01 Mar Pastor’s Message 2/23/2020
Today, Jesus once again models what Christians might do. Jesus was a leader. He chose who he took with him (Peter,James and his brother John). He wasn’t dragged off by supposed friends out to peer pressure him into getting drunk or something worse. Jesus led them toward pursuing something better than what they probably had in mind that day, an activity in contrast to the normal behavior of their peers. Up they traveled to a high mountain top where they would have a close knit experience. Much like a few of your closest friends and you might plan a special hunting, hiking, skiing, shopping or sightseeing trip.
Except that Jesus himself becomes the sight to see. Without entering a phone booth or a cardboard box transmogrifier machine like in Calvin & Hobbes, Do we have any Calvin & Hobbes fans out here? Jesus was transmogrified, I mean, transfigured before them. Everyone, not just Calvin could see that Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and his clothes were whiter than a Tide commercial.
Suddenly there appeared Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Who could legitimize Jesus better than the two largest religious figures ever known? Like Rock ‘n Roll or Sports Hall of Famers, Moses’ and Elijah’s records had surpassed the religious careers of generations of those who followed God. They even defied death as most people experienced it.
Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings right here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Imagine three great all stars coming to Halifax, walking around with a local real estate agent, thinking about building something.
There’d be a good chance that somebody like Peter would want to make it easier for their presence to remain permanent. My hometown of Westminster, MD used to host the training camp of the Baltimore Ravens. Believe me, local businesses and townspeople did everything in their power to entice them into taking up residency, like ever ready Peter.
This might sound exciting so far, but everything I’ve been describing is nothing but hype, things done for show. The main event is still to come. While Jesus 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!”
It was as if in the middle of Shakira and J-Lo’s big Super Bowl number, God dropped a giant cloud on the field that blinded everyone’s view. The crowd was silenced. Only one voice could be heard saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
Like the disciples, when people heard this, they fell to the ground, out of their seats and headed for the exits overcome by fear. Then, a public address announcement was issued. A recognized voice of security and authority, a voice they totally trusted, reassured them. Jesus appeared, he was physically present and touched them. A voice familiar and calming said, “Get up. Do not be afraid.”
When they looked up, everything was back to normal. No one except Shakira and J-Lo stood on the field. Things were back to normal. No wait, something in this scene is not normal. Pole dancing is not mainstream, strip clubs are not a family form of entertainment. Are they? Am I old fashioned? No. But, we can talk about that another time.
As the foursome came down the mountain, Jesus ordered, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” So, Jesus is for once, like Batman and Spiderman. He does not want his identity as a superhero disclosed, but kept secret until the right time. Regardless, the effect we get is just like in the movies, the audience (us) is made to feel better knowing a superhero lives among them and is one who is always ready to help them fight evil.
It was pretty easy for us to conceive of God as an impenetrable mist descending onto a ball field. What is harder for Christians these days is to imagine a God that dwells high and far removed from where we are. To envision that God resides on a holy mountain and cloud associated with a dwelling place far and above humans. Out of reach, out of touch, unattainable in height and substance. Where does God dwell according to your beliefs? Many who can’t step inside churches see God as either too near and ready to judge, or too far, already rejecting them.
I remember the first time my dad announced we were driving through a cloud in the mountains. I quickly rolled down my window and thought, “I’m finally going to touch a cloud, feel it’s cushy softness, it’s heavenly texture.” Instead, as my hand stretched out into the white mist, I wondered about the purpose of cartoon hype about clouds.
How do you see God and heaven? Through the hype promoted by tv shows, books and magazines, through exaggerated character images of God, angels and other Christian symbols? Much about Christianity has become cartoonish, oversimplified and satirized.
Not that illustrations are bad. The Bible tries to illustrate its stories. But when people are afraid to believe, they often use satire to discredit. Google defines satire as: humor, irony, exaggeration and ridicule with the purpose of exposing and criticizing.
I frequently am disappointed by podcasts, especially when learned individuals suggest that believing in God and an afterlife, is nothing but a crutch. Science still challenges people of faith with the idea that intelligence belief in God can’t coexist. A former patient, a doctor of research at NIH, said almost no one he worked believed in God.
Instead they want us to believe in an ever expanding capacity for human beings to discover ultimate truths and doing the right thing. If I weren’t a Christian, I wouldn’t care about truth or doing the right thing. Unless God had given me an internal standard. In the transfiguration, Jesus becomes a standard, a touchstone, as it were. A touchstone is a physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of something can be judged and recognized.
Jesus was about to go away for a long time. As if it were the eve of his wedding, Jesus, the bachelor and his buddies bonded over an intense memory that would last right before everything about their relationship and their future was about to change.
Before facing death on a cross Jesus needed to travel to the mountaintop and tag home plate. He wanted to confer with his parent/coach before going into the ring, getting pinned to the mat. Before he entered the stage of Jerusalem’s Got Talent, where he would face the Simon Cowell of his time, Pontius Pilate.
Jesus was the hometown boy going off to war with death hanging over him, a mother’s son who needed to sleep a bit more before deployment, a father’s heir needing encouragement before undertaking the biggest challenge of his human life.
As much as we’ve talked about Jesus being a welcome light during times of darkness today, the real bright light doesn’t help people see. In fact, it causes blindness and probably gave those present a headache.
2 Peter says this story is no cleverly devised myth, but it is a myth by definition. Its purpose is “to resolve contradiction and create belief in the permanent possibility of reconciliation.” You see, Moses, the other guy who met God on a holy mountain, was one man. Jesus represents every man and woman. Only a couple of prophets ever traveled up to where God resides. In contrast, Jesus and his friends travel up together and come down together.
The light given by God to Jesus was given to pass on in a different way than the law given to show people the way. The light that Jesus soaked in penetrated his entire being such that even his clothes shone bright. The encounter charged up his divine solar panel so that every man, woman and child could shine, too. The special effects witnessed by the crowd were not CGI or pyrotechnics. The scene was unrehearsed, but well scripted.
The author of 2 Peter, was not actually Peter, but an orthodox 2nd century Christian whose main concern was that every faithful person enjoy equal standing. How is that possible?
Because the standard is none other than the Holy Spirit. God, who speaks about and through Christ delivers all God has to give. “No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation. No prophecy ever comes by human will, but by men and women moved by the Holy Spirit.”
That’s us, folks. That’s every man and woman able to recognize God’s standard as high and above what comes naturally. People who bring light into darkness while understanding that sometimes they themselves introduce darkness. People who wish to travel where God is, but can’t ever seem to. People who turn to false promises and pipe dreams hoping to reach perfection.
Search for God within the lost, the lonely, and the eyes of the one you see in a mirror. Feel the touch of Jesus. Hear him say your name followed by the words, “Come on, get going. Do not be afraid.” When you look away, may you see no one except Jesus himself alone. May you be ready to travel on accompanied by the best of companions. Amen.