Listen To Him! Transfiguration Sunday: Luke

Join Paul, Matt and Mike for a fruitful discussion exploring the elements of preaching the transfiguration of our Lord.
Check out more resources at The Craft of Preaching
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Rev. Paul Koch is pastor at Grace Lutheran in Ventura Ca.
gracelutheranventura.com/
Editor for Craft of Preaching
craftofpreaching.org
And The Jagged Word
thejaggedword.com
Cohost of the podcast Ringside with the Preachermen
ringsidepreachers.com/
Rev. Matt Nolte is pastor of both St Paul in Agoura Hills Ca. and Redeemer in Thousand Oaks.
www.stpaulagoura.com/home.html
redeemer1000oaks.com/index.html
Rev. Mike Schultze is pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Camarillo Ca.
www.peacecamarillo.com/

[@roberthutchison8063]

How did they know it was Moses and Elijah? What springs to mind for me is the idea that this was a foretaste of the realized Kingdom of God, where we will “ know and be known”. It was a temporary experience of a present reality that we do not yet see.

[@craftofpreaching7281]

Great connection.

[@kglassco2502]

Excellent discussion. I'm a bi-vocational UM pastor. Your round table discussion is very helpful. I had not considered the text as the culmanation of Epiphany. Your statement of "when God does big things it is up on a mountain," is a pearl to use in a sermon. Could be a sermon sentence! Your discussion is very helpful for sermon prep and study. Thank you.

[@craftofpreaching7281]

Thanks for encouragement and God bless your preaching.

[@babamachljuhl]

Thanks for the great text study. I had already planned to focus on Jesus' Exodus for my sermon this Sunday, and appreciated hearing your comments on that aspect, along with the multiple other angles of approach you mentioned. As if there were not already enough connections to the rest of the Scriptures, here's yet another possibility which has elements of both similarity and of contrast with the Transfiguration text: Jesus' encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. Here, Jesus' resurrection glory/identity is temporarily kept from them, presumably so that they are not distracted from hearing the Word ("Moses and all the Prophets" v. 27) which Jesus explained to them concerning himself. Our fallen human tendency is to interpret reality via our experience and sin-corrupted power of reason, but whether on the mountain top or on the road to Emmaus, God graciously sends his Word to not only inform, but also to transform his disciples (Romans 12:1-3, Ephesians 2:13, et al).

[@craftofpreaching7281]

Great insights! Thanks for sharing