Beyond the vision

The Last Sunday in Epiphany is always the story of the Transfiguration.  This year is Mark's version of the story.  They are all very similar differing only in minor details.  So I quite often like to go to the Old Testament lesson which is always different.  If you were here last year for the last Sunday in Epiphany, you heard me talk about a theophany, that is, a vision of God.  Years A and C both center around Moses up on the mountaintop.  Theophanies are not uncommon in the Old Testament.  You might remember things like Moses and the Burning Bush, Jacob's ladder to heaven, the Valley of the dry bones coming to life, the pillars of fire and smoke that led the Israelites out of Egypt.  The Old Testament is filled with these images of God.  This year we get Elijah being taken up in the "Chariot of Fire."  

There’s a story told by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells (a professor at Duke University) about a famous preacher who was a bit of a fraud, because the sermons were great but no one ever realized that in fact they’d all been written by the staff assistant. Finally the assistant’s patience ran out, and one day the preacher was speaking to thousands of expectant listeners and at the bottom of page two read the stirring words, "And this, my friends, takes us to the very heart of the book of Habakkuk, which is…" only to turn to page three and see nothing but the dreaded words, "You’re on your own now."

"You’re on your own now." Just what Elisha felt the day Elijah departed to heaven. Just what the disciples felt at Jesus’ ascension. "You’re on your own now." In England they say, "That makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable." In the US you are more likely to hear, "Yikes."  And our Old Testament lesson says that Elisha tore his garments.

Today's lesson shows Elijah and his disciple (apprentice) Elisha on a journey .  They travel from Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho and on to the Jordan.  And as they start out on each leg of the journey, and as a test, Elijah tells Elisha to stay there, but each time Elisha answers, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."  They continue on until they reach the Jordan river.  To cross over, Elijah takes his mantle (like a coat or cape) folds it up and hits the water.  And lo and behold, the water parts and they walk across on dry land.  And what does that remind you of?  The Red Sea and the flight from Egypt.  The water parting is the sign of the presence of God.

Elisha asks for a favor - to receive double (twice) the spirit of Elijah.  He wants the elder son’s portion of the inheritance.  But there was a condition on his receiving his desire - he must see Elijah being taken up.  The answer is like saying, "Don't fall asleep, because if you miss it, you lose everything."  Now our lesson ends saying that Elisha tore his clothes.  In that time, tearing your clothes was a sign of great anguish.  But the story goes on... 

    13  Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14  He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.    15  When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Elijah's mantle fell back to earth and Elisha picks it up.  He uses it to part the water of the Jordan to cross back over.  Again, this is a sign of the Lord's presence and that Elisha has indeed inherited Elijah's spirit.  This is a grand story about the transfer of power from one prophet to the next.  The fifty prophets who followed them to the Jordan can now attest that Elisha is now the prophet in Israel.

The New Testament doesn't have as many examples of a theophany.  But the gospels themselves present a kind of theophany.  If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that he is God incarnate, then the whole story about Jesus is an extended theophany.  We get this vision of who God is and what God is like.  We see his interactions with the people around him.  The things he says are often confusing, but the things we see him do are powerful, inspiring. 

So, here we are, 6 days after Peter blurts out that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah.  Gosh, I love Peter, because he’s usually sticking his foot in his mouth and saying something stupid.  I figure if he can get it wrong as many times as he does and still be accepted as the rock on which the kingdom is built, then surely my mistakes can be forgiven, also.  

They are up on the mountain, and when Peter sees this transfiguration, and Elijah and Moses with Jesus, he blurts out, "Let's stay here and build 3 dwellings."  It says that he didn't know what to say because he was scared.  How many times do we get scared and start babbling to cover up our fear, or our lack of understanding?  

A cloud overshadows them - I can remember being on top of a mountain in Switzerland and there was a cloud forming over Lake Lucerne down below us.  It began to rise up until it enveloped us, and it was very hard to see the person in front of you as we were traveling along a narrow path to the top of the mountain, and after a few minutes, it had risen above us.  That can definitely make you nervous.  And a voice came out of the cloud - "This is my son, my beloved.  Listen to him."  And then the cloud was gone and they were left standing alone with Jesus.

This was the second affirmation in Mark's gospel concerning Jesus' divinity.  The first time (at his baptism) - only Jesus heard the voice.  Now his disciples also hear the voice.  What we are to take away from this has to do with Jesus, his image and his divinity.  

Our lesson from 2nd Corinthians says that "Christ is the image of God."  I would take that a step further and say that Christ is the only perfect image of God.  We are also made in the image of God, but being human we are imperfect.  That is why Christ died on the cross for us - to complete us by making that sacrifice; to pay the price for our imperfection, for our sin, and only that makes us worthy to stand before God.  

So, what are we to do with this vision of Jesus?  The disciples didn’t really understand any of it.  Following this encounter, they returned to the valley and the city below.  They had this monumental experience and immediately they were met by a man who is looking for healing for his son who is possessed by an evil spirit.  It’s back to business as usual, nothing is changed in the world around them.  Only them.  This is just one of the many things that helps them put together the puzzle of the incredible life they are living as they follow Jesus.  After he is raised from the dead, they remember all these miraculous things they have seen and finally begin to understand their significance. 

God makes his light to shine on us and in us and through us so that all might see his glory and come to the shining of his light.  Therefore, it is up to us to carry that light out into the world, so that others, when they encounter us, will know there is a God alive and active in the world today.

Amen.

Mountaintop and Valleys

Listen to the sermon .      

Today is August 6 the day set aside for the reading of the transfiguration story, the day that Jesus is revealed as the Son of God.  The disciples have been following this man, knowing in their hearts that he was something special.  But here, they can’t escape the fact that Jesus is the chosen son of God.

At this point, they are all overshadowed by a cloud.  The cloud in many ways represents the darkness that might surround us at various times in our life.  There is a small book, written by an English Monk called the Cloud of Unknowing.  It is sometimes referred to as Christianity with a Zen outlook.  It encourages its readers to seek God, not through knowledge, but through love.  It has been derided by many as being anti-intellectual and therefore not worthy of serious consideration.

Long before I went to seminary, I began to discover that there two different approaches to God, one was experiential and the other was intellectual – and for the intellectual, these two paths never cross.  Any personal experience of God was derided as bunk, unworthy of God, and yet, - that was exactly how the disciples experienced Jesus Christ.  Yes, his words may have thrilled them at times, but more often than not, they were confused by his words, asking him over and over to explain what he meant.  It was their experience of the living God that drew them in over and over.  

But to get back to the cloud, the cloud scares the disciples – not unlike the cloud that covered the mountain where Moses met with God.  The Israelites were scared by the thunder and lightening and the darkness that overshadowed them.  I think often we find ourselves in darkness and it scares us, too.  

But from the darkness experienced by the Israelites, they received the Ten Commandments, a light to live by, a way to walk in God’s favor.  

For the disciples, out of the darkness came a voice – assuring them of God’s love in the presence of Jesus Christ – “This is my Son, listen to him.”  This is a reassurance to all of us that even when things seem darkest, there is always hope when God is at the center of your life. 

We are human and being human, we can go through types of transfiguring events, but just as with the Israelites and with the disciples, when the transfiguring events are ended, things seem not so different from before.  The Israelites still sinned – that’s why they spent 40 years wandering in the desert.  

Even Peter, who was so enthusiastic about this mountaintop experience, is the same Peter who later would deny Jesus in the face of the cross.  I used to have a sign on my door that started out, “Being Christian doesn’t mean we are perfect.  It just means we’re forgiven.”

We can rejoice in an exalted passage of scripture, be moved by emotion during the singing of a hymn, find great joy in receiving the sacrament, marvel at the goodness of God in our midst, and then go out and live no differently than before.

A primary symbol for Cursillo is a rooster.  There was a song written for the Cursillo movement that goes something like this – “The rooster crows reminding me who I am and what I believe.  Hello rooster, you know me inside, faces I wear and love that I hide.”  We forget at times, through fear, or distraction, or negligence…  We need that reminder from time to time that God is with us, even in the darkness, even when we turn away, even when we forget him.  

We have a monthly meeting of clergy the first Wednesday of each month.  One of the things we have started doing is an experiential study of the upcoming Gospel lesson based on the Bible study method introduced by the African bishops at Lambeth Conference 16 years ago.   Imagine a room full of 10 or more clergy bouncing ideas around concerning this transfiguration.   

This kind of study starts with three readings of the passage from three different translations and after each reading everyone shares a word that stood out to them, next an idea that strikes them and finally what they believe God is calling them to change or do based on the scripture.

In this lesson, it was the contrast between dark and light that stood out for most.  Someone brought up a idea thrown out by Bishop N.T. Wright, bishop of Durham.  Bishop Wright is a popular author around the Anglican communion.  Writing under the name N. T. Wright for scholars and under Tom Wright for everyone else.  In one of his commentaries on the Transfiguration, he put forth the contrast between the mountaintop experience and the cross that was being discussed by Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

On this mountain, Jesus’ clothes are bright and shining, 

at Calvary, he is stripped naked.

On this mountain, Jesus is flanked by Moses and Elijah, 

at Calvary he is flanked by two criminals. 

On this mountain, Jesus is surrounded by his friends, 

at Calvary, he has been deserted by them.

John Newton, Bishop Doyle’s chief of staff, added in a sermon that it is not on the mountain of transfiguration that we are saved - it is on the cross in that valley of darkness that Jesus saves us.

Mountaintop experiences are wonderful, inspiring and life giving.  And we sometimes go through periods of darkness in the gullies of this world.  But it is somewhere in between that we are called to live and minister.  It is in going to that mountain that we are inspired to go back down into the gentle slopes or planes to live out our lives and to share and minister to those around us.  When the mundane world gets you down, or your life seems to be overshadowed by the worldly worries, listen for the voice of God coming out of the darkness.

For Sam and I, Cursillo was something of a mountaintop adventure that sent us back fired up and ready to see where God was leading us.  I wouldn’t trade that experience or what has happened since then for any other possible variation of life.  

God reveals himself to us over and over, reminding us of who he is, of his great love for us, and of his place in our lives. 

Two thousand years ago, the disciples experienced Jesus walking beside them and teaching them.  Three questions:  

Have you been aware of Jesus walking with you somewhere in this life?  

Where has God spoken to you out of a cloud that has over-shadowed you?   

Where have you been inspired by God’s glorious presence? 

I invite you to sit now quietly for a few moments, and contemplate where God has made his presence known in your life.

(Silence)

Amen.