Be Transformed
Sermon at Chevy Chase United Methodist Church
Dane Smith
August 24, 2008
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect." Rom. 12:2
Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind. It's August 24. So the sermon text sounds like an exhortation to teen-agers to return to high school: Get that diploma so you don't have to work at Burger King for the rest of your life. Or a plea to students going back to college. You know: A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Focus on your studies. Stop partying six nights a week. Go to class this year and spend some time in the library. Your mother and I are not going to pay tens of thousands of dollars to subsidize your social life at college.
But Paul is not writing to the Romans about education. He is talking about how you change. We have been hearing a lot about change this election year. Every candidate, starting with the primaries, has tried to present him/herself as offering the best hope for transforming our political system. He is talking about how you change, about how you get on with what God really wants you to do. Paul is talking about life-changing experiences.
Spiritual Transformation
What is this transformation of the self? I was chatting with participants in the latest Nicaragua trip. She thought her son and other youth who participated had a life-changing experience in Nicaragua. They encountered a radically different culture. They came face-to-face with stark poverty and need. They also experienced breath-taking hospitality from a poor Christian community. They worshiped meaningfully with that Christian community. It's an experience, she was saying, they will never forget. It's an experience which will shape in some way their understanding of what kind of persons they are to become. That's the beginning of transformation.
I was reminded of the Peace Corps experience, which at its best can be one of self- transformation. Judy and I were in the Peace Corps. In Ethiopia in the 1960s we experienced change and growth but not, I would say, dramatic transformation. But I have met over the years a number of Volunteers who experienced just that.
That former Volunteer might say something like this: "My life was transformed by my two years in Nepal. I was assigned to a village three days walk from the nearest trunk road. No one spoke English. For the first 4 months I was so lonely and frustrated, I cried every night. I hated the place. I was ready to quit. Gradually I learned to speak passable Nepali. I realized that I could communicate with the people, and they could understand me. At first I couldn't make any headway in my job at a Nepalese health clinic, but finally together we made some major improvements in village health care. I was able to help them get a regular supply of basic drugs. We were able to save the lives of some very sick kids and mothers. I loved the place. I felt like a new person."
That American was transformed. She had a new conception of herself. Her values and objectives in life had changed. She experienced a renewing of her mind. She decided on a new career in public health. She didn't say anything explicit to me about God. But you could say she came to discern God's will for her life.
A similar - even more complete - transformation is common to some who participate in Alcoholics Anonymous. I recall the startling witness of one of our members published some months ago in Highlights. "I was drinking almost 24 hours a day in a vain attempt to keep a "happy buzz" at all times. ? I lived to drink and drank to live. ? I was working harder and harder to cover up how I was coping with the pain of an existence that seemed nearly hopeless. ? On October 1, 1996, I surrendered to the fact that God is in charge of the universe and that the only thing I have power over is my attitude. Little was I to know that in surrender I would be given the greatest power and life possible. God has given me a life, more full and complete than I could ever have imagined in my immature, drunken dreams."
Hey! That was a transformation! A renewal of mind and spirit which is apparent in that person today. A recovering alcoholic, yes, but transformed. Today he is a vibrant and dynamic leader of our faith community.
Peter as Exemplar of Transformation
What does the Biblical narrative teach us about transformation? Our gospel lesson today from Matthew 16 describes Jesus' conversation with Peter and other disciples at Caesarea Philippi, a gentile town in northern Galilee. The exchange at Caesarea Philippi is a major turning point in the gospels. In some ways, it ranks in importance only after the Cross and the Resurrection. Jesus asks what Jewish people are saying about him. The disciples reply, "Master, there are rumors that you are John the Baptist returned, or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah." Then Jesus poses the question point blank: Who do you say that I am? It is Peter who shoots back. "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." This is a high point for Peter and the disciples.
Who is this Peter anyway? Well, to start with, his name is not really Peter. It is Simon Johnson, Simon son of John. Simon Johnson is in the fishing business with his brother Andrew. He is a fairly mature man, who owns a house in Bethsaida in Galilee. He is married, although we never hear a thing about his wife. (Maybe to the gospel writers his home life was nothing to write home about.) But Simon Johnson was a seeker of God's truth. The Gospel of John says Simon was originally a follower of John the Baptist, but joined Jesus when Jesus called him to discipleship.
Simon Johnson is at the center of the group of male disciples. He's impulsive. When he gets an idea, he runs with it. When Jesus walks on water, Peter gets out of the boat to follow him, only to sink in the waves because his faith is not strong enough. When Jesus is transfigured, appearing in a shining vision with Moses and Elijah, Simon wants to build little huts for all three of them. He wants to make permanent this momentary revelation of Jesus' continuity with the great figures of Israel's past.
Anyway at Caesarea Philippi Jesus is uncharacteristically full of praise. "Simon, you got it right. You have had a direct revelation from God himself. And because of that God-given revelation, you are a new man. I'm going to give you a new name, just as God gave Abram and Jacob new names - Abraham and Israel.
You are Kephas - sometimes pronounced Cephas (si' fas). That's Aramaic for Rock. It's Petros in New Testament Greek and comes down to us as Peter. Simon has become the Rock - Rocky. Right. Simon Johnson is the original Rocky. No, not a boxer, not a heavyweight champion. But I would like to point out to you that the reason why Rocky Balboa is a film icon is because his is a story of transformation - from bum to champion.
Anyway, Jesus says to Simon, "On you, Rocky, my church, my special community, will be built. Rocky is on top of the world. His position as a leader among the disciples seems clear.
The next minute, however, he gets a stinging rebuke. Jesus tells the disciples that he, the Messiah, will be killed. Rocky says, "No, you're kidding. That must never happen." Jesus turns on him. "Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You're setting your mind on human things and not on God's will."
The passage is a vivid reminder that Peter has a lot of promise, but he is not there yet. He is only at the beginning of a transformation that began with his decision to follow Jesus. It's a transformation that goes on throughout the rest of his life.
And Simon still regularly gets it wrong. Not just his naïve optimism that Jesus, the Messiah, is not going to be persecuted by the authorities. But later, before Jesus' arrest, he protests. "No, I won't run away. Even if everyone else abandons you, I will remain loyal." Within hours he won't even admit his association with Jesus to a teen-aged servant girl.
Yet, after the resurrection, he becomes the leader of the disciples, preaching fearlessly about the risen Christ. When the authorities try to stop him, he shows no trace of his earlier fear. He is a powerful Christian leader, whose preaching brings hundreds of converts every day.
But even then his transformation is not finished. His mind still needs renewing. He still considers the Jewish law to be part of Jesus' message. In Acts 10 he experiences a vivid dream of being placed in front of a feast featuring a menu of meats forbidden to Jews. He is ordered by a heavenly voice to eat and is told that these are God's creatures and therefore clean. Only then does he understand that the Jewish dietary laws do not apply to new followers of Jesus.1
In the end the Rock died as a martyr in Rome to his faith (John 21:18-19). His was a life of transformation and growth and renewal of mind. And he did learn what God's will was for him
Spiritual Transformation as Life-Long Process
What does this have to do with us here at Chevy Chase? Maybe you are saying, "I'm a Christian. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. Many of us have had a conversion experience. Perhaps it was dramatic, a sudden conviction of our inadequacy and weakness, followed by a sense that God has forgiven us and empowered us by being in partnership with us. Or perhaps it was a less dramatic passage. At one time Jesus Christ was not important in our lives and then something happened that made Jesus and the church important to us.
Conversion is part of the transformation process. It's really a step in the process. If we examine our lives more closely, most of us can probably recall several points of spiritual transformation in our lives. I can. The revelation in college that God gives meaning to life. Fifteen years later in spiritual agony, calling aloud on God for help and experiencing rapid spiritual growth over the next year. Fifteen years later receiving grace and assurance from God, as I was wheeled in for surgery to remove my cancerous prostate gland. I am painfully aware I need to continue on the path of transformation and the renewing of my mind.
For us, as for Simon, who became the Rock, transformation is a life-long process. God, working through Jesus Christ, is the agent, but we have to work at it. It must engage us at our core.
How do we draw on that power of transformation? How do we plug into that power source? I find myself wrestling with this question frequently. I have four suggestions.
First, participate in community worship. Each of us needs to work on transformation in a nurturing community, Chevy Chase United Methodist Church or wherever we are called to worship. Regular worship - praise, prayer and reflection as a member of the body of Christ - is part of the discipline which opens us up to further spiritual growth.
Second, set aside regular time for individual Bible study and prayer. Some people find it works best at the end of the day. I am too tired and sleepy to make that a productive time for me. I prefer the early morning. If neither of those works, try setting aside part of your lunch hour. To start out, just take 10 minutes for reading the Bible and then pray. Use a lectionary, if that helps your Bible reading. They are available at religious bookstores and online. You will find it rewarding.
Third, become a member of a small group. Spiritual growth often occurs in that setting. Join one of the prayer groups or Bible study groups in the church, or a class. I commend to you the next Alpha course in this church, a wonderful way of deepening your understanding of the faith.
Fourth - probably most important of all - almost all of us need to deepen our involvement with the poor and disadvantaged. We should all be involved in outreach to those in need in our community and around the world. Volunteering at homeless shelters or soup kitchens is one way. Mentoring and supporting children from the many dysfunctional families in the area is another. Mission trips to Nicaragua have already been life-changing for a number of members of this church. The opportunities are endless.
Segundo Galilea, a Chilean theologian and pastoral worker, tells us, "Conversion/[spiritual transformation] pulls us out of our hiding place and takes us, 'where we would rather not go' in following Christ." Venturing out of our comfort zones to confront poverty and forming partnerships with Christians in that setting is a powerful engine of spiritual transformation.
Dave Myers often says, "We come to worship to be fed spiritually. We go out from worship to serve." That pattern of worship, Bible study and service, repeated throughout our lives, is a formula for thoroughgoing life transformation.
Be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern the will of God."