Connect the Dots

March 2, 2025 homily on Luke 9:28-36 by Pastor Galen for Transfiguration Sunday

“…Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” – Luke 9:28-29

Connect the Dots

When I was a child, I used to enjoy “connecting the dots.” Do you remember “connect the dots?” It was an activity where there would be a piece of paper that was almost blank, but it had dots scattered around the page with little numbers next to them. If you took a pen or pencil and drew lines connecting the dots, an image would emerge. Usually, it was impossible to tell what the image was going to be before you started drawing the lines — you could only see the full picture after all of the dots were connected. (click the file below to see an example.)

For Jesus’s disciples who followed him around during his life and ministry on this earth, I imagine that following Jesus felt like one big game of “connect the dots” as they tried to understand and wrap their minds around who Jesus was and what he came to do. 

Connecting the Dots of Jesus’ Ministry

Over the past few weeks, as we looked at some of the events in Jesus’ life, we’ve seen Jesus perform miracles—turning water into wine, multiplying fish and bread, and providing an abundant catch of fish—demonstrating that he is concerned with our physical needs. But he also healed the sick, cast out demons, calmed storms, and even raised the dead. As we connect these dots, we see that he has the power over nature and life itself. 

Beyond miracles, Jesus preached and taught, calling us to forgive and to love even our enemies. Connecting these dots, we see his concern for our spiritual well-being, and our relationships with God and one another. And yet it doesn’t stop there, because Jesus also addressed societal issues, confronting those in power who exploited the poor, overturning the tables of moneychangers in the temple, reminding us that God’s house is to be a house of prayer for all nations. When we connect all these dots, we see that Jesus came not only to bring individual healing and salvation, but we also see his concern for justice and the transformation of the world.

The Transfiguration of Jesus

With this idea of connecting the dots, the story of Jesus’s transfiguration is a crucial one if we are to try to draw a complete picture of who Jesus is and why he came. In the Gospel of Luke chapter 9, Jesus has just asked his disciples who the crowds said he was (Luke 9:18), and who they thought he was (Luke 9:20). Peter rightly proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, after which Jesus instructed his disciples not to tell anyone — most likely because many people had a false understanding of what the term “Messiah” meant. Jesus preferred instead to show them, and to help them connect the dots so that they could see for themselves who he was and what he came to do.

Then Jesus proceeded to tell his disciples that his Messianic role would involve suffering and death and that following him would involve a willingness to endure suffering and persecution.

And then, about eight days later, Jesus took three of his closest disciples up on a mountain to pray. “And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:29-31). 

I have no idea what the disciples thought when they saw this happen, but we can imagine that more dots started to connect for them. Moses represented the Law (the first five books of the Bible), and Elijah was one of the greatest prophets sent by God in their nation’s history. This experience helped the disciples realize the historical significance of Jesus’ life and ministry — that he had come to fulfill all of the Law and the Prophets. Catching a glimpse of Jesus in all of his glory helped them realize that Jesus was not just fully human, but fully God as well — although they weren’t able to put this into words at the time.

Peter, with Jesus’ recent announcement about his impending suffering and death looming large in his mind, suggested that Jesus should just stay up there on that mountain. This way Jesus could reveal his glory to the world and avoid suffering. Peter even offered to set up tents for Jesus and Moses and Elijah so that they could just stay up there on that mountain forever. 

But staying up there on that mountain, sequestered away from the needs of the world, would not have allowed Jesus to accomplish his mission. And so a cloud overshadowed the mountain they were on, and a voice came from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35). When the cloud lifted, Moses and Elijah were gone, and Jesus’ appearance was as it was before he had gone up the mountain. Then Jesus and his disciples went back down the mountain, and for the time being Peter and James and John didn’t tell anyone else about what they had seen.

Peter, James, and John knew that what they had just witnessed was incredibly significant, and they did later share it with the others. But at the time, they simply added it as another dot to connect, to help them gain a fuller picture of who Jesus was and why he came. 

Jesus Is the Clearest Picture We Have of God

Jesus’s transfiguration is incredibly significant to our understanding of Jesus’ divine purpose, and who God is.

Here in the story of Jesus’ transfiguration see that Jesus was not acting on his own. He was acting on behalf of God to fulfill all of God’s promises and purposes that had been laid out in Scripture up until that time. Indeed, Jesus’ transfiguration helps us connect the dots to the unfolding of God’s plan throughout human history. Everything that came before Jesus points forward to Jesus, and everything that came after Jesus points back to Jesus.

The transfiguration also helps us understand that Jesus is God who took on flesh and lived among us. God is most fully revealed to us in Jesus Christ.

As we read in Colossians 1:

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossian 1:15-17). 

If Jesus is the image of the invisible God, then Jesus is the key to understanding who God is. Not only that, but if everything was created by and for Jesus, and he is the one holding it all together, then knowing who Jesus is and why he came is also the key to making sense of ourselves and the world. Only Jesus can connect all the dots, giving us a more complete understanding of God, and the purpose and meaning of life, and the world, and our place in it.

Not a Partial Picture

One of the temptations for us as followers of Christ is for us to pick and choose particular aspects of Jesus, the stories about Jesus that we like and that make us feel good about ourselves, and that fit best with our personality or preferences or political perspective. When we do this, we create only a partial image in our minds of who Jesus is and what he came to do. Sometimes we do this because we simply don’t have a full understanding of who Jesus is, but sometimes it’s because we simply like a particular aspect of Jesus and purposefully ignore the rest.

Some of us, for example, enjoy thinking of Jesus as our own personal savior, who we can call on to help us in times of need, but we fail to connect the dots to the stories that remind us that Jesus came not just to save individuals, but the whole world. Others of us who care deeply about justice might love the idea of Jesus turning over the tables in the temple and bringing societal transformation, but we might struggle to see that Jesus also cares about us individually. 

If we take only the parts of Jesus that we like and discount the other parts, then we will have only a partial picture of Jesus and God, and by extension a false understanding of ourselves and the world. And this also causes a lot of confusion to outsiders, many of whom are watching our lives to try to make sense of who Jesus is. Many of our friends and family members may never set foot in a church service, but they are watching the way we live our lives, and they are listening to what we say, and they are observing what we post on social media to form their own understanding of God and Jesus.

Sharing God’s Glory

This means that we need to be very careful with how we live, and what we say and what we share on social media, because for many people in our lives, we are the only “bible” they will ever read. If we present only a partial picture, then they will either accept or reject that partial picture that we present.

On Monday evening, I was in our church’s basement with several parents while our daughters attended a Girl Scouts meeting in the Christian education room next door. While the younger siblings were occupied with all of the fun toys in the nursery, the parents were talking, and the topic of conversation turned to the many changes taking place in our society under this current presidential administration.

As far as I know, none of the other parents who were there attend church regularly, but several of them grew up in deeply religious households. Several of the parents expressed confusion and dismay over the disconnect between the religious values they were raised with and the political views held by the religious people in their lives. One parent questioned how his devout Christian father-in-law could back policies that seem harmful to future generations. Another noted that while some programs in our society may appear inefficient, they support humane causes, wondering how people of faith can justify cutting aid to those in need.

The point of all of this is that the people around us are often looking to us to connect the dots of faith. And if we present a false or skewed or partial perspective, or if we cannot connect the dots of our own viewpoints and perspectives back to Jesus, then those around us will want nothing to do with the Jesus or the Christianity we profess.

My prayer for us this morning is that we would continue to grow in our own understanding of who Jesus is through prayer and Scripture study so that we can present a more complete picture of Jesus and God to the world. This is why we gather for worship and Bible study — to wrestle with Scripture so that we can grow in our own understanding of God, and allow God to change and transform us more and more into the likeness of Christ, so that we can present a more complete picture of God to the world.

May we connect the dots — all of the dots — about Jesus, so that we can share his glory with those around us.

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to Today’s Sermon:

1. In what ways have you seen Jesus meet physical, spiritual, or societal needs in your own life or the lives of others?
2. How does Jesus’ transfiguration challenge or deepen your understanding of who he is?
3. How do you respond when you see people professing Christian faith while supporting things that seem to contradict Jesus’ teachings?
4. How can you ensure that your own understanding of Jesus is full and not just a partial picture that fits your preferences or perspectives?
5. In what ways do your words, actions, and even social media presence reflect your faith? Are you portraying a full and faithful picture of Jesus?