Sermon: Sunday of the Transfiguration RCL A – “Sanctification”

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The time came for Acadia, Thibodeaux’s wife, to deliver her twins. All was set as they rushed into the hospital, and everything was prepped. However, the delivery was too much for Thibodeaux, and he passed out cold. It took hours to revive him, but in the meantime, the doctors insisted on naming the babbies. Since Thib was still out, Acadia turned to Thib’s brother, Remi, to help name the girl and the boy. 

“My brother named my kids?!” Thib’s shouted when he woke up. “But my brother’s an idgit! He barely knows his own name.” Pausing and taking a breath, he says, “Ok, what he done name the girl.”

“He named her Denise.”

“Denise?” Said, Thib. “Well, that’s not such a bad name. I kind of like it. And what did he call the little boy?”

“De Nephew.”

Even though it’s relatively common, I kind of like my name, but not everyone can say the same. For example, there was Issur Danielovitch Densky. He changed his name to Kirk Douglas. Frances Gum didn’t think her name would sell, so she became Judy Garland. Archibald Leach became Cary Grant. And who do you think Marion Morrison would become? John Wayne.

How great would it be if all it took was to change your name and become rich and famous? Or to become anything you wanted? To become an astronaut, I’ll become Neil Armstrong. To become a famous writer, call me Stephen King. But what about becoming a Saint? Call me Josemaría, and I’ll be holy.

In the end, “A rose by any other name….” As the philosopher Alan Watts said, “The menu is not the meal.”

Inside all of us is dark and light, and on any given day, one will be more prominent than the other, but the goal of the Christian life is for the light to illuminate every dark crevice and reveal the content of every shadow. Technically, this is known as sanctification. 

Simply put, sanctification is the process of becoming holy, allowing the light to shine through every aspect of our lives. There are three major components in the process, and all three are a form of grace given by God: baptism, living a life directed by God, and entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Although some traditions believe that a person must make an adult profession of faith before being baptized, we do not—for us, that falls into the category of works; that is, you must do something in order to “earn” God’s grace. Instead, we believe that baptism is God’s undeserved grace being poured out on us, providing us “union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit.” (BCP 858)

The third component, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, is also a grace, which we have absolutely nothing to do with. For those who believe, St. Paul tells us, “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) 

We can view our baptism and ultimate entry into the Kingdom of Heaven as bookends to our life with God, but that bit between those two events gives us so much trouble. It is grace that allows us to live for God, but the sanctification—the making holy—process during our earthly lives is not exactly a smooth ride. Why? The light and the dark are both within us. 

Remember the parable of the wheat and tares/weeds? God sowed the good seed of the wheat, but at night, the devil came in and sowed the weeds so that when they began to grow, the wheat and the weeds grew up together. That speaks of the world and the people in it, but it also speaks of the soul. The light and the dark, the wheat and the weeds, are both within us. When we apply the parable to ourselves, the difference is that, with God’s grace, we can actually do something about the darkness, those weeds within our souls. That is the process of sanctification in this life. It is the transfiguration of the individual.

“While [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white,” Jesus was revealed in His glory. No darkness. No weeds. Not showing us the process of becoming holy, but showing us The Holy and the true image of God. But He was also showing us what we can become.

Brooke Foss Wescott was a 19th-century bishop in the Church of England. He was also someone whom Archbishop Michael Ramsey admired and studied. Bishop Wescott wrote, “The Transfiguration is the revelation of the potential spirituality of the earthly life in the highest outward form…. Here the Lord, as Son of Man, gives the measure of the capacity of humanity, and shows that to which he leads all those who are united with him.” (Glory: The Spiritual Theology of Michael Ramsey, p.59) 

The Transfiguration of Christ sets before us a goal for the work of sanctification—the work of becoming holy—in our lives, and this work is the means “by which men and women are restored to the image and likeness of God Himself.” (Ibid.) As Christ was transfigured on the mountain, we seek in our daily lives to be transfigured into the same glory that Jesus revealed on the mountain. So what’s stopping you?

Charlie Brown and Linus were leaning against the fence, both looking rather contemplative. Chuck then asks Linus, “What would you do if you felt that nobody liked you?”

Linus gives it a thought, then says, “I’d try to look at myself objectively, and see what I could do to improve… that’s my answer, Charlie Brown.”

In the final frame, Charlie Brown is not looking so happy and says, “I hate that answer.”

What is stopping you from being transfigured, from becoming holy as your Heavenly Father is holy? From continuing the process of sanctification? There are many factors, but it seems there are two primary ones, and the first one is that we don’t want to put in the effort. 

Most of you know that I’ll be taking a sabbatical next year, and for part of the time, I want to walk the Camino de Santiago—a short walk of 500 miles across northern Spain. In order to do this and live to tell about it, I will need to get in better shape. More walking, more strength building, losing a bit more weight, etc. In other words, I need to be training. “I hate that answer.” I really want to walk the Camino, but I’m not putting in the effort to be able to. 

The same applies to being holy. I want to be holy. I want to enter into a deeper relationship with my Savior, but am I putting in the effort? Praying as I should, studying as I should, loving as I should, and the list goes on. We know that we need to put in the effort and practice our faith, training our souls, but… “I hate that answer.” Why?

The second factor is also as simple but equally challenging—we don’t want to. Yes, we want to be holy, but we don’t want to change our lives to attain that holiness. Back to the Camino—I need to lose more weight, but I don’t want to put down the cookie. I like the cookie. I’m a big fan, and I’ll become an even bigger if I’m not careful, so I need to put down the cookie. “I hate that answer.” To be sanctified, I need to be willing to set aside those things in my life that separate me from God. I need to be willing to allow the transfiguring light of Christ to shine and banish the darkness within me.

We will not be wholly sanctified until we enter the Kingdom of God, but if we put in some effort and allow our love of God to override our love of self, then we will progress in our sanctification. We’ll be pulling some of the weeds that are growing up with the good wheat of our souls.

We know the names of Saints like Francis, Josemaría, Mary Magdalene, John Paul, and many others. We hold them up as examples of the Christian life, but we also view such a life as unattainable for ourselves. However, we should see the lives of the Saints as something to strive for. In the same way, we should look upon our Transfigured Lord. In seeing Him transfigured, we are witnessing what—by the grace of God—we have the potential to become. 

Don’t shy away from this work of sanctification or squelch the desire to attain it. Instead, through your love of God, seek out every opportunity to take steps in the sanctification of your soul.

A few words toward the end of St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians make for a good blessing. I’ll close with them. “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Amen.