2026 02 15 - God's Love Transforms us for Life - Hoffman

I know many of you, if not all of you, know this story of the transfiguration. But I'd like to suggest a different understanding. It's not just God's affirmation of Jesus as his son, whom he loves, who gives him great joy and command really to listen to him. But it's about God once again inviting his people to turn back from their evil ways to the one God who can change us and now changes us to eternal life as we think about it in that form. Think about this.

Go back to the Old Testament lesson where moses as a 70 went up Mount Sinai, and on that mountain would appear a cloud. Now, that cloud was God. And out of that cloud, Moses gives direction and instructions to Moses, just like he gives direction and instruction to Jesus, to the disciples, and to us on transfiguration.

So what I see in this is the picture of this Shekaram, which is the Hebrew word for bright cloud, the cloud that surrounds us. And in that is the very presence of God himself. Not just in the Old Testament with the people of Israel, but with Jesus and the disciples and with us.

Our text says Pastor Pop reminded English from the Gospel lesson for this day day. I'd like to reread parts of it from a new living translation. As the men watched, Jesus appearance was transformed. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became as white as light.

And suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. But even as he spoke, bright cloud overshadowed them. And a voice from the cloud said, this is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy. Listen to him. The disciples were terrified, fell down on the ground, afraid.

Then Jesus came over, touched them. God get up and said, don't be afraid. When they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone. You saw Jesus. This is our text.

Let us pray. O God, you established your covenant, the promise of everlasting love to your people Israel witnessed on Mount Sinai. As we see Jesus transformed on the Mount of Transfiguration, may we also be transformed by your love to live our lives daily in you. Amen.

What I propose to you is this, that this is a reaffirmation, a renewal, a restating of God's covenant of love for all of his people and an invitation to turn back to God and to be renewed in his love. Now I say that because I believe that there is an intimate connection between the Old Testament lesson and this Gospel lesson, which is the intent of the church as a whole, the wide church, all the Christian denominations, because in so doing, they chose these lessons to fit together and Most often, the Old Testament sets up the New Testament, which fulfills whatever is going on in the Old Testament. It seems pretty obvious that that's what God is doing here, and that's what the church at large is seeing, that God is continuing his promise and his relationship with his people in the love that he has for them. Now, I want to share just a moment, a little bit of frustration. I know Pastor Pop does that.

Pastor Rick probably does the same thing, that when you start preparing, sometimes you go look at a commentary just to see where people are at and what they're thinking. Of course, you spend a lot of time in prayer and reading and studying as well. I'm frustrated because all the modern commentaries, that is from the early 1900s until today, say not one word about the connection between this bright cloud, Shekinah, and the cloud that surrounded Mount Sinai. I think that's what I'm saying. I think they missed it.

I think they missed it. Why? Because God's covenant has always been a covenant of love that has never changed. Old Testament, New Testament. Even now, today, God still loves us in spite of us.

He loves us and he cares about us. And this is evidence of that. So just to give you an idea, just before our Old Testament began, Moses had gathered all the people of Israel together. And as he was gathering together, he read this conflict covenant that he had given them before them. And then this is what continues.

Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud to the people again. They all responded. We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey. Did you hear that?

We knew everything God said, we will obey him. I don't know that. Moses took the blood from the basin, splattered it over the people, declaring what? This blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you and given you these instructions, which are, of course, the Ten Commandments of the Law.

So this is all set up, and this covenant is renewed with all the people of Israel. Now, what's fascinating as well is that whole story there. I'm not going to read through all of that, but you can either look it up if you have the bulletin in front of you. But in doing this, Moses took 70 of the elders of the people of Israel and a couple others and went up the mountain. And when they went up the mountain, they were in the very presence of God and saw God.

Now, in the Old Testament, if you saw God, what would happen? You die. Well, not a single one of them died. In fact, I believe it was better than that. And I'm just amazed that nothing's fake.

No one this. Why? Because it says this.

And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal. Eating and drinking in his presence suggest anything.

The great Hedman bank God with his people.

Now, as we think about that, go back to the transfiguration. This is God's covenant. But it's a reminder of where that covenant comes from, doesn't it? And when it begins with us, which is when? In our baptism.

Isn't that when God makes that covenant with us? He calls us each one by name. He washes us and we're washed and forgiven and renewed by the generation of the Holy Spirit that we are His. This is part of that covenant, that same covenant of love. And Jesus invites us to.

And he invites us to turn back to Him. And his transfiguration is an invitation to turn back to Him. Just for God's love and grace and mercy and forgiveness, but for eternal life. Because matters won't Jesus glory. Now we know what will happen.

And they extend the covenant then. So why woe? Well, we still live in a sinful world, don't we? Are any of those people alive who went up on Mount Sinai with Moses? No.

Right. Are any of those people other than Christ alive who went up the mount of transfiguration? No. So what's that evidence? That's evidence of true sin.

Because all people will die, so they still need it. And God did that. And that's what he was doing with the people of Israel. He was reaffirming their commitment. And his commitment now what I didn't.

Well, what's there? And maybe you don't quite get away trying to this in the Old Testament, God's affirmation of his promise of his covenant is this. That Moses took the blood from the basins of sacrifice, by the way they had sacrificed him. Took the blood from those animals that were sacrificed from the basins. And what did he do?

He sprinkled it over all the people. His blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you and giving you your conceptions.

We don't do that anymore, do we really?

What are we going to do in this with what's on the altar? Celebrate Jesus sacrifice. Celebrate his body and blood and be renewed and brought back, back into his covenant by his own personal invitation.

So we still need it, don't we? We live in a broken world. Did we not, at the beginning of this worship, kneel down if we were able, or at least confess our sin? Did we do that? Of Course we did.

Yes. And what we heard was also God's word of forgiveness, absolution. We are forgiven.

So we have that affirmation of God's love for us in his own body and blood, of his sacrifice on the cross. The transfiguration then becomes that reality that all of this will change. And because we are in him and he is in us, we will change too. We will be transformed. He invites us to do that.

So what does this mean for us? Today?

I'm reminded that God's love changes us, transforms us. I always like this word that they use in the New Testament. Matthew uses it, Paul uses it, and a couple others use it when he says to transform. Jesus was transformed. The word is what, you know, metamorphosis.

He was, to use a colloquial saying, morph. And the promise is, you and I will be as well, morph. Wise to be his disciple, to listen to him. Now, unfortunately, have we always done that? Has the church always done that?

No, we haven't. And so we eat this over and over again. And here on this day, we as a church at large, choose to be reminded that one day we will share with Jesus in all of his glory because of God changing us to be like Him. Now, all this takes place in the brightness of the Shekinah, the cloud that surrounded Mount Sinai, the cloud that surrounds Jesus in the transfiguration. A couple things to note here as we, as we conclude this, that why, you know, why are Moses and Elijah there?

Well, I think it's simply this. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. They had a conversation, you know, some of you say, what did they talk about? Well, go look at Luke's account to find out. And the word is interesting that Luke uses.

They were talking about Jesus. Exodus. That's the word that's used, Exodus. What's he talking about? Jesus, death, resurrection, ascension.

How all of this will end. So we can know for certain that God carries out his part of the covenant. He makes that change. He makes it available to you and to me.

So why is it important? Well, it changes us, doesn't it? To live in a world that is evil, has much temptation, does not share love. So that enables and empowers us to what? To change, to control our anger, not somebody else's power, to be gracious to a co worker.

How many of us have worked with somebody that. Well, it's very difficult to work with.

Be gracious.

God's love, his transforming love empowers us to do the head work, to simply love our animals. To simply love those with whom we disagree. To simply love those who think differently, who live a different kind of life. Love that as God has helped us. This is God's invitation through Christ to come back, to be renewed, to be transformed, to live in his covenant of love.

Amen. Peace of our God that is beyond our understanding. Keep us in guard us life everlasting.

But rise with me as our Christian faith in the word of the apostles.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified.