intentional plan to change it.
Then we have our frustration around change we want to happen but doesn’t. In that case what happens? We tend to blame the person or group or circumstance that is not changing. Even Jesus, in that moment, makes that mistake – losing it with the crowd. And yet the crowd could not change on their own – they needed to be lovingly guided and taught to change – which is, of course, what Jesus does in his ministry. He doesn’t make it about the ones not changing – he focuses on his role to foster that change and be an example of that change himself. Aside from that jarring moment in our gospel, he makes the story about his relationship with the people. How often do we do the opposite – look for others to change, become frustrated when they do not, without seeing the role we play in preventing change, or the way we can foster it?
And then we have the father seeking healing for his son. He wants this change to happen. But he does not sit at his son’s bedside and hope for it. He does not just wish for it to happen. He makes it happen. He finds Jesus, and he asks for his help. He makes the step toward change. He pursues it. Do we always do this? Do we see the change we want to happen and run towards it? Or do we, too often, wait for it come to us?
In the gospel, Jesus is our star dynamic character. The baby who becomes a teacher who is transfigured and named as the Son of God. The dynamic nature of Jesus spreads like a contagion, and all around him, other characters – the disciples, members of the crowd, the people who receive his healing, even the ones to whom he gives a hard time - they also become dynamic. Jesus changes, and this changes those around him.
That is the fourth example of change we receive: when we choose to accept it, when we make ourselves the centre of the change we want to see, when we pursue the change we desire, we affect the world around us. The truth that Jesus knew is this: change comes to us all, whether we like it or not. If it did not, we would be the static character who never moves anywhere, who never accomplishes anything. Come down from the mountain: Be honest and wise about the change that must happen. Focus your frustration: Be compassionate and take responsibility for the change we want that isn’t happening. And take action: pursue the change we want to happen. These coming 40 days offer us an opportunity. This Season of Lent intentionally creates space for positive change to happen in our lives. May we all be dynamic characters in our own gospel stories.
Amen.
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