Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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Anger
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Lord, into your Peace we are called and I pray that only truth is proclaimed and only truth heard - Amen
 
I don’t know about you but I am strangely attracted to ‘make over shows’
            And there are so many to chose from
                        TLC or ‘Home and Garden’ seem to be networks devoted to that TV genre
                                    Shows like ‘while you were out’
                                    Or ‘trading spaces’
                                    Or ‘what not to wear’
                                    Or ‘flip this house’
                                                Are very popular and some weekends they even having                                                        ‘marathon days’ where there are numerous back to back                                                       episodes
                                    We have our share of ‘Canadian content’ as well
                                                From ‘Holmes on homes’
                                                To ‘Diva on a dime’
 
If you have never seen any of these TV shows they are Home improvement or personal appearance improvement
            Often times they involve friends or family who get in on the action to help
                        or to surprise someone that they care about by outing them on national TV                         about some aspect that they don’t love about their appearance or their                            choices in home décor
                                    and the show is focused upon experts and a camera crew coming                                        for a short time to help in whatever area is lacking
 
            My favorite with out a doubt is “Extreme Make-over - Home edition’
                        And I will tell you why later
 
All of these shows have caught my attention many times
            So… I have wondered what it is that makes them so appealing
                        Why are they relevant to so many people?
Part of it, I believe, is that they tap into the ‘American Dream’ and its cousin the ‘Canadian Dream’
            The dream of making something out life
                        With hard work and the right knowledge and attitude - anything is possible
 
            Well if you were to boil that down a little further I think that what we are really    talking about is: “Hope”
                        Belief in a better thing - better way of life in the future
                                    …That is certainly one aspect
 
Another part of it is that in most of them are on a budget and generally not too large a budget
            The projects are attainable
                        We can easily see ourselves making something better with not too much                             invested maybe a little knowledge, time and elbow grease
                                    And we too can do it
 
Still another reason that they are popular is that they show a lot of ideas
            The home improvement versions walk you through what they are doing
                        And the personal appearance ones show you a lot of straight forward                                  practical tips
                                    We can get in on the action and we can often learn a great deal
                                                Or at least get the feeling that ‘we too’ can do
                                                            A popular home improvement store that sponsors a                                                               few of these shows has based their very motto on                                                                 this value
                                                                        “you can do it, we can help”
 
There is still one reason that I believe tops them all
            One reason that is the greatest attraction above all of these rational explanations
                        It is the same reason why many of us like to cheer for the underdog
           
            That reason is “transformation”…
 
                        In all of these shows ‘something’ or ‘place’ or ‘person’ is transformed
 
                                    This is extremely emotionally binding factor
                                                It captures:      Hopes  -  Fears              -  Ideals
                                                                        - lost or hidden or suppressed desires 
                                                                        - in many cases a hearts longing
 
Transformation or Transfiguration - is what our Gospel passage from Mark is all about
            And it is also what our Baptisms today are about
                        The passage is Mark declaring who Jesus really is
                                    Mark’s whole Gospel is about revealing - in stages - who Jesus is
It starts out with
            “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
The ‘good news’ or ‘gospel’ was a term that was reserved only for the                                Caesar of the day
                                    ‘Jesus’ - is mentioned to indicate his Humanness
                                                And ‘Christ’ to explain that he is the Messiah, the one that                                                  the Jews have been waiting for
                                                            And the ‘Son of God’ to make sure you know                                                                      exactly who he is and on what authority
 
So our reading today is a climatic moment in Mark gospel explanation of who Jesus is
            The passage today starts out with “six days later”…later from what
                        Well, most scholars conclude it is from Jesus’ revealing that he will die on              the cross *and* Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah
And Jesus is transfigured before them
            With Cloths so white that no one on earth could bleach them
                        Clearly to show His divinity
            And there appeared to them Elijah and Moses
                        Talking with Jesus
                                    The writer of the Pentateuch - the Law
                                                And the greatest prophet
                        “Talking” - talking to show that they are physically there
            The Law and Prophets represented and yet after God spoke from the cloud
                        That “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to Him!”
                                    ‘Only Jesus’ remained
                                                Something for ‘supersessionists’ to think about
                        Only Jesus - that message: is very challenging for our worldly views today
 
            And how must our hearts be drawn to the words of God from the cloud
                        “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to Him!”
                                    “This is my Son, the beloved…” draws us right back to the                                                  beginning of Jesus’ adult ministry and His Baptism in the river                                            Jordan
                        “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
So… what does all this have to do with me, and you… and these wonderful children that are being baptized today
            Consider these details
                        “Jesus *took* with him, Peter and James and John and *led* them up a high                             mountain *apart by themselves*”
                                    and
                        “*appeared to them*”
                                    and most importantly
                        “Then Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, *it is good for us to be here*”
 
I have often wondered, since the original Greek would not have had punctuation and since most versions that you will read keep punctuation out of it - whether Peter was asking a question - “Rabbi, *it is good for us to be here**?*”
But I believe that it is more profound to leave it as a statement
                        “Rabbi, *it is good for us to be here!*”
We have Jesus, God in the flesh, Emanuel - God amongst us
            Bringing… leading… revealing… … To Us
Making sure we understand exactly - who he is … to us… for us … in our presence
            We are part of God’s plan - brought along for the ride
 
I think that whole passage actually hinges on Peter’s words told as a statement
            It is without a doubt *about* Jesus being transfigured
                        Present with Moses - the Law, and Elijah - the prophets
God’s cloud, and ‘words of affirmation’, and command to ‘listen to Jesus’                                     And only Jesus remaining
But I think our life rests more on the fact that:  God values us and wants us part of His plans
            “Rabbi, *it is good for us to be here!*”
Transformation is one reason that I like ‘Extreme makeover - home edition’ the best
            As they always take some family that has suffered great hardships and there is a    great transformation
                        And there is a real community effort to work to completely transform their                         homes
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