Scripture reading: Mark 9:2-9.

Sermon text: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6.

Roles. The little girl puts on the dress, and she becomes a princess. The little boy puts on a uniform, and he becomes a policeman directing “traffic” in his parents’ hall. When we watch children play make-believe, we see glimpses of potential futures in their lives.

Our role playing as children helps us learn to fulfill the roles we later assume in life. We train for roles in our careers through practice and study. As our experience grows, we take on more responsibilities that lead to greater roles.

Sometimes, we find ourselves wondering about the roles we play. How many times have we seen someone do a job so well that it seems they were born for that role? At what point do we look back at our lives and realize we have become the roles we fill?

As Christians, we believe that our spiritual birth does more than mark a new commitment in life: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When St. Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians, he was reminding the Corinthians that confessing Jesus as Lord leads to more than another social commitment. The Church is not a social club; we are a Body, a group of people totally devoted to the One who has saved us. To those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, Christianity becomes our life; it permeates our souls and defines us for the rest of our lives.

In today’s sermon passage, St. Paul reminded the Corinthians that they had undertaken a new commitment to the Truth: Jesus Christ Himself (John 14:6). St. Paul reminded the Corinthians of his day — and the Church of our time — of the role we fill in obedience to Christ, our Lord.

St. Paul had already written 2 letters to the Corinthian church to guide them in their role as believers. The first of these letters appears in our Bible as the First Letter to the Corinthians. The second letter does not appear in the New Testament canon; the letter from which we read today is the third letter St. Paul had written to the Corinthians. Apparently, the Corinthians needed a great deal of guidance in how to live as believers.

St. Paul began today’s passage by reminding the Corinthian church of the ministry we receive from God. St. Paul mentioned many “ministries” in this letter, using this word 9 times in the letter. In this case, St. Paul had mentioned a “ministry of righteousness” in chapter 3 (3:9), referring to this ministry when he encouraged the Corinthians: “having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” The knowledge that God has entrusted us with this ministry should encourage us as we fulfill the role God has called the Church to accomplish on earth.

What role does the Church play in the world today? St. Paul plainly states in his letters that the Church must demonstrate the glory of Christ to the world, through our thoughts and actions. As we lead godly lives in secular society, others will come to know the joy of believers as they experience the forgiveness of their sins and a relationship with God.

Some people think we should do anything necessary to bring people into the Church. Many people in the American Church today think that the “success” of a congregation consists of a large membership roll. I shudder to think of some of the gimmicks I’ve heard churches try to add people to the rolls, knowing that most of the people who sign a membership card drawn this way will never come into the congregation as participating members.

St. Paul had some advice for the Corinthians: A reminder that “we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

The Corinthians were familiar with traveling philosophers. Many philosophers moved from city to city, spreading new ideas in the Greco -Roman world. St. Paul had clearly stated his beliefs and motives to the Corinthians. St. Paul clearly told the Corinthians the gospel of Christ. The Church has the gospel — the good news — of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the means by which we receive our spiritual birth and a relationship with God. We must always clearly state our purpose — “the open statement of the truth” — to those who come to us wondering about our beliefs and purposes.

St. Paul then reminded the Corinthians of a major part of our ministry. The gospel is “veiled” to “those who are perishing.” If you wonder why more people don’t appreciate or understand our message, we must remember that the “god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.” Evil exists in this world. Unfortunately, as Jesus had told Nicodemus, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” Most people in the world know they’re doing wrong, but they enjoy it too much to change. Pride, the worst of all sins, keeps many people from even admitting they need to change.

We, however, have received the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” St. John would later write of Jesus that He was “the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). When we confess Jesus as Lord, believing in His resurrection, we come from the darkness of sin into the light of the gospel. The gospel begins to change us at that moment, constantly molding us into the new life we receive.

The gospel gives us a new role in life: we do not proclaim “ourselves” anymore. Instead, the role we now live requires us to declare “Jesus Christ as Lord.” St. Paul called himself a “servant for Jesus’ sake.” We must now serve the people God brings into our lives, knowing He can use our service to draw people to salvation. As God created light at the creation of the world (saying, “Let light shine out of darkness”) He now uses our hearts “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

How does this all relate to us today?

For one thing, we must remember that, whatever roles we play in our lives, the role of “Christian” should become the foremost role in our lives. To complete St. Paul’s line in 2 Corinthians 5:17, our spiritual birth means that “the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When we are born again into the family of God, we must mold our decisions to meet His expectations in our lives. God expects us to love others as He loved us. How much did He love us? “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1). This love — the selfless love of God — sent His Son, Jesus, to play a major role in the history of creation.

This brings us to the Scripture passage today. In the passage from Mark, Jesus was transfigured in front of the disciples Peter, James, and John. The word St. Mark used to describe the “transfiguration” is the word from which our word “metamorphosis” derives. During His time on earth, Jesus lived as an ordinary human being. He was, and is, both God and Man. On this one occasion, the disciples present saw Jesus as He truly was: The Divine Son of God, God in flesh. In His human life, Jesus Himself lived the roles of Son, Teacher, Healer, and Master. In the passage today, Jesus prepared for the greatest role He would fill: The Sacrifice for our sins.

Today, in this service, we celebrate transfigurations: Jesus’ transfiguration in Mark, our transfiguration into new creations as our salvation, and the transfigurations we experience day by day as the Holy Spirit of God works within us to mold us into the saints He needs for us to carry the gospel into our lives. We approach the table of Holy Communion to celebrate transfiguration in our lives. As we take the Body and Blood, remembering Jesus’ role of Sacrifice, we celebrate the promise that, one day, we will be transfigured into new bodies in a new Creation; transfiguration into eternal life.