Still Be Our Vision

Preached Feb 14, 2010 by Teri Summers-Minette

Exodus 33:7-9, 18-23

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult Yahweh [yah-way] --which is the Hebrew name for ‘the Lord,’ went out to the Tent of Meeting, outside the camp. As Moses went into the tent, the people would stand up, everyone at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he went into the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would go down, then stand at the entrance of the tent and speak with Moses.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory."

Yahweh said, "I make all my goodness pass over your face; and to your face I have pronounced the name ‘Yahweh.’ And I am gracious to whom I will be gracious; and I am merciful on whom I will merciful.”

“But,” he said, "you will not see my face. For the human does not see me and live."

Then Yahweh said, "Here, a spot with me. Station yourself on the cliff. Then as my glory passes over, I will put you in a crevice of the cliff, and my palm will shield you while I am passing over. Then I will take away my palm, and you shall see my backside; but my face will not be seen."

Luke 9:28-36

Some eight days later, Jesus took with him Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray. And it happened that as he was praying, the appearance of his face was different and his clothing white as the brightness of lightening. Suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah. They were appearing in glory and speaking of his passing which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions were being weighed down with sleep, but staying awake they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

As they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' He did not know what he was saying. As he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and as they went into the cloud, they were afraid.

Then a voice came from the cloud saying, 'This is my Son, the Chosen. Listen to him.' After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time told no one what they had seen.

SERMON

It may be only February, but Sadie is having a bad year, already. Last month the state announced budget cuts for social services, which means Sadie’s younger colleague is losing her job and Sadie’s work load will double next month.

On a more personal note, Sadie and her husband recently “officially” separated with William moving out of the house. I say “officially” because in reality they had stopped talking to each other in any meaningful way about nine months ago. Angry words are the only words they seemed to know these days.

It didn’t used to be that way. There was a time not so long away when Sadie and William actually enjoyed each other’s company. But the laughter, the smiles across the table, and the cuddling while they watched TV stopped when their 3 year old son died of leukemia.

A friend suggested she come with her to a spiritual retreat weekend. Even though she didn’t really know what a spiritual retreat was, Sadie answered, “Sure. Why not. It can’t hurt.”

She wanted to eat her words as soon as she was told they’d be gone Friday through Sunday. Who has that kind of time when there was a tall stack of case reports waiting on the desk at home? But, it was a good friend’s request. Maybe she could forget her miserable life for a little while. And surely she’d be able to catch up on much needed sleep.

If she took the time to realize the parallels, I know Sadie would feel empathy with the fatigue of the disciples as they trek up the mountainside with Jesus. They too were overworked, underpaid and in need of a break.

It was not long before today’s Gospel lesson that Jesus had sent them with power and authority to the needy crowds to exorcize demons, and to perform healings, and to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Excited by their envy-able run of success, they returned to tell Jesus everything they had done. But when he takes them to Bethsaida to "withdraw privately” (Luke 9:10), their plans are interrupted by more crowds, with more needs, and the work of ministry takes precedence. They are obviously exhausted by the nonstop cloyingness and needs of the crowds because the weary disciples beg Jesus to send the crowd away.

It is not to be. Bethsaida becomes the site of the Miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000. When they finally do get a day off, it’s no picnic. Jesus tells them the “Son of Man” is destined to suffer grievously and to be rejected by the religious authorities. He will be killed and on the third day be raised from the dead (Luke 9:22). Imagine the bewilderment of the disciples: “Why would Jesus talk about these things when his ministry is going so well?” He talks about other things too. The disciples are left baffled and confused by things like the Kingdom of God.

About a week after this difficult conversation is when Jesus takes Peter, John and James up the mountain. It wasn’t the first time they had been singled out to go with Jesus; nor is it the last time they’ll be asked to go with him while he prays.

On a mission to be good friends to their Master and friend, they likely had no inkling of what was about to happen to them.

Aren’t they so typical of people who have a relationship with Jesus? --At least I know I can say that about Sadie. When Sadie left with her friend to go on the spiritual retreat, she too had her own agenda which included: being a good friend; getting some needed rest; escaping reality. What was in store for her was most unexpected.

She felt a bit awkward and out of control when she first arrived since no one told her exactly what would happen.  Warm greetings and abundant hospitality allowed her to quickly forget her apprehension. Anticipating escape by sleeping, Sadie instead had stimulating conversations with individuals and small groups. Through private meditation she discovered things she had been hiding from herself. Not normally someone to seek out intimate conversations --and certainly not with strangers! she was surprised to find a connective-ness with others who voluntarily shared parts of their own stories.

She would later remark, “I always thought that standing up and sharing your story was stupid. But this one woman shared how, for the first time, she understood we are made in the image of God. And then I got it too! And for that one brief moment in time, I understood that God’s love and grace are active in my own miserable life. I got it! Isn’t that great?” I smiled and replied, “It’s a miracle.”

I imagine Peter, James and John also ‘got it’ up on the mountaintop with Jesus. Of course, whatever they were expecting, they certainly received much more than they bargained for. Christ’s glory is revealed before their very eyes: a blinding experience with divinity, an encounter with the transcendent. That which separates humans from God appears to be drawn aside for a moment.

Then within “the circle of his spotlight, two other figures appear with Jesus --Moses the lawgiver, and the prophet Elijah -- dead heroes of the past, alive in the present.” Here, time seems to lose all meaning. Barbara Brown Taylor says it’s as if a veil is parted, and humans are allowed to see what awaits them in the Kingdom of God. (from “Dark ?)

The presence of Moses also reminds us of Moses’ encounter in the Tent of Meeting. However there is a major difference between Moses’ experience and the disciples.’ Moses was unable to see God’s glory. Now that the Word is made flesh, Peter, James and John are able to look directly at Jesus even though he’s dazzling bright. Unlike Moses, they need not be hidden in a cliff. Rather, they wake up to the inbreaking of the kingdom.

Luke writes that Peter, James and John “were weighed down with sleep” but becoming fully awake they see Jesus in his glory. This sentence in Luke is unique among the Gospel writers’ accounts of the transfiguration. This is the exact quote: “Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.”

By including this minute detail, I suspect that Luke is connecting the events on this un-named mountaintop with the events to come at the Garden of Gethsemane. At Gethsemane, the disciples will abandon Jesus by sleeping while he prays to the Father. Things are different here on the mountaintop. Although greatly fatigued, Peter, James and John remain good servants, fully awake for their Master.

Because they do not abandon him, rather they stay by Jesus’ side, they are allowed to see. And in Jesus they see something of the glory of God, of that other life to which human eyes are usually blind: a sneak peek (if you will) of God’s kingdom.

The text says, to preserve the experience, Peter practically babbles that they’ll get busy putting up three tents (Luke 9:33). Apparently he wants to make these shrines to commemorate the events on the mountaintop. Places where perhaps others could be in the presence of God. Now, I’m sure that he was, of course, only trying to be helpful. But Peter rushing in to take control of the situation isn’t in God’s plan here.

Peter gets no response. Instead the disciples are engulfed in a pillar of cloud. They hear God’s voice coming out of the cloud, saying, "This is my child, my Chosen. Listen to him." What a quintessential mountaintop experience!

Sadie can identify with that. Her spiritual retreat weekend was her own mountaintop experience. Like the disciples “who kept silent and told no one any of the things they had seen,” Sadie says her attempts to describe her experience are so inadequate that she’s stopped trying to explain it.

I can appreciate that. I’ve been in her shoes myself, and I’m guessing I’m not alone here. Wanting to share my own experience, I’ve tried to capture the awesomeness of it in a story or a sermon. But all I get is a blank stare in return. What can I do but shrug and say, “I guess you had to be there.”

Another way to attempt capturing the experience is through re-creation. By this I mean I try repeating the conditions which led up to my mountaintop experience. I figure by recreating what happened prior to my mountaintop experience, maybe I can recreate its awesomeness. That might work if the essence of mountaintop were a perfume formula. You know, mix A with B; then stir in just a sprinkle of C. Simmer over a flame for 20 minutes and voile! –An instant preview to the Kingdom of God.

Then there are the times when I –and maybe you too, react to a mountaintop experience the same way Peter was trying to do. We want to build a shrine around our experience, to nail it down in the past and in a particular place. In this way, our shrine can be pulled off the shelf when it suits us. We can remember, and then whine that it’ll never happen again. Oh my, what foolishness!

Our God is a living God. God is always at work in our lives even when we don’t see it.  The events which occurred on the mountain of transfiguration, herald a new beginning in God’s relationship with us. Because God is gracious and merciful, a new covenant in Christ is revealed on that mountaintop. It is a covenant in which humans can see the glory of God because of their experiences with Jesus.

We’re so blessing, we don't even have to climb a mountain. The Lord of all can still be our vision –anywhere, anytime. All he asks of us is to live out the vision he gives us.

Our words and our actions are meant be expressions of God’s Kingdom.

When we work for peace and justice, we are seeing God’s kingdom. Every time words of hope –or of love, are spoken, we are hearing God’s kingdom. When we pray for others, we are touching God’s kingdom. Every time we offer forgiveness or seek reconciliation, we are tasting God’s kingdom.

As we get ready to go back into the world this morning, I have a two-fold challenge for you. First, may you be open to those moments when God’s graciousness gives you a glimpse of the Kingdom to come. And may your life be a living testimony to the transforming power of God’s Kingdom.

And now, to the One who, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us,

is able to accomplish abundantly far more than we dare to ask or imagine;

To the One who takes our ordinary lives

and creates something extraordinary;

To the One who, in mercy and graciousness,

allows to us to see the Kingdom to come.

To the One God, be glory in Jesus Christ and in the church

for all generations, forever and ever. Amen.