A WORD FOR TODAY, February 11, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, February 11, 2026
Lectionary Scriptures for February 15, 2026, Transfiguration of our Lord: Exodus 24:12-18; Psalm 2:6-12; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” Matthew 17:5c, WEB
We have reached the end of the Epiphany season, the season of light. Epiphany began with a star leading wise men to Jesus and ends with one great flash of light. Our text through Epiphany has not been easy to hear because Jesus put expectations before us that seem impossible, like the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. These words teach us what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The Beatitudes demand a life counter to the culture.
Unfortunately, our cultures is so divided, and I don’t just mean Christian verses everyone else. The church is divided. We have allowed politics to enter every aspect of our life, separating us from others because of our differences. We live in a time when it is perceived that everyone is seeking power and control. Good is bad and bad is good, and every thought is justified by nit-picking scripture. Many people claim to be speaking for God, while others reject their words because they are counter to their interpretation.
I was reading an article that talked about how the church in early days of the United States were made of people who wanted their children to be Christian. Despite cultural differences, which were abundant, they wall wanted the same thing: strong faith communities that formed disciples that lived to God’s glory in and out of the church. The author wrote, “They longed for faithful worship, preaching that distinguished law and gospel, hymnody that taught the faith, and communities not only of word and sacrament but also conversation and consolation, strong enough to carry families through hardship and loss. What they build was neither a cultural museum nor a venue for political rallies.” The author suggested the that goal was to lead people to honor God and serve their neighbors.
This article made me think about how we are living our faith today. Is our goal still to lead people to honor God and serve neighbors? The reality is that we are different. Some people insist that we honor God by holding firm to our traditions, standing firm on the spiritual expectations of those who came before us. This is the cultural museum. Others insist that we are to be a venue for political rallies (or cultural interaction) focusing on changing the world through works of service. Both are necessary, but we argue with one another about what is more important. There are many Christians with whom I disagree, but I also recognize that God has given us different gifts and called us to do different things through different opportunities. I believe that there are faithful Christians on both sides of every issue, but we have lost the ability to work together because we are so insistent that our way is the right way, and the only way.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus taught us about living upside down in the world. We are salt and light. Avoid anger and lust. Do not divorce, make oaths, or retaliate. Love your enemies. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. It is hard to live in these expectations because the world tells us exactly the opposite. The devil has convinced us to hold on to our power and control, even against our own brothers and sisters. We aren’t the first generation to be like this; it has happened over and over and over again in the past two thousand years. Think about the arguments over the Nicene Creed in the fourth century and the arguments over indulgences in the sixteenth. We can probably find examples of division in every century. There was even a time when there was multiple popes because the leaders could not agree.
During times of uncertainty, there are always people who claim to be prophets, to speak for God. We certainly see it in so much of our division these days. The bookstores are filled with books and the internet with webpages from people who insist their words are prophetic.
I used to belong to an email list that purported to send prophetic words to the world, especially to Christians. Many of these words were (are, the list still exists) uplifting. They encourage Christians to go forth in faith, to do whatever it is that God is calling them to do. I became disengaged with the group when I realized more than half of their messages were sales pitches for the speaker’s latest book or for a workshop on how to be a prophet in today’s world. I have no doubt that some of their words are worth hearing, that they speak with God’s grace and love for God’s people.
However, some of their words have proven false. I recall a message that came through the list a few years ago about an incoming weather situation. The word was for the city that was about to experience a catastrophic storm. The word told the people that the storm was a sign of God’s wrath and that they would suffer the consequences of their sin. The storm veered off its path and had little impact on any cities. Not long after that storm, they released another word about another storm. This time they waited until after the storm hit, claiming that they knew what it meant when it was received, but that it was necessary to withhold the word until the time was right. Quite frankly, when the word was released, I could barely see how they made the connection, but they claimed it was the fulfillment of God’s word. We have to be careful about who we believe. God tells us that we can believe those prophets whose words come to pass but that those who try to speak for God that have not been called will die. What do we do in the meantime? What do we do when we are between hearing the message and seeing its fulfillment or lack thereof? How do we know which people speaking in (and for) the Church are really speaking for God?
I was hanging out in an online chat room one day when a young woman was impressed with something I said. I don’t remember what it was, I doubt it was anything of any real consequence, but she thought it was brilliant. She even called me a prophet. She told me that she was learning to be a prophet and she wanted to know if I would help her by reviewing a sermon that she wrote. She sent it to me.
I tried to be kind, but from the beginning I knew that the sermon was problematic. The language, grammar, and spelling required serious editing, but so does my writing (I’m sure there’s at least one mistake every day!) I emailed her with some suggestions, and we began a conversation about the sermon. Her ideas were of a passionate novice. They were new, and unfortunately some were unbiblical. We went through the text together, but she quickly realized that the scriptures were showing her the error of her ideas and she didn’t like it. She refused to believe she was wrong and she continued to twist the scripture to fit her interpretation. She then turned the tables and tried showing me the error in mine. I listened, but she never argued from the Bible. She thought she was a prophet. She claimed the sermon was from the Holy Spirit. She refused to accept that her arguments were not from God even though they did not line up with the scriptures. She thought I was blaspheming the Holy Spirit because I didn’t believe her. Her argument had no authority, however, because it was not founded on God’s Word.
Peter wrote, “For we didn’t follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” And “For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” How do we know which voices are right and which are false? We can ask a couple of questions. What is the focus of the prophecy? Who is the subject of the “word”? Does it glorify God and serve the neighbor? Or does it meet some need or desire of the speaker?
It is sometimes interesting, sometimes disturbing, to listen to the debates and discussions. Some people are deeply rooted in their opinions and discussion is about converting others to a similar point of view. To them, any difference in opinion is a condemnation of a person’s sanity, intelligence, or even faith. It is not the opinion that is questioned or debated, but it is the person who has the disagreeable point of view that becomes the focus of the discussion. The person with an opposition opinion becomes an enemy, someone who is less in some way.
This happens in all aspects of life. It happens in religion, in science, in academia. It even happens between tea drinkers. Try starting a discussion about regular tea and sweet tea in the south! Or between Coke and Pepsi. Or about Whataburger and In and Out Burger. The person who is passionate about his or her opinion will often put down the other point of view. I don’t think that this is the way a majority of people act. Most people can sit down and have a discussion without becoming nasty or arrogant. Most people recognize that there are different points of view. Sadly, it is getting harder to see that we aren’t so different because we’ve become so loud about our opinions.
Many of the prophetic voices of our day are speaking not from God’s power or Spirit, but from a sense that if they speak it loud enough or long enough, then it will happen. It is humorous to watch a prophet explain away his mistake, justifying his misinterpretation by reconciling it with actual events. Many prophets will wait to release a “word” until after he or she can make it fit the circumstances of the day. “See, I received this word, but now I see it is true and reveal it to you.”
Some prophetic utterances are worth our attention. God does still speak to His people. We are reminded, however, that we are to discern that which comes from God and that which comes out of the desires of men. Is that prophetic word confirmed by that which has been revealed to us already? Does it stand up to the light of Christ? The false prophets are those that change the message to fit their prophetic utterances.
The psalmist asked why the nations want to revolt against the Lord God Almighty. The question was not a cry of arrogance against the other nations, but a question of surprise. When we sit down with a person with a different point of view about politics, we often think to ourselves, “I just don’t understand how he or she can think like that.” We don’t think that way because we are so certain that they are wrong, we do it because we see the world from an entirely different perspective. The psalmist knew the loving grace of God and simply couldn’t understand a perspective that missed His grace, because the psalmist knew any revolt against the LORD is fruitless.
Imagine what it must have been like at the foot of the mountain when Moses went to talk with God. It was the God of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they did not know Him very well. They had spent four hundred years in Egypt. The Hebrews had lost touch with their God. They knew the foreign gods and interpreted the signs in nature as communication from the divine. It must have been frightening to see the cloud descend down the mountain as their leader was climbing up. Was it a bad sign? Was Moses going to be safe? What did the fire mean? Would this God really save them from their suffering?
Forty days and forty nights are a long time. I confess that I worry every time my family members are a few minutes later than I expect. We begin to worry if someone is out of our presence for even a day or two. How could Moses survive there? It was an extraordinary experience for Moses; he stood in the presence of God, learning how to lead God’s people. He learned about the tabernacle, the laws, and worship. He received stone tablets. When he came off the mountain, he retained some of the glory of God. It shone on his own face.
By then, even in such a short period of time, the people had forgotten Moses and the God who delivered them from Egypt. Moses found them worshipping an idol, trying to placate the gods in a way that they knew. In less than forty days they forgot the one who had saved them from bondage and returned to the ways they had known for four hundred years.
They weren’t very patient people, and they thought they had the power to be in control. God was not idle during those days and Moses was not dead. The people looked to themselves for salvation instead of waiting for God. They tried to take the divine into their own hands, to lift themselves into heaven. They did this over and over again throughout their history. They revolted against God, not in an open rebellion as it at the foot of Mount Sinai; they revolted by turning to the power of men and nations for help. They revolted by going their own way instead of the way of God. They revolted by doing their own thing. That’s sinfulness; we are all guilty. We all go our own way. We all think that we know best. We all think that our way is the right way, not only in our opinions and ideas of the things in this world, but in the things of God.
Matthew wrote, “After six days...” as he began the story of the Transfiguration. This happened just after the confession of St. Peter. Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus blessed Peter but told him that he did not speak those words on his own. It was God who spoke through Peter’s confession. On the mountain, Peter, James, and John saw the truth of Peter’s confession. Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, glorified so that those with Him would know that He is all that He said He is. Things changed on that mountaintop; in the days that followed Jesus began His final walk toward Jerusalem and the world began to react to God’s grace with confusion and hatred.
Jesus began and ended His ministry with a mountaintop experience. In Matthew 4, Satan took Jesus to a high mountain and offered Him the kingdoms of the world. In that temptation, Jesus was given the opportunity to avoid all the messiness of obeying God’s plans. Satan gave Him the chance to rule without the cross. It would be easy for any of us to take the easy way out, to accept our own ideas and take control of our own destiny by our own power. But we don’t really have any power, but Jesus did, and He knew that God’s way was the right way. He had to go through the cross to complete what God began. God’s justice demanded a price, and Jesus was willing to be the sacrificial lamb. On the mountain of transfiguration, God commended Jesus for His obedience and called Him the beloved Son, just as He had at Jesus’ baptism. With Him, God was well-pleased.
There are parallels between Moses and Jesus in the texts we read this week. First of all, Moses waited on the side of the mountain for six days before he was invited into the presence of God and Jesus climbed the mountain six days after predicting His death. In the case of Moses, the people thought that he would die. Jesus knew he would. Both trusted in God’s Word and obeyed God’s command, knowing that He would do what was necessary for the sake of His people. Both Moses and Jesus entered into the glory of God. Both were totally covered by His Light. Both heard the voice of God and experienced His presence. In the Old Testament story of Moses and the Gospel story about Jesus, we see the place where heaven meets earth, where God mingles with His people.
The world is filled with voices in politics, religion, science and academia. The voices we hear these days speak with so-called wisdom that often does not come from God. There are many people who seem to preach but are speaking a different gospel. They twist the word to fit their point of view and ignore everything about the scriptures that reject their own way of living. They often focus on mountaintop experiences and ignore the reality of sacrifice. They avoid the cross. In their own way, they have turned from God. They aren’t building altars of gold, but they are building altars that serve their own desires. They are trying to hold onto the power and control that belongs to God.
On this last Sunday of Epiphany, we celebrate a moment when God transfigured Jesus and revealed Him as more than the Light. Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus being transformed into a divinely shining being standing among the great men of their faith. Moses, the father of the Law and Elijah the father of the prophets stood for everything on which their faith was built.
Peter reacted to the transfiguration as we all might have done. He was trying to seat Jesus as king over an earthly kingdom, just as the devil tried to do during Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. God interrupted, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” God commanded them to listen to Jesus, the Word incarnate. He is the culmination of what was started on Mount Sinai. He is the Word made real and sent to dwell among God’s people. Jesus is the place where heaven and earth meet. Peter wanted to capture the moment, to build a temple on the spot to honor Jesus and hold on to the glory. Jesus said “No.” He told them to keep it a secret. He told them to hide their experience away until the future day when “the Son of man has risen from the dead.”
Jesus went to the cross and died for our sake. It was on the cross, not the mountain, that Jesus was truly glorified. It was not beautiful; as a matter of fact, it was horrific and tragic, not only for Jesus but also for those who loved Him. His humiliation was there for all to see. The transfiguration, as glorious as that moment must have been, was not the ultimate glory. It was a mountaintop experience that was used to compare to the real glory that would be found on the cross. It seems backwards to us. It seems upside down. Didn’t Jesus deserve to be honored on that mountaintop? He did, but He knew the real glory would come on the cross where the word and work of God would be complete. Peter, James and John would not know that until later. They would see the truth after the resurrection.
Jesus invited the three to follow Him to the valley, to do the work of God. He did not tell the disciples to seek after the riches of the world or avoid suffering. He took them into the midst of poverty and pain. He taught them to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. He encouraged them to endure persecution. He died on the cross and invited all those who believe to follow Him. He experienced the glory on the mountain but left it behind for the true glory that comes with sacrifice. We might not understand. It is certainly easier to seek after the good things in life than to experience the bad. But God knows His plan and His purpose. He knows His grace. And He is faithful. By His grace we can be both holy and perfect because we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.
How hard must it have been to go back down into the valley after seeing that glory and not be able to tell anyone! I would have wanted to share it with others, to let that glory linger, to act as a witness to the truth of Peter’s confession. “See, I told you He was the Christ!” Who would believe their story days, weeks, months or years after the event?
This is, of course, the problem we continue to have today as we act as witnesses for the Lord in this world. How many people reject the Gospel as nothing but myth, even people who claim to be Christian? They explain it away, ignoring the reality of our sinfulness and our need for redemption. They reject God’s wrath and redefine Christ’s work to fit their own understanding, just like those Israelites waiting at the foot of Mount Sinai and the Jews who rejected Jesus in those final days of His life. It didn’t help that Jesus did not return immediately. Even today many claim that two thousand years is too long. “He’s not coming back. Stop living in a fairy tale.”
We constantly argue about so much today, but Jesus taught us to live in trust of God and to do His will. We might not understand, after all, we always want to win the argument whatever it is. It is not easy to live counter to the culture. Politics is everywhere. We are told to seek power and control. Jesus teaches about living upside down in the world. We have nothing to fear, and we have no reason to argue. God is in control; He has the power to do what He intends in this world. Jesus was worthy of the Transfiguration, but He was willing to die on the cross. He experienced the glory on the mountain but left it behind for the true glory that comes with sacrifice.
We might be surprised that the Israelites turned from God during those days at the foot of the mountain, but we are no different. We might be surprised that Peter wanted to build tabernacles at the top of the mountain, but we are no different. We still try to carve our own path, to establish our own power, to set the agenda for God’s kingdom on earth. The things God demands are impossible to us.
We shouldn’t be surprised because we are the same as all those who have come before us. We struggle because there are so many voices that try to get us to listen to them. Jesus was different, and we are touched and transformed by His grace. God heals us and grants us a new life. He calls us to serve with fear with trembling, to kneel at the foot of His throne and to kiss His feet. He invites us to take refuge in Him, to dwell in the very place where heaven and earth meet: Jesus. The command on this Transfiguration Sunday is that we listen to Jesus, because with Him, nothing is impossible.
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