(2) Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,

(3) and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. (4) And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

(5) Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

(6) He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

(7) Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"

(8) Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

(9) As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

LET US PRAY:

INTRODUCTION:

A brilliant magician was performing on an ocean liner. But every time he did a trick, the Captain's parrot would yell, "It's a trick. He's a phony. That's not magic." Then one evening during a storm, the ship sank while the magician was performing. The parrot and the magician ended up in the same lifeboat. For several days they just glared at each other, neither saying a word to the other. Finally the parrot said, "OK, I give up. What did you do with the ship?"

How many of you like magic? I do. I love good magic. I grew up watching Mark Wilson on Saturday mornings and then Doug Henning. Then David Copperfield came along. My favorite movie as an older child was Tony Curtis as Houdini.

I even like books involving magic. The Harry Potter series, no matter what some of it's detractors say, is a great series of books. They are entertaining and filled with a youthful wonder that is magical in and of itself.

Some of my favorite magic tricks are the most simple. (DO TWO OR THREE SMALL MAGIC TRICKS).

Magic, legerdemain, prestidigitation, conjuring, slight of hand, all of these things amaze and fascinate us. Most tricks are fairly simple. And they are accomplished through misdirection or a secret compartment and the like.

This morning we read about an event in the life of Jesus and the disciples Peter, James and John, that seems to be accomplished by magic. It seems filled with smoke and mirrors and misdirection and all the other elements of magic. But there is one thing that stands out. The voice of God speaks. Not like the guy on the ladder changing the bulb in the Staples commercial. But the true voice of God, confirming who Jesus is.

And there's two things that I think we can learn from this mysterious and magical moment in the life of the disciples.

I. LISTEN TO JESUS:

A.  The first thing this passage challenges us to do is to Listen to Jesus.

The cloud, an ancient symbol of the presence of God, descends upon the mountain. When the disciples look up, there standing with Jesus are the two most famous leaders of Old Testament. Elijah, the greatest prophet of all, the one who is to usher in the coming of the Messiah. And Moses, the law giver.

Peter, so awestruck by the event, does what only Peter can do so well, he starts blabbering on, not knowing what to say but trying to fill this Holy moment with sounds.

Out of the cloud, God speaks to Peter and the disciples and God says, "Hush. This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to Him."

That's pretty straight forward isn't it? Like the disciples, we're called by God, to listen to Jesus. But that's hard to do today. It's hard to do because we live in a world filled with more magical distractions than ever before. We live in an age of instant gratification. You don't like what's on TV, change the channel. Cable has 30 or 40 stations to look at. Satellite Dish has over 100 stations. If you don't like any of that, you can rent one of thousands of movies. Or surf the Internet.

Every kind of fast food we can think of is usually within fairly quick driving distance of our homes. While driving, we have hundred of radio stations to occupy our mind. Or Hundreds of tapes or CDs.

Then there are the distractions of society. The circus that Presidential campaigning has become. The media gossip rags. The movie and music industries.

All of these have a tendency to drown out the voice of Jesus.

B.   Even our home lives. The kids, the spouse, neighbors, best friends, they all demand so much of our attention that it becomes nearly impossible to hear the voice of Jesus, in the middle of all the other voices, let alone LISTEN to Jesus as God instructed us to do.

That's where worship, prayer, Christian fellowship, reading Scripture, and the Lord's Supper help. They help us regain our listening ear, so we can hear what Jesus has to say to us. Whether it happens through Scripture, through prayer or through the voice of someone else. Each of these help us stayed "tuned in" so to speak.

So, take time to follow through on what God instructed us to do. Take time to listen to Jesus, especially through personal, daily prayer and weekly worship with other Christians. Continue what you're doing right now. You will be better equipped to listen to Jesus.

II. FOCUS ON JESUS:

A.  The second thing this passage challenges us to do is to keep our focus on Jesus.

After cowering and hiding there faces in Holy Terror while God spoke, the disciples looked up. And when they did, Scripture says, "Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus."

That should be our focus, too. "Only Jesus." It certainly became the focus of the disciples, especially after the resurrection and Pentecost. Then they really understood.

Like the disciples, we're called to keep our focus on Jesus. But that's hard to do sometimes. We get so busy doing the work of the Church, that we have a tendency to forget the WHO and the WHY. And when we lose that focus, then we lose our enthusiasm, purpose and mission.

But when we maintain our focus on Christ in both the worst and in the best situations possible, then we can get through or do anything God has called us to do.

B.   Maurice Lamm in his book, THE POWER OF HOPE, tells about a friend of his named Ludwig Lipmann. Ludwig was stricken with cancer. One day in his oncologist's waiting room (one of the sadder places on earth), Ludwig looked around at other patients who obviously were facing what he was facing. All at once he lifted his head and began to sing quietly.

The lady next to him paused for a moment, smiled, then began to hum the tune of his song. A little girl and her mother soon did the same, then an elderly black man who had just come into the room.

The nurse, trained in the rules of silence in a doctor's office, walked over to quiet Ludwig, but by this time everyone was singing or humming. The doctor, hearing the noise, came in to see what had happened.

Ludwig sang to him, directly from the Book of Psalms: "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains from where will come my help. My help comes from the Lord, Creator of Heaven and Earth."

The doctor crossed the room, sat down, and sang along with his patients. (1)

There was fear in that waiting room, but when Jesus entered that room through the voice of Ludwig Lipmann, that fear was replaced with peace and even joy.

CONCLUSION:

The same thing can happen whenever we truly listen to Christ and keep our focus on Jesus Only. I can't promise you razzle-dazzle. I can't promise that your problems or dilemmas will disappear like the images or colors on the pages in my Magic Coloring Book. I can't tell you that the secrets of the universe will be opened up to you by reading Scripture or spending time in prayer.

But I can tell you, that if you listen to Jesus and keep your focus in life on Only Jesus, then your life will be fuller. Your life will have purpose and meaning. And you will never be alone.

As you come to partake of the mystery of Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper, keep you heart and mind focused on Jesus, so that you can hear what He would say to you, today.

Bibliography

1. Dynamic Preaching, Jan/Feb/Mar 2000 Vol XV, No. 1. (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN) electronic version.

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Other References Consulted