Luke 9:28-36

If you take a good look at Jesus' life you'll see that before every major decision, he spent time in prayer. Usually he went to a high place away from the crowds. Before he chose his 12 disciples he prayed. And throughout his earthly ministry Jesus retreats from the crowds to pray. We are familiar with his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Before giving himself up to be killed he talked to his heavenly Father.

Here again Jesus has retreated for prayer. He took Peter, James and John, his three closest disciples, and retreated to a high place to pray. This however was no ordinary retreat. There had been many others before, but the Bible tells us little about the details of them. This retreat however was important enough that the Bible gives it a prominent place.

While there, probably early in the morning while they were still half asleep, it happened. Jesus was transfigured: His clothes became gleaming white. And his face lit up. Then Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Moses the one through whom God gave the law. And Elijah, the greatest of the prophets. The greatest of The heroes of God's people were standing there. The three disciples were beside themselves. What a great thing, to meet and talk to Moses and Elijah. So Peter suggested building three booths so they could all stay there a while. But building those booths was not in God's plan, so God appeared to them in a cloud and addressed them. His message was simple and short. "This is my Son, the chosen one, listen to him."

Why was this retreat different than the others? Why did Elijah and Moses appear and why did God speak on this occasion and not on the other occasions? I believe this was a pivotal point in Jesus' ministry and in the development of the faith of his disciples. It was just before this that Jesus asked them who he was. Of course Peter said, "You are the Messiah the son of the living God." Then Jesus told them that he must suffer and be killed, but the disciples could not accept this.

Luke tells us that Jesus was discussing with Elijah and Moses his departure or exodus which he would accomplish in Jerusalem. That means his death. He was going to Jerusalem to depart from this life. But he was also going to begin an exodus from slavery to sin and death. The disciples didn't understand this. And Jesus' attempts to explain it to them only worried them more.

Why was this retreat different? I believe that this time Jesus retreated to pray for strength for his disciples. Jesus knew that he was in for a hard time, but he knew why it was happening. It would be much harder on the disciples because they were still in the dark. So Jesus took the three leaders, the ones the other disciples looked up to and decided to shine some light for them. Jesus wanted to strengthen their faith. First they saw Jesus glorified, which reinforced that he was the Messiah. Then they saw Moses and Elijah, which showed them that Jesus actions were in line with their tradition. Finally God spoke to them and told them that Jesus was his beloved son and to do as he said.

They still didn't understand. They were still bewildered when Jesus died. They still didn't know why Jesus set his face for Jerusalem. But that was O.K. It was O.K. because they had seen Christ's glory and had heard God's voice. And that would carry them through a lot of darkness and ignorance and bewilderment. They couldn't understand God's plan at that time, it was beyond their comprehension, but they could trust in God.

Life is full of ups and downs. You don't have to be manic depressive to be in a good mood one day and a bad mood the next. And all of us have experiences that lift us up and then ones that cast us down. Sometimes we have religious experiences in which God reveals to us the glory of Christ. And all of us experience trials and tribulations that test our faith and shake our confidence.

This is all part of God's plan. Mountain top experiences are designed to prepare us for the future. The disciples were not ready for Jesus' trial and death, but God prepared them by giving them a mountain top vision of Glory. After that they descended the mountain and eventually landed at the cross watching their friend die.

If you have ever had a mountain top experience, it was a gift from God to prepare you for the trials to come. Just because you descend into a pit doesn't mean God has abandoned you. God has prepared you for that trial. Jesus needed to die so that the disciples could be ransomed from sin and death. The suffering the disciples went through was necessary to purchase their salvation. Those trials were necessary to ransom them. Perhaps the low points in our lives are also part of God's plan to ransom us.

Have you ever known someone who glows? You know what I mean. One of those people who always seems to radiate energy and life. Sometimes they are energetic people who are always active. Other times they are quiet peaceful people. Either way they are radiant.

Such people radiate life and energy and peace. That is the way I understand the transfiguration. "Transfiguration" literally means a change in appearance. When Jesus when up the mountain his appearance was changed. It was as if he glowed with the fire of God and his disciples say him in a new light.

When we speak of "the transfiguration" we are usually speaking of incident with Jesus we read about in Luke. But Moses was transfigured too. The Bible says that when he came down the mountain his face glowed. In fact it scared the people. In a way this glowing was a validation and confirmation to the people that Mosses had truly spoken with God.

But how does this happen to a person? How can we be transfigured? How can our lives glow and radiate the life and peace of God? These are the questions I want to explore this morning. And I want to propose a recipe for transfiguration.

Let’s look at Moses first. Moses had been on Mount Sinai receiving commandments from God for 40 days and 40 nights. This is significant! To spend 40 days and nights with someone alone on the top of a mountain you get to know them. In a sense one could say that Moses was close to God. Not just because Moses was on the same mountain top but because Moses knew God. Exodus says that Moses’ face was shining because he had been talking to God. So Moses wasn’t just near God he had been conversing with God. In fact he would keep on conversing with God.

The other thing to notice is that Moses came to the people to share what he had heard. It says that Moses didn’t know that his face was shining. But he had something to share with the people. He had the law of God, so he went to the people and shared that law with them. His face had probably not shined at all in the presence of God’s vast glory. It was only when he went into the darkness of the world that he glowed.

For Christmas one year, my sister gave the girls some stars that glow in the dark. They look like ordinary pieces of plastic in the light but when the lights are off they glow. In the same way Moses probably looked like an ordinary man in the presence of God. But while he was there he soaked up the light of God and when he was in the dark world the glowed that light for all to see.

Let’s take a look at Jesus. Luke tells us that Jesus took three of his disciples up a mountain to pray. It happened while he prayed that his appearance was changed and he glowed. At that moment Moses and Elijah, the representative of the Law and the Prophets, were standing with him talking. And Jesus’ disciples saw all this.

As in the case of Moses the source of the light was God. Jesus was close to his Father and had been praying. The light that he had soaked up during that time of prayer was now being radiated for all to see. The fact that he was talking with Moses and Elijah who represented two major divisions in the Old Testament, showed his intimate knowledge of the Scriptures.

It is also important to notice that Jesus was not alone. He had brought some friends with him. Like Moses, he had not gone to the top of the mountain for his own benefit, but for others. Moses had gone to receive the law to give to the people and Jesus had gone to show God’s glory to his disciples.

So how do we achieve transfiguration in our lives? How do we come to glow with the life and light of God so that others in this dark world can see God burning in us? First of all don’t seek it for yourself. Don't seek to radiate energy to call attention to yourself. Don't seek after it so that can feel better about yourself. Both Jesus and Moses when up their mounts of transfiguration not for their own benefit, but to help others. If you just want to look holy you are going up the wrong mountain. But if you truly want to bring God’s light to those in darkness then you are headed up the right mountain.

Secondly, seek to be close to God. Like Jesus pray and like Moses talk with God. Get to know God intimately. This will take time. You will need to study God’s Word. You will need to meditate on it day and night. You will need to soak it up so that it becomes a part of you.

Then, once you have soaked up the light of God, you need to go in to the darkness. You can’t glow in the presence of God. You have to spend time with God to soak up the light because God is the source. But you will never glow in God’s presence because God will always outshine you! You need to go to the world, where it is dark, and let God’s light radiate from you.

So here is my recipe for transfiguration:

Start with a large helping of humility and an equally large helping of self-sacrifice. Mix together and don’t eat the dough because we are baking this for someone else's benefit. Next place in the presence of God and allow to bake a very long time. When done take it out to the hungry people in the world. Occasionally take the left overs back to bake in the presence of God and you will always have enough light and life to share with all you meet.

Try this recipe. Today!