Who Do You Proclaim

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 New International Version (NIV)

Present Weakness and Resurrection Life

4 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Today is Transfiguration Sunday.  It is the last Sunday before Lent.  And this year, I want to challenge you during Lent... I encourage you to do something that truly changes who you are or how you pray or how you witness during the upcoming Lenten Season.  Whatever you decide to do/give up for Lent, I encourage it to be something that changes you.  The transfiguration moment that we celebrate each year, was not simply a moment.  It was a moment in time that has affected every single other moment in time since.  It was the moment that gave Peter, James and John the momentum needed to spread the message of Christ.  It was thee defining moment in their knowledge of who Jesus was.  They saw the miracles and heard his sermons but this was the defining moment in their realization that Jesus was the Son of Man.  And then Jesus tells them not to tell anyone until the son of man has risen from the dead.  Talk about a bummer.  They have this great moment (if you want to read Mark’s account of it go to chapter 9), and then they were told not to tell anyone about it for awhile.  I don’t know how they were able to keep it a secret!

You’ve heard me say before that an encounter with Jesus changes who you are and today I want to reiterate that.  Karoline Lewis says, “If the Transfiguration is to mean anything for our lives, it simply has to be that which intrudes on our present, changes our present and contends that we imagine our future in a different kind of way.”  Heading into the Lenten Season, may we accomplish something that intrudes and changes our present but also encourages us to look at our future in a different way.

As we refocus on our scripture for this morning, verses 3 and 4 really caught my attention.  Verse 3 reads, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it veiled to those who are perishing.”  I really wish the last verse of 2 Corinthians 3 was moved to chapter four verse 3 because it makes a little more sense there.  It reads, “We all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes for the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  When these verses are placed closer to together, we see this dynamic of veiled vs unveiled.  More on that in moment.  Let’s get to verse 4 which reads: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.  Part of me wonders if this goes back to last week when I talked about Paul being frustrated that some simply do not hear his message.  Then part of me realizes that actual evil does indeed exist.  This evil is what blinds.  I can paint rainbows and prairies with broad strokes but the truth remains that evil does exist.  It is infinitely easier to think it doesn’t so we put on our blinders.  The god of this age wears many capes.  The god of this age has many disguises.  I would venture to say that many of us are blinded by the god of this age at different moments.

So now we have set up this “tug-of-war” of those who are blinded by the god of this age and those who reflect the Lord’s glory.  And the most intriguing aspect of this is that two groups can see themselves very differently in this dynamic.  One group points the finger and says, “You are blinded by the god of this age for we are the ones who are truly reflecting God’s glory.”  In that exact same moment, the group hearing those words is the thinking the exact same thing as the group saying them.  Each of them are more worried about determining who is blinded rather than reflecting God’s glory.  This is the situation we find ourselves living in most days.  If we truly are reflecting God’s glory, then we don’t need to worry about who is blinded or veiled for that will take care of itself.  

Heading into Lent, the Transfiguration plays an important role in helping us see the importance of this transformation.  When we are more worried about who is blinded/veiled then we are only proclaiming or preaching about ourselves.  So much of what we do is the preservation of self and look at me.  We have lost sight of what we are reflecting.  We have lost sight of Jesus Christ as Lord, and most importantly we have lost sight of being servants for Jesus’ sake instead of our own.  The struggles that I shared with you last Lenten Season I think relate back to this.  I had become blinded.  I had forgotten about my ‘reflection.’  I had lost focus.  I lost my why.  I shared with those here last Ash Wednesday that my goal for Lent 2017 was to regain that focus.  In those 40+ days I didn’t accomplish that goal but as I stand here a year later, I am confident that I have.  Sometimes God’s timing needs more than the timeframe we are willing to give him.

I’ll share with you what has worked for me because it is what I know.  But Lent is the perfect time to try something different, something that draws you closer to God and to your neighbor.  As most of you know, I have been listening to books during my drive time.  Those books have played important roles but their roles have been determined by something else I do on my drives.  BibleGateway has this great feature that it will read to you.  So as I drive, I listen to Romans 12 to start each day the last month or so.  I’ve discovered Romans 12 is my why.  When I started bringing that back into focus, it gave everything else a different perspective.  It gave the books I read a different meaning, it has helped my work relationships, it has helped me with my family relationships, it has helped me focus.  Maybe it’s not Romans 12 that does this for you... Maybe it is not any scripture at all.... Perhaps it is a dedication to giving or reading scriptures more regularly or praying more often.  Perhaps it is dedicating 5 peaceful and calm minutes to God and God alone each day.  Perhaps it fighting against that addiction that creates shame and guilt inside you.  Perhaps it is advocating for a cause close to your heart.  Find your why this Lenten Season.  The how is your relationship with Christ.  He has the tools and the means but we have to focus on how we are going to use them.  Christ is the how, you need to find your why.  In doing so, your will Transfigure your life and reflect Christ in a way that you never thought possible.  You will proclaim Jesus differently, the tug-of-war I mentioned earlier will be no more.  The god of this age will no longer control your blindness and the veil will be lifted.  Finding what drives you intrudes on and changes our present and changes the way you look at the future.