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Preaching, Teaching and Celebrating (Gospel) Witness (preliminary thoughts)
Our Lord testifies to us; we testify to the world
Worship service outline
Transfiguration Sunday, March 6, 2011 (project notes for)
Theme: “Keep on Listening to Jesus in Obedient Faith!”
Readings: Exodus 24:8-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9 (also Deuteronomy 18:15)
Order of Service seasonal suggestions also for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday
Note the Gospel lectionary “bookends” this liturgical year’s unusually long Epiphany
season, namely, Matthaean pericopes re the Baptism of Our Lord and Transfiguration of
Our Lord both of which contain the voice of God speaking from a cloud of His presence
(a.k.a. bat qol theophanies). As the Church once again focuses on our Lord’s mighty
deeds and continuing mission to the entire world, the greatest evidence of His continuing
to reveal Himself to us today is that we possess and are privileged to proclaim and teach
the Gospel Word of the Word made flesh as it is ever that Word of God that continues to
do the saving work of God in His and our world today!
One fondly recalls this particularly Sunday before Ash Wednesday at St. Paul, Greenwich, CT where with
parish children standing next to their pastor and with the help of brother Frank Jasensky (Sue Cassano’s
father) pulley arrangement someone would elevate brother John Frano’s circular Advent-ChristmasEpiphany lighted white candle-lit wreath just before the reading of the Transfiguration Sunday Gospel.
As an intended witness to the neighborhood we also held a kind of “Lutheran Mardi Gras” (complete with
soft drinks, popcorn and movie) on that Sunday evening before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of
Lent at which time which we showed such family film videos as “Babe,” “Friendly Persuasion” or the
delightful Menotti made for TV opera, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” or listen to David Shelton’s
movingly imaginative audio tape, “The Inn-Keeper’s Dream” (That Wasn’t a Dream) each of which
contain the potential for sharing the Gospel of our Brother-Savior Jesus Christ with people from the
community-at-large.
Music: In addition to hymns like “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star” and “’Tis Good
Lord to be Here,” consider using “The Farewell to Alleluia” and, yes, “Beautiful Savior”
(particularly the words, “Jesus Shines Brighter Than All the Angels in the Sky!”).
Sermon Notes
Text Notes: Note both here and in the parallel synoptic accounts the continuous action
verb tense as well as the Greek word order regarding the object “Him” (autou) and the
Father’s voice from the cloud. Interestingly, the compound form hypakouoo of the
familiar verb akouoo (meaning to listen or continuing to hear) also assumes the thought
of obeying (the parallel idea found in the Savior’s words, “Blessed (by God) are all those
who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).
Law and Gospel applications
Far more important than wasting precious pulpit time debating such peripheral textual
details as the identity of the actual mount of transfiguration (Mt. Tabor or Mt. Hermon,
more than likely the latter), the preacher should exercise great care in resisting to yield to
a seemingly inevitable trap of “moralizing” on this or any other Gospel text! However
true it may be that we, too, all have had our own “mountain top experiences before
returning to the valley” of every day living, it should go without saying that one dare not
ignore the evangelist’s Gospel context as a whole and particularly the prophetic message
of the Father’s voice from the cloud being strikingly reminiscent of Deuteronomy 18:15,
an easily overlooked verbal connection which some among our daily contacts (a Jewish
dentist perhaps) may hopefully conclude to be perhaps the most important passage in the
entire Torah or Pentateuch! (Note also Luke’s reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 in Acts 3 and Acts 7).
Witness theme (note the foregoing sentence for one possibility)
Sample Formatted Outline
In order to assure oneself as well as God’s worshiping people that today’s sermon will be
almost exclusively preached “Word of God” with a minimum of “word of man,” peruse
the entire Gospel of Matthew (the real preacher today) and prayerfully pick and choose
from the plethora of verba Christi your own pastorally sensitive sequence of sayings of
our Lord from St. Matthew’s inspired record.
Do not in the least be concerned if in the unlikely event that anyone think or say, “Pastor got off easy this week by not having to
prepare a “normal” weekly sermon!” when, in reality, the Spirit of God and you both know that such a sermon may demand far more
preparation than most a major problem being what does one include or leave out!
Sample Sermon
Being that we are told to keep on listening to Jesus in obedient faith, what did Jesus say?!
Note: You may wish to include the key verses you choose to use in sequence in the printed bulletin or on a
projected screen in which case it makes sense to write out in full what you will be reading and the
worshiping congregation be hearing beginning with our Lord’s first recorded words in Matthew 3:15
(noting also the singular use of “pas”). Inclusion of the word “else” in Matthew 28:19 “everything else
that I have commanded you including the sacramental command to baptize and teach harkens back to our
catechetical teaching regarding our Brother-Savior’s words, “Take, eat; take, drink” etc.
Jesus answered John: “Allow it to be so for now; for it is fitting for us to fulfil every
single aspect of God’s (saving) righteousness!” (Matthew 3:15)
Immediately following His Baptism, our Lord is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit
of God where on 3 occasions e addresses the devil from the OT Book of Deuteronomy:
“It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every single word proceeding from
the mouth of God,” and “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” and, finally, “You shall
worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” (Dt. 8:3; 6:16 and 6:13).
Although the preacher-proclaimer is free to choose from the opening beatitudes of what is commonly referred to as Our Lord’s
“Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5 to 7 at the conclusion of which we are told that when Jesus had finished all these sayings, the
crowds were astonished at His teaching because He taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (who only knew
how to say, ‘Rabbi so-and-so says such and such” whereas Jesus, speaking with the authority of God Himself, says, BUT I SAY TO
YOU” (see Matthew 7:28-29 and Matthew 5:22, 28, 32 etc.).
Regarding the beatitudes, you may wish to include: “Blessed (by God) are the poor in
spirit (or beggars before God), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “Blessed are those
who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (by God)…. “Blessed (by God) are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:3, 4 and 6)
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the
prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them…. For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom
of heaven. (Matthew 5:16-17 and 20)
“Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom
come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
And now come words of our Lord that are so easily misquoted also by us pastors:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and
where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
“But seek first His kingdom and his (saving) righteousness, and all these things shall be
yours as well. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be
anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”(Matthew 6:33-34)
Among the 10 or more miracles of our Lord recorded in Matthew chapters 8 and 9 with
reference to the Gentile centurion and his sick servant Jesus says, “I tell you, many will
come from east and west and sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the
kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11) and our Lord also absolves the about-to-be healed
paralytic saying, “Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you!” (Matthew 9:2).
“Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt.11:28)
“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath…. Behold, something greater than Jonah is
here…. Behold, Someone great than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:8; 41 and 42)
“To you it has been given (by God) to know the secrets of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:11)
“Out of the (human) heart (only) come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft,
false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19)
“If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow
Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it. For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his
life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life (or soul)?” (Matthew 16 24-26)
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief
priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day….
Whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first
among you must be your slave; even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:17-19, 26b-28)
“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the
fruits of it.” (Matthew 21:43)
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a
testimony to all nations; and (only) then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)
“Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry
and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in
prison and you came to Me…. Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36, 40)
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the
disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took a cup, and when He had
given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of
the new covenant which is in the process of being poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani?”
which means, “My God, My God, why have (even) You forsaken Me?” ( Matthew 27:46)
And (following His resurrection) Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations by
baptizing them into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and by
means of teaching them to observe (everything else) that I have commanded you; and lo,
I AM with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20).
This is the Gospel of our Lord! THANKS BE TO GOD! AMEN!
Bible Study Outline
Interestingly, the reading from 2 Peter uses the Greek word parousia with reference to
our incarnate Lord’s first coming or “presence” into our sinful world (cf. the 2nd C.
Church Father Irenaeus). Also the tiny preposition “en” in verse 19 may be used as a
surprisingly powerful “Gospel handle” to indicate that our Lord is with His people not
only as light “at the end of the proverbial tunnel” but as THE LIGHT we so desperately
need when we are in the very midst of a tunnel. (Also see brother Perling’s suggested comments.)