Matthew 17: 1-9

Our Scripture reading today was the amazing story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. As we just heard, Jesus went up a high mountain with three of his followers, Peter, James and John.

Today, let’s hear this story from the perspective of Peter. This was an important moment in his journey with Jesus but it wasn’t the only one. Peter had already been travelling with Jesus for several years. In Matthew chapter 16, the chapter immediately before this story, we read that Jesus asked his followers, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ and Peter answered ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ That was a very important moment for Peter. He was moving from following a man from Nazareth, a place not so far from his own home, to declaring that this was indeed God’s own Son.

Not long after this, Jesus began to tell his followers that he must go to Jerusalem, where he would be abused, and killed and would rise from death. Peter was very distressed to hear this and said, ‘”NO! This can’t happen!’ Jesus told him, ‘You don’t understand the things of God.’ Another very important moment with Jesus.

Within days of these important conversations, in Matthew 17, we read, ‘After six days, Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain.’ They were alone. Suddenly Jesus changed and became dazzling with light.

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Matthew 5:13-20

“You are the light of the world,” said Jesus to his followers in today’s bible text from Matthew’s gospel. 

Can you imagine that? Here was an ordinary group of ordinary farmers and fishermen, and even tax collectors in a tiny village in the first century Palestine. And Jesus, the son of God, was saying to them, “You are the light of the world.”

Such a bunch of extremely ordinary townsfolks being the light of the world? Where did it come from? Think about the context they were in. The Romans were expanding their power, conquering and colonising many surrounding nations, cities and towns. The Roman emperor was treated as a god to millions of residents everywhere.

In Israel alone, many Jewish high-ranking people and leaders acted like they, too, were Roman citizens and they were so proud of it. Basically, Roman emperors were their God.

Rome was the light of their world. Then, all of a sudden, the teacher of that tiny group of fishermen was saying to his followers: “No. You are the light of the world.” They themselves had never heard that before. Not even once. 

At the time, it probably sounded like idle chatter. ‘You are the light of the world,’ Jesus said—and so they were. Now, do you want to hear something truly incredible? So are you. So are we.

Jesus says the same to us this morning that we are the light of the world. Let that sink in for a moment. Let alone ourselves, would our family members and friends think that we are the light of the world?

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Matthew 5:1-12

I recently came across an article online that asked a blunt question: ‘How do you measure up as a man?’ It listed five specific standards the world uses to decide if you’re ‘winning’ at life. While it was written for men, I think we can all feel the pressure of these today:

1.How much money you make—and how much you can keep.

2.What you drive: the price, the style, and how new your car is.

3.Your job title and how far you’ve climbed the corporate ladder.

4. Your retirement package.

5. This is my Favorite.  Your hair. How much of it is still on your head.

We look at this list and realize: the world has a very specific ‘app’ for measuring our worth.

I know it doesn’t seem to make much sense to us and it might vary across cultures, but it is still how many people in the secular world generally measure a person, both men and women.

Ask any first-century Jewish people who the blessed people were in their community and they would have shared with you the conventional wisdom of the day.

His answer would be like these: “Blessed are the wealthy, for they have lots of stuff.”  “Blessed are the Romans, for they have power.” “Blessed are the powerful, for they get what they want.” Or “Cursed are the gentiles, for we’re not like them.”

But in today’s Gospel story, Jesus stands on a mountainside and offers a completely different yardstick. He lays out a set of principles that redefine the meaning of success and happiness in the eyes of God.  And his standards stand in stark contrast to the standard of the world.

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Matthew 4:12-23

When we use the word ‘hub’ today, we think of a place of art, business, finance, and entertainment. It is a multicultural epicentre—a place of diversity and change, filled with multiple voices, traditions, and a window to the wider world.

In Jesus’ day, Capernaum was exactly that: a bustling hub of activity. Located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum acted as a bridge connecting Egypt to the nations of the north and east. This meant a constant stream of merchants and travellers passed straight through the town.

All four Gospels mention Capernaum, not just as a location on a map, but as the centre of Jesus’ mission:

Mark chapter 1: “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.”  

Luke chapter 4: “Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people.”

John 2:12:  “He went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.”

Capernaum is described as the place where Jesus begins his public teaching and performs his first miracles. In John, it is shown that for Jesus and his team, Capernaum wasn’t just a stopover. It was their mission base. 

And finally, Matthew’s gospel this morning: “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he went to Galilee. He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.”

To give you some background, Zebulun and Naphtali were two of the original twelve tribes of Israel. Originally, the people there were of pure Israelite descent. However, these areas were conquered by Assyria in the 8th century BC and repopulated by foreigners. As a result, the distinct Jewish tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali eventually disappeared.

That was Capernaum. At one time, it was a traditional Jewish town, but over the years, it became a mix of foreign languages, cultures, and religions. Because of this, many Jews in Jesus’ time looked down on the residents of Capernaum, regarding the town as an ‘ugly duckling.’

Yet, there is a strange paradox here: the Bible tells us that Jesus didn’t choose to stay in his hometown of Nazareth. Instead, he chose to live in Capernaum. While his family’s home base was in Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum the moment he began his ministry. It is a critically important fact: Jesus grew up in Nazareth with his parents, but he lived his adult life in Capernaum.

Then, why Capernaum?  I mean, what made Capernaum matter to Jesus, this is an important question because that will help us understand why Gungahlin matters to us today.

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John 1: 29-42

One of the great hymns that came out of African-American culture in the US is the powerful gospel song called “Ain’t Got Time to Die.” It was written by Hall Johnson and began with words like this: Lord, I keep so busy praising my Jesus, and I haven’t got time to die. Because when I’m healing the sick, when I’m feeding the poor, I’m working. I haven’t got time to die.

It is one of the main themes I keep sharing almost every Sunday. When we’re caring for the poor, the sick, the needy or the lonely, we’re not simply doing kindness or charity to those who need it. We’re actually working for God. Our faith journey, our spiritual life on earth, has almost everything to do with what we do in our daily life.

The point is, when we are real believers, when we really commit our lives to Christ, we can’t sit still.

We can’t just sit still… because we become so excited, so grateful for our life in Christ that we can’t help but love and serve God… by loving and serving those around us, especially the struggling.

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