Recognizing Jesus

A sermon preached at St. Francis by the Lake Episcopal Church, Canyon Lake, Texas.
The lectionary readings for the Last Sunday after Epiphany are here.

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There’s a relatively well-known story in some church circles about a priest in an average middle-class American church who told her congregation that she’d be out of town the next Sunday and they’d have a visiting priest. On that Sunday, as the congregation began to arrive for the worship service, a stranger walked in, not well dressed nor apparently recently bathed, and made her way to the middle of a pew in the middle of one side. She didn’t speak to anyone or make eye contact, just walked in and sat down. As others noticed her, they whispered and stared, one or two approached with a shy “good morning and welcome” but didn’t reach out or get too close as they continued their conversations about whether or not they should invite the visiting priest to lunch.

At the Passing of the Peace, just a couple of people reached over to shake her hand. She kept her head down but offered them Peace back. As the service ended she slipped down the side aisle and left as the congregation lined up to shake hands with the visiting priest.

The next Sunday as their priest got up for the sermon, she laid a ragged, dirty zip up hoodie across the pulpit. And then she watched as a few of the more observant folks recognized it. “Did y’all enjoy your guest last week?” They smiled and nodded. “I’m so sorry I missed getting to meet her but I trust y’all went out of your way to make her feel welcome and at home.” People began to look confused and shift uncomfortably in their seats. You see, the guest priest had been a man. “Did anyone get her name or contact information. I’d love to reach out to her.” By now no one was looking at the priest, only at the hoodie she had laid on the pulpit. She moved on to the sermon, on the same gospel passage we read today, commonly known as the Transfiguration of Jesus.

In our story today, Jesus invites Peter, James, and John to go with him for some quiet prayer time but what our reading leaves off is the intro to the first sentence. It actually begins, “Now about eight days after these sayings …”. Whenever the Gospel writers give us a time indicator we need to pay attention because it links what comes before with the new story signaling that what is about to be read needs to be understood in it’s proximity to what comes before.

So, what did Jesus say eight days before? Some pretty challenging things like if we want to follow Jesus we have to take up our cross, we have to be willing to set aside our personal desires for the greater good of all people, that we need to make our life’s purpose the building up of God’s Kingdom, not our own. And that if we are ashamed of Jesus’ teachings about love and mercy and grace, he will be ashamed of us.

So with these thoughts meandering around in their heads and hearts, Peter, James, and John go with Jesus on the prayer retreat. And they witness something extraordinary on the mountain top. Peter wants to preserve the feeling of truly seeing Jesus with their hearts for the first time. He wants to stay in this moment forever. Don’t we all? But he’s interrupted by the very voice of God. “This is my beloved. Listen to him.”

You see, the transfiguration of Jesus wasn’t for Jesus’ benefit, he knows who he is; the transfiguration happened so Peter, James, and John could truly see and know who Jesus is, not just for a temporary feel-good moment, but so that this wisdom would transform every aspect of their ordinary lives.

And then Jesus leads Peter, James, and John back into the community to continue to reveal himself through healing and restoration, through feeding the hungry and sharing the abundance of God’s kingdom with everyone.

We are also told a curious thing about this incident, that these three students of Jesus kept silent as they came down the mountain and returned to the regular rhythm of their day. And, on the next day, they and a crowd of others witness Jesus healing a boy and restoring the father/son relationship. And all were astounded at the Glory of God. Isn’t it interesting that the crowds who witness Jesus showing up with love and compassion don’t keep silent and his best known students did.

God’s glory isn’t something we are to attempt to contain, either in this building or on a mountain top retreat, or in our hearts. When we see Jesus for who he truly is the glorious, life transforming Love of God is something we must share with the world.

God didn’t choose to show up in this world in fancy palaces or wealthy mansions. God showed up through a woman with no social standing. And God shows up in and through the people who make the teachings of Jesus the compass for their daily lives for the sake of those who need to be seen and heard and fed and cared for.

It’s an important part of our life’s rhythm to show up here and worship together. Just like this mountain top scene with Jesus and his disciples, it properly orients us to who and Whose we are – God’s beloved children. it gives us the opportunity to see Jesus for who he is. It keeps us properly ordered as to who God is and who we are as we worship the One who created all in and for love. But we can’t stay here; we can’t contain God’s glory here. What happens here, what we do together here – pray, hear God’s Word, praise, and receive the body and blood of Jesus in fellowship – is intended to transform us so we can see Jesus for who he is, our Lord and Savior, so that we can show up as the image of God for the hurting world.

In the gospel stories, Jesus shows up as a shepherd, a friend, a teacher, a prophetic voice, and a sacrificial love giver. In our recent class on the Revelation to John, we talked a lot about who Jesus is and how he shows up in John’s visions; Jesus shows up as a slaughtered Lamb, as a victorious king whose ‘sword’ is God’s word of Truth. Never does he show up as a violent, vengeful warrior or as an autocratic leader demanding respect or as a condemning or oppressive religious leader. Jesus shows up in this world in and through us, the people who have made the choice to follow Jesus for the Glory of God.

How does Jesus show up for you? Do you look for Jesus in the not so put together stranger or only in the one in the pulpit? Do you look for Jesus in the kindness of others or only in the ones who lord power over others. In the marginalized or only in the celebrities?

How does Jesus show up for others through your life? As an empathetic and compassionate friend and neighbor who wants for others the same flourishing we want for ourselves?

At our diocesan council week before last, one of our guest speakers was Lutheran Bishop Sue Briner said, “we have been too quiet for too long about who Jesus is.” We can’t hide our relationship with Jesus in this place. We are all called to show Jesus to the world so that the world is shaped by Love and compassion and empathy. This is how we participate in the building up of God’s Kingdom on earth as in heaven. This is how we are transformed into the image of the One we follow for God’s glory.

In this world so permeated with hate and anger, let’s love loudly so others know who Jesus is, too. Amen.