Listen to Him! - Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday (March 2, 2025)

Scripture Readings: Exodus 34:29–35 | Psalm 99 | 2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2 | Luke 9:28–43

“Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone...” (Luke 9:35-36).

Have you ever had a truly life-changing experience? 

If so, what made it so impactful? How did it change your life? Was it like a light switch? Suddenly shifting everything in an instant? Or was it more like a seed, something that takes time and attention to grow and bear fruit?

Looking back on my life so far, I think I’ve had my share of amazing experiences… moments of wonder, surprise, fear, and insight that seem to have left deep impressions on how I see the world, and respond to my circumstances… for better or for worse.  

And although I’ve had a few ‘light switch’ moments, the experiences that seem to have had the biggest effect on my life are the ones that I’ve spent time and effort remembering… and reflecting on… exploring the meaning and implications of what happened, and then choosing to change how I act, again and again in response to it. 

Today, we Christians celebrate Transfiguration Sunday: the amazing moment when Jesus Christ was revealed to a few of His closest disciples in all His glory, as the Chosen Son of the Living God.

In many ways, this part of Christ’s story can bring us to the edge of our imaginations… pulling back the curtain a bit and giving us a glimpse of reality often hidden from our human eyes. We’re told that Jesus climbs up a mountain with three of His followers, Peter, James, and John, and while He is praying, His appearance is suddenly changed before their eyes… and his clothes become dazzlingly white. And then, two of ancient Israel’s heroes of the faith, Moses and the prophet Elijah also appear in glory beside Jesus, and begin conversing with Him.  

Now I don’t know about you, but even my most powerful and memorable times of prayer and worship have never come close to this kind of experience. And clearly, this mountaintop moment made an impression on the three disciples who witnessed this change in their Master. 

But this story is about much more than a private epiphany, or spiritual experience that took place thousands of years ago. It is a story that’s meant to be transformative for everyone who hears it, including you and I. For the Transfiguration of Jesus not only reveals who He is, but it also calls us to do something in response to this revelation… to let our lives be changed by it.

But before we dive right into our Gospel Reading this morning, let’s take a moment to remember and reflect on our First Reading today, from the book of Exodus.

Our First Reading today takes place at a crucial, life-changing moment in the story of Israel. Yahweh, the Living God, had seen the oppression of Abraham’s descendants in Egypt under Pharaoh, and had sent Moses to Egypt as His messenger, to set His people free. In an amazing revelation of God’s power and glory, Egypt was overturned by ten mighty plagues, and Pharoah’s once mighty army was washed away in the Red Sea… while the people of Israel were led safely out of Egypt into the wilderness. And this dramatic departure is where the book of Exodus get’s it’s name… after the Greek word for exit. 

But they weren’t just delivered from Egypt with no destination in mind. God set them free to become His Chosen people… to enter into a covenant, sacred relationship with Him, no longer living as slaves, but as His beloved children… a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, reflecting His goodness, and love out into the world. And so, God led Israel up to a mountain in the wilderness called Mt. Sinai. And there, Moses went up to meet with God, and receive from the LORD their divine instructions on how to live as God’s people. The commandments that they were all to listen to in order to be transformed by God’s holy love. 

But even as Moses was on the mountain top with the LORD, the people rebelled against the God who had saved them. They built a golden idol to worship, and abandoned the commandments of the LORD that they had promised to follow. 

Even though they had witnessed first hand the glory and power of God, when He delivered them from Egypt, their lives still needed to be transformed if they were to truly be God’s faithful people.

Thankfully, God does not give up on them. Moses intercedes on their behalf, and the LORD spares His unfaithful covenant partners… and makes a way to dwell with them, despite their wickedness and sin. God gives Moses the plans for the Tabernacle, a sacred tent where God’s holy presence would remain at the centre of Israel’s camp, moving with them throughout their wanderings, and where God would receive their sacrifices as a way of repairing their already strained relationship. 

And in our First Reading, which takes place after the golden idol episode, we hear that when Moses comes down from meeting with the LORD on Mt. Sinai, his face shines, reflecting the glory of the Living God among the people. The Israelites could see that, after spending time with the Living God, Moses was changed… he shone with God’s own divine glory …and it unsettled them. 

There’s a whole lot more we could say about this passage from Exodus, but at this point, it might be best to move on to our Gospel reading from Luke Chapter 9, and see where the story goes next.

St. Luke tells us that, like Moses before Him, Jesus also ascends a mountain to meet with God. He goes up to pray, but not alone… Peter and James and John join Him. And while He prays, something changes… or at least, the three disciples experience their rabbi in a new and glorious way: His appearance changes, and His clothing shines… and He's seen talking with two famous (and long dead!) messengers of God, Moses and Elijah, who each had their own divine encounters with the LORD on mountain tops. 

Imagine being one of those three disciples in this moment. Imagine seeing the teacher you had followed… the One you were convinced would bring about God’s Kingdom… suddenly transformed in glory before your eyes, and chatting with visitors from heaven. Even if you were confused, and unsettled, and afraid, would you want it to last? Would you want to keep the curtain pulled back, just a bit longer, and see just a bit more of this glorious reality? 

When we’re in the middle of life-changing moments, at least the good ones, it’s easy to want them to last… to try to hold onto them, and preserve the experience of wonder, or connection, or joy that we have received. 

And that seems to be what’s going on in Peter’s mind. He doesn’t want this moment to end. Luke 9:33, “Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said.”

I really appreciate that St. Luke tells us that even St. Peter didn’t understand what he was saying. Sometimes we all don’t fully grasp what’s going on, or the right way to respond, and it’s good to know that we’re in good company when that happens to us. But looking a bit closer at what St. Peter blurted out in light of our reading from Exodus might help shed some light on the significance of this story for you and I today. 

The word translated here in English as “dwellings” is the same word for tent… or tabernacle… calling to mind the Holy Tabernacle that God instructed Moses to build at Mt. Sinai so that the LORD could dwell in the midst of His people as He led them through the wilderness, as well as make possible a way to atone for their sins. 

Yes, Peter was a bit mixed up on the mountain top, but his impulse in that moment was to go back to that famous moment at Mt. Sinai, and look for a way to keep these three glorious servants of God, Moses, and Elijah, and Jesus, with them. And suddenly, through his confused words the whole story of God’s relationship with Israel is being highlighted: how the LORD saved, and bound Himself to His people, so that they could share in His glorious life.

And there’s more! Remember what Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about? Verse 31: “They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” The word “departure” here is the Greek word “exodos”… calling to mind the most significant, and transformative act of God in Israel’s history, delivering them from oppression, and leading them out of slavery to become something new… His own holy children.

And with this famous Exodus in mind, we’re now told that Jesus would soon have an exodus of His own, not out of Egypt, but in Jerusalem… the city of David, where first the Holy Tabernacle, and then the Temple of God dwelt… the centre of power for Israel’s leadership… the high priesthood, and the political and spiritual authorities… the scribes, and the elders. In this intense moment of prayer, Jesus was being prepared for some new act of God’s deliverance that He would bring about… opening up a new way for His people to be set free, and share in God’s glorious new life.

That sounds a lot like good news to me. And honestly, so many people in our world are truly longing for a glimpse of freedom, and relief, and a chance to experience new life. Whether we’re thinking of war-torn places like Ukraine, Gaza, or Sudan… or those living under the growing threats and political tensions of our day… or the crushing pressures of poverty, discrimination, anxiety, and tribalism… tragically, the only vision of reality that many around us see is pretty bleak.  

In times like these, where can we turn to find hope? How can we help our world to find hope too? What kind of help can we offer our neighbours? What can we do to change what’s going on? 

To find the answer, we must turn back to our Gospel Reading, and hear what happens after St. Peter’s remarks. 
Luke 9:34-36, “While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone…”. 

These words stand at the centre of the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, and they serve as a kind of anchor for our entire lives as Christians: The Living God singles out Jesus of Nazareth as His Chosen One… His Son. And God then tells us to listen to Jesus.

Listen to Him about what???

Well, about everything, really. About how to live God’s way today. About what it really means to be God’s faithful children… reflecting the goodness and love of the LORD out into our world, serving as a new kingdom of priests, and holy nation, drawn from every corner of Creation. About the need to stay alert, and resist the tempting voices that call us to abandon our calling. About the promise of sharing in God’s glorious new life if we stay true to the end. 
Just as Moses came down from the mountaintop meeting with God to give God’s people a new way to live, Jesus has come down and opened up for us all a way to share in God’s blessed new life. And we are commanded to listen to Him. Not just to hear what He has to say, but to obey. To take to heart, and put into practice His words in all we do.

This is all true in a general sense. But in St. Luke’s Gospel, there’s a much more specific context for this command to listen to Jesus, which is made clear when we consider the last thing Jesus says before this part of the story. Luke 9:18-27,

“Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’  They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ 

He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’ 

Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.’” 

Are we listening to Jesus? Do we really take to heart what He just said to us? That the only way He would fulfill God’s great act of deliverance would be to be rejected, to suffer and die, and be raised again? And that, if we want to follow Him, we too must let go? That we must say no to ourselves… to our fearful commitment to our own survival above all other considerations? That we too must be prepared to take up our cross… to be rejected, and ridiculed, and suffer for the sake of Jesus? That if we focus on saving ourselves, we’ll be lost… but if we lose ourselves for Jesus, we’ll ultimately be secure. Are we listening to Jesus, even when He says things like this?

If not, who are we listening to? What other voices are we following? Who else is guiding our actions, and shaping our values, and calling for our loyalty? Who else do we believe has our best interests, and the fate of our world at heart? 
 
As we know, there are plenty of voices out their offering us easy answers, or telling us what we want to hear… and there are voices trying to tear us down, so we will just get in line, and give in to their demands.

But these voices can’t compare to the Good News that Jesus alone has brought about: the Good News of God’s saving love, offering forgiveness, and freedom for all who will come and follow Him. 

Listening to Jesus… trusting in Him is a truly transformative experience… one that requires our ongoing attention, and honest commitment… but which is worth far more than what it may cost us. Placing our faith in Jesus, and what He has done to deliver us and our world at the cross… actually listening to Him… and engaging with all the challenges of our day by choosing, again and again, to stay true to Him, is an incredibly powerful activity… revealing God’s goodness and love to our neighbours that  desperately need even a glimpse of this healing, and help, and hope at work in our world. Not because we have all the answers, but because God’s Holy Spirit is at work in us!

As St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” 

The Transfiguration of Jesus is more than a strange episode: it is an anchor for us in the storms of life. A reminder that, despite how things might appear at times, Jesus is not just an inspiring historical figure from long ago, far removed from our troubles and concerns… He is the Chosen One, the Beloved Son of the Living God, sent to deliver us once and for all, and whom we are called to listen to and follow throughout our lives. 

As we seek to listen to Christ’s voice, and follow Him… we know it will mean letting go of much that we might rather hold onto. We know it will mean taking up our cross, and suffering for His sake. But we also know that He graciously gave up His life at the cross to deliver us, and our world… and that He rose again to bring God’s blessed new life to us, now and forever. 

Like St. Peter, we might not always know what to say or do. At times we’ll be confused, or scared, or frustrated by the ways our world is operating. In times like these, may we again entrust ourselves to our Saviour: May we listen closely to the call of our LORD, and obey Him, even when it means going against the flow… and may we believe that as we do so, the Holy Spirit of God is also at work, transforming us to become more and more like Jesus our Saviour… who is still working through us to bring God’s great deliverance to those around us. Amen.