INTRODUCTION:

In the Middle Ages one particular branch of science emerged that was known as Alchemy. The major purpose of alchemy and an alchemist was to try and find a substance that would transform lead and brass and the common metals into gold or silver. Some even tried turning wood into gold and silver. Another aspect of Alchemy was to find some means to indefinitely prolonging human life.

The purposes and techniques of Alchemy were often dubious and shrouded in mystery and magic. But in one sense, Alchemy was the predecessor of the science of modern chemistry. (1)

If we stop and think about it, we've dreamed about it haven't we. Being able to turn nickels into dollars or lead into gold. The whole idea of alchemy points to an important human attitude. It's one that's buried deep in our souls. There's something within us that drives us to make things better.

We want to improve things. We want to make things better in our homes in our cooking in our lives. Why do we do that? I think it's the Spirit of God that lives in us. I think it's the creative Image of God living out in our daily lives.

We don't just want to change things we're also interested in changing ourselves. As a consequence we're filled with a hopefulness that can only be born of God's Image. So, if you stop and think about it, we're all Alchemists of a sort. We're about the business of transformation. You see it our literature, movies, finances, and our dreams.

A frog into a prince; A beast into a hero; Rags into riches; Loss into gain; Lead into gold; The Phoenix out of the ashes; A candle into a scarf and even water into skittles. (USE DISAPPEARING CANDLE AND SCARF AND CHANGE CHALICE ILLUSIONS)

In Church, we talk about Jesus turning water into wine and five loaves of bread and two small fish into a feast for 5,000. He also turned the castoffs and forgotten of society into citizens of the Kingdom of God. He transformed fisherman like Peter and John and bounty hunters like Paul into faithful disciples and preachers. (2)

Today we look at a transformation that took place on top of a mountain in Israel. It's a transformation we call the Transfiguration. Let's look at Mark 9:2-9 together.

[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. [NRSV]

As we think about this passage, I want us to look at the Transformation of JESUS, of BREAD AND WINE and of US.

I. TRANSFORMED: JESUS:

A. FIRST LET'S LOOK AT HOW JESUS WAS TRANSFORMED:

If you put this in perspective of our faith and life, this is kind of a bizarre story. It's almost a Twilight Zone, X-Files kind of thing. But if you see it in the context of the Old Testament, it's reminiscent of when Moses came down from the mountain and his face was shining so bright that no one could look upon him and he had to wear a veil.

This time it's Jesus. And there are witnesses. Peter, James and John were brought along so they could see without a doubt who Jesus was. He was revealed in all of His Heavenly Glory, drawing the Law and the Prophets together in Himself. That's why Moses and Elijah came. And if you remember, Jesus said the whole of the Law and prophets is summed up in the what He called the Greatest Commandments: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" and "love your neighbor as your self."

B. Now what difference does all that make? To Us? And to the people of both Moses' time and Jesus' time? It was a validation. It shouldn't be this way but it is. When it comes to the Holy even in things of faith, we're all from Missouri. We all need to be shown.

There were thousands of skeptics and rabble-rousers in the crowds following Moses. And you can bet that some joker probably said: "How do WE know he's been up there talking with God? That's what HE says, but the truth is, that he could have just gone up there all by himself and made all this stuff up." When Moses came down with his face shining so bright he had to wear a veil, it was validation.

This time, there were three witnesses. They not only saw the Holy Presence descend and transform Jesus into all of His Heavenly glory. They saw Moses and Elijah standing with Him. And to top it all off, they heard God speak and say: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him."

Don't you think that event was etched in their hearts and minds forever? They may not have understood it or its importance at the moment. But later on it would hit them full bore.

JESUS TRANSFORMED WAS VALIDATION.

II. TRANSFORMED: BREAD & WINE:

A. JESUS WAS TRANSFORMED AND HE TRANSFORMED BREAD AND WINE INTO SOMETHING SACRED AND HOLY.

Today we come not only to celebrate the miracle of the Transfiguration but we come to celebrate the ongoing miracle of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We celebrate the Miracle of the Lord's Supper.

In a certain church one Sunday, they celebrated The Lord's Supper. During the "Children's Sermon", the pastor was talking about communion and what it is all about. He told the kids the Bible talks about Holy Communion being a "joyful feast". Then he asked: "What does that mean? Well, "joyful" means happy, right? And a feast is a meal, right?. So a "joyful feast" is a Happy, Meal. And what are the three things we need for a happy meal?"

He never got to finish the Children's Sermon because one little boy sitting in front hollered out, "Hamburger, fries, and a regular soft drink?" (3)

There's no doubt in my mind that McDonald's has transformed the way we think about food and the way we eat. But there's one aspect of life and eating that only Jesus can transform. And that's the bread and wine of the Sacrament.

As we look at the elements of Holy Communion, the bread and the wine, we realize that there is no food like it anywhere else on earth. There is no drink quite like this wine in any other form, anywhere.

The Bread is still bread. The wine is still wine. But when we eat them, we become transformed. And we remember and renew our covenant with God.

B. There are a number of Covenants in the Bible and in Middle Eastern culture.

The first was the "salt covenant." Hints of that covenant remain in our culture today. The root of the word "salary" is salt. Salt was a precious commodity and often times was used as pay. That explains why we say someone is "worth their salt."

Then there was a "water covenant" this was a limited covenant. To allow someone to share your water was to proclaim a year long friendship and a pledge of protection. Do you see what Jesus was asking the woman at the well when He asked her for water and when He offered her the Living Water.

Then there were the "Blood Covenants." These were the covenants made at a ritual sacrifice for the repentance of sin. We read all about those in Leviticus.

Another kind of covenant was the "threshold covenant." If people wanted to move together into a new future, they would walk together across a threshold and through a door. Hints of that covenant remain in the marital tradition, when the groom carries the bride across the threshold.

But the greatest of all the covenants was the "meal covenant." It forged a life-long bond between people. Remember how Jesus always asked to eat at people's homes. Especially the home of the tax collectors and sinners? In essence He was saying to them and to us: "No matter what you do, I will always love you and be your friend."

Everytime we come to celebrate Holy Communion together we hear Jesus say, "Take, eat; take drink." We are part of the new meal covenant with the Son of God. It makes no difference how the bread and wine are changed because the most important change is our relationship with our Savior.

JESUS WAS TRANSFORMED AND TRANSFORMED THE BREAD AND THE WINE.

III. TRANSFORMED: US:

AND THROUGH THOSE TRANSFORMATIONS, TRANSFORMS US.

That Transformation is offered to each and everyone of us. And when we listen to Jesus as God told us and the disciples to do, our lives are transformed.

There's a store-front church which is called Almighty God Tabernacle. One Saturday evening, the pastor of this church was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left for home. It was about 10 PM, but his wife did not answer the phone. The pastor let it ring about two dozen times but she didn't answer. He thought it was a little odd, but decided to finish up a few things and try a few minutes later.

When he tried again, she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that the phone hadn't rung at their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.

The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night. The pastor couldn't figure out what the guy was talking about. Then the guy said, "It rang and rang and rang, but I didn't answer."

The pastor then remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, explaining that he'd tried to call his wife. The man said, "That's okay. Let me tell you my story. You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now.' At that point my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. I was afraid to answer!" (4)

God is still God. God still reaches out through the unexpected and Transforms lives. Sometimes we're knowingly a part of that great ministry. Sometimes we have no clue. But with us or without our awareness God still Transforms lives.

CONCLUSION:

Maybe you've heard the old story about the guy who went to his doctor and said, "Doc, I don't feel so well. I can't breathe, my eyes are always bulging and I can't see clearly. I've got a constant headache and ringing in my ears." Well they spent weeks doing all kinds of tests. At the end of that period, the Doctor took the guy aside and said: "I'm sorry. It looks like you've only got about six months to live. This one really has us stumped." The poor guy was flabbergasted. But he decided to make the best of it. He'd never married so he decided to make the best of it. So he went and bought him some really nice clothes. A couple of suits and jackets and some real spiffy slacks. He decided to splurge and have all of his shirts hand made. He went to a tailor to have some shirts made. Measured arm and cuff and chest and when he got to the neck said: size 16. The man paused and said: "Why don't you measure that again. I've always worn a 14 ½." The tailor mesasured again and sure enough it was 16. The guy insisted his neck was a 14 ½. They argued like that for a few minutes and finally the tailor threw up his hands and shouted: "OK, wear your 14 1/2. But don't blame me if you can't breathe, your eyes start to bulge, you can't see clearly, you've got a constant headache and ringing in my ears." We don't want any of that stuff to happen to you. We don't want you to miss the Transformation that's offered through Jesus. So as you come this morning, remember that Jesus invites you into a life long friendship. One bought with His blood. Let His sacrifice validate your relationship. He invites you to His table this morning.

1. "Alchemy," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved

2. Ideas gleaned from "The Alchemy of the Soul", Dave Fleming pastor Northway Community Church, Wexford, PA, www.preachingplus.com

3. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), September 1999

4. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), October 2001

www.preachingplus.com

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