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Sermon for Transfiguration of our Lord – February 15, 2026
2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9
Dear friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Every Wednesday morning here in our sanctuary I have a couple pews filled up with preschoolers who are here for chapel. The first thing I do at the beginning of every chapel service is light the candles – and as I light them, I tell the kids that we light these candles to remember that Jesus is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome. They see and hear and experience this light and those words every Wednesday of the school year, and my hope is that through this ritual, this repetition, they will remember the truth being conveyed. My hope is that as their lives unfold and they encounter darkness – which they inevitably will at some point – that they will remember that Jesus is the light of the world, and that his light is more powerful than any darkness they will ever face.
Peter and James and John experienced the light of Christ in a particularly profound way. These three were invited by Jesus to go on a hike with him, and when they reached the top of the mountain, Jesus was transfigured before them. That is, he changed. He was transformed. He underwent a metamorphosis, which is the literal Greek word used here. The divinity of Christ was revealed as Jesus began to emanate light. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became dazzling white. And in that light, these three disciples caught a glimpse of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
As this bright, dazzling light emanated from Jesus, suddenly two others were there. Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared. These two were no strangers to mountaintop experiences. Moses famously went up a mountain to receive the law of God. Elijah climbed the same mountain, where he too had an encounter with God. These two mountain men represented the law and the prophets. They represented what we often call the Old Testament. They represent a continuity between what we read in the Old Testament and what we read in the New. The two testaments are joined together on this mountaintop in this pivotal moment in salvation history. What was written in the Old Testament is not being replaced; it is being fulfilled. Moses and Elijah are there to hand the baton to the Son of God to finish what they started in bringing about the salvation of the world.
Peter recognized the significance of this moment. He proposed to mark the occasion with the building of tabernacles, or booths, or dwellings. He was essentially suggesting the building of shrines. He wanted to build a museum on the mountaintop, where people could come catch a glimpse of the glory he had witnessed. But that isn’t how this will go. Jesus has more to do. This is just a glimpse, and it is just for them – at least for now.
While Peter was still laying out the specs of his project, God’s voice thundered from a cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.” This voice knocked all three of these disciples on their backsides. They cowered in fear. But then there was this beautiful moment, this wonderful moment of grace. Jesus came and touched them. What a kind thing to do! What a loving gesture. Can you imagine how reassuring that would have been, how comforting? Human touch is such a powerful thing, and now the God who took on human flesh through his Son touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”
Peter and James and John saw the light of Jesus is this particularly profound way. They saw his glory as he was transfigured on the mountaintop. They caught a glimpse of his divinity, his true identity as God’s Son. They saw that he was indeed the light which no darkness could overcome.
Initially they were told not to say anything about what they had seen until after Jesus had been raised from the dead. This glimpse was just that – a glimpse. It was a sneak preview of a greater glory to come with his resurrection. But eventually their non-disclosure agreement expired. Eventually they were allowed to talk about it, and in our epistle reading for today we hear Peter describe what he saw and explain what it means.
First, he tells us that they are not passing on mere stories when they share what they saw on that holy mountain. These aren’t cleverly devised myths. They aren’t fables. They aren’t metaphors or archetypes. These things really happened, and they were eyewitnesses to it! Jesus really was transfigured before them. He really did shine like the sun. They really did see his glory.
Second, Peter explains that this means they have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. That is, what they saw with their own eyes confirms everything promised about the savior in the Old Testament. It confirms everything Jesus himself said. It confirms everything Jesus promised. It confirms that it is all true! In glimpsing this glory, they have it all more fully confirmed. You can believe it, Peter is saying. You can trust it!
And then Peter tells us what we should do with this information. Listen carefully, because this is beautiful, and it is important. Peter writes, “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Pay attention, Peter is saying. Keep this word close. Keep this glimpse close. Treat it like a lamp. Tend to it like a lamp shining in the darkness, because that is what it is. Keep it lit. Keep your eyes on it. Tend to it. Let it be a light shining in your darkness.
Peter and James and John were the only disciples who got to experience firsthand this glimpse of glory they saw when the Lord Jesus was transfigured before them. Remember, there were nine other disciples. What these nine other disciples had to go on was their word. This is what Peter is asking us to do. He is asking us to believe his eyewitness testimony. He is asking us to trust that what he saw really happened, and that it truly revealed the glory of Christ. He is encouraging us to be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
This isn’t nothing. What did God the Father tell Peter and James and John on that mountaintop? God the Father said, “This is my Son…listen to him!” Even these three eyewitnesses to the Transfiguration were called to hear a word and trust it. And so are we.
This past Wednesday, right after I finished preschool chapel I went to Regency Memory Care to be with a member of our church who is in hospice. Her daughter was told that her mother didn’t have much longer and so she asked me to come, and so off I went, straight from chapel. Her mother was unresponsive, but I read scripture to her. I prayed the commendation of the dying over her. Her eyes remained closed, her breathing labored. She showed no sign that she heard me, or even knew I was there. I’ve been in these situations before and I always operate under the assumption that the person can hear me, even if I’m not sure – and I was anything but sure that day.
Then I decided to hold her hand. And the moment I took her hand, she firmly squeezed mine back. She held on to it. It was as though she was saying, I heard you, and I want some more of that! And so, still holding her hand, I just started reading verse after verse of Christ’s promises. Christ’s glory was revealed through a Word. What I had taught those preschoolers earlier that morning proved once again to be true. Jesus is the light that no darkness can overcome.
You would do well to be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place. We might not be eyewitnesses to the spectacular Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus on the mountaintop, but we do catch our own glimpses of his glory. We catch a glimpse of his glory in the shimmering waters of Holy Baptism, where we encounter Christ and are marked with his cross forever. We catch a glimpse of his glory in bread and wine, his true body and blood, given to us to renew us in his grace, his forgiveness. We catch a glimpse of his glory when we hear his promises, promises like, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age;” promises like, “I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may be also;” promises like, “No one will snatch you out of my hands;” promises like, “I am the resurrection and the life, and those who believe in me, even though they die, will live;” promises like, “Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
We catch a glimpse of his glory as his living Word comes to us today. Our Lord speaks to us through this Word. He says to each of us, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
Listen to him. Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place. Trust it, for it is all trustworthy. It is all true.
Jesus is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Jeffrey R. Spencer
Oak Harbor Lutheran Church