It was Sunday
December 5, 1999. I had received a phone
call from my brother at about 4:30 that morning to tell me that my father
died. The 5th was a Sunday
morning and I had responsibilities in my church down in Marlinton, West
Virginia. I could have made some calls
and excused myself, but I just wanted to be in church with my church
family. The service went well. Yet, I had to leave immediately after the
service to lead worship at a small chapel where I also had
responsibilities. To get to Mary’s
Chapel I had to drive up Elk Mountain. That’s
twenty-five minutes of mountain road to get there on time.
Well, it was a
warmish December morning. It was foggy
down in Marlinton, which was way down in the Greenbrier River Valley. But then, about two-thirds of the way up, I
found myself suddenly above the clouds.
So, I pulled over at an almost providentially well-placed wayside just
to take a minute and look around. The
leafless trees were wet and glimmering in the sunshine. The clouds were aglow with a glory all their
own. I stood about ten feet above them
and it was if I was looking down on a sea of clouds on which I could step out
and walk. It was beautiful, just
absolutely beautiful, quiet, peaceful. It was good.
I got the sensation
that God had created this moment just for me on that morning. Dad was finally free of his suffering and at
rest and my heavenly Father just loved me enough to let me know that. Not that I didn’t know that already. Everything was going to be okay. There was nothing to fear. I sat there a moment and thanked God but I
had to go, a mountain top experience.
I think of that
experience whenever I come across the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration though it
pales in comparison to the mountaintop experience that Peter, James, and John
had with Jesus. Jesus took them high up
the mountain and there they saw King Jesus in his glory joined by Moses, the
bringer of the Law, and Elijah the Prophet who themselves had had very powerful
mountain top experiences. Moses received
the Law up on Mt. Sinai which described the way of life that would distinguish
the people of God. Elijah also had found
himself up on Mt. Sinai in a cave while running for his life and it was there he
heard the still, small voice of the Lord telling him he wasn't alone in his
faithfulness.
Struck with awe
Peter blurts out how good it is to be there standing in the light of the glory
of God and suddenly (there's always a suddenly) a bright cloud overshadowed
them; like the cloud that consumed Mt. Sinai when Moses went up it and the
cloud of the glory of the LORD from which God whispered to Elijah; i.e., the
Holy Spirit. Then God the Father spoke,
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
Realizing that they
were in the presence of God and that Jesus, their friend and teacher, is God’s
Son, Peter, James, and John fell face down on the ground, absolutely scared to
death. They knew that they had no right
to be there. They were not worthy to be
in the presence of God. A common
superstitious kind of fear back then was that you would die on the spot if you
ever come into contact with God.
But, Jesus then
said to them not, “Get up and don’t be afraid,” but rather, “Be raised and
don’t be afraid!” The Greek word there
for the act of rising is in the passive voice.
It was done to them. They were
made to get up and why every translator misses this, I have now idea. The commentators don’t, but the translators
do. It is Jesus who is raising his
disciples not the disciples themselves simply rising up on their own.
The Transfiguration
of Jesus speaks also of our resurrection from the dead. By Jesus’ command and in the same power of
person-establishing, creation-renewing love by which God raised him from the
dead, i.e., the Holy Spirit, God the Father because of Jesus, the Son’s, giving
of his life and his ongoing intercession for us and our union with him in and
through the Holy Spirit will in the same way raise us from the dead by the same
power of person-establishing, creation renewing love of the Holy Spirit. By Jesus own command and because of his death
and resurrection for us, we who are in him have nothing to fear in the presence
of God the Father.
We have nothing to fear. We’ve
only to bask in the goodness of the glory of the Holy Trinity – the love of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We
have nothing to fear in the presence of God.
So, back to our own
mountaintop experiences, reflecting back on the experience that I shared with
you, that was a moment when, I believe, God spoke to me. He comforted me, his beloved child. As Christians, we will have moments like that
and they are good. Yet, let’s not major
on the minors. There is something
greater here that we must take in: we as Jesus' disciples in union with him,
the Risen and Ascended One; we, because of the free gift of the Holy Spirit
living in us; we, are living in the Transfiguration at this very moment and
always.
What Jesus is now – resurrected
and glorified – he is now also making us to share in because his life is in us
and our life is in him. He is making us
to rise up and be like him. He has
poured his Spirit upon us, into us, and it is good. The Father has spoken the Word of life into
us and by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit we are being transfigured to
reflect Jesus Christ more and more through our own lives and our life together
as a church in his name. God is at work
in us each and our Christian fellowship and all Christian fellowships changing
us to be more and more in the image of Christ Jesus.
Yet, let us not
hang it all on God’s shoulders. He has
also called us to obedience. The Father commands
us to listen to his Son, to Jesus, and therefore to live according to what
Jesus has said. The Christian life is
more than just occasional moments of love and assurance from the Trinity. It is certainly more than just being good and
doing our part out of a well-formed sense of duty.
The Christian life
is found in following; following Jesus, abiding by his teachings, immersing
ourselves in prayer, studying and embodying the Scriptures, and laying down
ourselves for those around us in unselfish love that they may see the love of
God. We can have mountain top experiences, but Christian life, the new
life in Christ, is found coming down the mountain with Jesus and following
in the cross-formed way of life of dying to the “me, myself, and I” instinct
that we follow blindly and living by his teachings enabled by the Holy Spirit. Amen.
