Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
I am not afraid of heights. In fact, once you’ve had your chest cracked open and three or four people in a surgical suite have had their hands digging around in your heart, you’re not much afraid of anything.
I actually like being way up high. I love walking across bridges. I love tall buildings. And even though most mountains seem to be out-of-doors, I love being on top of mountains.
Laurie Parish and I went down to Loudonville to visit her mother-in-law, Violet, who’s on our prayer list. On the way back she showed me a fire tower that you can climb up and see the Mohican River region from a kind-of God’s eye view. Sometime this year, I intend to climb it.
We even have a word for the feeling that get on top of mountains. We call it a mountaintop experience. And when we go up into the mountains, we feel that we are closer to God.
You need to know that this is nothing new. Joan Chittister writes “"Mountains…in Greek, Hebrew, Roman and Asian religious literature, were always places where the human could touch the divine"
Remember where the Greeks said their gods lived? Mount Olympus
Today’s story is of a mountaintop experience. Peter, James, and John go up Mount Hermon with Jesus—in modern day Syria (though some interpreters say it’s Mount Tabor).
The passage begins with the phrase, “six days later…” Six days later than what?
Six days after Peter gives his answer to Jesus’ question, “who do you say that I am?”
And Peter replies with the same confession that every one of our members has made, “you are the Christ, the son of the living God.”
And Jesus says, “shh. Don’t tell anybody.”
And so, they climb Mount Hermon—reason unknown—but, when Jesus says go, they go.
And then, everything goes sideways. Or up-ways. Or just plain weird.
Marcus Borg, who teaches at the other OSU--Oregon State University-- has an interesting question that he asks about events in Jesus life. He wonders what a video would have recorded if video had been available then.
What would we see on the replay?
What Borg is trying to do is the same thing that Peter did on the mountain--create a manageable Jesus.
Peter sees this amazing thing happen in front of him--Jesus with Moses and Elijah--and doesn’t just want to stand there. He wants to do something!
This sight of Jesus talking with grand figures of the Hebrew people is way too much for Peter to handle. After all, Moses and Elijah have been dead for hundreds of years. Yet, here they are.
Peter says, let’s build three dwellings--literally tents, but carrying the connotation of “tabernacle”--the place where the presence of God was located before the Temple was constructed.
By building the three dwellings--Peter hopes to contain Jesus, who is now equated with the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah).
This is a good thing, Jesus. Let’s keep it here.
But Jesus cannot be contained.
Before Peter can even finish his proposal, a voice comes from heaven as if to say, “will you shut up, already, Peter?” I bet that got said to Peter a lot, even if the Gospels didn’t record it.
The voice that interrupts Peter says, “This is my Son, the beloved. Listen to him.”
In other words--first, shut up Peter. Then, listen to Jesus. We had the law and prophets--the two great ways in which God was represented to the people. But, now, we have Jesus. Listen to him.
But, we still want a manageable Jesus. If we’re not trying to contain him in a box, we’re trying to cut him down to size.
Thomas Jefferson took scissors and glue to the Gospels. He cut out all the stuff he didn’t like--including this story. What he was left with was a sanitzed Jesus, a very manageable Jesus. A Jesus that conforms to our image.
George Bernard Shaw once wrote that God created [humans] in his image, we have returned the favor.
A manageable Jesus, indeed!
But Jesus will not be managed, by you, me, Marcus Borg, or Thomas Jefferson, and not Peter, James, and John.
The key phrase here is," listen to him.”
Listen to Jesus.
Well, you might say you listen to Jesus, but do we really?
I think sometimes, our listen to Jesus is about as fuzzy as this image.
Do we really listen to Jesus when he says:
Love your neighbor--even if your neighbor is an enemy?
Love your enemies?
Sell all you stuff and give the proceeds to the poor?
When someone hits you, hit them back harder?
Oh, yeah. That’s not Jesus. That’s me.
If someone asks to borrow something, give it to them without expecting it back? What, no promissory note?
We like think of this Transfiguration--which is translated from the Greek word metamorphoses, literally means changed--as being what happens to Jesus. As in Jesus was transfigured before the three disciples.
But, the more pressing question is, how will we be transfigured--changed--by our experience of Jesus. Are we really listening to him, and if so, what difference does it make in our lives?
Charles Bayer, a retired disciples pastor who served FCC in St. Joseph, MO for more than 20 years, said they quit doing the invitation to discipleship at the close of every service--you know, inviting people to come and make a profession of faith in Christ in front of the congregation.
If people wanted to join FCC in St. Joseph, they went to pastor and made their profession in the study, then on Sunday morning, they stood up and answered another question in front of the congregation. That question was, “how will being a member of this congregation change your life?”
Now, I hear some of you out there thinking, “Oh, I could never do that. I bet nobody ever joined that church!”
But, you’d be wrong. During Bayer’s tenure there, they experienced tremendous growth while more Disciples congregations--including ours--declined.
So the question I ask you today is, “What difference is made in your life by being a member of this wonderful congregation?” “What difference does it make in your life to really listen to Jesus?”
I’d love to know what you’re thinking.
