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Today’s Scripture lesson is from the good news according to Luke, the 9th chapter, beginning at verse 28. Earlier in the chapter, we find Jesus - as he is so often portrayed in Luke’s gospel – off by himself, praying. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his disciples standing by, talking amongst themselves. He can’t quite hear what they are saying, But he sees Peter shaking his head, Pointing his finger at James and John. The distraction is too much for him, So he asks his twelve companions: “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples answer quickly; They’ve heard the rumors and whispers among the crowds. “John the Baptizer.” “Elijah.” “But who,” Jesus says, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responds immediately. “You are the Messiah, the Anointed of God, the One we have been waiting for.” Peter stands a little taller, A little prouder, But then he hears what Jesus has to say, For the Messiah is now talking about suffering, “I will suffer; those who follow me will suffer. You must embrace sacrifice, Jesus says, And I’ll show you the way. Glory will come – You can be sure of that, And some of you will see it happen.” Peter and the others wonder what all this means, what Jesus is really saying. Then the gospel of Luke records, “Now about eight days after these sayings, Jesus took Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. . . Luke 9:28 – 43. ANTHEM What a Wonderful World, RHCC Jazz Ensemble with soloists Kylie Pirre and Rose M. Lewis Ah, what a wonderful world it is up on that mountain! What a wonderful sight to see Jesus in all his glory – radiant, shining, standing with the two great ancestors of his Jewish faith – Moses and Elijah. Moses, who brought God’s people to freedom, and Elijah, who brought God’s people back to the covenant, are not only standing with Jesus, they are talking with him! Peter – Who’s so tired, he can barely keep his eyes open and his words straight, recognizes how wonderful this world is - “How good it is to be here!” This experience is so wonderful he wants to preserve it – “Let’s build three booths!” he says. “One for Jesus, one for Elijah, one for Moses” I can just imagine Peter – like Dave Hawkins and Dick Webster – beginning to put the plans together in his mind: Calculating measurements for the height and width of each booth; Estimating the distance that between each one, so that they look perfect on the side of the mountain; And figuring out how to get the rest of Jesus’ friends up to the mountain so they too can experience this wonderful world, this glimpse of glory. But Peter’s ruminations are quickly interrupted; a cloud descends on the mountain and a voice beckons: “This is my son, my chosen, listen to him!” Just as quickly, The cloud disappears, along with Moses and Elijah, and the wonderful world, the moment the transfiguration moment is gone. I confess that I am more like Peter than I care to admit. Perhaps you are as well. Maybe you too know the desire to hold on to those mountaintop experiences, those intimate moments with God, when we know glimpses of glory and grace in abundant measure: the birth of a baby – and then watching that baby grow; a beautiful sunset on a favorite beach; a powerful service in this sanctuary; the moment the decision is made to become sober; a rainbow appearing when there is no rain in sight; knowing you are loved by the way someone calls your name. There’s another dimension to Peter’s response that I also recognize in myself. You know, we have good intentions and good motives, And we try to be helpful. We think that we have to respond to every situation in our lives and in our church by DOING something – Make a phone call, Send an email, Call a meeting, Create a committee, Organize a program, Figure out the way to get everyone involved. Now, these things are all good and well; they are very well and very good, and in fact, we couldn’t be the church without them. But on the mountaintop, On the mountain top, it seems that doing is not the most important thing. For there’s a call to faithfulness in the voice from the clouds: “This is my Son, my chosen, listen to him.” God, it seems, doesn’t desire for Peter to enshrine his moment or for us to enshrine our moments of transfiguration. There’s the simple call to listen before doing, to be the presence of Christ and hear what he has to say. What might it be like it we took several moments of silence at the beginning of our day or at the beginning of each board or council meeting, to ask the still-speaking God to share a word with us? Or what might happen if we followed that silence with from the gospels to hear the good news that Christ brings? How might our lives and our congregation be different if we took time for extended prayer, extended conversation with God, just as Jesus did? Friends, I do believe that our desire is the same as Peter’s: we want to be faithful followers and listen to Jesus. Pastor and teacher Alan Culpepper reminds us: “Faithfulness is not achieved by freezing a moment but by following on in confidence that God is leading and that what lies ahead is even greater than what we have already experienced.” I don’t know how much confidence Peter, James, and John had, but I do know they followed Jesus down the mountain. and there they find a father and a child gasping for breath, gasping for life. Jesus’ face and appearance are no longer bright and shining; He is no longer standing with Moses and Elijah. Down on the ground, Jesus is not transfigured himself; He brings transfiguration to others. Jesus rebukes the powerful demon; Heals the boy, and gives new life to the boy and the to his father. Here is the truth, friends: There is transfiguration and transformation on the ground, too. There is glory in the grey areas of life, when it appears that all is not bright and shining, when it’s hard to sing “what a wonderful world.” Do you know the name and music of Wynton Marsalis? He is considered a creative genius, one of the most recognizable jazz musicians of our day. He is one of the premiere – if not THE premiere – jazz trumpeters ever to put his lips on a horn. Wynton Marsalis has played in spectacular venues all around the world – Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, L.A. Colesum. But one small venue – under the ground – is among the most memorable. One night, Marsalis was playing with a small, little known jazz combo in a New York city basement club. The room was small and stuffy; and the music was superb. A few songs into the combo’s set, Marsalis walked to the front of the bandstand. He began an unaccompanied solo of the great 1930’s ballad, “I Don’t Stand A Ghost of A Chance with You.” Stretching the mood of the song and of the place to perfection – as only Marsalis can – the crowd grew still. Marsalis came to the final phrase of the tune, with each note coming slower and slower, with longer and longer pauses between each one. I…. don’t…. stand….. a….. ghost…… of….. a…… chance…. Then someone’s cell phone went off, chirping a silly little tune. The audience broke out in an uncomfortable laughter, the man with the cell phone fled into the hall to take the call, and the spell was broken. One of the journalists who came to hear Marsalis that evening scratched in his notebook: “MAGIC RUINED.” And then, Then Marsalis played the cell phone ring tone note for note. He played it several times, With different accents, changing keys and tempo Improvising and spinning out a rhapsody on the silly little tune, the audience settled down, Slowing realizing they were hearing something altogether wonderful and extraordinary, glorious and gracious. Around and around Marsalis played for several minutes, transfiguring the music, the moment, even the mistake of cell phone ring tone. Finally, in a brilliant masterstroke, Marsalis grabbed those last two notes of the ballad he began with before the interruption: ….with….you. The audience exploded with applause. Friends, in the same way, Jesus wove glory into the life of the young boy and his family, transfiguring, transforming a life of confusion and struggle into a life of hope and possibility. In the same way, Jesus desires to weave a melody of transformation into our lives. With his healing grace, Christ can bring peace out of our anxiety, love out of our losses, even miracles out of our mistakes. And also in the same way, you can I can create a beautiful song of love, welcome, mercy and forgiveness for others in this community and the world. Because once we see Jesus transfigured, once we know that Christ came to us and for us, to show us the face of God and the embodiment of love, Then IT IS a wonderful world. Once we see Jesus differently, we will see each other differently. We have the honor, the privilege, the call to participate with Christ in his mission of transfiguration: when saying “I’m sorry” and opens up a place in a hearts for reconciliation; when sharing an embrace becomes a symbol of hospitality and acceptance; when saying “yes” to an invitation to serve on a church board and committee becomes the beginning of a ministry; and when our giving to relief efforts or pledging to the church becomes an act of worship to our God. With Christ and through Christ, we can transfigure a moment, transfigure a relationship, and transfigure a life. Oh, we won’t always be successful. Like the earliest followers of Jesus who could not heal the young boy, We, too, will lose our focus. We, too, there will be times when we will rely solely on our own power instead of Christ’s power. But, like our forbearers in faith, let us continue to follow Christ’s lead, confident that there are glimpses of glory and a wonderful world still ahead for us. Amen. Please pray with me. Holy God, thank you for your transfiguring grace. Continue to open our eyes to see your glory, and open our ears to hear your call. In Jesus, we pray. And let the church say together, “Amen.” |