On this Transfiguration Sunday, we are remembering Jesus’ mountaintop experience. When we take the time to go away, to have a day apart, a retreat, a Sabbath, a vacation, or whatever, we expect to be refreshed and blessed. A mother with several small children was seen sitting down in her kitchen, her apron covering her head. She said that was her way of getting away, getting some calm, gaining perspective in the midst of life’s pressures and challenges.
Getting away helps us keep ourselves together. Stepping out of our routine makes us better people. Mark tells us that Jesus took with him Peter and James and John. He took them to a mountain. It was not just any mountain. It was a high mountain. Tradition suggests it was Mt. Tabor. So, a Greek Orthodox monastery and a Catholic monastery have been built there as a way of getting close to a place Jesus was known to have been and soaking up some of his divine essence.
It does not matter what mountain they went to.
It does not matter if it was Mt. Moriah where Abraham prepared to sacrifice
Isaac, or Mt. Sinai –also called Horeb - with its lightning and thunder of
judgment, or Mt Carmel where Elijah’s contest of fire with false prophets was
held, or the Mount of Olives where Jesus met with his disciples and prayed.
What matters is that it was a “high” mountain. The emphasis is on distancing
themselves from their normal activity in order to experience something that
would fortify and nurture them, mind, body, soul, and spirit. Perhaps Jesus has
led you to a place apart. Perhaps you have been on a retreat or set
aside a time of prayer and bible study.
When they reached the top of the mountain,
they saw Jesus, but he looked different. Remember those large family bibles?
The pages were overlaid with gold. The artwork was beautiful. The pictures
captivated one’s imagination and made the stories come alive. The exquisite art
helped us to see Jesus for ourselves. We could feel the love.
As we grow in our faith, we see Jesus in different ways. When we make our commitment to Jesus, we see him as savior. When we go to him for answers to life’s predicaments, we see him as a friend who walks alongside us. When we realize we have been protected from dangers, seen and unseen, we see him as our shield.
We may not thoroughly understand all that
happens in our life, but we understand enough to bow below Jesus and not above
him. We know things happen that are beyond us, higher than us, greater than we
are, of another world and another kingdom
The disciples saw Jesus as they had never seen him before. His clothes were whiter than any earthly source could have made them. What happened was incomprehensible. Who can imagine a brightness that is brighter than any brightness that we have ever known?
Old Testament scholar Rev. Dr. Deborah Appler will be with us for a couple zoom sessions in the upcoming Monday Mini Bible Study series coming up in a few weeks. She suggests that Jesus had such a heavenly glow that it shone right through his clothes. That thought reminds me of what happens when we put our cell phones in our pockets and they shine through our jeans.
Anything glowing or shining is sure to get our
attention. A heavenly glow invites us to a new and wonderful experience with God
that we have not had before. A holy light shining beckons us to go to higher
heights of holiness and deeper depths of spirituality.
There was Jesus, with a heavenly glow, gathering
with faithful disciples - Peter, James, John, Moses the giver of God’s law and
Elijah the miracle-working prophet preacher. What can be better than that?
Moses and Elijah had been gone for centuries, yet there they were in the flesh. They had something in common. Both had already spoken to God on the mountains. They were both known for their courage to speak the truth to the powers that be, bringing justice to those being oppressed.
We can certainly understand what verse 6 means when it says the disciples were terrified when they saw these centuries’ old elders talking to Jesus.
Peter did what Christians so often do when we
are terrified. He started talking about big ideas and making plans that were
out of this world. No Peter, no church, we do not need another mountain of
ideas or a mountain of money, for – as the songwriter says: There are mountains
and hillsides enough to climb. What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
That’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.
Even more frightening for the disciples was
what happened next. A dense cloud came over them like a thick fog out of
nowhere. Still, God was not through with them yet. With their own ears, they
heard the voice of God speaking affirming words about Jesus. “This is my Son,
the Beloved; listen to him!”
A website caught my eye this week. It was
labeled “Best Churches in Spring City.” I scrolled down just long enough to
notice that there were comments about everything we could ever want to
experience in a church, but there was nothing about Jesus. In order to be the
best church or at least for each church to be its best, Jesus has to be there
somewhere. Yes, we need to look good and be good. We need to be profitable and
comfortable as well as mission-oriented. But, we need to do so for Christ’s
sake first, not first for our sake.
We need a personal relationship with the king
of kings and the Lord of Lords. Just because we call ourselves Christians does
not mean we have surrendered our life to righteousness, peace and joy in the
Spirit.
Don’t get me wrong. It is good to be good. It
is good to do good, and there are a million ways to do good in this world, and
God is blessed when God’s children are blessed. But, if we want to be like
Jesus, if we want to save the lost, love the least, and lift up the last, we
need to walk and talk with Jesus.
As suddenly as it came, the cloud left, no
longer enveloping the terrified disciples. The voices hushed and they were once
again alone with Jesus. In due time they returned to the valley, for where
there are mountains, there must be valleys. It was time to take all that love
and light they had experienced on the mountain top, down to the valley and
everywhere else Jesus was sure to send them.
Again, Jesus ordered them in verse 9 not to
tell what they had seen, until after the Son of Man – another name for Jesus -
had risen from the dead. We can understand Jesus’ gag order. They were
constantly stalked by hostile witnesses seeking to frame him and crucify him. Speaking
the wonders of God’s presence after word of the resurrection got out was sure
to weaken all arguments and make the case for following Jesus much stronger.
There is a time to speak and a time to refrain
from speaking, as we mentioned last week. Surprise parties and gender reveals
have a definite time to speak their secrets. Having the answers for a test
before the test is given makes the test null and void. Knowing the end of a
movie plot or a joke, is a spoiler alert. Words have power and are to be shared
very, very carefully.
In one
way or another, Jesus invites all of us to a place that is higher than we have
ever been before. May our hearts sing like Peter, James, and John’s hearts must
have sung: Where you lead me, I will follow! I’ll go with you, with you all the
way. Amen.
God of high places, we bow below you and not above you. Hear our humble cry, and if we are not humble, humble us we pray. Thank you for your constantly and gently guiding us to the place that we should go. Forgive our resistance to your will. Soften our hearts that we might love you and your people. Deliver us from the coronavirus and on this Valentine’s Day, deliver us from domestic violence and keep our hearts ever true to you.
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