Well a week late, and a different sermon instead. Last weeks sermon went ok, definitely better than my last attempt at LSM, and I received some positive feedback. This is this weeks I am preaching at Madingley parish church – the congregation are about 25 strong, mainly elderly, and usually the same faces every week (in a good way). They are a very forgiving bunch, which is good because I fear todays sermon will be a bit long and rambly. Feel free to comment anytime before 11 in time for me to make changes! I really appreciate the comments of those who manage to get through my sermons (I wouldn’t bother personally), and it is the main reason I post them, and to give me an incentive to write them out in full rather than just making them up on the spot!
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Readings;
Exodus 34.29-end
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3.12 – 4.2
Luke 9.28-36
If you walk along Victoria street in London of a Saturday afternoon you might find yourself accosted by one of many types of people, sometimes asking for money, sometimes asking for directions. Sometimes you will simply be asked a rather odd question “Excuse me sir, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?” If I was being honest, I would probably answer “none of your business”, but in reality I usually just say yes and ask if I can carry on with my shopping, leaving them to get in the way of some other hapless pedestrian. It is unlikely that you or I will be accosted in a similar way walking through the busy streets of Madingley, but I wonder what your response would be to that same rather harsh question: “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?”
But is it right to talk about our faith in these terms? We might expect to have a personal relationship with our wife or father, son or granddaughter, maybe even our neighbour, but should we expect to have this same kind of relationship with an invisible God?
In our old testament reading Moses has been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai, while the nation of Israel, still looking a little guilty from the golden calf incident, wait for him to bring them the commandments of their God. Moses comes down from the mountain literally glowing after his time with the almighty. This made the Israelites back off and Moses began to wear a veil to cover his face. The Israelites believed that if they saw God they would die, because of their sin and God’s perfect holiness. In temple worship the high priest was the only person allowed to enter into the holy of holies, the sanctuary of the temple, and even then only once a year after a lot of purification and cleansing – they would tie a rope around his legs in case he did something wrong and was struck by God whilst doing his duties, lest they rush in and be struck down too! Moses wasn’t a perfect man – amongst other things he had murdered a man unlawfully – and yet we read in scripture that he “saw God face to face”. He was forgiven yes, but only as much as all of Israel had been – Moses was special because God had chosen to have a relationship with him.
Our gospel reading is the well known reading of the Transfiguration, which we heard back in August on Transfiguration Sunday. This is when Jesus takes a select group of disciples up to a mountain to pray, and when Jesus talked to his father he also began to shine, and a holy staff meeting is called between Jesus Moses and Elijah. The transfiguration is a fundamental point in Jesus’ ministry, because along with his baptism it is a visible sign of God’s plan for his life. God makes two audible declarations about Jesus – first when he is baptised we hear the words “This is my son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased”, and here at the transfiguration the disciples hear God say “This is my Son, my beloved; listen to him!”. The important thing to note here is the order – surely it would be more logical for God to tell the world to listen to Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, and to say he is pleased with him after he has done many good deeds. But God loves us from the very beginning, and his love does not depend on what we do, he loves the saint and the murderer just the same. However Jesus was to be listened to, because of his relationship with his father, and his position as a person of the trinity.
So Moses and Jesus both had a relationship with their father in heaven. Perhaps it is therefore something reserved for such spiritual giants, and we humble folk are off the hook.
Our epistle sheds some light on this so to speak, unlike Moses, who used a veil like a spiritual lamp shade to “keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside”. What is going on? Well as we have already mentioned, the glory of God was very harsh to human eyes, perhaps in a similar way to the sun. We cannot look straight at the sun, because our eyes are used to looking at much lower light levels, and when we do try and catch a glimpse of a sunrise we can do our eyes permanent damage if we aren’t careful. Moses had to be veiled in order to be amongst the Israelites, but always removed the veil when he was with God. In temple worship the holy of holies was separated from the main body of the building by a curtain, veiling the glory of God, the ark of the covenant, from the people. In our epistle today Peter tells us the significance of the veil of which we have been talking, and in particular how it applies to us. He tells us that in Christ it is set aside, and when we turn to the Lord the veil is removed. Jesus didn’t wear a veil to talk to his disciples in the same way that Moses had done, because the disciples had a relationship with God through Jesus, they had no need to be kept from seeing his glory. At the passion of our Lord when Jesus was crucified it was said that the curtain in the temple tore in two, a symbol that no longer does our sin need to get in the way of having a relationship with God. Moses knew this, because he trusted in the forgiveness of the Lord, so too can we know this. What a privilege we have to be able to come to God with boldness, because of what he has done for us. We can all have a relationship with God, in fact we should actively encourage it.
That isn’t to say that we don’t constantly put on veils because of our own failings. Indeed the structure of our service here this morning is designed to help us remove our own veils – through confession and reconciliation, through praise and adoration – these are important parts of the Christian life. But these veils are of our own making and are not necessary, we can remove them whenever we like and come to God. Because God has torn the curtain in two I can assist John in the sanctuary later in the service, and we will not be struck down if we make a wrong move! We must also be careful not to put on a veil when serving those outside the church. If we have a Christian faith we must not be ashamed to make it a part of who we are, let people see who it is we follow and why, even when it is hard to do so. And you never know, we might even start to glow – that would be a talking point!
The disciples at the transfiguration respond in an interesting way, which John talked about on Transfiguration Sunday “It is good Lord that we are here”. They wanted to build three tents for Jesus Moses and Elijah, presumably in order to hold on to the wonderful glories that were unfolding before them. Perhaps you have had a spiritual experience in a similar way to Peter and John and James on the mountain, maybe your baptism or confirmation, or perhaps you connect best with a certain type of service or church. It is wonderful that God shares his glory with us in these ways, but it is important not to try and hold on to the glory of God, because there is work to be done, and trials and tribulations to be overcome.
So what has this got to do with the beginning of Lent? The Transfiguration is a turning point in the ministry of Jesus, when the focus on his ministry changes from travelling around Judea preaching and doing miracles to his journey into Jerusalem and later his passion. We too are about to make this journey with Jesus through the season of lent (equipped with your Ridley hall lent books), concluding with good Friday and feaster Sunday The transfiguration helps to keep this serious season in perspective, and to see God’s plan in what is about to unfold. As we come forward to receive the sacrament this morning our prayer should be that God will show us a glimpse of his glory to sustain us, and, as Peter writes in his epistle this morning, help us to be transfigured more and more into the likeness of Christ. Let us pray;
Lord God,
We thank you that by what you have done for us on the cross we can be in relationship with you, and that by your spirit you are transforming us into your image from one degree of glory to another. Help us to spread your glory around by serving those around us and telling others of your love for all the world. Amen