Be the Proof

Today is Transfiguration Sunday and I know that some of you may not know what that means.  It is a fairly simple story for such a long word but you can find more background about Transfiguration Sunday in Matthew 17.  Reading this may help you better understand the scripture and sermon that follows.  

Our scripture comes from 2 Peter 1:16-21 --16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

As I read and studied our scripture for this morning, I couldn’t help but to think how Peter was feeling as he wrote this letter.  You can almost sense his frustration through his words.  He is trying to convince those reading this letter that what happened to Jesus during the transfiguration was real by saying that he and the other disciples were eye-witnesses, not just on that day, but more importantly, they were eye-witnesses to the majesty of Christ.  Peter is claiming to have heard the same voice from Heaven that Jesus heard on that day.  Peter is trying to prove to others the authority of Christ.  It is easy to relate to Peter in this situation.  I am sure many of us have also sensed this frustration.  I have shared my faith with others who wanted more proof and within the parameters of my own faith, I have also asked God for proof of His existence.  It is likely that many of us have called upon God to prove Himself to us.  I think it is part of our human nature to need proof.  Maybe it is the scientific part of our brain that needs to be satisfied by having proof but whatever it is, we are a creature that needs proof of God’s existence to solidify our faith.   Proof can come from several different avenues.  If someone of authority speaks, it is likely that we will take their words as proof.  If we read something that we believe to be true, then we may take those words as proof.  But in today’s world, do you know how we prove things to be true?  Our personal experience is the main decision maker of what we believe.  Human’s have changed drastically since the time of Jesus when it comes to how we come to believe the things we do, or so we think.... See, Peter’s struggle in this letter is the same exact struggle we still have today.  Peter was blessed enough to be able to witness Jesus at work.  He was able to be an eye-witness to the many miracles of Jesus, including the Transfiguration.  He had proof hand over fist of what Jesus was capable of so it was frustrating to him that others would not believe as easily as he did.  Those of us who know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Christ died for our sins and that God’s love and grace is big enough for us all become frustrated when others do not see it.  Our personal experience has proven that God is real and that His arms are big enough to love everyone.  But there are those today, just as there were those to whom Peter is writing to, that have not had those experiences that prove God existence.   Since we give so much credit to our own personal experience, it can be difficult to minister to those who do not have similar experiences.  For the most part, my ministry here at Fairview is much easier than it would be in a lot of other places.  I can talk about farming, not putting a fuel cap back on a combine and having baby calves, and for the most part, you can relate.  Your experience lends authority and reason to those words of mine but if I were to take those same words to New York City, Chicago or San Francisco those words would not resonate at all and would be given little or no authority.  So how do we share our faith with those who have such a different perspective?  We must know the hearts of those whom we are talking to.  The biggest downfall of early missionaries was that they tried to change the culture of those whom they were ministering to.  It was not until missionaries realized that they must frame God within the parameters of one’s personal experience to make God make sense that those missionaries started to become more and more successful.  God created each one of us differently, uniquely so it is easy to believe that each of us understand and know God just as differently and just as uniquely.  This can also get us into trouble though, because we can change the understanding of God too much just so it fits into our lives.  It is possible that we can make God into something He isn’t just so we do not have to change.  Our personal experience lends a lot of authority to the formation of our understanding of God.  If God does not fit into our perspective, then it is possible that we can change our understanding of Him just so we can feel better about ourselves.  So we do not have to change.  This is taking what I am saying too far.  The moment that our understanding of God is exclusive, the moment that our understanding of God’s love does not include all, that is the moment when we have misunderstood God.  The truth is that God changes us, not the other way around.  How we come to know and understand our faith can be different but the one thing that holds true, no matter what city, state, or continent that we live on, is that God’s love changes us.  Peter’s experience as a disciple changed him forever and he was frustrated that others could not see Jesus as he did.  But others did not have the luxury of being an eye-witness as Peter did.  Peter had the hard proof, those whom he is speaking to in his letter did not.  We have the hard proof of God’s love, many others do not.  So now the question becomes, how do we minister to those who have different experiences than our own?  We must show them that God changes us, that God transfigures who were are.  It may take awhile, several years in fact, but if our faith in God does not change us, if our faith falters in times of struggle, then that is what becomes proof in the eyes of others.  When we fully realize the power of God’s love, I have no doubt that it will change how you see the world.  God’s existence becomes evident in places you never dreamed imaginable.  That is exactly what it has done for me.  God’s love has changed me and continue to do so.  And that is exactly how I show my love to God, by allowing Him to work in my life.  How has God changed you?  If He hasn’t, then you need to take some time to renew your faith.  If it is change that scares you, start with one aspect of your life whether it be prayer, biblical study, or some other aspect of your life and see how that affects your faith.  God has the power to change our hearts if we allow Him to.  If our faith is taken seriously, then the love of God will change us.  Just as Peter was an eye-witness to Jesus, as Christians we are eye-witnesses to the sufferings of Christ.  As Christians, our faith leads us to the cross and through that faith we die with Christ to that sin and rise to righteousness.  If we allow it to, our faith will make us one with Jesus Christ in His death and in His risen life.  Do you love God enough to let Him change you?  Do you see the cross?  Are you willing to die to the sin that holds you back so God can rebuild you in righteousness?  Our faith will break us down just to build us back up again.  When Griffin want to play with legos, I try to build the coolest thing I can with what we have available and without failure, Griffin wants to break it all apart and then do it again.  Our relationship with God is similar.  We will build it up only to get torn down but all the while the hands of God are at work, piecing us back together and each time, we start resemble more and more the person God has designed us to be.  Someone was the proof enough for you to have faith in God and my challenge to all of you is to be that someone for somebody else.  Be the proof.  Amen.