“HIM AND HIM ALONE!”
Transfiguration Sunday
26-february-2017
Matthew 17:1-8
INTRODUCTION
WHEN HE WAS GOING ON LIKE THIS, BABBLING, A
LIGHT-RADIANT CLOUD ENVELOPED THEM, AND
SOUNDING FROM DEEP IN THE CLOUD A VOICE: ‘THIS IS
MY SON, MARKED BY MY LOVE, FOCUS ON MY DELIGHT.
LISTEN TO HIM.’
“MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING.” IF YOU EVER SAW THE
MOVIE, “MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING,” THE FATHER OF
THE BRIDE TRACES JUST ABOUT EVERY WORD IN THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE BACK TO THE GREEK. THIS ISN’T
QUITE TRUE OF EVERY GREEK WORD, HOWEVER IT IS
TRUE HERE. THE WORD IN THE GREEK IS,
METAMORPHOTHA. IT IS TRANSLATED, IN ENGLISH, AS
“TRANSFIGURE.” JESUS WAS TRANSFIGURE BEFORE THEM.
THE WORD, LITERALLY, MEANS “CHANGE.” THIS CHANGE
THAT PETER AND BROTHERS, JAMES AND JOHN, SEE WAS
UNLIKE ANYTHING THEY HAD SEEN BEFORE. FOR A TIME
THEY SEE JESUS IN HIS EXALTED STATE! THAT IS TO SAY,
IN HIS GLORIFIED STATE. JESUS BECOMES A CELESTIA
SUPERNOVA. HIS FACE SHINES LIKE THE SUN! HIS
WARDROBE BECOMES WHAT AST LIGHT!
IN THE MIDST OF THE METAMORPHOSIS THERE IS A
VOICE FROM A CLOUD. AS WE LISTEN TO THAT VOICE, WE
COME TO SEE THAT WE HAVE COME FULL IN THE LIFE OF
JESUS. THREE YEARS EARLIER, AT THE BAPTISMAL
WATERS OF JESUS, THAT SAME VOICE SAID SOMETHING
QUITE SIMILAR. “THIS IS MY SON, WHOM I LOVE; WITH
HIM I AM WELL PLEASED.” AND NOW THAT SAME VOICE –
THAT IS SAY – THE VOICE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
SAYS THIS: “THIS IS MY SON, MARKED BY MY LOVE, FOCUS
ON MY DELIGHT, LISTEN TO HIM.”
THERE IS A LYRIC FROM A SONG THAT WAS WRITTEN
MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. IT WAS A HUGE HIT. IT WAS
THE COVER SONG FOR A POPULAR MOVIE STARING JON
VOIGHT AND DUSTIN HOFFMAN. THE MOVIE: “MIDNIGHT
COWBOY.” THE LYRIC: “EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ AT ME – I
DON’T HEAR A WORD THEY’RE SAYIN’ – ONLY THE
ECHOES OF MIND.”
THE VOICE FROM THE CLOUD IS TELLING US THAT IS
TIME FOR US TO TUNE OUT EVERYBODY WHO’S TALKING
AT ME AND LISTEN TO VOICE. THE VOICE OF JESUS. IT IS
HIS VOICE AND HIS ALONE, AS WE MOVE FROM THE
MOUNTAIN OF METAMORPHASIS INTO THE VALLEY OF
THE PASSION.
I MOUNTAINS
MOUNTAINS. AS WE ASCEND THIS MOUNTAIN, WITH
OUR LORD’S INNER CIRCLE, PETER AND BROTHERS
ZEBEDEE, WHAT IS BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION, AGAIN,
IS THE PLACE OF THE MOUNTAIN IN THE SACRED STORY.
ON MOUNT MORIAH ABRAHAM IS TESTED BY THE
ALMIGHTY AS HE IS COMMANDED TO OFFER UP ISAAC AS
A SACRIFICE. ON MOUNT SINAI MOSES RECEIVES THE
TENETS OF THE COVENANT GOD IS ESTABLISHING WITH
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL – THE CIVIL, CEREMONIAL AND
MORAL LAW. ON THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN GOD SPEAKS
TO ELIJAH. HIS VOICE IS NOT IN THE WIND, THE
EARTHQUAKE OR THE FIRE. IT IS IN THAT STILL SMALL
VOICE. “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD,” HE SAYS
TO US! IN THE STILLNESS HE SPEAKS.
ON THE PLATEU OF A MOUNTAIN JESUS TEACHES AND
PREACHES THE MOST QUOTED SERMON IN THE BIBLE. WE
SIMPLY CALL IT WHAT? WE CALL IT THE SERMON THE
MOUNT.
SOON, ALL TOO SOON, THERE WILL ANOTHER
MOUNTAIN. NO MOUNTAIN IS MORE IMPORTANT. IT IS A
MOUNTAIN MARKED BY PROFOUND HUMILIATION;
AGONIZING PHYSICAL PAIN; CRUELTY BEYOND
COMPREHENSION; A CRUCIFIXION THAT KILLS THE
SAVIOR! “COME TO CALVARY’S HOLY MOUNTAIN,
SINNERS RUINED BY THE FALL.” “EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’
AT ME – I DON’T A WORD THEY’RE SAYIN’ – ONLY THE
ECHOS OF THEIR MIND.” NO MOUNTAIN MATTERS MORE!
THERE IS CLEANSING IN THE CRIMSON THAT IS POURED
OUT ON THAT MOUNTAIN; FORGIVENESS THAT FLOWS
FROM HIS SACRED HEAD NOW WOUNDED;
TRANSFORMATION AS HE HANGS TORTURED! OH, THE
IMPORTANT, PLACE AND POWER OF MOUNTAINS IN GOD’S
STORY! NONE MORE POWERFUL THAN THIS ONE! BEFORE
THE DARNESS OF THAT MOUNTAIN, WE HAVE THE LIGHT
OF THIS MOUNTAIN ON THIS DAY!
TO BE SURE,THIS A MOST EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT.
MOSES AND ELIJAH. MOSES THE GREAT LAW-GIVER,
WHOSE GRAVE NO ONE HAS EVER FOUND. ELIJAH, THE
GREAT PROPHET WHO NEVER TASTES PHYSICAL DEATH
BUT IS TAKING INTO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. DEAD
MEN, NOT DEAD. DEAD MEN, INDENTIFIABLE. DEAD MEN,
NOT IN SOME OF KIND OF SOUL SLEEP. DEAD MEN, NOT
ZOMBIES, NOT IN LIMBO, PURGATORY, OR CATATONIC!
DEAD MEN, VERY MUCH ALIVE AND IN THE MOMENT AS
THEY ARE CHATTIN’ IT UP WITH JESUS ABOUT HIS
EXODUS. THEY ARE PRESENT, IN THIS MOMENT, ON THIS
MOUNTAIN FOR ONE PURPOSE – TO ENCOURAGE JESUS!
WHY? BECAUSE IN THEIR MOST DIFFICULT MOMENTS
JESUS WAS THERE TO ENCOURAGE THEM.
THAT’S RIGHT! JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT! DO YOU
REMEMBER WHEN GOD TELLS MOSES TO TELL “OL’
PHARAOH TO LET MY PEOPLE GOD?” BEFORE HE GOES TO
EGYPT, MOSES NEEDS SOME ID! “SO, WHO SHOULD I TELL
PHARAOH IS SENDING ME?” MOSES ASKS GOD! HE NEEDS
A NAME. HE GETS ONE! “MY NAME IS, ‘I AM!’ JESUS IS
SPEAKING TO MOSES HERE! JESUS SAYS WHAT? HE SAYS,
“I AM…THE RESURRECTION AND LIFE.” “I AM…THE WAY,
THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.” “I AM…THE GOOD SHEPHERD.”
ELIJAH, AT HIS MOST DESPONDENT MOMENT – HE IS, IN
FACT SUICIDAL – CRASHES UNDER A BROOM TREE WITH
QUEEN JEZEBEL IN HOT PURSUIT. UNDER THAT TREE HE
CRIES OUT – “I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! TAKE MY LIFE!” GOD
HAS A DIFFERENT PLAN. ANGELS ARE SENT, A MEAL IS
PRESENTED AND THE WORDS ARE SPOKEN: “ARISE AND
EAT…ARISE AND EAT, ELIJAH, LEST THE JOURNEY BE TOO
LONG FOR YOU.” AS PART OF THE HOLY TRINITY, DID NOT
JESUS SEND THOSE ANGELS TO ENCOURAGE ELIJAH?
JESUS ENCOURAGED THEM. AND NOW ON THIS
MOUNTAIN THEY ENOURAGE HIM! AS THEY ENCOURAGE,
WE ARE TO LISTEN. “EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ AT ME – I
DON’T A HEAR A WORD THEY’RE SAYIN’ – ONLY THE
ECHOES OF MY MIND.”
II GET FOCUSED
AS WE SOON DESCEND THAT MOUNTAIN THE VOICE OF
THE FATHER FROM THAT CLOUD WANTS US TO DRAW
CLOSE AND LISTEN, BECAUSE THIS – THESE LAST FEW
CHAPTERS – IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE
STORY. HE SAYS, “LISTEN TO HIM,” BECAUSE SO OFTEN
WE DON’T. OUR INABILITY OR UNWILLINGNESS TO PAY
ATTENTION REMINDS OF THE FOLLOWING…
THE SON SAID, “LAST WEEK IN THE ELEVATOR OF MY
MOTHER’S APARTMENT, A MAN ASKED HER, “HOW ARE
YOU?”
SINCE MOTHER HAD JUST SPENT THREE HOURS WITH A
TAX COLLECTOR, SHE SMILED GRACIOUSLY AND SAID,
“LOUSY, THANK YOU.”
THE MAN RETURNED THE SMILE AND SAID, “THAT’S
NICE.”
MOTHER SUSPECTED THAT HE EITHER HAD
MISUNDERSTOOD HER OR WAS SIMPLY A SADIST.
HOWEVER, LATER THAT SAME DAY, SHE PASSED A
WOMAN WHO SAID, “HOW ARE YOU?”
“SUICIDALLY DISTRAUGHT,” SAID MOTHER.
“FINE,” SAID THE WOMAN.” “HOPE THE FAMILY’S WELL,
TOO.”
“EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ AT ME – DON’T HEAR A WORD
THEY’RE SAYIN’ – ONLY THE ECHOES OF MY MIND.”
HERE IS THE SPIRITUAL GUT CHECK ON THE TOP OF THE
MOUNTAIN OF METAMORPHOSIS. LIKE PETER, WE TOO,
WOULD RATHER STAY ON TOP OF THIS MOUNTAIN. IT IS
EXHILERATING, UNEXPECTED, EUPHORIC! BUT WE CAN’T.
WHEN WE PAY ATTENTION, NOT ONLY TO WHAT JESUS
SAYS TO US, BUT WHAT HE DOES, WE SEE AND HEAR THAT
OUR LIFE OF FAITH IS NOT LIVED ON TOP OF THE
MOUNTAIN. IT IS LIVED – MOST OF ALL – IN THE
VALLEY…THE VALLEY BETWEEN TRANSFIGURATION AND
CALVARY. IT IS LIVED IN THAT PLACE WHERE THERE IS
PAIN AND DISAPPOINTMENT AND HEARTBREAK AND
BROKENNESS. IT IS LIVED IN THAT PLACE WHERE SO
MANY PEOPLE NEED JESUS BUT REFUSE TO LOOK OR
LISTEN.
YOU SEE, IN ORDER FOR JESUS TO MEET OUR NEEDS, HE
MUST DESCEND THIS MOUNTAIN AND FINISH HIS COURSE
BETWEEN TRANSFIGURATION AND CALVARY. IF DOES
NOT – IF PETER GETS WHAT HE DESIRES, THREE TENTS – A
CERTAIN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN SHANGRI-LA ON THIS
MOUNTAIN – THAN WE REMAIN HELPLESS AND HOPELESS.
WE ARE NOT TO BUILD TENTS. WE ARE TO SUBMIT AND
DESCEND AND LISTEN. HOW IRONIC…PETER WOULD
LATER ENCOURAGE US TO DO THE SAME THING. LISTEN
TO THIS…
WE OURSELVES HEARD THE VOICE THAT CAME FROM
HEAVEN WHEN WE WERE WITH HIM ON THE SACRED
MOUNTAIN. AND WE HAVE THE WORD OF THE PROPHETS
MADE MORE CERTAIN, AND YOU WILL DO WELL TO PAY
ATTENTION TO THIS, AS TO A LIGHT SHINING IN A DARK
PLACE, UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS AND THE MORNING STAR
RISES IN YOUR HEART? HIM AND HIM ALONE!
HOW AND WHERE DOES HE SPEAK? WE KNOW THE
ANSWER, RIGHT? HE SPEAKS PRIMARILY THROUGH IS
WORD. THAT IS WHY IT IS NECESSARY THAT WE NURTURE
A DEEP AND ABIDING RELATIONSHIP TO HIS WORD. SO
WHAT PLACE DOES THE WORD OF GOD – THE BIBLE –
HOLD IN YOUR LIFE? ARE YOU READING IT? IF YOU ARE
DISCIPLE, YOU WILL LOVE HIS WORD! IT IS HOW HE
PRIMARILY SPEAKS TO US! HE SPEAKS, NOT ONLY THERE,
BUT ESPECIALLY THERE. HE ALSO SPEAKS THROUGH
EACH OTHER. THIS IS WHY, NOT ONLY, DO WE PAY
ATTENTION TO HIS WORD; WE LISTEN TO EACH OTHER.
HOW OFTEN HAS JESUS GIVEN US CLARITY BY USING
SOMEONE IN OUR LIFE WHO SAYS JUST THE RIGHT THING
AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME? THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT WE
ARE LISTENING.
ON THIS DAY, ON THIS MOUNTAIN, IN THE LAST WE
MUST GO BACK AND LISTEN TO WHAT JESUS SAYS JUST
BEFORE HE ASCENDS THIS MOUNTAIN. HE SAYS: IF
ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, HE MUST DENY
HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.
DESCENDING THE MOUNTAIN IS ALL ABOUT DOING JUST
THAT. THERE IS ONLY WAY TO THE EMPTY TOMB, AND
THAT IS THROUGH THE CROSS. HE BORE A CROSS WE
COULD NEVER BEAR THAT WE MIGHT BE EMPOWERED TO
BEAR THE ONES WE CAN AND MUST FOR HIM! SO, WE
DESCEND. WE TAKE UP. WE DENY. WE FOLLOW.
WE…LISTEN…
“EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ AT ME – I CAN’T HEAR A WORD
THEY’RE SAYIN’ – ONLY THE ECHOES OF MIND…” NOT
HERE. NOT NOW! NOT ON THIS MOUNTAIN! AMEN.