A Glorious Commemoration: The Transfiguration of Christ

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ at All Saints Church Parramatta 24th August 2024

"The transfiguration is the miraculous manifestation of Jesus' glory along with the glorified forms of Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1 - 9, Mark 9:1 - 10, Luke 9:27 - 36). This manifestation was witnessed by three specially selected disciples (Peter, James and John) who were on a high mountain with the Lord when the event took place.

The Bible reveals that Moses and Elijah, during the transfiguration, were discussing with Jesus his upcoming suffering and death in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Christ himself had only first begun to openly teach the details of his upcoming sacrifice to his disciples less than two weeks prior (Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31)." from 'Biblestudy.org'

It is to this event the Chapel at S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia is dedicated.

It is this event we met to commemorate, on Sunday 4th August 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in All Saints Church, Parramatta. A very cold, winter's night may have deterred many from venturing outdoors, and so, a small number of Old Boys and their wives along with a few non-Thomian well-wishers gathered in the beautiful church. Canon Colin Aiken and Uzair Latif were our hosts and the good Canon was the celebrant at Holy Communion.

A formidable quintet composed of Vasantha Weerakoon (Leader), Kamal Weerakoon, Alex Richards, Geoffrey de Kretser and Duke Ramachandra led the singing of Hymns.

We welcomed Nicholas Morley as our Organist and he accompanied the singing with understanding, deep conviction and skill. We extend a welcome to Terence, an apprentice Organist, friend of Nicholas.

Kumar Rasiah made all welcome and introduced to the congregation our Preacher, Rev. Simon Flinders, Archdeacon to The Archbishop.

The Service of Holy Communion was solemn and traditional and made us all feel quite at home.

Here follows a paraphrase of Archdeacon Simon Flinders' loving and challenging sermon.

Rev. Flinders, in his discourse, reminded us, "We are all hearing voices...listening to the news, our favourite podcast, a sermon at church...getting together with friends over a Coffee...talking to colleagues at work...hearing voices all the time... This is life. The question is not, 'Are you hearing voices?' The question is, 'Which ones are you listening to, and how do you work out which ones to listen to...to pay attention to, as these voices may demand differing responses. The story of the Transfiguration answers that question. God Himself answers that question. On the mountain Jesus was transfigured, His appearance altered. An unforgettable sight.

Very few people had seen God's glory before. Think of Moses and Elijah. And, significantly, Moses and Elijah join Jesus on the mountain. God had appeared to Moses on Mt. Sinai circa 1300 BC. Read Exodus 19. 400 years later God appeared to Elijah on the same mountain. That story is in 1 Kings 19.

Moses and Elijah were great men of the Old Testament, known to every Jew. They were recognisable to the three disciples. Peter makes a strange suggestion - to build them tents. Strange and perhaps comic. But things were about to get very serious. Let's go back to Luke 9: 34. While he thus spoke, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This Is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

In a scene reminiscent of Moses' and Elijah's experiences on Mt. Sinai, God speaks.

God's words were similar to those He uttered at Jesus' baptism - 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased'. But this time God adds a crucial phrase: "Hear Him." ...listen to Him. Listen to Jesus. Next, the cloud dispersed and they found Jesus alone. This is significant. Earlier, Peter wanted to treat Jesus, Moses, and Elijah equally. He wanted to build three tents. Now, the focus shifts to Jesus, alone. It is time for the disciples to stop talking and to listen. Jesus is greater than the greatest heroes of the Old Testament. The Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) looked forward to the coming of The Son. And now He is here.

Listen to Him. This is God's message to all of us. God wants us to see Jesus as the greatest voice of human history. He tells us what we desperately need to hear. Jesus is King, Saviour and Messiah.

The effect of this experience on the disciples is precisely what God had intended. We know this from Peter's 2nd Letter. 16, For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17, For He received from God the Father honour and glory when there came such a voice to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18, And this voice, which came from Heaven, we heard when we were with Him on the holy mount. 19, We have also a more sure word of prophecy, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts...

The Transfiguration experience had a wonderfully clarifying effect on Peter. He was now sure that Jesus is Messiah. And so he urges us, we would do well to listen to Jesus. This is the key question the Transfiguration leaves us facing. "Are you listening? Are you hearing Jesus' voice more loudly and clearly than any other?" Do our lives reflect that His is the greatest voice of human history?

Of course, we don't hear Jesus' voice in the manner in which Peter, James and John heard it. But we have in our Bibles the voice of Jesus and we are called to hear it. This suggests two things. 1. Develop the habit of listening. 2. Develop the desire to listen.

The 'habit' is developed by gathering for worship and reading the Bible, supported by prayer. This is a challenge in a world in which we hear a hundred different voices and we therefore need to prioritise the good habit of listening to Jesus' voice. Spend some time every day hearing the voice of Jesus speak through the pages of scripture.

It's one thing to have a 'habit' of listening to Jesus' voice.

It's another thing to live by it. This entails paying attention to Jesus' voice in moments of crucial decisions...when we are hearing other voices very loudly. At times like these we need to direct our attention to Jesus' voice, allowing His to supersede all other voices... These moments are often innocuous...when we are at risk of allowing the world's voice to drown out the voice of Jesus. In these moments God's booming voice calls, "Hear Him." And hearing, we follow, trust and obey. And when we live that way, we are being transfigured. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his 2nd letter, we who believe in Jesus and have seen His glory are being transformed (transfigured) into the likeness of Jesus. This is the promise. As we live by Jesus, we become more like Him, sharing His glory.

Tonight I invite you to see Jesus, hear Him and heed Him, and as you do, you will become like Him. And there is nothing better in the universe than that. To close, 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Amen.

The Service concluded with the Hymn "'Tis Good, Lord, To Be Here". The readers of the Collect, the Creed, Bible readings and Prayers were, Indrajith Gunawardhana, Reshanka Abayasekara and Eksath Perera.

The blessing was pronounced and an invitation was extended to fellowship in the Church Hall. Dushy & Reshaka, organised and arranged the Ministry hall perfectly with the refreshments kindly gifted by Kumar Rasiah and distributed tea and coffee to those gathered in friendship.

We extend heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to making this commemoration a memorable and spiritually enriching event.

Soli Deo Gloria—to God alone be the glory.

(The OBA Committee wish to thank David Sansoni for his contribution to this article)