Joining Jesus in the Valley
Transfiguration Sunday 2026
Matthew 17:1-9
2 Weeks ago –
Finke – Joining Jesus on His Mission
-
Very
energetic preacher
-
Funny
& charismatic
-
Inspirational
message that points us to God’s purpose for us
o
Seek
the kingdom!
o
Jesus
is on the move and calls us to follow Him
o
Love
our neighbors, because Jesus loves them and He is opening up opportunities to
share the good news of forgiveness, salvation, peace, justice, and hope.
-
Some
of us were pretty excited about what Finke taught
o
What’s
next?
There is,
however, a challenge that people struggle with after events like the Joining
Jesus on His Mission Conference
-
Excited
-
Inspired
-
Ready
to embrace the mission
-
Then
Monday comes – work, bills, stress, traffic, busy-ness of life (good and bad!)
-
All
that energy that we were ready to pour into joining Jesus on His mission gets
sucked out of us and we go back to living as we always have.
o
Inertia
is real!
o
Change
is hard – even – maybe especially – good change
-
This
is normal.
Think about
our Gospel lesson from Matthew 17 – The Transfiguration
-
An
actual “Mountain Top Experience”!
-
Jesus
took Peter, James, and John – inner circle – up a high mountain
-
Jesus
was “transfigured” – do any of you regularly use the word, “transfigure”?
o
μεταμορφόω
– metamorphosis – his form/appearance changed
§ face shined like the sun
§ clothes became as white as light
o
Opposite
of Christmas – glory of God garbed in flesh – now the glory pours forth for
these three witnesses (which both Peter and John mention in their later
letters)
-
Moses
and Elijah appeared
o
How
did the disciples know it was Moses and Elijah – don’t know and doesn’t matter
o
What
matters – Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets (last week) and these
two represent the law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) – the whole scripture.
-
Disciples
are overwhelmed!
o
As
I mentioned, both Peter and John mention it in their writings. (James was the
first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12))
o
Peter
responds
§ Do we always have to speak up?
§ Sometimes silence is the best
response to God’s grace and glory!
§ “This is good! I’ll build tents!”
· Because eternal glory should always
be kept in temporary shelters?
-
Bright
Cloud – Glory of God
-
Voice
– “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well please. Listen to Him.
o
Disciples
– faces to the ground and they were extremely fearful.
-
And
then … there was Jesus … just as normal as ever, bending down to touch them.
o
And
what did He say to them? “Get up, do not be afraid.”
After that, Jesus
led them down the mountain … back to the other disciples, back to ministry, and
back to their normal lives.
So, let me
ask a question here:
-
Was
Jesus less when he came down off the mountain? No.
-
His
glory was covered, but it was still there, waiting to be revealed in a wholly
different way at the cross – but Jesus’ glory was, and is, very much intact.
-
But
the disciples had to learn to see it. They had to learn to look for kingdom
glory now that they were off the mountain top and back down in the valley.
That is our
challenge today. We are learning to look for where the kingdom of heaven is
working – where Jesus is working to bring grace and faith and new life to
people … people he died and rose to save from sin and death!
-
This
is different from the mountain top moments!
o
I’m
not saying these no longer happen – when the light miraculously breaks through
to darkened hearts and hurting lives to bring overwhelming hope and healing.
o
There
are still great epiphany moments!
-
But,
for the most part, the work, the mission, the purpose we have been given is to join
Jesus in the valley, and that means looking for Jesus in the mundane things of
our lives. So what does that look like?
o
Loving
people who are, by many standards, unlovable.
o
People
with hurts being touched by mercy.
o
People
in shame being treated with dignity.
o
People
with trouble being lifted in prayer.
o
People
with sorrow being addressed with hope.
o
Guilty
people hearing of our God’s forgiveness.
o
Sin
and all the evil it does in our lives met with grace.
o
Death
defeated by Jesus’ gift of a new life of faith.
o
Gathering
… Building … Serving
Sundays are
meant to be a mini-mountain top – little dose of Christmas and Easter
-
Jesus
comes to us with salvation – like at Christmas
-
Delivering
his death and resurrection to us in the Lord’s Supper – Easter
But we don’t
live here. We’re meant to go back out – to go seek the kingdom
-
For
ourselves – we need the grace of the kingdom, and Jesus has freely and richly
poured it into our lives!
-
Join
Jesus where He’s working … in the valley.
o
So
you can convert people? No – that’s the Holy Spirit’s job.
o
We’re
looking for the kingdom at work
How do we
train our eyes to see?
-
Lenten
disciplines?
o
LHM
devotion
o
Read
a Gospel – or all 4
o
Read
Acts or the whole N.T.
o
Pray!
o
Believe
… Jesus is at work saving sinners.
§ Saved you.
§ Saved me.
§ He isn’t done.
-
He
lets us join Him – loving people and sharing the hope He’s given to us. Amen.
Comments