The
Preacher’s Study
First thoughts about next
Sunday’s sermon
(Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. 26,
2017)
D. Jay Koyle
Exodus 24.12-18
Psalm 2 or Psalm 99
2 Peter 1.16-21
Matthew 17.1-9
Matthew 17.1-9
Taking note of Matthew’s placement of the Transfiguration in his
gospel proclamation is key to preaching this Sunday. With compelling insight, Matthew
situates the tale at the midpoint of his narrative, spaced nicely between
Jesus’ baptism in the opening scenes and his Resurrection at the blockbuster
finale.
Already, Jesus has been labeled as a blasphemer, subjected to
intense criticism for his choice of table companions, nagged incessantly about
his disciples’ failure to observe the law and traditions, accused of demon
possession, and doubted by John the Baptist. Now, however, the momentum of
Jesus’ trajectory to Golgotha is picking up speed, and he knows it. It is at
this turbulent moment that Matthew directs our gaze upward to a high mountain,
to a dazzling reminder of who Jesus is and a glimpse of what is to come.
Taking note of the timing of the Transfiguration story in
Matthew’s narrative of Jesus is key to this Sunday’s pulpit proclamation. So is
its recapitulation on the Sunday before Lent, its timing in the Church Year’s
narrative about our life in Christ.
Contrary to
what some may think, we don’t observe the days and seasons of the church
calendar simply because it is a handy didactic tool. It’s not because it gives
congregations a reason to change the decor in church from time to time. It’s
not even because the calendar gives liturgists something to argue about.
No, we get
swept up in the rhythms of the church year because it is a concrete expression
that the days of our lives find their full identity and meaning in Jesus
Christ.
There’s a
wonderful saying you may have heard. It goes like this: "It is not so much
that the Jews keep the Sabbath, but rather that the Sabbath keeps the
Jews." Well, it’s not so much that we keep the church year, as it is the
church year keeps us. This faith-filled marking of time is a piece of necessary
memory work. It helps ensure that we don’t succumb to spiritual amnesia and
forget that the story of Christ crucified and risen is our story – that is, the
stories of our lives are immersed in his.
So just as
Matthew sets the Transfiguration story right before Jesus turns his face toward
his rendezvous with the Cross, providing a glimpse as to the true identity and destiny
of God’s chosen and beloved one, Transfiguration Sunday provides for us a sneak
peek into what awaits us on the other side of Lent so we may set upon the
coming forty days as on opportunity to recover the identity that belongs to the
baptized.
There are so
many other identities foisted upon us that serve as poor substitutes for who we
really are.
For pretty
much all of us, a market-based society tells us all we’re nothing more than
producers and consumers.
For far too many,
nationalistic exceptionalism skews the distinction between country and Kingdom,
asserting that citizenship in, and allegiance to the former are the same as
with the latter.
For some of
us, hurtful words of a loved one may have told us we were anything but beloved,
leaving us to spend our nights and days trying in vain to prove our worth or to
earn yearned-for affection.
For others,
the independence we once so cherished is now held hostage by a debilitating condition,
leaving us with the sense that we are no longer anything more than a burden to
our family and friends.
In each of
these situations, and many more, we lose sight of who we really are, as if our
true identity has been snatched from us. Identity theft, it would seem, is not
just a phenomenon of cyberspace costing individuals and society millions of
dollars each year. Indeed, as tragic and scary as that may be, there’s an even
more costly kind of identity theft, one that far too often befalls the church. It
is the identity theft in which we fail to recognize ourselves as beloved of
God, people whose life and meaning, vocation and mission are found in Jesus
Christ. As my friend, colleague, and fellow APLM-blogger Amy McCreath has
noted, the false and manufactured epiphanies of our world are relentless in
trying to sell us false identities.
So, by
passing through the Transfiguration story, we ready ourselves to traverse the
terrain of Lent, making our trek to the Easter waters awaiting us at the
Christian Passover. There we will discover anew our identity as those baptized
into Christ and walk with vigorous step as people of the Resurrection.
Jay Koyle is president of The Associated Parishes
for Liturgy and Mission. He serves as the chair of Faith, Worship, and Ministry
for the Anglican Church of Canada.
This is a revision of an earlier post.
“Transfiguration” by Lewis Bowman is available
through
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