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When I was growing up, there was this local priest we’ll call Timothy who was well know for his great preaching abilities, and rightly so. This came in large part from his understanding of the Gospel and remaining true to our beliefs as Followers of Christ.
Over time, though, Timothy started to believe the hype everyone else told about him. The focus became more about him and his abilities.
This came to its zenith at Holy Week one year. I remember sitting there during a service that week as the sermon went on and on. At one point, Timothy looked out at us and said “I love this service because here I can talk as long as I want.”
Not only did we just stop listening at that point, but Timothy’s church was going through a big construction project that year. Because the sermon went on so long, by the time we got to the anthem, the construction crew were out at work so that one of the servers had to go out and tell them that “no, we are still worshiping so can you please come back and do your work later?”
Timothy forgot what was at the heart of his preaching, what had made him good in the first place. Hilarious as it all may have been, the consequences were a bit disastrous.
Paul reminds us today of what The Rev. Timothy forgot, mainly that “we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.”
Paul says this in the context of the “light of the Gospel”, so bright “it is veiled” only “to those who are perishing.” That light fits with the center of all our readings on this Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Epiphany literally meaning “manifest”. Today’s particular manifestation is the Transfiguration.
Even here in the Transfiguration we see how difficult Paul’s words can be for those in the church.
Peter, considered first among the Disciples, on seeing his Lord Jesus all of a sudden robed in “dazzling white” with Moses, the giver and representative of the Law, and Elijah, viewed as the Prophet of ancient Israel, understandably has no idea what to do or what to think.
Unfortunately Peter’s reaction isn’t the best one he could have, as Mark tells us. Instead of taking the time to wait, listen, and see what God is revealing to them, Peter immediately starts thinking about legacy. He wants to make three dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. These would form a perpetual memorial, a forever prolonging of the Transfiguration if you will. The problem is that this also would prevent Jesus from continuing to do the work He came to this world to do.
In this moment, Peter made it more about his own fears and desires instead of proclaiming our Lord.
Elijah, who we see twice in our readings today, does the opposite. Elijah has experienced some of the greatest ups and downs of ministry. He had his triumphal victory over the prophets of the false god Ba’al and then immediately the Queen Jezebel told him she would try and take his life.
This led Elijah to Mount Horeb, the place Moses received the Law. Here he found God in the “sound of shear silence” before being told to raise up Elisha to follow him as a prophet.
Elisha today asks Elijah for twice his spirit. Elijah wisely tells him he does not know what he is asking for, though does not say this is impossible or that he will not grant it. This is a sign not only of Elijah’s wisdom, but that ministry isn’t about proclaiming himself or his own greatness. Elijah’s ministry is about proclaiming the Lord.
It can be easy because of fear, like Peter, or pride, like The Rev. Timothy, to start to proclaim ourselves, or at least loose focus on God’s mission. It is harder to be like Elijah and put our own pride aside for the sake of our Lord. We have to re-examine ourselves constantly, as Elijah did on Mount Horeb and as Peter was forced to do after hearing God’s voice calling from the heavens.
It’s not about us. It’s never about us. Ourselves, our fears, our legacy, none of it maters. We are called to do one thing and one thing alone: “proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.”
Whatever you do, do your work for God, not yourselves. Whatever you do, don’t proclaim yourself. Proclaim Jesus.