Good Shepherd sermon. March 2/3, 2025 Luke 9. 28 – 36
“Transfigured thru Prayer”
Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God, the Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thru the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let me ask you a personal question: Have you ever had a “mountain top” experience, where things were so beautiful and peace-filled that you didn’t want the time to end? Perhaps it was at a place like Cox Arboretum on a summer day, walking and looking at the magnificent coy fish in one of the ponds, or seeing four or five turtles lined up on a log catching a few rays before sliding back into the water.
Or perhaps your mountain-top encounter was in the Great Smokies, the Grand Canyon, or on top of the volcano, Mt. Haleakalā, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Wanetta and I were fortunate enough to visit Hawaii some 20 years ago, and saw the sun literally come up on the volcan top. The beauty of the early morning was beyond stunning as the sun’s blinding brightness bounced off literally everything in our sight.
The area was, in my mind, in a transfigured state, with such intensity, and speaking for me only, I easily forgot about all the things that go on down on level ground. You know – crime, unemployment, disease, addiction, selfishness, power-hungriness, and so much grief from individual loss.
Why in the world would we want to return to that??? And think if we were Peter, wouldn’t we tell Jesus something similar to his comment, “Master, it is good for us to be here?”
But going away to pray was Jesus’ “m.o.,” wasn’t it? He wanted solitude and just “be”
(pause)
with God.
There was nothing more important than time with God. It’s where he would get fortified and filled with God’s presence. Prayer to Jesus was like a full course meal to you and me; nourishing and sustaining by the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer was transforming. Prayer IS transforming.
On Wednesday of coming week, we, and most Christian churches around the world, will observe Ash Wednesday, one of the holiest days of the year, which begins one the of the holiest seasons of the church year – Lent.
Ash Wednesday is w-a-y beyond having an ashen cross imposed on our foreheads; for many folks it begins a 40-day period of fasting, from a particular habit or segment of lifestyle, to an intentional, daily personal reflection of what it is that God is calling us to do. Just as Jesus intentionally journeyed to the Cross on Calvary, hopefully, Lent is filled with prayer as we journey to the Cross with him.
In the book, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, by Tyler Staton, the author tells us that Jesus’ prayer life was intentional, yet interruptible. He says there’s a word for that – unhurried. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life, and hurry can kill love, hide behind anger and so many other self-defeating characteristics. (Page 48)
Over the many years of metaphorically stubbing my toes and getting my nose bloodied trying to do things on my own without spending time with God can be, at best, futile.
There is a story about D.L. Moody, who many/most of us know of as a strong evangelist. Wait! Please don’t tune me out when I use the term, “evangelist.” I know, I know. For many of us, the term evangelist, or evangelical, seems to lump a slew of people into some “far-right” political group. Let me remind you: Good Shepherd is one of some 8,500 churches doing mission of the “Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.”
The word itself, evangelical, comes from the Greek word, “Euangelion,” meaning gospel. My two-cents worth? I think of it as simply meaning those of us who live by the gospel, the “Good News, of Jesus Christ.
OK – back to Moody. He had a strategy to help bring those whom he knew and loved to come to know and trust Jesus. This may sound radical, but he…
(Pause)
Prayed.
The man prayed. He knew the power of prayer, so here’s what he did: He made a list of 100 names of people he knew, or thought he knew, had no relationship with Christ. The book states, “Moody’s love was secret, hidden prayer on their behalf. He pleaded with God to reveal himself to each of them in a way they could perceive and receive as eternal love.” And this part is important:
“He prayed by name for their salvation.” (Page 146)
By the time Moody died, 96 of the people on that list had become answered prayers. Ninety-six percent! Do you realize that if a baseball player plays long enough, gets 3 hits in every ten at-bats over his career, he would probably be enshrined in the “Hall of Fame!” But Moody had 96 hits in 100 at bats, and that’s just when he was alive.
Listen to this. At his funeral, the four remaining people on his list were in attendance. Each person was so moved by the memorial service, that they all came to faith!
In one word, why did all these people come to faith? Come on, say it with me –
Prayer!
Yes, there was a metamorphosis in each person. In simpler English, each was transfigured. If you break down the word, metamorphosis, “meta” means change, while morph (simplified), means shape, or form. Yes, to change shape.
So, in the New Testament, it means to change not only in a physical, but a spiritual transformation. And that is what happened to Jesus on what is called the Mount of Transfiguration.
I could go on and on talking about the discussion Jesus had with Moses and Elijah about his “departure” (exodus), or even why those two dynamic figures from the Old Testament were there with Jesus in the first place. I could also have delved into the importance of God’s voice being heard and how vital it is for us to pay attention to this voice. You know, to listen.
Yes, there could have been much more; however, the magnitude of prayer in our lives cannot be emphasized enough. And my prayer for each of us is to follow the examples of Jesus, the pray-er, and find the place, or places, to go to our transforming God and let the brightness of the Lord’s Light shine thru us…every day.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.