Transfiguration Sunday - Jesus is Our Nightlight

Matthew 17:1-13 - Transfiguration Sunday - Children's Sunday

Today is called “Transfiguration Sunday,” and we just heard the story of Jesus being transfigured on the mountain.

Can anybody tell me what “transfigured” means?

This is “transfiguration.” It means being changed, and in the story of Jesus, it means being changed so that he glowed from within, like there was a light inside of him that spilled out.

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So do any of you have a night-light, or like to sleep with a light on somewhere in the house?

How many of the adults here ever wanted a night-light when they were little? Or even now?

When I was your age, I couldn’t sleep unless there was a light on outside my room. Why do you think that was?

Sometimes the dark can be very scary and overwhelming, right? But we can’t stop the night from coming, we can’t make the sun stay up, so we just have to get through it. And so we need some light to help us get through the night when it’s really dark.

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So in our Gospel story that we just heard, Jesus and his friends were about to go through some dark times. 

Can you guess what they might were?

The dark times were that Jesus was going to be betrayed by his friend, and arrested, and then put to death––crucified––because he told people that love was absolutely the most important thing in the world, more important than money or power or anything else. And he was killed.

Do you think that would have been scary and overwhelming for his friends?

His friends, and probably even Jesus, needed to have some light that would help them get through the darkness. 

And so Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, so that they would have that light, and remember that light, when things got scary and overwhelming.

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Sometimes we can feel scared and overwhelmed even in the middle of the day, when it’s not dark, right? Adults, especially, can be scared in the daytime, even more than at night. Isn’t that funny?

Church is where we come when we’re feeling scared and overwhelmed, because in church, we get to see the light of Jesus that helps us to get through our week.

Do you think I mean this nightlight?

I mean seeing each other’s loving faces, and singing the hymns, and hearing from the Bible, and praying together, and sharing the peace, and of course having Communion, all of these things help us feel the same way that night-lights do in the middle of the night.

All of these things help us to feel safe, and reassure us that we’re going to get through the dark, scary times because Jesus is with us––kind of like a night-light in our hearts.

And church helps us to shine with the light of Jesus, so that we can be night-lights for other people, when they’re feeling scared and overwhelmed and like they’re in the dark.

Isn’t it so great that God sent us Jesus to be our light and help us? Isn’t it so great that Jesus uses us to help others? And I’m so thankful for church every Sunday that helps us, too.

Let’s pray:

Dear God,

Thank you for light when it’s dark.

Thank you for Jesus.

Thank you for church.

Please make Jesus shine in our hearts

when we’re scared.

Please help us to shine with your light for others.

Thank you for loving us.

Amen.