Can't Help But to Smile (sermon 2.10.13)
Believe it or not, Lent starts this Wednesday! It just so happens to start the day before Valentine's Day which gives us a lesson in itself. I know Valentine's Day is usually reserved for getting gifts for a loved one but I encourage you to take a moment to thank God for the greatest gift ever given to us as you celebrate Valentine's Day. As you prepare your heart and mind to head into Lent, take a moment to remember such scriptures as John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13 that also correlate with Valentine's Day. For those of you looking to attend an Ash Wednesday service, we will be having a service @ 6:30 on the 13th. Today's scripture comes from Exodus 34:29-35:
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.
It is that time of year again, yes Lent has snuck up on us again this year. If you are thinking that it seems very early this year it seems that way because it is. It hasn't even been two months since Christmas yet this upcoming Wednesday marks the beginning of 2013 Lenten Season. That means that within our denomination that today is Transfiguration Sunday. Last year I preached from a scripture in the New Testament but this year I wanted to do something a little different so I went with the scripture from Exodus. Last year I tried to do my best to explain to all of you what the word ‘transfiguration’ meant but in case it has slipped your mind since last year, let’s review: transfiguration is a really long word for change, conversion, or transformation. Today’s scripture tells us that when Moses would speak to God, it would transform his face, it would make it radiant. I imagine Moses walking out of his conversation with God with a big smile on his face and a brightness about him that would stop you in your tracks. As we move through today’s sermon, you will see that this type of transformation still takes place.
Today’s scripture mentioned nothing about Moses smiling when we returned from talking to God, yet I chose to title today’s sermon “Can’t Help but to Smile” because I cannot envision witnessing the glory of God just as Moses did without smiling. Sitting here today, we are no different, when we see God’s glory at work, we cannot help but to smile. I often catch a lot of you smiling or making faces at Griffin while I am up here. At first I would take offense to it and think that it was a distraction to most of you. But then I realized that Griffin is a better example of God’s glory and goodness than I am. If making faces and smiling at Griffin brings you joy, then by all means, do it! God’s glory is shown to each of us in different ways. Some of us do not get all caught up in the ‘religious’ part of our faith, so we seek God in other ways. While others of us really like the intellectual aspect of our faith so we seek God through knowledge, education, and self-understanding. We are all unique, to think that God would make us all have the same type of faith goes against His very teachings. We are all different, which means that the way we worship God will be different from those sitting next to us. So faith lesson number one, give glory to God the way that feels natural to you and do not be bothered by the way others choose to worship God.
Faith lesson number two comes the reason Moses chose to wear a veil after his visits with God. The scripture kind of hints that Moses wore the veil because it seemed to scare the other Israelites. The scripture tells us that they were “afraid to come near [Moses]...” when his conversations with God concluded. The radiance that Moses experienced came from God’s glory, this is why his face had a glow to it when he was done. I would venture to say that Moses wore the veil because he did not want the Israelites to see God’s glory leaving his face. After a while, Moses’ face would return to normal, which meant that he was getting farther and farther away from God’s glory and he did not want to give the impression that God’s glory was fading. So now I ask you, what veil do you wear that conceals God’s glory to the world? What keeps you from freely showing God’s glory to all of those around you? Is it a feeling of incompetence? A feeling of unworthiness? Or is it something much deeper than that? We all have some sort of veil that we put on the keeps us from showing the world God’s true glory. Going back to Griffin, he is too young to have any of these feelings yet, therefore, God’s glory shines brightly through him uninhibited by our own selfish reasons. Faith lesson number two: figure out what your veil is and get rid of it! Figure out what is holding you back and ask God for His help to get past it so the glory of our Lord and Savior can shine brightly on this earth.
There are two more transformations that we need to take a look at. First and foremost, I want to look at the transformation of Jesus’ disciples. As most of you know, those who followed Jesus, and even Jesus himself were of the Jewish faith. After Jesus died and rose again, the disciples had the task of converting both Jews and Gentiles to Christianity. I have often wondered why the Jewish faith still exists, how did they not realize that Jesus was the Messiah that they had been waiting for. But I have found my answer and it comes from the Bible, it comes from Deuteronomy 21:22-23 which says: “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” (Read it again) Is it making sense? Are you realizing why some Jews who were very educated in their scriptures had a difficult time ‘converting’ to Christianity? Their Messiah was not suppose to die by hanging from a tree. While Jesus was not hung by a rope from a tree, nonetheless he still died on the cross (which is made out of trees). It was very difficult for those who knew this scripture to look past this and see Jesus as their Savior. Now that we have a better understanding of that, how do we go about explaining the change that occurs in the hearts of the disciples and Paul. All of them were educated in the Jewish faith so how were they able to look past this scripture and see the glory of God through Jesus Christ. If their Jewish faith had taught them this, why were the so willing to die horrible, gruesome deaths standing of for Christianity? The only reason I can come up with is this: what they experienced in their daily interaction with Jesus had to be so incredibly powerful that it made them look past this scripture. Have you ever experienced something so powerful that it causes you to do a 180 in your life. Maybe the birth of a child or grandchild or the unexplained death of a loved one has caused you to make changes in your life but have they made such a change that you would be willing to die a terrible death to stay true to those beliefs? What the disciples and Paul experienced in their dealings with Christ had to be absolutely life altering in order for them to stay true to their faith the way they did. Has Christ had this type of powerful influence on your life? I am not saying that you have to evangelize to everyone you meet or that you have to be some sort of super-human Christian but has God had impact on your life that has been so incredibly profound and powerful that you have changed your way of life because of it? If not, I encourage you to look at your faith much harder and examine what is holding you back. Having God in your life is not an ordinary experience, it is life-altering, it is transforming in nature. Your relationship with God is not something you can put away and pick up on Sunday’s or when things get tough, it truly has be something you live out with every breathe you take. It is easy for us put on a good face for an hour on Sundays but are we truly living a life that is transformed by the saving grace of Christ? Faith lesson number three: Jesus’ death on that tree has a profound impact on the way we live our life.
In closing I want to take about our own transformation, the way God’s glory radiates in our faces. When I see some of you smiling at Griffin I see your face shining bright. I see the joy that it brings you and I see how God’s glory is shining through. I want to make clear that Griffin is not any more special than any other child, it is just what I see here but I see the exact same smiles when other babies are here. I see the same expression on a grandparent’s face when they get to hold their new grandchild for the first time. I see the same expression on many faces when God’s glory is shown to them. As Lent quickly approaches this Wednesday I encourage you take a close, in-depth look at your faith and find ways to get closer to God. My goal for us as a congregation is grow closer to God during Lent. I have been preaching a lot on community leading up to Lent so it can be the groundwork as we try to become more Christ-like as a church. Use Lent 2013 to work on your own transformation, just because you have had God in your life for a very long time it does not mean that you are done growing. Just think of your faith like your nose and your ears, no matter how old you get those three things never stop growing. Ask God to reignite your faith and ask Him to reveal himself in many different ways in the upcoming year. Never stop seeking God, always be willing to make changes so that you can continue to grow and nourish your faith. If you would like to take the first step in growing faith by accepting Christ’s love into your heart, you may do so today. Maybe God has planted that seed but now it is up to you to start growing it, if you would like to start fresh you may do so today by asking God into your heart. Or if you would like to transplant your faith to join us here, you are more than welcome to join us, we will welcome you with open arms. I leave you with this: remove your veil so God’s glory can be shown to the world; allow God to do something powerful within you; and receive the transforming power of Christ just as the disciples did. If you do this, God can't help but to smile. Amen.
This week I would like include the invitation to commune and the benediction because I feel they are especially important to today's message:
Invitation to Commune: Every week we are granted the opportunity to transform our lives anew in the image of Christ at this very table. Every week we are granted the opportunity to share the message of God’s love with the world and invite them to join us at this table. Every week we are given the opportunity to seek forgiveness of our sin. I pray that we take advantage of these opportunities. God only gives us so much time on this earth and it is important that we cherish every blessing and every minute we spend in fellowship around this table is truly a blessing from God. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread, and gave thanks, and said, take, eat, this is my body, broken for you. And likewise, with the cup, Jesus lifted it up and said take, drink, this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant.
Benediction: Please pray with me: Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you enter our hearts to help us figure out how we veil your glory to the rest of the world. God, look deep within each one of us so we can better understand You. We are joined here together, a people of many different faiths and understandings but we want to be united in your glory. Father I pray that you make your presence known to each one us so we can begin to transform our lives to better emulate your son. God, I want to say thank you, thank you for every moment we share together. We know that heaven awaits some day but for right now, help us to establish your kingdom here on earth, help us to experience as much of you as we can while we are here. Finally Father we ask that you help us to be the light, salt, and bread in a dark, tasteless, and hungry world. Amen.
God Bless,
(If you are wondering why there is some odd colored text, it is because I have linked certain points of the blog so you can follow them. I will be trying to associate more and more of this into the blog)
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