Greeneville, TN
The Last Sunday after the Epiphany
February 15, 2026
In this morning's Gospel, we hear that Jesus was transfigured on the mountaintop. His face shone like the sun. His garments became dazzling white. The disciples caught a glimpse of his glory that they had never seen before. And it makes us wonder. What does it mean to be transfigured? What does it mean to be changed? Not just slightly improved, but deeply transformed?
For many of us, transformation begins with what we might call a “mountaintop experience.” Perhaps it was the moment we first realized Christ was not just a story, but a presence in our lives. Perhaps it was a season of prayer, or a crisis that drove us to our knees, or a worship service where something stirred in our hearts.
But if we are honest about it, most of life is not lived on mountaintops. Most of life is lived in the valleys... in hospital waiting rooms, in strained relationships, in financial anxiety, in a world that feels increasingly divided and uncertain.
We live in a time of trauma, war and scandal that wounds our global community… political hostility and division that fractures trust, and economic pressures that leave many families stretched thin. We see anger amplified, truth questioned, and human compassion exhausted.
And it is in that world... not a peaceful one, nor a tidy one... into that world, that Jesus is transfigured. There is something that I want you to notice about this scene. The Transfiguration of Jesus doesn’t remove him from the world’s suffering. But it strengthens his disciples for what is coming.
Immediately after their time on the mountain where Jesus is shown in all his glory and majesty, he begins to speak more plainly about the cross. The mountaintop prepares them for the valley.
Peter says to Jesus that he wants to build tents/tabernacles and stay there. Preserve the moment, house the holy… but who wouldn’t? When we encounter moments of clarity, beauty, and certainty, we want to preserve them. To keep them… But Jesus leads them back down the mountain. Because the glory they witnessed was not intended to be contained. It was meant to change them and shape them.
The Christian life and following Jesus is not a “one and done” experience. It is a lifelong journey of formation and transformation. God is never finished shaping us / transfiguring us... sanding the rough edges, strengthening weak places, opening the closed hearts.
Kind of like those home renovation shows you see on HGTV, that we like so much… Especially the classic... This Old House. God does not discard us when the structure is worn. God renovates from within. But unlike those television transformations that happen in an hour or over a short sequence of 4 shows,
Spiritual transformation unfolds over a lifetime.
Our rites of Baptism and Confirmation are not a graduation. They are a beginning. An invitation and license to learn. You and I, as baptized Christians, are called to continuous and conscious lifelong growth not only through worship, but through study, prayer, service, and community.
We gather for formation not because we have mastered faith, but because we are continually being shaped by it. And in times like these, our formation matters more than ever.
Our broken world does not need louder Christians. It does not need angrier Christians. And it does not need Christians who mirror the hostility of the culture. Our world needs transfigured Christians. It needs transfigured and faithful people whose lives reflect Christ’s light... Christ’s light in dark conversations. It needs patience in the face of outrage. Mercy where there is condemnation. And truth spoken peacefully and gently in a climate of increasing fear.
On that mountain stood Moses and Elijah — the Law and the Prophets — bearing witness to Jesus. Everything converged in him. And when the cloud overshadowed them, the voice of God said, “This is my Son… listen to him.”
Listen to him. Listen to Jesus... Listen to him, not to the loudest voice online. Listen to him, not to the most inflammatory headline. Listen to him, not to the constant churn of fear and chaos. Listen to him. And when we listen to Jesus, what do we hear? We hear, Love your enemies. Bless those who persecute you. Get up and do not be afraid. Take up your cross & follow me.
Transfiguration is not about escaping reality. It is about listening to Jesus and seeing reality through the light of Christ. And we do not need to climb a literal mountain to have an encounter with God. Every Sunday, we step into a sacred space. We hear the scriptures, we learn, we confess, we pray, and we pass the peace. Then we come forward to break the bread and share the cup.
In that Eucharistic meal… In that holy moment… heaven and earth meet. Christ is present, not in blazing white, dazzling our eyes, but there, nonetheless, feeding our souls. That is our mountaintop. That is our transfiguration experience. And it’s from this table that we are sent back down the mountain. Back into our homes, workplaces, schools, and civic life, not unchanged, but strengthened and transfigured…
Jesus was transfigured on the mountain so that the disciples would know who he truly was. And we are transfigured so the world may know who Jesus is through us.
In anxious times, may we be steady. In divided times, may we be reconciled. In cynical times, may we be hopeful. In dark times, may we be luminous. God is not finished with us yet. We’re still growing and being changed and transfigured into more of what God calls us to be.
May we allow ourselves to be continually shaped, continually renewed, continually changed, continually tranfigured… until our very lives become the windows through which others see the living Christ.
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