Transfiguration Fr. Forrest Burgett
Trinity Anglican Church Given 08/07/11
“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16)
The Collect today recounts the wonder and beauty of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as he was temporarily transfigured into his eternal majesty. The Epistle tells how Peter used his observation of the Transfiguration as verification of Jesus being approved by God. The Gospel tells the story of the how Peter, James and John all misunderstood the significance of that event. If we overlook any one of these Propers; we will miss a significant part of the message.
Imagine what it would have been like to observe that event. The sheer beauty of our Lord glistering and in the company of Moses and Elijah would have overwhelmed the strongest of us. Imagine having all the discord of this world disappear while you observed Christ in all his glory. Consider the significance of the departed, Moses and Elijah in the presence of the transfigured Christ being observed by Peter, James and John.
The Orthodox Church uses an icon of the Transfiguration to teach about the final judgment. In the final judgment, we will all stand before Jesus and the gulf between our world and His will be closed. This event stands as proof of the connection between the spiritual world and ours. Even though the gulf is impassable with the knowledge of this world, nothing is impossible with God.
Peter uses this event to remind everyone all he has been teaching about Jesus Christ. Peter tells them, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” He was a personal witness to God the Father showering Jesus Christ with honor and glory. He relays God’s comment, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
God provides witness that Jesus is His Son in whom he is well pleased. And, He does it to mere mortals. Peter, James and John were personal witnesses and saw and heard God’s personal revelation about Christ.
The Gospel tells the narrative of the events of the Transfiguration. It starts with Peter, James and John falling asleep yet again. It is a comfort to preachers that even the apostles slept through some learning opportunities. When they awoke, they were astonished to hear God’s voice verifying Jesus’ claims to be the Son of God. They immediately wanted to build Christ, Moses and Elijah their own tabernacles on the spot. They saw for themselves that the departed were not gone forever. They were alive and well in the eternal spiritual world of God.
The Gospel contains one more important direction for us. After verifying that Jesus really is the Son of God, God says, “Hear Him.” God commands us to hear Jesus Christ as his representative in this world. We are not afforded the opportunity to hear Jesus directly. However, many “words” of Jesus are contained in the New Testament. And we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. We must read those words and listen to the Holy Spirit if we are to “hear His teachings.”
Even our Old Testament lesson for today enhances our study. Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony. Although Moses was not transfigured at this point, his proximity to God produced a glow on his face that disturbed the children of Israel. He chose to wear a veil when talking to the people. Now Peter, James and John were observing Moses in all his glory along with Elijah and Christ.
In summary, the portions of scripture selected by our liturgical calendar produce a consistent, detailed view of God’s intent for this world. They tell us that his glory will not be hidden in the world to come. They tell us that God acknowledged Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We are told that we are to “hear Him.” And there is more. This event, in the clear vision of three mortal witnesses, provides proof that they are not purveying “cunningly devised fables.”
We are reminded to follow the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth that Jesus provided with his life and death. We are also given a warning. We will be accused of purveying “cleverly devised fables” and calling them the “word” of God. Peter, James and John provided witness and, in their writings, gave us the opportunity to continue their work. We must beware of those who are promoting “cleverly devised fables.” It is a never-ending task we must all face.
There are many subjects that would illustrate and clarify the point of our text today. I picked marriage because we are celebrating the anniversary of five couples in our parish this month. We have a great history of marriage within our congregation and I don’t believe we are confused about it. On the other hand, we are constantly being told that marriage is different today than when most of us were married. We are being told that it is a privilege to be legislated by the government as opposed to a sacrament sanctified by God.
It is, indeed, very difficult to “Hear Him” over the clamor for rights and personal freedom. This world is full of “cunningly devised fables”. It would seem that when two or three are gathered together, they create a Political Action Committee and begin to disseminate their particular “cunningly devised fables.” Our challenge is to resist these incursions into God’s Will. As Peter did, we must clarify and preserve the sacraments as given to us by our Lord and Saviour. We must bear witness to the truth and that will help others “Hear Him.”
The intent of God with respect to couples and the sacrament of matrimony is clear. Jesus adhered to all the Ten Commandments and the fifth one supports the sanctity of marriage by requiring that we honor our father and mother. Our Lord honored marriage with his first miracle in Cana. Even our Book of Common Prayer does not contain a civil ceremony. It contains a sacrament for the solemnization and sanctification of matrimony. Matrimony is the state of being married and that is what is being sanctified in the sacrament. I realize that I am preaching to the choir, but we need to hear His teachings to offset all the media hype about personal freedom and accountability to no one.
Within our church traditions, we acknowledge that marriage satisfies a natural law that leads us toward God and our spiritual goals. The natural law is that marriage was created as a model for the perpetuation of God’s people. It also teaches us to give ourselves to others as God has given us His blessings. It is a model of relationships created by God.
We know that natural law indicates that the best way to raise a child is with two role models. A child needs a model of their own sex; a model of the other sex; and a model of the relationship between them. When one is missing, two-thirds of God’s plan has been aborted. Natural law says the sexes were designed to complement each other. Short of a divine provision for people called to celibacy, there is something missing in the man, which must be provided by the woman, and something missing in the woman, which must be provided by the man. By themselves, each one is incomplete. To be whole, they must be united.
This incompleteness is an incredible blessing. It allows a couple to give themselves to each other completely, and provides a motive to do so. This “gift of self” makes each person to the other, what no other person can be. The fact that they “forsake all others” is not an outdated feature of traditional marriage vows. It arises from the very nature of the gift. You cannot partly give yourself, because your Self is indivisible. The only way to give your self is to give yourself entirely. Because the gift is total, it has to exclude all others, and if it doesn’t do that, the gift is not given at all.
Traditional sexual morality upon which the sacrament of marriage is founded is being eroded through “cunningly devised fables.” We must uphold and declare the truth of our natural design in the image of God. Remember God’s words to Peter. “This is my beloved Son: hear Him.”
All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.
(1 Corinthians xxix. 14.)