Sermon – Where We Are Headed
Exodus 34:29-35; Luke 9:28-36
Farmville Presbyterian Church
3/9/25
One of the occupational hazards of being a preacher is having to get up in front of groups. Plenty of people try to avoid that like the plague and feel no compulsion whatsoever to get up in front of others. My life has had me up in front ever since I was a little guy doing school and church performances. In case this is not obvious, when you do find yourself in the spotlight, so to speak, it is far more noticeable how you look. And those of us who do this kind of thing might become a little more sensitive about appearances. When I was doing stage shows in community theater, I discovered for the first time just how little hair I have on the back of my head. That spotlight really brought out a reflection rivaling Moses and Jesus in our readings. In fact, it looked like I was flat out bald in the back. I suppose that it is a good thing that I found this out, though. I try to take care of what I have left. We want to try to present well. Sometimes it might mean altering our appearance for the public face. Can you spot what I had done this week?
This is not east to ask. The Book of Ecclesiastes opens decrying vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Did the preacher get a toupee? Nope (nor hair plugs). Did the preacher get Botox? Nope. Did he get a nose-job? Nope. Did he frost his hair? Nope, this is all-natural frosting. I am really hoping that you see something different about me, though. To get serious, it is something that should be different about us all.
Speaking of appearances, we are full of appearance-passages today. Moses comes down from the mountain glowing so brightly that the people made him wear a veil for the rest of his life. Jesus also glowed and also on a mountain. His glowing was so bright that it is right near indescribable. Luke describes it as a flash of lighting. I don’t know about you, but I think it would be hard to stare at something that bright for very long. When the presence of God shows up in Luke, it had to be in a fog for the protection of those there.
One of the things that is pretty obvious as you work your way through the Bible is that mountains are a favorite place for God. It is easy to encounter God on mountains. If you have ever been up on a picturesque mountain, you can understand why. Mountains are especially glorious. Their views are spectacular, and they put you literally closer to the heavens. Mountains tend to be a little sparser, and it is easy to find private time in the Spirit. Jesus went up WHERE to pray? Jesus gave his biggest sermon WHERE? Elijah squared off against the prophets of Baal WHERE? Moses was both called by God and received the Law WHERE? Jesus commissioned his disciples to be apostles with the new good news from WHERE? No animal will harm another on God’s Holy WHAT? I think you get the picture. When Moses wanted to see God, God took him up on a mountain to see God’s backside. That poor man had no idea what he was asking for. In today’s story, he spent so much time in God’s holiness, 40 days in fact, that he was never the same, and no one knew what to do with him.
That passage of Jesus’ transfiguration in Luke is mirrored by similar accounts in the other gospels, but there is no getting around how impressive this story is. Jesus is preparing for the end. Luke even calls it Jesus’ exodus to Jerusalem. It is Jesus’s journey to the land God had prepared. He was leading God’s children to hope and promise and salvation. He IS the new Moses. To help Jesus prepare, he had Moses and Elijah show up to counsel Jesus. These are the two biggest names in Jewish history. Moses was the law-giver who created the priesthood, and Elijah was the greatest of the prophets and who never even technically died but was swept off in a chariot of flame. These two are Jesus’ council as he prepares for the end of his earthly life where we received the greatest gift the world has ever seen. This is divine space. They were standing on holy ground, and looking at Jesus made it obvious. Peter is so thunderstruck that he can only offer to make them booths because he does not know what else to do.
One of the really interesting things about being in the presence of God is that people are noticeably changed. When people see folk who have been spending time in the presence of God, they will look different. Colossians 3:12-14 says… Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
I hope you noticed that. Our virtues, our spiritual fruit, our character as people in Christ by the love of God is as obvious as the clothes on our body. Our inner character is completely outward. Seeing a follower of Christ is seeing someone who literally looks different than they used to. No one, no, no one enters this world getting it right. No one, despite how great their parentage might have been, owns the life of following Christ without being transformed in God’s grace. There are no naturals. It is work, every single day, and no one gets to heaven without a fight. It is far from easy, though the more we do it, the easier it might get because we grow in our trust of God. It means setting aside our own priorities for the priorities of others, even people that we have a hard time even caring about, especially those people that we have a hard time caring about.
I am desperately concerned about what people see when they look at me. Am I just another middle-aged guy trying to get what I can or trying to do for me and my people? Am I indistinguishable from any other typical guy in America or Southside, VA? Does it even look like I have any kind of real relationship with God? Or do my actions and my life just look like anyone else?
I used to try to fix this more obviously by wearing a cross. You may have also noticed clergy wearing clerical collars or religious clothing. That is fine, but I came to the conclusion that it was more important that my life point to Jesus where it counts. I did not want to leave it to a piece of metal or some cloth to tell people that I had different priorities than most of the rest of the world. It should be clear, maybe not all the time, but certainly often enough to know that I am one of God’s people in Christ Jesus in the grace of the Holy Spirit.
This might mean so many things from how we act to how we talk, to how we treat others, to how we share faith, to how we drive, to how we give, to how we spend our time, to how we work, or any of the billion other things that fit into our lives. Remember, this is an outward expression of our inner love for God. If we have spent time with God, it should show. If we have spent time with God, it will show. If we need to spend more time with God, do it. Church once a week is not enough. No one eats once a week or sleeps once a week. Far too many people show up in church often enough to make themselves feel better but then go back to secular, worldly lives full of pride and self-satisfaction.
We are in the season of Lent. These weeks are only going in one direction. We are headed to the encounter of Jesus Christ at his worst and his best. We are looking to meet God where it counts. I invite you to join me, and maybe, just maybe, we will notice things change around us, within us, even between us. And we may even look in the mirror and see new people. This is where we are headed these days and for the rest of our lives. To God be the glory.