FROM THE MOUNTAIN TO THE MISSION
Text : Luke 9:28 - 43
Someone (Barbara Klassen) tells the story about her “ ... great-great uncle who lived to the ripe old age of 106. He was healthy and spry and took joy in chauffeuring his less able-bodied senior friends around town. On his 100th birthday his driver’s license came up for renewal. When he went to the licensing Bureau, the skeptical clerk said, “You’re 100 years old! What do you need a driver’s license for?” ... [Her] uncle completely, nonplussed, replied, “Somebody has got to drive the old folks around!” He continued to have a legal driver’s license for the next five years.”
(Edward K. Rowell and Bonne L. Steffen ed. Humor For Preaching And Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996, p. 152). We find humor in this story when an older person calls his peers old folks. Another thing that we find in this story is what seems to be the story of a man who never quit serving others.
Someone (Zan Holmes) reminds us of our marching orders as Christians: "Christianity is a come-and-go affair. We come up to the mountain, but we must go back down again. We come to worship, but we must go to serve." (Raymond McHenry. ed. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes And Other Notes. [Source: Author’s files]. Third Printing. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, p. 38). We enter church on Sunday morning to worship and we are supposed to depart to serve. We live in a world where people would rather enjoy the leisure of some things instead of the necessity and the mandate to labor for other things. In God’s kingdom here on earth, we are called to labor in loving service to make a difference. We are called to share in Jesus’ ministry by preaching the good news to the poor, the prisoners, the oppressed not just with our lips, but also by the way we live.
THE MOUNTAIN TOP
Who does not like to be on top of the world? We all have ambition that drives us to do our best and be our best. When I was a kid we used to playa a game called the king of the mountain. We usually played this game on a small hill. The object was this---whenever you got to the top of the mountain [small hill] you would push away all those who were seeking to become the next king of the hill. Consider ambition and its negative side. The Living Bible paraphrases Proverbs 27:20 like this: “Ambition and death are alike in this: neither is ever satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20 TLB). The New International Version translates Proverbs 27:20 like this: 20. “Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man” (NIV). The King James Version says: “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied”. Summing up the meaning of Proverbs 27:20, from the different versions of the Bible, we can conclude that ambition and the unsatisfied eyes compare with, hell and destruction. The point is that we spend money for things that are not bread and labor for things that do not satisfy (Isaiah 55:2) when we choose other than God’s way to be filled and satisfied.
How does the ambition to get on top of the mountain compare with our calling? It seems that Jesus calls us all to go to the top of the mountain and worship and seek God’s guidance to do God’s will. One of the purposes of prayer is to seek God’s guidance. We seek to do God’s will through obedience. We have to remember that those three disciples were instructed by God in the appearance of the enveloping cloud to listen to Jesus: A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him" (Luke 9:5 NIV). Listening to Jesus means that we take up crosses and follow Jesus by denying ourselves through loving service to others. Listening to Jesus also means that we invest our time, our talents, and our gifts remembering that we must never quit because Jesus’ love never ends! Listening to Jesus also means that the harvest is plentiful while the laborers are few which is why we must pray for more laborers as well as work compassion and diligence to make disciples.
Are we sleeping on the job? These three disciples were found to be sleeping the job. Jesus took them up to the mountain to pray. The King James Version said that the disciple had heavy eyes which obviously seems to be metaphor for sleepiness leading to sleep. This is not the first time that the disciples fell asleep, these same three also fell asleep when Jesus asked them to watch and pray when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Someone (A. T. Robertson) not only makes this same point, but he also points out how others often compare with the disciples. “The same word is used of the eyes of these three disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:43) and of the hearts of many (Luke 21:34)”. (A.T. Robertson. Word Pictures In The New Testament: Volume 2 – Luke. Rio, WI: USA: The Ages Digital Library Reference, Ages, Software Version 1.0 © 2000). Probably none of us like to talk about how we have sometimes been sleeping when Jesus had a job for us to do whether it was to watch and pray or to be in service in one way or another. Why is it that we fall asleep today? Do we fall asleep because the “workers are dreaming as opposed to dreamer’s working”? (David N. Mosser. ed. The Abingdon Preaching Annnual 2004. Thomas Lane Butts. “Inspiration And Application”. Nashville:Abingdon Press, 2003, p. 89). Do we fall asleep because of our indifference or our prejudice? Do we fall asleep because we are too busy? Do we fall asleep because we make excuses? It seems that we are a lot more like those disciples than we would like to admit.
Have you ever wanted to make time stand still? In this transfiguration story, Peter wanted to freeze time. He did not want the moment to end. In our own culture there is a world famous amusement park in Anaheim California that bears a sign upholding the slogan "Disneyland The Happiest Place On Earth". (Ernest A. Fitzgerald. Keeping Pace: Inspirations In The Air. Greensboro: Pace Communications, Inc., 1988, p. 128). That is the kind of place that kids do not want to leave once they get there. Being on top of that mountain when Jesus was transfigured was far better than being in Disneyland. Why? History was being made and these three disciples only caught a glimpse of it! What was the connection with Moses, Elijah and Jesus? All of them were deliverers. Through the leadership of Moses, slaves were set free. Through the leadership of Elijah, God kept 7,000 people from worshipping Baal (I Kings 19:18). Through Jesus Christ, God would deliver humanity from the bondage of sin, death and the fear of death. Both Elijah and Moses had their moments when they wanted to quit. It has been suggested that their presence there on the mountain did two things. First, it revealed Jesus in His original heavenly glory clarifying that He is God’s only begotten Son to His disciples. Secondly, Jesus was talking with Moses and Elijah concerning their challenges and victorious departures as He was soon to head to Jerusalem where He would begin to suffer before His own departure. (Max Lucado. Next Door Savior. Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2003, p. 132). It would not be until after His resurrection these three disciples would later understand what this experience meant. More and more with the passing of time, they would begin to realize that freezing time was not that purpose of the trip up the mountain. One thing that they would always remember was that voice—God’s own voice that came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him" (Luke 9:5 NIV). How well do we obey and listen to Him today?
THE VALLEY
What is the importance of this mountain top experience that we are called to share in the valley? We are called to reveal Jesus’ identity by who we are as His disciples. We are called to do ministry in His name. We are called to follow in the humble example of His footsteps. We are called to come down from the mountain and take part in the mission. We are called to reflect Jesus. There is the story of a boy who attended a church that had stained-glass windows. When asked the meaning of the word saint, he said, “they are people the light shines through”. (Charles E. Bugg. ed. The Abingdon Preaching Annnual 2002. J. Michael Shannon. “I Can See Clearly Now”.. Nashville:Abingdon Press, 2000, p. 90). How well do we reflect Jesus Christ in out loving service, our gifts and our talents?
Are we sleeping in the valley? There is no time for sleeping. Don’t we as Jesus’ disciples have promises to keep? In the words of the poet … (Robert Frost) In the words of the American poet, Robert Frost, “… the woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep” (from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening). What did Jesus encounter when He came down from the mountain? When Jesus came down from the mountain He encountered a crisis (Luke9:37 – 45) and a competition (Luke 9:46 – 56). How well do we keep those promises when we fail to tend to the needs of those who are in a crisis in the valley who need help? How well do we keep those promises when we worry about how we compare with the greatness of others? E. Stanley Jones once said, “We grow small trying to be great.” (R. Daniel Watkins. Compelling Quotes. Raleigh: HeavenWord, Inc., 2001). Someone (Marcus Aurelius) else once said, “A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions”. (Vernon McLellan. Timeless Treasures. Raleigh: HeavenWord, Inc., 2000). As we think about our promise that we as disciples must keep let us keep in mind how we will get evaluated. Someone (Hugh Black) has put it this way: “At the end of life we shall not be asked how much pleasure we had in it, but how much service we gave in it; not how full it was of success, but how full it was of sacrifice; not how happy we were; not how ambition was gratified, but how love served”.
(Vernon McLellan. Timeless Treasures. Raleigh: HeavenWord, Inc., 2000). As someone has anonymously said we have to remember something very important: “If you are a Christian, remember that men judge your Lord by you”. (R. Daniel Watkins. Compelling Quotes. Raleigh: HeavenWord, Inc., 2001). As mentioned before, “We enter church on Sunday morning to worship and we are supposed to depart to serve”. Let us serve Him and serve Him well, bringing glory to His name through undying love and our never–ending service! Amen.
