Transfiguration
February 18, 2007
Luke 9:28-36

Have you ever fallen asleep during a sermon? I have. Last week I was in Tokyo for a Pastors' Theological Seminar. Every day we had lectures and chapel time. After a couple of days I was tired and sleepy and my ears and head were full of hearing only Japanese all day. So full that everything was static. I physically could not hear, I mentally could not understand. I closed my eyes and slept.

So, I cannot get angry with people who fall asleep during my sermons. I know that peace that a smooth, soft spoken sermon gives, even if not understood there is a feeling of peace with God. Somehow God was speaking to me, and I felt blessed. It was "the peace of God that passes all human understanding."

But sometimes God does not want us to fall asleep. He wants us to listen to the Word of God. And so it was on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter, James and John were the congregation. Jesus, Moses and Elijah were speaking the Word of God. They were talking about what Jesus would be doing in Jerusalem. They were talking about deliverance and salvation.

But Peter was not listening. When he woke up, he began blathering about making shelters for Jesus and his guests. Then God spoke out of the cloud:

"Be quiet, Peter. My wonderful Son, whom I am proud of, is talking. Be quiet and listen to Him!"

Peter and the two other disciples were shocked and afraid. This was God Almighty! Jesus was his Son. This was serious. We must listen to him!

There used to be a custom in old New England churches. Preachers often preached for an hour, even an hour and a half. If people got sleepy and began to nod, an usher would wake them up. The usher had a long pole with a ball on the end to knock them on the head to wake them up. For the ladies they used a feather to tickle their noses. It is like in zazen meditation where a snoozer will get smacked with a paddle. Ouch! Wake up! Something important is happening. God said, "This is my beloved Son! Listen to Him!"

It is the job of the preacher to talk and the job of the congregation to listen. It is the job of the preacher to give an interesting sermon that will keep people awake. A sermon should be as thrilling as an action movie or TV suspense drama.

It will be thrilling if we meet God like Peter, James and John did there on the mountain. It will be exciting if we hear about the miracles of Jesus and how he works in our lives. It will be sad and moving if we see Jesus on the cross. We might want to change the channel when we realize that Jesus died because of our behavior. But we will want to tune in next week and then the week after that to hear the rest of the story, how Jesus rose from the dead and is active in our lives.

Peter woke up and heard the conversation of Jesus, Moses and Elijah. It is the same conversation that we have today, also. It is about deliverance: deliverance from sin, deliverance from the slavery to sin and the evil powers of this world, and deliverance from the worry and grief of this world.

We all have problems and we all need deliverance from various demons. But we do not need to go searching far. The answer is in the Word of God. It is in the words spoken by God on the Mount of Transfiguration. "This is my son whom I have chosen; listen to him." We hear Jesus in our hymns and prayers. We hear Jesus when we speak to each other over coffee. We hear the love of God. This is the right place to hear Him. This is where we get peace.

Amen.

And may the peace of God that passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church