Sermon 2/15/26 The Transfiguration

Описание: Readings: Exodus 24:12-18 / 2 Peter 1:16-21/ Matthew 17:1-9
The story of the Transfiguration answers one of the most important questions we can ever ask: Who is Jesus? On the mountain, the disciples see his divinity revealed and hear God’s voice say, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

That command is not simply to admire Jesus or believe things about him, but to listen to him — to let his life and teaching shape how we live. In a world filled with voices competing for our loyalty, voices of fear, power, and self-interest, that call could not be more urgent.

The Transfiguration is not given to help the disciples escape suffering, but to prepare them to endure it. What they witness on the mountain is meant to anchor their faith as the road leads toward the cross. It reminds us that God’s glory is revealed not through domination, but through self-giving love.

Like Peter, James, and John, we too are invited to behold Christ’s light. But discipleship does not allow us to stay on the mountaintop. We are called to carry that light into the shadowy places of the world — into our communities, our relationships, and the realities we face together.

Listening to Jesus is never just personal or private. It shapes how we treat the most vulnerable among us. It calls us to welcome the stranger, honor the dignity of every person, and resist the temptation to let fear have the final word. When any system treats people as problems to be managed rather than neighbors to be loved, it stands in contradiction to the Gospel.

The Transfiguration reminds us that God’s promise is made visible in Jesus, a promise to redeem and restore all creation through love.

May we listen to him, and may love, not fear, become the loudest voice the world hears.