Have you ever looked and saw someone you thought you recognized? And then when you looked again you saw more clearly and realized it wasn’t them? Or have you ever saw what you thought was one thing, but when you looked again turned out to be something else? I remember one time April and I were in the car close to Christmas time and April said something like “Look at that huge nativity scene.” By the time I looked up, we’d gotten a bit closer and she’d realized it was actually a pavilion with a picnic table. Sometimes we mistake things not just with our eyes but with our ears. There is a hilarious comedian by the name of Peter Kay who does a whole act about misheard song lyrics. He will talk about a song and tell you what he thought the lyrics were. And then he’ll play the clip and the listeners’ ears hear exactly what he said rather than the actual lyrics. For example, do you know the Celine Dion song, “My Heart Will Go On?” Did you know that she sings about hot dogs? I can’t play you the clip because Facebook with flag our livestream video. But when you leave today, listen to it and you will here her say, “I believe that the hot dogs go on.” Sometimes what we see or what we hear the first time is not truly what is there.

Peter, James, and John had been following Jesus for quite a while. They learned from him. They watched what he did, how he treated people, what seemed to motivate him. They’d seen him heal the sick, calm the storm, give sight to the blind, eat with sinners and tax collectors, make the lame to walk, cast out demons. They saw how powerful Jesus was. They listened to his words and followed his ways. They knew him as well as anyone. Yet in the familiar story we read today from the gospel of Matthew, Peter, James and John saw a different side of Jesus. Something they didn’t really expect and something they couldn’t fully comprehend.

We hear this story every year on the last Sunday before Lent. Jesus goes up on the mountain with three disciples and they experience the fullness of who he is. In many ways this story draws us back to the story that began the sermon series we are ending today. If you recall that story, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming and said to his disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Behold Jesus, John said, because he is something special. John said that he was unworthy to untie the straps of Jesus’ sandals. John saw that something was different about Jesus. He was not your run of the mill carpenter’s son. And some of John’s disciples had to know more, so they followed Jesus. They wanted to see him, to know him. They wanted to behold him for who he truly was.

Now, here we are on the mountain with Jesus. Peter, James, and John think they know Jesus. They’ve seen him. But Jesus is about to reveal the fullness of who he is. And when he does, the disciples don’t know what to do. The text says this: “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” Jesus was transfigured. He was changed. His true glory shown forth.

And then something really interesting happens. And when I first read this passage this week it was this part that stuck out to me most. Matthew writes, “Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.” What an unusual turn of events! Moses and Elijah, two of the patriarchs of the Hebrew people who died many years before suddenly show up next to the glowing Jesus. Why? What does that even mean? How does that show Peter, James, and John who Jesus truly is?

As I thought about this and read some commentaries on the passage, I remembered the scripture I preached on two weeks ago where Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them. And here are Moses and Elijah with Jesus. Moses, who the Jews believed wrote the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, the books that contained the law of God. And Elijah, the prophet, considered by Jews to be the greatest of the prophets. The law and the prophets. Perhaps they are there to reiterate that point.

But also, they are the only people in the Bible described as having been in the very presence of God. Perhaps you remember the stories. Moses was in a tent talking with God. And God promised that he would be with Moses. So, Moses asked God to show him his glory. And God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you…but you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” So God puts Moses on a rock, covers Moses’ eyes with his hand, and passes by…allowing Moses only to see his back. Then Elijah was told by God to go to Mount Horeb. Then Elijah hears the sound of a great wind, but God is not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, a fire. But God was not in the fire. And then God came to Elijah in a still small voice.

Moses and Elijah had both been in the presence of God and now they appeared in the presence of Jesus as he revealed his true glory to the three disciples. So then the question is, what does that mean? I think it confirms the deity of Jesus. Up to this point, Jesus was a great teacher, a miracle worker, a loving friend and neighbor, a prophet, and some were beginning to view him as possibly the Messiah who would save the people of Israel. But here, on the mountain in view of Peter, James, and John, Jesus’ true nature is revealed. His glory shines before them. And they see Jesus for who he truly is…God incarnate. Jesus is both human and God. And the presence of Moses and Elijah confirms that. And Peter longs to hold onto that moment. He knows that when it is over, things will change. The hardships of life will return. So he suggests they make three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He doesn’t want the moment to end.

But then a cloud overshadows them and God speaks. And what God says harkens back to Jesus’ baptism. The voice says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” The disciples heard this and were afraid. But Jesus touched them and said, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, it was just Jesus all alone.

There are two things that I take away from this story. The first is that Jesus reveals himself to us. It may not come in a mountain top experience with a cloud and blinding light and the faithful of old. But Jesus shows himself through friends, family, neighbors, strangers. I once preached a sermon where I challenged people to look for Jesus in the eyes of strangers. The Bible says that God created us all in God’s image. If that is true, then we should be able to see Jesus somewhere in everyone. Even if it’s just a glimmer. After making that challenge, I had someone approach me about it a week or so later. And they said to me, I’ve thought about what you said but to be honest it’s too hard so I’m not going to do it. It is hard. Seeing Christ in someone you don’t know or someone very different from you can sometimes be tough. We might look at someone’s lifestyle and think that they are too sinful to exhibit Christ in anyway. But Jesus ate with sinners. And he saw God’s image upon them. And he didn’t judge them. He loved them. We should follow that example. And when we do, we will see God’s image in our neighbors. And we will be transformed.

The second thing to take away from this story is that transformation can be scary. When Jesus was transfigured and his glory revealed, the disciples became scared. I don’t know about you, but I don’t always like change very well. It can be painful and scary. I’d prefer to stay where I am comfortable and know what to expect. But change is also inevitable. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, it catches up to us eventually, even if not in the way we thought it would.

“Some people don’t want to accept their need for change. The story is told about a doctor who told a man to give up red meat, so he stopped putting ketchup on his hamburgers.” Change, transformation, is scary. We want to preserve our way of life, even in the face of new knowledge or experiences. “In 1829, Martin Van Buren, then governor of New York, wrote the following to the president: ‘The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as railroads. The federal government must preserve our canals for these reasons: If canal boats are supplanted by railroads, serious unemployment will result. Captains, cooks, drivers, hostlers, repairmen and lock tenders will be left without any means of livelihood. Canal boats are essential to our defense. In the event of trouble with England, the Erie Canal could be the only means by which we could move supplies … The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel through the countryside at the breakneck speed of 15 miles per hour.”

We, who have witnessed the glory of God, are called toward new life, where we are transformed into something new. It may be scary, but it will also be great. For the way of Christ is love and hope and joy and peace and mercy and grace and freedom. Author Robert Tew once wrote, “Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free.” Just as Jesus was transformed before the eyes of Peter, James, and John, so are our lives transformed by the love of Jesus. May we embrace the love of Jesus and look for the imprint of that love in the faces of our neighbors. And may we find freedom. Amen!