Listening To God

Transfiguration Sunday

Listening to God

Matthew 17: 1-9

I heard a story recently about a terrible fire in a chemical plant. Several area fire departments responded to the blaze, and quite a crowd from the entire area gathered at a distance to watch. The media was there in helicopters and satellite remote trucks. The president of the company was among the crowd, and he was frantic. He gathered together the chiefs of all the fire departments and explained to them that in the midst of the inferno was a safe that contained all the company’s super-sensitive documents including the top-secret formulas for all their best-selling products. He pledged to give a $500,000 donation to the fire department that brought the blaze under control and saved all the super-sensitive documents in the safe.

The chiefs rallied their firemen and women, pulled out all the stops attempting to bring the blaze under control, but it wasn’t happening. The fire continued to rage. After quite some time the crowd heard another siren in the distance that kept growing louder. Before long this old beat up, dilapidated 1930’s style fire engine filled with a bunch of men in their 60’s and 70’s came roaring through the crowd, right past all the other fire departments. The truck didn’t even slow down as it burst through the front door of the plant and right into the middle of the blazing inferno. Everyone, firefighters, media members and the crowd just gasped thinking about what these guys did. However, before long the fire was under control and this group of aged firefighters stumbled out the front of the plant coughing. Everyone cheered their heroic effort. They saved the safe. A few hours later in front of the gutted plant the president of the company handed the 82 year old chief a check for half a million dollars. In the press conference that followed, one reporter asked the chief what they planned to do with that incredible reward. He didn’t even hesitate. "These guys already told me they want to buy a new fire engine that has some brakes!"

I tell you that story for a couple of reasons. First of all, I thought it is an old but funny story. But more important, there is a lesson we need to learn in it. Every story, every situation, every incident has at least two levels to it. The first level is what happened, the facts of what occurred (Who, what, when, where and how). The 2nd level here is the WHY something happened. It seems to me that why something happen is usually more interesting than what happened, even if what happened is a phenomenal event.

With that kind of thinking process, the Bible becomes very exciting reading to me. Events and situations that could seem like dusty old ancient history come alive with interest and intrigue when you look behind the scenes to the rest of the story. When you read what happened to Jesus and His disciples, it is always interesting to ask the question, "How come God allowed that to happen?" or "Why did God act like that?" Our passage for this morning is a prime example to consider as we think not just about what happened, but why.

Now there are three things that I saw in this passage.

1st - God wanted to get Peter, James and John’s attention

Can you imagine how dramatic this experience must have been to them? God designed this encounter to be something they would never forget… and they didn’t.

Long after Jesus had risen from the dead, this scene was still burned in their minds

• John might have been referring to this event - of seeing Jesus’ transfigured - when he wrote to fellow Christians in 1 john 1:5 when he said: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."

• And Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:16-18

“…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.”

God wanted their attention… and He got it.

God has always put a high priority on getting our attention.

In Isaiah 28:23 He tells His people: “Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.” Why should we pay attention to God?

Well, Deuteronomy 7:12 says: God has a “covenant of love” He wants to share with us. He wants to give us the full measure of His blessings in our lives because He cares for us.