When we read the book of Genesis, one of the most well-known acts of God’s creation is the first act when God says – “Let there be light”. Like many others I always thought this to mean the creation of light to break the darkness in the sense of when I wake in the morning to see that it’s now daylight with the night having ended. But as I read further I find that on Day 4 of creation God creates the sun and the moon and the stars where we read: God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. So this first light on day one is not what I originally thought it to be.
So what is it?
When we read the opening of John’s Gospel, which I believe is a retelling of the New Creation story it also talks about that light: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. So this is NOT the light that is produced by the sun but rather it is the life-force of God, as John said – that life was the light of all humankind. And therefore, if that light is NOT the light of the sun – then the darkness that it overcomes is not the darkness that we experience at night but rather it is the life-force that works against God. A life force we call – Satan – the Devil. And as Jesus is the light of the world that overcomes that dark satanic life-force in the world then we can begin to understand why the church seems to be in a constant battle in the world of what we call Spiritual Warfare – because the church is the body of Christ.
If we think that the Christian church is declining in numbers and authority in the world because we don’t make church more entertaining or modern or because we seem to be against everything that the world promotes then we don’t understand the spiritual battle we are in. If we think that all we have to do is change the way we do church and become more modern and popular to attract more and more people then we will fail in our fight against the darkness because we are fighting the wrong fight. We might seem to think we are winning when our numbers increase but that won’t sustain us. You only have to look at what happened to Jesus in a short time from the praises of Palm Sunday to the shouts of Crucify on Good Friday by the very same crowds.
Even when the church seems to be in a time of peace and prosperity it is never out of the warzone.
St Paul reminds us that we should not underestimate the battle we are in: In Ephesians 6:12 he spells it out very clearly when he says; For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And so he says that our battle is not going to be won by adapting human solutions but by trusting in God and what he has given us. Again, in Ephesians 6 he says; Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
As we conclude our season of Epiphany and are about to enter our time of Lent in preparation for Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus wants to assure Peter, James and John – and us – that even though all the powers of darkness are going to be at work to end Jesus’ life, he has already won the battle – because the light of God overcomes the darkness of Satan. And so we read: Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.
Peter, James and John get a brief glimpse of that life-force in the light of God that overcomes the darkness of Satan. And what’s interesting about that encounter and their response is that it says – they were terrified.
Can you imagine that if they, being followers of Jesus are terrified of the light and life-force of Jesus – what must Satan and all his followers feel about that light and life-force of Jesus. Well, James talks about that in James 2:19 – You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
It is so easy to become dismayed as we look at the physical appearance of the church today.
Our numbers are decreasing. Our young families don’t seem interested in continuing the work of the church. Churches are closing down. Our finances are drying up. The world seems to be moving in a different direction to the church. Many believe that the church probably has a generation left in its existence. But Jesus reminds us today that physical appearances hide the reality of God’s victory. Jesus looked pitiful and weak as he hung lifelessly from the cross that the people walked by and shook their heads in disgust. But his physical appearance masked the true glory that was hidden behind his human flesh.
St Paul, in Colossians 3 wants to encourage us to not be defeated by physical appearances. He says; since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Notice that Paul is speaking present terms and not in future terms.
Our victory is now but hidden. The best is yet to come and when it comes it will be glorious. The Transfiguration is a message to us to keep trusting God and his plan of salvation for us. The victory has already been won. Our salvation has been secured. There is nothing the world can do to take that away from us. There is a saying, it’s always darkest just before the dawn. And that’s probably what it feels like at times.
And when it’s dark it’s hard to believe that the light is ever going to break through. But let us remember that God’s first act of creation was to create light. Not the physical light that we know from the sun that brings daylight. No, this is the light that cannot be overcome. It is the light of Christ that signals that God is and always in control.
St Paul says – when I am weak, then I am strong, because the power of Christ is resting on me. And again he reassures us that the weakness of God is more powerful that human strength. So let the message of the Transfiguration reassure you today that God has not lost – he can never lose – and although there may seem at times like darkness is ahead of us, the light of Christ overcomes even the deepest of darkness. Let us not be disheartened but remember that God is not winning – he has won. And that’s what Jesus revealed in the Transfiguration. The physical looks weak so Jesus stripped back the physical and revealed his glory.
The church may at times look weak but we are the body of Christ which gathers with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. We have to stay strong and not let the world bring us down. Paul talks about the God of this age which tries to put a veil on God’s glory which he says – our gospel is veiled to those who are perishing because the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, So let us continue to put our hope in Jesus Christ our Lord before the world because we do not proclaim oursweelves who appear weak; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that this Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
