Sermon – Exodus 34:29-35 – Radiant Faces

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Exodus 34:29-35 – Radiant Faces

Transfiguration Sunday

February 10, 2013

In our worship services since the feast of Epiphany we have been looking at some extraordinary claims from the ancient prophets. They have told us that God, the creator of the world, loves us. And that this God want to be in a relationship with us, a relationship like marriage, where God will bless us richly so that we will be a blessings to others. Last week we heard from Jeremiah, God's command that we share this good news with everyone we meet and invite people to church to experience God's love for themselves. Today we will learn that this relationship we have with God changes us in physical ways that will be noticed by others. We have to be ready for this. So let's get started with prayer.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Exodus 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever he entered the LORD's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

According to J. K. Rowling, author of the extremely popular “Harry Potter” series, tranfiguration is a magical skill that has to be taught. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry offers a class on transfiguration which focuses on four aspects of this magic. Transformation is the magic of changing something into something else, such as changing your nose into a banana. Vanishment is the magic of making something disappear. Conjuration is the magic of making something out of nothing. And Untransfiguration is the magic of turning a banana back into your nose. Of course all of this is nonsense, purely a product of Ms. Rowling's ample imagination. But as with all good fiction it does have an element of truth. There is transfiguration but it is not magic. Transfiguration is something that God does. And God transfigured both Moses and Jesus.

Moses came down from the mountain after 40 days of arguing with God. God was angry. His people had turn away and built a golden calf to worship. God was ready to destroy them and start over. But Moses went back up the mountain to plead with God to forgive his people. And that is precisely what God did. God then wrote the ten commandments on a stone tablet and sent Moses back down the mountain. When he arrived at the foot of the mountain the people saw that Moses had been physically changed, transfigured, by his encounter with God, and they were afraid.

We don't know exactly what happened to Moses. The Hebrew word that describes his face usually means “horn” as in “the horns of sheep”. This prompted Jerome, the translator of the Hebrew Bible into Latin to say the Moses grew horns. Michelangelo's famous statue of Moses shows him with horns growing from his head. But the word can also mean “something coming out of” and most scholars believe that this refers to God's glory coming out of Moses' face. In other word Moses glowed. His face shined. The glory of God was seen in Moses face.

The same thing happened to Jesus. He went to the top of a mountain and was transfigured. His face glowed. The witnesses there said it was as bright as lightening. It was here that Moses and Elijah, prophets of old, were dispatched from God to tell Jesus what was about to happen. They explained to Jesus that he would be arrested, tried and executed. They told him he would be buried. And they told him that in him, God's plan would be fulfilled in his resurrection from the dead. These words from God caused Jesus' face to glow.

For both Jesus and Moses their transfigurations were caused by their coming into the presence of God. Moses talked with God for forty days on the top of the mountain. Jesus spent forty days with the Spirit in the wilderness. We are about to begin our own forty days with God. Lent starts this Wednesday and will last for forty days, excluding Sundays, leading up to the events of Holy Week including the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I urge you to spent time with God during Lent. During these forty days you should pray and meditate on scripture every day. You have that opportunity to do this every morning here at the church. Every day I am Pitts Creek at 6am to praise God, meditate on scripture and pray for the churches. This is a spiritual discipline that is most important for my role as a pastor. But all people of God must connect with God every day. So choose a time and place where every day during Lent you can get close to God by reading scripture, meditating on it, and praying for yourself, your family and your church. If you do this every day you will begin to change, be transformed, and be transfigured. Your face will begin to glow with God's glory and love.

If you devote yourself to be in God's presence every day for forty days your appearance will change and people will notice. Some people will rejoice when they see the peace and serenity on your countenance. Others will be afraid not knowing what to make of the new you. You will be able to deal with either reaction because you will know that all you are doing is reflecting the glory of God. And you will have the ability to share your faith with others by inviting them into a life of worship, Bible study and prayer.

Moses did this with the Hebrews. After they got over the initial shock of Moses' face shining they became more receptive of what Moses had to say. Moses then shared the intimate details of his forty day encounter with God. Through this the Hebrews received the law of God from which they learned how to live lives pleasing to God. This will happen to you too. As you meditate on the word of God and pray every day for the next forty days not only will your physical appearance change, but you find yourself becoming more obedient to God. You old sinful desires will be washed away and you will find yourself coming closer and closer to God.

Moses knew that people of God could not engage in prayer and worship continuously as he had done for forty days on mountain. People have lives to leads, crops to plant, children to teach, and bills to be paid. It is just not possible to be constantly in prayer. So he covered his face to shield the people from the glory of God. That way they could go about their ordinary lives. But periodically Moses would remove the veil and go into the presence of God. And he would emerge from his prayers and meditation to communicate God's word to the people. This highlights our need for regular worship and prayer. It is just not possible to pray and worship all the time even if you want to. But it is important to pray and worship on a regular basis. That's why you need to set aside certain times each day and each week to come into the presence of God. Daily prayer and regular Bible study and worship is what you need to be filled with the glory of God which people will see as you live your lives and will help you to live your lives as God wants.

So what we learn on this Transfiguration Sunday is that transfiguration is not some kind of magic spell. Rather it is something that happens to anyone who comes into the presence of God in prayer, worship and Bible study. It is a change in the physical appearance where the glory of God is reflected in a way that others can see. This makes other people receptive when you share your faith and the good news of God's love for all of us. So this Lent engage in the spiritual discipline of meditation on scripture and prayer every day and regular Bible study and worship. You will be transfigured. You family and friends will notice what had happened to you and will listen as you tell them the good news of God's love for us. Let's pray.

I pray, O Lord, that my congregations will come closer to you during the season of Lent. I pray that each member of Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek will engage in the spiritual practices of prayer and scripture meditation each day. I pray that they will attend Bible studies and worship every week. I pray that they will be transfigured so that other will see your glory reflected in their faces. All this I pray in the name of our transfigured savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon – Jeremiah 1:4-10 – Go Tell Everyone

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Jeremiah 1:4-10 – Go Tell Everyone

Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

February 3, 2013

Over the last few weeks we have heard the extraordinary claim that God, the creator of the universe is in love with us and wants our love in return. And we have heard the even more remarkable claim that God was to marry us, to enter into a covenant whereby God blesses us so that we can bless others. So what happens when we believe all of this? What is our response to this offer of love and relationship from our creator God? We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Jeremiah 1:4-10 ⁴ The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." ⁶ "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." ⁷ But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. ⁹ Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

According to God the only acceptable response to his offer to love and marry us is to go everywhere God sends and tell everyone we meet what God commands us to say. That seems easy enough. All you have to do is live your lives in the presence of God, share you faith with others and invite them to come to church to enter into this extraordinary relationship God is offering. But I know that sharing faith with others and inviting them to church is a hard thing to do. And, of course you have objections to this command from God.

The first objection is that we are really not able to share our faith and invite people to church the way God wants. We are too young or too old. We are too busy and have too many responsibilities. We don't feel comfortable sharing our faith, and so we never invite people to church. You are not alone feeling this way. Jeremiah had the same objection. He said, “I am only a child.” Even Moses didn't want to share his faith and said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." (Ex. 4:13) So we have good reasons for ignoring God and not sharing our faith and not inviting people to church.

But God doesn't accept this. God knows that the reason we fail to share our faith and invite people to church is because we are afraid. We think people will look down upon us because of our faith. They will criticize our beliefs. They will make fun of us because we are Christians. So we avoid the subject of faith when talking to unchurched people and never get around to inviting them to church. Our solution to this is that we hire a professional. Since we can't talk about our faith we hire a pastor who has attended seminary and presumably can. And we want the pastor to go out and invite people to church. That way we don't have to do this important work ourselves that we would rather avoid.

But God won't let us off the hook that easy. God wants you to tell everyone you meet about your faith and invite them to church. God know that talking about faith is a risky thing to do. His own son was nearly stoned to death after his first experience of sharing his faith. But God wants you to know that whenever you talk about your faith and invite people to church he will be with you to protect you. You have nothing to fear. So be courageous. Be bold. Talk to you friends about your faith and invite them to come to church.

But of course you have another objection. You don't know what to say. The pastor has studied scripture enough to know how to speak about faith. But you don't. How would you ever defend your faith against all the lies and half truths about Christianity in popular culture? If someone wanted to have a conversation about faith with you what would you say? Jeremiah knew this feeling and said to God, “I do not know how to speak”. If Jeremiah didn't know what to say how would we know? This is a strong objection and very good reason to not share our faith with others and not invite people to church.

But God will have none of this. God promises to put the words we need right on our lips. God touched Jeremiah's mouth. He had Ezekiel eat a scroll. And God put words in Moses' brother's mouth. God will do whatever is necessary to make evangelism work. This is not your concern. All you have to do is share your faith with others, confident that God is with you and will tell you what to say, and empower you to invite people to church.

Of course there is another objection you all have to this. A very good reason why you shouldn't talk to people about your faith and invite them to church. And this reason is that everyone I have been talking about this morning are prophets. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Exekiel and Jesus were all prophets. It is the prophet's job to talk about faith and invite people to church. What we need is to find some prophets to do all for us so that we don't have to share our faith with others and invite people to church. This is a good objection and I am tempted to just end the sermon right here and say that each of us has a different vocation, and those with the gifts of prophecy and evangelism should meet me after church. But there would be a problem with this approach because God has called all believers to the ministry of sharing our faith with others and inviting them to church. Peter puts it this way,

1 Peter 2:9 ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

So by the doctrine of the “Priesthood of all Believers” we know that we are all called to share our faith and invite people to church. We can't wait around for someone else to do this for us. It is our job.

But we have one final objection, and this one is very strong. The reason we don't share our faith with others and invite people to church is that we just don't want to. We don't like sharing our faith. We don't want to invite people to church. If we don't want to do these things then we don't have to. You can't make me. But God's doesn't care if you want to share your faith and invite people to come to church or not. God created you as a prophet. Before you were even born, God implanted the seed of faith within you and designed you as one who would share your faith with others and invite them to church. This is what you were created to do.

Your calling to share your faith and invite people to church is your vocation. John Calvin said, “no task will be so sordid and base, provided you obey your calling in it, that it will not shine and be reckoned very precious in God's sight.”(Institutes 3.6.10) Luther said that even changing dirty diapers is your vocation if done for the glory of God. So even if sharing your faith with others and inviting people to church is uncomfortable for you, do it anyway because it brings glory to God.

Standing up here and proclaiming my faith was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I wanted to grow my business and sit anonymously in the back of church. Sharing my faith with others and inviting people to church were the farthest things from my mind. I wanted to make more money and live in the DC suburbs. But God grabbed me. He pulled me into small group Bible studies. He got me interested in teaching. And he closed every door I tried to pass though until I found the one open door that led to seminary and ordination. God had created me to do what I now do. I have never had the ability to write, I was a computer software salesman, but now God puts words in my mouth and through my fingertips on a computer keyboard and I am able to do what I do every Sunday. What you hear on Sundays usually comes as a surprise to me earlier in the week. I believe that God is speaking though what I do. There is no other explanation.

You will experience this too. God will put you in situations where you can share your faith with the unchurched. God will tell you what to say. God will calm your fears and empower you to invite people to church. God will do this because God created you in this way before you even born. So fear not, talk to you friends and neighbors and families about your faith and invite people to come to church.

Lord Jesus we ask this day for your Holy Spirit to empower us to share our faith and invite people to our church. Calm our fears. Give of the words to say. Be with us in this endeavor we do for your glory. Amen.

Sermon – Isaiah 62:1-5 - Beulah Land

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Isaiah 62:1-5 - Beulah Land

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

January 27, 2013

Two weeks ago we heard the extraordinary proclamation from Isaiah that the creator of the world loves each and every one of us. God created us as objects of his love. And whenever you are in love with someone as much as God loves us you begin to think about a relationship. You think of marriage. Is it possible to even think that God wants to marry us? What would it mean to be married to God? God promises us his love and faithfulness, and he wants our love and faithfulness in return. So if we abide in God's love and faithfulness aren't we married to God? I think so. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

I have been married to Grace for seven years. We met in a classroom in the southern campus of San Francisco Theological Seminary where she recruited me to help with an international student ministry at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. She invited me to attend a committee meeting of the church a couple of weeks. I asked if we could meet for a couple of burgers before the meeting so I would have some idea about what I was getting into. The Sunday before the committee meeting Grace told me that it had been canceled because it had been scheduled for February 14^th, Valentines Day. It was then that I realized that I had an opportunity for a Valentines date. So I asked Grace to join me, not for burgers, but in a nice restaurant. This was our first date, and a year later we were married.

In ancient Israel the people of God were bound to God in a marriage covenant. God promised to bless his people, his spouse, with land, food, peace and prosperity. God loved his people and was faithful to his covenant with them. But the people of God were faithless. They worshiped other gods. They refused to obey God's commands. The poor went without adequate food and housing. The widows and orphans were not cared for. Greed had replaced justice and righteousness. As a result the ancient prophets came forth with a warning. God would remove his protection if the people remained faithless. In 722 BC God removed his protection from the northern kingdom, Israel, and they were conquered by the Assyrians. And by 587 BC the southern kingdom, Judah, was destroyed by the Babylonians. God had separated from his people because of their unfaithfulness.

Sixty years have the deportation to Babylon, God sent a savior, King Cyrus of Persia, to free his people from captivity. They returned to Jerusalem to begin the long difficult work of reconstruction. They rebuilt their farms and city. They rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. But some remembered the glory of the old city and temple before the Babylonians came. They remembered the gold and jewels. The new temple seemed like a pale imitation of the temple they remembered. They were suffering from hardship and poverty. They feared that God had not returned, and that the separation between God and his people had become a divorce.

We have all experienced times with God seems to be far away. From time to time God seems to be missing. We experience great joy the our savior has come at Christmas, but then it seems that God's glory has dimmed. Sometime we fear that God had left us. Maybe God has divorced us.

This is what the people of Jerusalem were experiencing. Life was hard. War with their neighbors was constant. Taxes had to be paid to Persia. Their young men were drafted into Persian armies. The Glory of God was dimmed, maybe even missing entirely. Had God divorced his people?

A prophet arrived in Jerusalem and saw the downcast faces of the people of God. The work of rebuilding had overwhelmed them. The new temple they had erected was not nearly as impressive as the one Solomon had built. It was ready for the glory of God to return to light up the lives of God's people, but God had not yet returned. So the prophet began to pray and pledged to keep on praying until the glory of God returned. Here is what he prayed.

^NIV Isaiah 62:1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. ² The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. ³ You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. ⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. ⁵ As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

The good news is that God will never leave us. We and God are married and our faithful God will never divorce us. We will be married to God forever. The Hebrew word for married is beula. Just as God calls married people to be fruitful and multiply, so too did God call the land married, a beula land, one that produces crops in abundance. So if you are faithful to God, God will be faithful to you and your land will be bountiful. This was the message to the returning exiles in Jerusalem. Rebuild your city and temple. Do the best you can. Be faithful to God. And God will bless you abundantly.

I know of a couple who lost their son many years ago. Their son died at age 34 of cancer. He left behind his young wife and two small children. At that moment God must have seemed to be very far away. But while this couple was driving their son back and forth to the hospital they would pass by a small country church. After their son died they decided to try out this church, even though they had not been active in church for many years. By going to church they showed their faithfulness to God. And God was faithful to them. God blessed them richly. They began to sing in the choir and serve on session. And over time God came very close. Remember these words.

⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. ⁵ As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

Jesus began his ministry reminding us of our relationship with God. He went with his mother to a wedding in a town called Cana. But the wine was running out. So Jesus demonstrated God's overwhelming love for his people by changing water into wine. If all you have left is water where there was once wine, if a loved one dies, if a house is foreclosed on, if a spouse leaves you, if your health fails, remember that you God loves you and will turn your water into wine and your grief into joy.

When bad things happen to you join your voice with the voice of the prophet and pray unceasingly. Pray that God will remember his covenant with you. Pray that God will be faithful to you. Pray that God will fill you with so much glory that the people around you will notice the change. Pray that God's glory will fill the world with his transformative power. And pray that you will be faithful in your relationship with God. Let's pray.

Loving God, you have gathered us into church bringing together believers with gifts and strengths. We are the body of Christ. We pray for all Christians around the world that they will love one another just as you love us so that we may love our neighbors showing your glory in a darkened world. We pray for all the teachers and leaders of the church and of the governments of the world. Grant them wisdom to rule with justice and mercy. We pray for all who have entered into families as husbands and wives. Strengthen their relationships, and help them to care for their children and aging parents. Encourage us to use you our gifts for your glory. This we pray in your son's name. Amen.