Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Friends in Christ, you have ever heard the phrase, ‘you are what you eat.’ Meaning, your diet influences who you are as a person, because diet can significantly influence our health and transform our well-being for good or for worse. Much like that phrase I would like to say today: ‘you are what you hear.’ Meaning, depending on what you listen to, that shapes your thoughts, emotions, and ideas about your life and the way you live. For example, depending on the type of music you listen your mood changes, doesn’t it?

If you want to purchase a car, or a property, you consult various people and listen to them. Then you might be prompted to make an informed decision. Same goes, if you are buying a product, you might want to check out a few reviews, and then make decision based on the piece of advice or wisdom in there. Listening is an important exercise we casually undertake in life. What about building a life of faith? There is a scripture verse that speaks into this context: ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God’ (Romans 10: 17).

Given today is transfiguration Sunday, the advice for us comes from the gospel reading. Transformation through listening. To the disciples, a voice from the cloud said: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9 verse 7)

Let us pray

God of Grace and Truth, we thank you for your life-giving Word, as the writer of the Hebrews once reminded us: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrew 4:12). So, we pray that you speak to us today, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

I once heard a story shared by a Pastor from the pulpit, well basically it goes like this. This Pastor let us say Bob (identity changed), lets say, he was in his late 60’s. Now, during his regular visits to doctor, at one time he shared, ‘Doctor I am really worried about my wife, these days….her listening seems to be going down.’ She isn’t answering my questions. So, the Doctor thought about for a minute and gave him this advice to follow. Doctor said to him, ‘next time when you say something and you do not get a response from her, maybe move a step closer to her and repeat yourself, maybe close proximity well help her deaf ear.’ Thanking the Doctor for his advice Bob left the clinic and went home. As he entered his house, he called out to his wife from the entrance door with a loud voice, ‘honey, I am home, what are we having for dinner tonight?’ He did not hear a response. Worried Bob took upon Doctor’s advice, so, he took a few steps closer to the kitchen and repeated the same question, ‘honey, I am home, what are we having for dinner?’ Again there was absolute silence. He was stunned, Bob couldn’t believe that his wife did not hear him. Panicking his wife is going really deaf, he went further in, entering kitchen, and seeing her standing in front of him, he repeated the question, ‘honey, I am home, what are we having for dinner tonight?’ Third time lucky, this time Bob’s wife responded. She said, ‘for the third time darling, we are having Chicken!’

Moral of the story, it was not the wife’s listening that was the problem, but the husband’s, he was going deaf! While that is a humorous tale to share, and I am sure some of you have other experiences of where you might have failed to listen or pay attention. Today being valentine’s day, the focus everywhere is on relationship. The secret ingredient of relationship is listening! In fact, they reckon, of all senses to go in humans, the last one is ability to hear, so there you go, God thought we need hearing till we take our last breath!

But the real jump for any human being is making that journey from hearing to listening. Listening is an exercise of intent. One listens to follow. I will focus on these two things from here on.

We are blessed to live in such times, where life goes very busy. Our calendars, schedules and commitments push us from one event to another. As we busily move from an event to another, we do not even have time to pause and reflect, because we quickly move on to the next thing. As a result, we tend to experience events, and at times judge events based on how they made us feel.

No wonder entertainment industry works very hard to appeal to our sensibilities this way. Experience is the key, not the careful listening. The success of entertainment industry runs on keep us entertained. We say to ourselves, ‘do I like this piece of music, then I will buy it.’ ‘Do I like the trailer of this movie? Maybe then I will watch it!’ Marketing industry keeps throwing gadgets at us that somehow promise to make our lifestyle easy and simple. My focus here is not on what others are doing for their living, but how they make promises and gain our intent. We are pampered to be self-indulgent, and self-centric because all their promises are to make us look great, make us feel wonderful, save us time, etc. Are you with me so far?

Truth of God’s Word on the other hand calls us out of our own self-indulgent, self-centric experiences to a different type of lifestyle – Transformation! Transformation through listening is promised by the Word of God. This is what we witness in the story for today.

As Mark’s Gospel puts it, Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them to a high mountain. Now, as the Bible reading goes, ‘there Christ was transfigured before their very eyes, his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than any other in the world could bleach.’ Then they saw, Elijah and Moses, the mighty men of God as far as Israel’s history is concerned, speaking with Jesus. This was an incredible experience for the disciples. There is so much happening in front of their own eyes, the wonder of Christ’s clothes that are so white, the power and majesty of God enriched by the presence of Moses and Elijah, so, they started searching for making this experience permanent one. For an ordinary fisherman, this experience was too good!

Lost in this experience, they lost track of what to say and what to do. The intent was missing. They did what their ancestors had always done, they listened to themselves! They started narrating ‘what they want.’ From a child to an adult, we all do this, we act selfishly at times, and say, ‘this is what I want.’ This is how our human nature works. You know back in the day, the serpent sold this to humans, by eating the forbidden fruit, “You will not certainly die,…for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3: 4-5). Since this fall, the story of humans is the same over and over again. Human hearts really have not changed overtime. Read your Bible, especially focusing on human behaviour. Take people during the time of Noah, for instance, how did they behave? Even after God rescued Noah through flood waters, his descendants continued in the same self-indulgent ways and methods. Sin captured their hearts, so they were no different from any other before them.

There is a story in Genesis 11 about the tower of Babel. Once again in that story, we hear the intent of the people, the reason why they wanted to build a great tower is given in verse 4, they said: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” They want to be in control, and they wanted to make a name for themselves, hence they decided to build. Let us make a name, so let us build. The intent, how different is Peter, James, and John? Their intent is to keep the experience going and build three shrines one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus. What next?

Every time we gather be it in study groups, or church gatherings, or even synodical meetings, whatever the setting where we are listening to one another, we must watch out for such behaviour! That we are not just listening to self, that we are not led by self, but led by the Word of God! In Deuteronomy 18: 15 Moses shared this piece of wisdom, he said that ‘the Lord will raise up a prophet like him’ and calls people to ‘Listen to him.’ Apostle Paul had this to say to us ‘the god of this age, (i.e., Satan), has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that, they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. In saying that, Paul (2 Corinthians 4: 4-5), like Moses, calls us to focus on Jesus not on ‘self’. Paul said:

Baptised and saved by the power of gospel, our listening ought to draw us closer to the heart of God, not to the ‘old self’ with all its errors. The disciples, Peter, James and thought they were at that point. But we can hear all sorts of recommendations they came up with. No wonder, the voice from the cloud interrupted them and their plans. I love how God interrupts people and their plans because God calls people from ‘self-indulgent’, ‘self-serving’ ways to the saving power of the gospel. God said: ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him!’

So, what happens when you listen with intent Jesus words? The Word of God promises the following: you are saved, forgiven, and raised from eternal death to life. When you come to Divine service, you receive the means of Grace. Let me ask: you did hear the words of absolution today, didn’t you? You will soon hear the words of God’s grace as you come to receive ‘the body’ and ‘the blood of Christ’, ‘given for you’ and ‘shed for the forgiveness of your sins’. The words of dismissal, ‘the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy precious blood, strengthen you and preserve you to life eternal.’ Be it these words or the words of blessing, listening to these words we receive gifts of God. How then, could we stay away from Divine service, from God’s grace? How could our heart not rejoice in listening to these words? These words have power to call us from sin, death, to new life in Christ. The word of God has the power to affect this. These are not a pastor’s words, but the word of God.

Lutheran Confessions, Solid Declaration (Article II, paragraph 52) says, ‘all who want to be saved should listen to this proclamation. For the proclamation and the hearing of God’s Word are the Holy Spirits tools, in, with, and through which he wills to work effectively and convert people to God and withing whom he wants to effect both the desire for and the completion of their conversion.’

Therefore, listening to Jesus, brings our transformation too. So, the clear instruction -listen to Jesus! It is said, Jesus speaks to us on the last day, when he does, our mortal bodies, even though they are dead and buried, will still listen to Jesus’ words, and respond (by raising to glory). God’s word is that powerful!

So, we are called to listen with intent and follow Christ. Transformation, through listening this ought to be a daily habit. Like Pastor Bob, who thought his wife had a listening problem all of a sudden discovered that actually he had a listening problem, in the same way, God’s word sheds light on our darkness, helping us to discover our own issues, guiding us to turn away from selfish desires and indulgences to God. Our lives are challenged enough by the Word of God, so that we can shine brightly for others.

God who called us to listen, by the nature of our baptism also promised to listen to us. In invites us to take our burdens, worries, and cares and cast them upon him, because he promised to listen to us always. Prayer, therefore, is such a beautiful gift we have in this life of faith. In times, when no one is listening to you, take your prayers to your Heavenly Father, and the promise is your Father in heaven, will listen to you.

Let me finish with this: to the one who listens to God, their lives are transformed. Many characters in the Bible testify to this. Take people with severe character flaws like Moses, David, Jonah, or Saul, all these people were transformed by the power of God’s Word. Listening to the promises of God’s Word, they have turned away from ‘self’ to faithfully follow our God. Not just that, empowered by God’s Word, they have become beacons of hope for others. Likewise, our journey of our transformation is possible too, nothing is impossible for God!

The peace of God that surpasses all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Jaswanth Kukatlapalli

Pastor at Mackay Community Lutheran Church (Mackay), and

St. Martin’s Lutheran Church (Cannonvale)

Office Address: 44-46 Wellington Street, Mackay, Queensland, 4740