First Presbyterian Church bainbridge, ga.
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Transfiguration Mark 9:2-9
Thornton Wilder wrote a play entitled, Our Town. The plot centers on Emily, a young woman who has died. She is permitted to return to her earthly life for a day. She chooses to relive her 12th birthday with her family. But she is disappointed. Every one is preoccupied with their daily routines. She begs her brothers and sisters, her father and mother to pause and hug one another. No one bothers. They are immersed in the busyness of life. Emily realizes how harried and hollow her family is. She protests, “Take me away. Take me away.” As she goes back to heaven she asks, “Do human beings ever realize life while they live it?” Jesus paused on a journey to Jerusalem. He invited three disciples on a hike up a nearby mountain. At the top, an event unfolded called the ‘Transfiguration of Jesus.’ His earthly appearance gave way to a divine glory. He ‘glistened like the sun.’ The long gone personalities of Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus like long lost friends. Awestruck, Peter, James and John stared in amazement. Jesus transfigured the mountain and the sky unveiling its beauty and Creator. Later Peter would write that we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. We heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain (2 Peter 1:16-18). We could say that wherever Jesus paused whether at a wedding, with the sick, in a teaching moment, or before a tomb he transformed the moment into the sacred and memorable. Water became wine, the lame walked, the blind saw and the dead arose. Where human beings follow Jesus and listen, inevitably transformations occur that otherwise would never happen. What are those changes? First, Jesus changes the way we see life. The astonished disciples said, “It is good for us to be here.” It is good to be with Jesus where he is. It is good to have him present in life’s twists and turns. Maybe they wondered about a purpose in climbing that mountain. Maybe they saw no more than rocks and prickly shrubs. Maybe they felt it a waste of time. After all they were men of the valley and sailors of the sea. Nevertheless on that trek appeared a surprising glory. God spoke in syllables they never forgot. It can be so with us when routines are interrupted and unexpected journeys intrude our protesting lives. But if we can look deeper perhaps we may see we are being nudged onward in a work of life where glory, love and redemption speak. In her book, Traveling Mercies, Ann Lamott describes how she bought a 1992 Volkswagen with low mileage. When she picked up the car the dealer yelled, “Come back in forty thousand miles and we will cut you another great deal.” Forty miles into her trip to say good-bye to her terminally ill friend, Mimi, the car stops with a crashing sound. Broke down on a California freeway with cars honking, a Mexican man helps to push it to a service station. There another Mexican man finds another Mexican man who repairs the car. With the better part of the day elapsed and her son catching a cold, she drives back home. Three days pass before she drives to Mimi’s house. She arrives just in time to be with her friend as she dies. It is a holy moment. She writes, “Maybe you think it is arrogant or self-centered or ridiculous for me to believe that God bothered to wiggle a cheap bolt out of my new car because he needed to keep me away for a few days until just the moment when my old friend most needed me to move into whatever comes next.” The poet, William Blake, said we are here to endure beams of love. I believe that the Gospel of Jesus opens our eyes to experience what otherwise would be lost forever. Broken bolts, untimely visits and even fits of folly can add up to moments where we see sacred beams in places we thought life was little or nothing. Second, Jesus changes the way you see the church. “And Peter said, “Let’s build three tabernacles; one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. And there spoke a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!’” Peter always saw opportunity. Lord, we could start three churches up here. We could build one for the Baptists, one for the Methodists and one for the Presbyterians. We could name them the church of Billy Graham, the church of John Wesley and the church of John Calvin. But the Father vetoed the plan. It is as if God said, “If we build anything it will be the church of Jesus Christ!” Churches are known by many names. Ultimately one name defines the church and that is Jesus Christ. Only as this name takes precedent over human personalities is the church truly the church. Its first and final word can never be ‘church but Jesus Christ!’ The Scandinavian thinker, Soren Kierkegaard, gave church going an unusual twist. He said that it is never the usual scene of people in the pew and the preacher in the pulpit with the choir in the loft. Rather it is God in the pew, the people in the loft and the preacher prompting their worship. There are times when churches should dissolve and re-organize on the truth that everything is about Jesus Christ. The sanctuary, fellowship hall, Sunday school rooms, restrooms, offices, choir room, storage room, pews, books, songs, communion set, offering plates and flower beds are Jesus’. The sermon, anthem, prayers, ministry meetings, Bible studies, computers, staff and visitors are all Jesus’. Consequently it’s not about me. It’s not about the preacher, the choir director, the teachers, the elders, or the treasurer! It is always about Jesus Christ! Third, Jesus changes the way we see God. “A voice came from the cloud: This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.” Some people don’t know what to make of God. They only see Old Testament as he creates and destroys; gives and withholds; thunders and storms upon the nations. We are warned that He is holy and not to come too close lest you die. But in the New Testament God reveals another side. He is kind, compassionate and loving; reluctant to judge; ready to forgive and reconcile. He heals the sick and blesses the poor. He invites people young and old, big and small, rich and poor to come to Him. God takes on the face of Jesus. Listen to him says the word! A little girl said grace in a crowded restaurant. She prayed, “God is great, and God is good; let us thank him for our food. And God, I would thank you even more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen.” A man at a nearby table grumbled, “That is what’s wrong with this country! Kids today don’t even know how to pray. The very idea of asking God for ice cream is absurd!” Upon hearing this the little girl cried and asked her mother, “Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?” Her mother reassured that God was not angry with her. A gentleman at the next table leaned over and told the girl, “I know God really well. We visit every day, and I happen to know that God loved your prayer. It may have been the best one he has heard all day.” “Really,” asked the little girl. “Really,” said the man. Then he pointed to the grumpy man and said, “Too bad he never asks God for ice cream. Ice cream is good for the soul.” When the little girl received her ice cream, without a word, she walked over and placed it in front of the grumpy man, saying, “Here! This is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul. And God is not mad at me.” A little child led that day (Isaiah 11:6).” Who or what defines God for you? Does your definition make you grumpy or grateful; judgmental or friendly; scared or happy? The story ends with, “They no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.” Maybe that is what it’s all coming to! The only explanation on this side of life is Jesus. The only hope on the other side of life is Jesus. The disciples joyfully lived with it and courageously built their lives and the church upon it. We can too. Dr. Gerald A. Little, February 19, 2012
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