On
January 6th we celebrated Epiphany Sunday, the Sunday on which we
remember the coming of the Magi to visit the Christ child. The Sundays
following the Epiphany Sunday until the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday is called
the Season of Epiphany. Throughout this season we have been journeying through
Matthew. We have spent several Sundays looking into the teachings of the Sermon
on the Mount and then we looked at several of Jesus’ parables of the kingdom
and then last week we looked at three events which occurred over the course one
day that allowed the disciples to see Jesus in a new light, allowing them to
recognize him as the Son of God.
Epiphany
means revelation. The season of Epiphany is about the revelation of Christ as
it was given to us in and through the life and teachings of Jesus. Throughout
this season we have been exploring passages in Matthew in which Jesus has been
reveling to us the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven. We spent several Sundays
looking into the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and then we began to look
at how Jesus revealed the Kingdom of Heaven by looking into several of Jesus’
parables and then last week we continued to see how Jesus was revealed by
looking into three events which occurred over the course one day that allowed
the disciples to see Jesus in a new light, allowing them to recognize him as
the Son of God.
To cap off this season, we conclude, today,
with Transfiguration Sunday. On this day we remember (surprise, surprise) the
transfiguration of Jesus. Some version of this event in the life of Jesus is
found in all of the Gospels save John. It is the final story of revelation. And
it is the event in Jesus life we choose to use as which we conclude the season
of epiphany, move into the season of Lent and begin looking forward to our
celebration of the Resurrection.
So Jesus takes his disciples up on the mountain which
will, following this event become known as the mount of the transfiguration. In
the Old Testament, the mountain-top was a place where people “met God” so to
speak. Abraham takes Isaac up on the mountain where God provided the ram for
the sacrifice. Moses went up to the mountain where he received the covenant as
well as the 10 commandments. Elisha had an encounter with God in the silence he
found while in a cave at the top of the mountain.
This
is also not the first time, an encounter with God resulted in a person’s visage
changing, as Jesus’ does here. When Moses
went up on the mountain when he returned to speak to the people he had to cover
his face because it was shining with the glory of God and was reported
to have the appearance like that of the Sun. Radiating the reflected glory of
God is a sign of an encounter with God.
The Disciples see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijha,
two other people who also encountered God on a mountain. Different
gospels will use the same events to highlight different themes. Other Gospels
use this encounter to show that Jesus’ teachings are a continuation of and
built upon the Law and the prophets. This is hardly necessary in Matthew,
particularly for the reasons expounded upon in last week’s sermon. Last week we
walked through a day in the life of Jesus, after which the disciples worshipped
Jesus as the Son of God. So the question is why these two people of all the people
who ever lived? We begin to answer this question by knowing that it was
commonly believed at the time this gospel was written that these two figures both
ascended into heaven without dying. We have a biblical account of Elijha’s
ascension. And it is commonly believed Moses did not die on the Mountain overlooking
the Promised Land but that instead Moses ascended to be with God, rather than having
died.
After
having seen Jesus glowing as if he was shining with the glory of God and
standing, talking to two others who also encountered God, were believed to have
gone to be with God instead of having died as all other have done. We then have
Peter overwhelmed with the situation stepping forward and offering to make
shelters for them there on the mountain. Other Gospels explain that Peter did this
because he did not understand, but Matthew leaves this out. Matthew’s implication
is that Peter understood, at least in part. For Matthew it is important that
the disciples understand, because this is not a revelation TO Jesus. Jesus understands
who he is. This is a revelation of Jesus’ divinity TO the disciples. Although
the disciples have seen Jesus as the Son of Man, they do not yet fully
understand who he truly is. And in Matthew, they get it. Peter understands,
there Jesus is shining with the light of God’s glory, communicating with Moses and
Elisha and Peter wants to commemorate this great revelation of what he believes
to be the fullness of God in Christ Jesus. What he does not understand, is that
he has not seen the revelation of Christ’s glory in its fullness.
And as if this revelation is not enough a voice
comes booming out of the sky, just like it did at Jesus’
baptism, saying, “This is my Son.” And then it adds, “Listen to him.” God is
telling them that they will come to a better understanding of what is ahead
comes from the listening. Again I want to point out is that Matthew makes no
comment about the disciples not understanding what it is God is telling them.
Matthew
does tell us that the disciples’ reaction is that of terror, which is the most
common reaction when one encounters the divine or divine messengers throughout
both the Old and New Testament. So here we have the disciples standing on the mountain,
seeing the God of the universe reflected in Jesus Christ. And that very same
God speaks to them, telling them they should listen to this one who is here
shining with the God’s own glory reveling himself to be divine.
And
here we stand with the disciples on the mountain, seeing the glory of God in
Jesus. We stand in this sanctuary on the virtual mount of transfiguration looking
into the valley of Lent before us. This week is Ash Wednesday, which marks the
beginning of Lent.
So
today we stand on the mountain with the disciples, seeing the divinity of God shining
before us, in Jesus. We see the one with whom we have journeyed through Matthew
and with whom we will journey toward the cross. And all this happens right
after he told his disciples to take up their cross and follow him (16:24) and
then leads them up on this mount and then begins his decent into Jerusalem and
his journey toward the cross.
And
we will journey with him through Lent, symbolically through our sermons, with
our own personal preparations, and our communal fasting, taking out our crosses
and following him, as he journeys toward his own. Here we have a foretaste of
glory divine.
A
foretaste of our resurrected Lord here on the mountain. And then he and his disciples
descend toward the cross and we descend toward ash Wednesday, and Lent which
will also lead us to the cross and the glory beyond. And we begin this descent
by contemplating the sacrifice of the Lord.
Though
this was the Lord’s transfiguration, and revelation of glory it was the
DISCIPLE’s encounter on the mountain top. So we too, as disciples who have come
late to the mountain, look at the reflection the glory of God in Jesus which will
be more fully revealed at Easter, before taking the long dark path toward the
cross. As we progress in our journey through Lent, we have the responsibility
to heed the words of God issued here on the mount, and listen to him. And to
prepare ourselves for the journey we are about to take, spiritually with Christ
toward the cross and beyond, which brings us back to the first passage we read
this morning, from Matthew 6 on fasting. I bet you thought I forgot.
So
we come round to fasting and the reason why verses from the Sermon on the Mount
are included in today’s reading. The spiritual discipline of Fasting is one of
the spiritual practices of the Church which are more than just a little
counter-cultural. In our culture of plenty, where more is the goal and sooner
is always better, the idea of going without something we want or even need . .
. voluntarily . . . for spiritual reasons, is beyond comprehension for many.
Our culture is about instant gratification, why would anyone go without
something when we can have it delivered to our houses; in two days; for free;
from Amazon? We don’t like to wait for something we want, why on earth would we
go without something we need? Fasting is about denying ourselves of something
otherwise readily available, it is about not giving into our wants, not giving
into our desires, and even not giving into our needs, so that we can draw close
to God, an act of submission, an act of humility. Fasting give us practice in the life long spiritual
skill of saying, “no,” to the things I want and instead saying, “Yes,” to the
things of God. In many ways it trains our wants and our desires so that
ultimately saying “yes” to God and the things of God is not saying “no” to what
I want, because what I want is trained and honed through fasting and other
spiritual disciplines so that what we want and what we desire are the things of
God. Fasting is truly something that pulls us away from the voices of our
culture so that we can focus on really paying attention to the voice of God.
Lent
begins this Wednesday with our Ash Wednesday service. With Lent beginning this
week, this is the time of year that we think about Fasting. So as before we move into this season we
begin to think about fasting. What is fasting? Voluntary abstinence from the
ordinary enjoyment of something – often times food, but can be other things as
well.
As
we look at the Matthew 6 passage what do we learn about fasting? I know there
may not seem like much here in this one verse about fasting but what does this
passage specifically say? When you fast don’t make a show of it – don’t make it
LOOK like you are fasting for all to see. When you fast do your best to look
put together, clean and tidy. If you do God will reward your fast - you will
not get your reward in praise or the appearance of piety but instead from God.
At
the time Jesus spoke these words, is was popular to put on ripped, torn, dirty,
clothes, put ashes on your face and make yourself look pitiful to show that you
were fasting. Even if you only fasted for one day or one meal – it was to let
everyone know you were fasting, to look pious/ spiritual. It was also common at
this time, when people fasted for an extended period of time, a person begins
to get weak, they look pale, they look sick. If a person spent extended time in
prayer and fasting to the extent that the person was neglecting themselves and
their appearance their clothes would look dirty or disheveled and in rare
instances might begin to show wear from the amount of time praying.
People
who truly gave themselves over to the practice would LOOK like they have been
fasting without trying. What Jesus is speaking against is people who DID things
to themselves, to make it appear as if they had spent A LOT of time in prayer,
in fasting whether they had or not. Jesus is saying that doing that is not pious;
it was trying to make oneself look “spiritual” w/o actually doing anything that
was actually “spiritual.”
The
passage says “Whenever” you fast. Jesus makes the assumption that his disciples
will fast and by extension we can assume that we too are expected to fast. Jesus
tells us, when we fast we are to do
so with a purpose. Fasting is not about piety or looking like a “good
Christian” or “spiritual” before others, nor should it simply be about our
willpower or endurance, but should be about God.
As we move into the Lenten Season, we
begin to contemplate the sacrifice of the Lord made for us on the cross. As we
fast and prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection in just a few short
weeks, we look at ourselves an humbly see who we are in light of who the Lord
is. We stand with the disciples on the holy mount of transfiguration this morning,
looking at the reflected Glory of God in Christ, knowing that this is a foretaste
of the glory that is soon to come and then we turn and look down into the
valley that is Lent and are reminded that although this was the Lord’s
transfiguration, it was the DISCIPLE’s, it is our, encounter on the mountain
top. So we look at the glory and soak it in before taking the long dark path
that is before us, as we follow Jesus toward the cross.
As
we progress in our journey through Lent, we have the responsibility to listen
to Jesus, as God calls for us to do here. Our familiarity with this journey
taken each year can let us coast easily into complacency. We know the road down
which we travel and we know, even as we pass through the darkest days the earth
has seen that Son will rise on Easter morning. So we allow ourselves to be
teachable by taking time to focus on God, to put aside things here on earth, to
allow ourselves to draw close to God by spending time in fasting and prayer
during Lent as we journey with Jesus toward the cross.
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