"A New
Look"
a condensed version of the
sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on February 18, 2007 at Union Congregational Church in Somonauk, Illinois.
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Extreme Makeover. The Swan. "I Want a Famous Face." Nip/Tuck. Dr. 90210. Anyone recognize these television shows? What are they about? (Let congregation answer.) Anyone watch?
We are part of a society obsessed with "the new look." We spend billions of dollars every year on:
And I admit it. I’m caught up, a little, in this new look thing. This hair? It would be a lot grayer if not for that stuff that makes gray go away. And when I arrived here at Union Congregational Church, I decided to get some new khakis and shirts so that I could look, uh, like a pastor. I haven’t, however, done anything about the "circle of light" you see on the back of my head.
What is it about new looks? Think about what kind of new look you’ve recently gotten or one you wish you could have. You don’t have to tell anyone. Just spend a moment thinking about it. When you’ve done it, how have people reacted? If you did do it, how do you think people would react. What’s your reason for wanting that new look?
I want to tell you about three people in the Bible who got a new look. First there’s Moses – you know, baby in a basket, flees Egypt as a young man after killing a guard, turns into Charleton Heston out in the desert, meets God with the burning bush, leads the Hebrew people out of bondage in Egypt and brings down the whole ten commandments thing. He’s one of the featured characters from this morning’s Old Testament reading. Moses goes up the mountain and goes into the God cloud. When he comes down with the tablets, his face is glowing. The people react with fear – but believed that he was glowing because he had been in God’s presence. Moses hid his face from them with a veil – except just after he came down the mountain. He’d show his face to prove where he’d been and then he’d cover it up.
Some say that Moses covered his face not to keep the people from being afraid, but because his glow faded after awhile and he didn’t want the people to lose trust in him.
At any rate – Moses got a new look – and the people said it was God.
Here’s another person – closely related to Moses. Miriam was Moses’ sister. She was the one that arrived just after the princess had drawn Moses out of the water and offered to have him cared for. She was a prophetess and one of the first praise song leaders. She's the one who led the Hebrew people in song after they had been delivered from the Egyptians at Yam Suph -- translated often as "Red Sea" but more accurately translated as "The Sea of Reeds." It Numbers 12, we hear that Miriam was also in the God cloud. The circumstances were a little different, however. She was in the cloud after criticizing Moses for marrying a person she didn’t approve of. When the cloud was gone, Miriam was glowing. The Bible says that her skin, however, wasn’t glowing with God, but rather with a skin disease. Miriam asked for forgiveness and then after a week her skin had returned to normal.
Miriam got a new look from God – and the people said it was a skin disease.
Finally, let’s look at our second reading for today. It is called the transfiguration of Jesus. (I love that guy.) Jesus took Peter, John and James up the mountain to pray. And then there were two more people there. Suddenly Moses and Elijah were there and Jesus’ face and his clothes were glowing. Peter was bewildered and didn’t know what to say. He suggested that they put up three dwellings for Jesus and friends. Most would say he was simply talking nonsense, but I think it was something different. No knowing exactly what to do with this glowing and appearing situation, Peter offered hospitality and an offer of worship. The tents he talked about were likely tabernacles – dwelling places to worship God. Or perhaps he really just didn’t know what he was talking about. Continuing, however, the God cloud comes into play (after the glowing this time) and God let’s everyone know, lest they were confused, that Jesus was the one – God’s son. And then everyone left and didn’t talk about it.
Jesus got a new look – and Peter was bewildered. Then he was silent.
Three new looks – three reactions:
People react to our "new looks" differently. People reacted to the "new looks" from Go in these three people from the Bible differently, too
I know that there is a glaring difference with the new looks. The new looks we do are for us, by us (or initiated by us) in order to feel better about ourselves and to have others notice. The new looks from these Bible passages are initiated by God for God’s purpose and the ones who get the new look have very little, if anything, to do with what happens.
The reactions from others are still, however, unpredictable.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us wanting to look and feel better. I think there is something wrong with our cultural obsession with perfection, however. I think, overall, that the "new look" we desire is born out of selfish reasons.
How can we take this idea of a "new look", then, and understand it unselfishly and selflessly?
I think it comes from one of Jesus’ teachings from Matthew:
(Matthew 5:16 NRSV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Moses, Miriam and Jesus glowed because God made them glow. We have Jesus light because God gives it to us.
This week I believe you are going to be in God’s presence. After all, there is nowhere God is not. And while you are in God’s presence – you probably won’t start glowing the way Moses, Miriam and Jesus did. But I think that you’re going to see opportunities to try out the "new look" God is giving you anyway.
What will the "new look" be like? I don’t know. I don’t thin it will be the result of anything you do – it’s gonna be all God. It may not be a look at all. It may be something much more like what we talked about last week with the new perspective. It may be something that others notice in you right away – yet you have no idea that it is going on.
Try to keep track of the reactions this week. Some people may react with a bit of fear. Others may not be pleased at all with what is going on. Still others may be a little bewildered. Be assured – God is active and God is working. We get to trust, follow and let God lead us as God gives us a new look.
Close with prayer.
© 2007 Union Congregational Church, All Rights Reserved