Luke 9:28-36
(Be sure to open the attached file of pictures that is shown at the bottom of this sermon)
Here are photos of my grand-parents, taken long before they died. I like these pictures because they remind me of exactly what they looked like when I visited them as a young child. My grandfather looking thoughtful in his glasses. I think he was on vacation in this picture, but it would have been just like him to wear a tie. My grandmother looking happy to see her grandchildren. When I look at these photographs I remember lots of stories about them. I remember their house, their vacation cottage, and playing with all of my cousins under their Christmas tree. All it takes to trigger all of those memories is to glance at one of these pictures.
A picture of Jesus would do the same, it would remind us of all the stories about him. What does Jesus look like? Does anyone know? How many think he might have been tall? How many think he might have been short? Did he have long hair? Short hair? Was his hair dark? Was it blond? How about his eyes? What color? Did he have a beard, or was he clean-shaven? Did he look stern? Did he smile a lot? Did he have a full set of teeth, or was he missing some? It’s hard to know. Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus? Are there any photos? Any videos or DVDs? No, these stories about Jesus are from such a long time ago, that cameras and DVDs were not invented yet. And if there were any drawings or paintings, they haven’t survived over such a long time. They have faded, fallen to pieces, or are buried under the sand.
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” – when you hum that tune, what picture of Jesus comes into your mind? Here are some pictures of Jesus, as some have imagined how he looked. Look how different they are. If you were a good artist, how would you draw a picture of Jesus? What would you emphasize in your drawing, his chin, his hair, his eyes? I find it very interesting that artists in Africa paint pictures of Jesus with dark skin, and artists in Asia paint him with Asian features, and the same in Central and South America, with a Jesus showing Hispanic features. The picture on the wall of many churches I have visited in this country, the one in the upper left corner, shows Jesus looking like a western European with fair skin, and fair hair, and, of course, blue eyes. There are pictures of Jesus with his head thrown back with a big laugh. There are pictures of Jesus showing an angry face, like the time he overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple. There are pictures showing Jesus sad, prayerful, and thoughtful.
So not only his features, but what expression would you see on Jesus face if you drew his picture? You know the Gospels never describe what Jesus looked like, what expressions were on his face, so it’s left to you to imagine him as best you can.
So it would be an interesting exercise to each draw our own picture. We would learn a lot from each other if we looked at each other’s pictures of Jesus. But it would be even more interesting, I think, to draw a second picture of Jesus; tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, decades from now, and I would bet that your picture would change. The passage of time, big changes in our lives, big changes in the world around us, would influence that new drawing of Jesus. While I am not skilled enough to draw a picture of this sort on paper, in my imagination my picture of Jesus has changed over time. There’s the Jesus I first imagined in Sunday School, the one who loved children, then the Jesus I imagined in high school and college who was all about changing the world towards justice and peace, and now after a severe accident my picture has changed, Jesus is all the things I always thought, but now more, a healer, a reconciler, a rescuer. I am seeing him in a new light.
Have you ever seen someone you have known in a new light? You thought you had them all figured out, and then something happened – something you saw, something you heard, something you felt, that helped you see them in a new light.
This is a story about how the disciples saw Jesus in a new light. They had already spent a lot of time with him, traveling around Nazareth, Galilee and Capernaum, they knew where he was from, they knew his family and relatives, they knew what foods he liked, they knew the sound of his voice, they knew a lot of things about Jesus. What we cannot easily picture, they knew – the color of his hair, his height, his weight, and everything else. But on that mountaintop they saw him in a new light. What they thought they knew about him only scratched the surface.
Now the disciples see Jesus like they’ve never seen him before. They had always known him to be a good man: smart, capable, generous, helpful, and loving. But here they begin to see him in a new way. He’s more than a good man, a good friend, a good teacher … they begin to see that all of God’s hopes are centered on Jesus. The story tells this in dramatic form, with shining clouds, the powerful voice of God, Jesus’ face shining brightly, everything about him is a bright reflection of God’s glory. They are seeing him in a new way.
So today, I urge you to use your imagination and stretch it. Don’t be content with the picture of Jesus you may have imagined long ago. Be like those disciples on the mountaintop and see Jesus in a new way, more than a good man, but embodying every hope of God, embodying every hope that God has for you!.
It’s not only about seeing Jesus in a new way. It’s also about seeing yourself in a new way. When you look at your face in the mirror in the morning, do you think of yourself reflecting the love of God to the people around you, not just by your face, but by your heart, your words, and your deeds? How are the people around you seeing you in a new light?
Do you reflect the glory of God in your life? In the way you love your children, in the way that you honor your parents, in the way you treat your friends, in the way you treat your enemies, in the way you show concern for strangers and people you will never meet on the other side of the world? Each of the things we do to live out our lives as Christian people is a way of reflecting the power and glory of God for others to see,
Look at yourself in the mirror tomorrow morning. Ask yourself how the way you will live your life will reflect the glory of God.
2010 Epiphany 6C FEB 14 pictures.doc (167.50 kb)
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