As we close our “Surprise Me God” conversation this morning, gathering around the Lord’s Table, I’d like to enter very deep biblical and spiritual waters. I would like to wallow around in a biblical moment without completely understanding why it exists or even why it relates to our conversation this month. Look along with me at Mark 9:2-10.
At the end of previous chapter of Mark's gospel, Jesus has just shared some harsh teaching about the true cost of discipleship. And then, perhaps to encourage the disciples, He says some of them will actually get to see His power, kingdom and glory before they die. We aren’t exactly sure what Jesus meant by that, but we suspect He was referring to something very strange that took place six days later. Just as Moses, in Exodus 24, waited six days before his experience of God on the mountain, so here, after six days, Jesus and some friends have a similar glorious experience.
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.
What are we to make of this story? It is very clear this is not some sort of allegory or mythical moment we are to interpret symbolically. When this same Peter is writing one of his final letters prior to his martyrdom, he reminded his friends of the facts he knew to be true. In 2 Peter 1:16-18, he said passionately: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” This surprising moment changed us! This glorious, surprising moment was real!
I love Peter. Most scholars think Peter may well have been the most important source behind Mark’s gospel and so I love the fact that this gospel preserves Peter’s goofiness. While he made all sorts of spectacular, glorious mistakes – it is Peter I would most love to hear today.
I wonder what he would tell us today. I wonder how Peter would close our experiment.
Stay Awake
I’ll bet Peter would start by telling us to stay awake. It is humorous to note that Peter and his friends once again fell asleep on the transfiguration mountain, according to Luke’s version of events. Peter and his boys almost missed this transfiguration moment! So I’ll bet the first thing Peter would tell us would be to stay awake. When Jesus leads you up the mountainside, when you sense the nudging intentions of your LORD, pay attention!
This whole surprise me experiment is mostly just an exercise in paying attention. My good friend and software engineer Larus Maxwell has a favorite coffee mug. It has a rather frazzled picture of a highly caffeinated man with a simple caption, “Stay alert, stay employed.” My friend jokes that there would be no software industry if it weren’t for Mountain Dew, strong coffee and Hot Pockets! All joking aside, our experience of God and His glorious surprises are just about that simple. For goodness sake, pay attention to what Jesus is doing, pay attention to where Jesus leads, pay attention to wherever He goes, listen for the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in all you do; that is always where the glory is! For goodness sake, stay awake!
Savor This Moment
Then, as I picture it, I’ll bet Peter would chuckle every time he shared his second bit of advice from this mysterious, transfiguration story. I have a suspicion Peter laughed out loud every time he told this second part of the story. Can you believe it, the LORD Jesus Christ, our Messiah, the Savior of the world was transfigured before my very eyes, visited by the Moses the Law and Elijah the Prophet and I actually suggested camping! I suggested another religious festival. I honestly suggested we stay there on the mountain top and try to hog the LORD of the Universe all to ourselves! Can you believe it? Isn’t that just rich? What a doofus!
Folks, Peter would tell us to put down the movie camera and savor this moment.
How much surprise do you suppose we miss because we’re always focused on whatever comes next? How much glory do we trample on, how much transfiguration do we ignore, because we’ve got so very much Martha in us, we’re forgetting Mary chose the better way?
This moment matters. Every moment matters. While Mother’s Day might be on the calendar every year, there is only one of them this year. While we will probably gather again to worship next Sunday, this worship service matters. While the Lord’s Table is an ordinance we share together every month, today is a special, unique opportunity to commune with God.
Do we truly understand that each and every moment of our day bears with it the possibility of glory and transfiguration? We will leave this moment behind sooner than any of us think. There will be great spiritual combat and important stuff to do as soon as we leave the mountain today, Peter, but right now – I want you to shut up and savor this moment.
One of the hottest, sweatiest and most physically difficult days of my life occurred during a visit to Disneyworld many years ago. I was carrying one year old Tesia in a cuddle bag on my chest and three year old Maria in a backpack on my back. Monica was carrying everything else. It was so unbearably hot, little Maria didn’t want to walk very much and so I carried both those girls almost all day like that. It was brutal! But it was also wonderful! Now that my girls are older and extremely independent, now that Maria no longer rides on my back uses my ears as grip handles, I would give almost anything to enjoy that hot, sweaty and difficult day again. But that moment is gone now, isn’t it?
Folks, savor each moment God gives you. Savor your family. Savor this church. Savor the good work God has given you to do. Savor even the worldly possessions God has blessed you with. Each day has enough trouble of its own – so savor just the troubles of today.
Listen To Jesus
But if we forget everything else, we can’t forget the third, most important lesson. I am utterly convinced the most important bit of advice the Apostle Peter would share with us today is listen to Jesus. Stop talking, stop trying to put up tents, stop trying to manufacture good religion on your own, stop trying to take selfish ownership of Jesus, stop spouting all the goofy, silly stuff you’re constantly spouting and just please listen to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It isn’t your job to manufacture and maintain your own spiritual surprises. You cannot create the glory I’ve had planned for you since before the world began. Wake up, savor this moment and then listen to the One who has always loved you best. This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!
Who are you listening to? As we discussed last week, who gets to define what is normal in your life? Who gets to say what’s what? Who are you listening to?
Remember this picture I took at the Sonshine Festival last summer? This precious little girl’s parents were being very careful about what their little girl listened to and the volume at which she absorbed it. Not a bad idea…we do need to protect ourselves from all the noisy voices around us. While it is good to pay attention to the world around us, while there are legitimately truthful voices coming at us from many different directions, we need to make sure the noise doesn’t damage our hearing. There is a voice more important than the others. Folks, when Peter made his goofy “three tents” suggestion, he did more than just speak when he should have been silent. Peter insulted Jesus – he implied Jesus, Moses and Elijah were somehow on equal footing. I believe it is for this reason Almighty God responded from heaven as He did. While Moses and Elijah play a central role in redemption history, there is one voice louder and more important than all the rest. This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!
This great Apostle Peter went to his grave shouting that message from the rooftops!
Who are you listening to? What are you happily shouting to the world because of who you are listening to? To what glorious surprises are you eyewitness?
There is much about this transfiguration moment I do not understand. Why would God feel the need to do this? Why only three of the disciples and not all the others? Why not an even bigger crowd of people? What is the full significance of this? Why Moses and Elijah? And where exactly did this take place – why can’t we even agree on a location? Why was this so very important to Mark that he would spend lots of time on this story and rush through almost all the other stories he tells? And why doesn’t God reveal Himself like this more frequently? I would love to experience the glory of Jesus on a mountaintop with my friends…why don’t I?
I can speculate excellent answers to almost all these questions, but ultimately this is a quiet, mysterious, glorious moment of surprise Jesus chose to share with only three friends. This was a moment given to Peter, James and John that they might give it to all the rest of us.
And that’s the way surprise always works. We are each given flashes of glory, splashes of wonder and color; sometimes lovely stuff and sometimes very hard stuff. We each get our own glorious, surprising moments at Disneyworld. It is our task to stay awake, pay attention and listen for the voice of Jesus in all of it that we might share it well.
May we continue to notice and enjoy the surprises of God! May we clearly hear the voice of Jesus! May we experience the full, surprising glory of own transfiguration and share it with all those who need it most!
Amen.
