When I was in seminary, I’d drive along a stretch of Highway 33 between Bath and Kingston, Ontario every school day for three years. It was right along the lake, a scenic drive for sure. But, when you’re part of a steady stream of traffic, all trying to get into the city on time, you don’t always pay attention to the beauty of nature around you.
One February morning, it was so foggy, I could hardly see the lake. The road was slippery, I was late getting to my classes. The day did not get off to a great start at all. But, the drive home was something else. The fog had been burnt off by the Sun, so everything was plain and clear to see. As a matter of fact, the sun was setting behind the trees along the lake which had all been coated not only with hoar frost, but a glassy, icy overcoat. I wanted to pull over and get out my camera and shoot off a roll or two. But, of course, I was in the middle of the evening traffic, my camera was at home, and all I could do was capture that SHINING MOMENT in that invisible album in my cranial cavity. You can tell that it is still there...I just proved it! I can actually see it as vividly as the day it happened back in the winter of 1981...20 years ago.
Peter, James and John were treated to a powerful visual experience one day nearly 2000 years ago. Jesus loved heights. He had this habit of going off to a hillside to pray. Of course, you remember the time he delivered a whole long sermon from a mountain. So, going up a mountain with Jesus by itself was not unusual. They’d done mountains before! But, on this day, it turned out to be more than just another routine hike, more than just another prayer session. It was such a vivid, unforgettable event that three gospel writers record it in great detail. They saw Jesus as they’d never seen him before, clothed in dazzling white, surrounded by a blinding light, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, acknowledged by a voice from heaven as the Son of God. It is the event we have come to know as The Transfiguration, a word which means “change in appearance.” It was a SHINING MOMENT for them for sure!
Surveys show repeatedly that a very high percentage of people admit to having religious or spiritual experiences at one time or another in their life. A month or so ago, I started teaching Christian Ethics to a new set of Grade 11 students at Luther College. When I asked them one day if anyone had gone through any experiences where they felt the presence of God in a powerful, mysterious way, several hands went up. One groped for words to describe her experience in a retreat setting, two others had visions of a relative’s death, and one student later wrote me a note suggesting that I ask the class to write a report on how we think God has helped us cope with life. In his words: “Sounds pretty dumb, doesn’t it, but I have interesting stories to tell.” I haven’t heard those stories yet, but it is quite obvious that this sixteen year-old has had some SHINING MOMENTS in his young life.
I dare say that most of you, if not all of you, young and old alike, with varying degrees of spiritual maturity, can point to such moments in your life. I was there when all three of my children made their grand entrance into this world. I almost missed Priya’s birth, because I was so overcome with emotion that I reached a state of consciousness known in non-medical terms as “passing out.” Until that particular moment, I was just trying to recall what we learned in pre-natal classes and be the best possible coach I could be to my screaming yet darling wife. But, when she emerged, it was not just a baby being born, I’d already seen the film and had a good idea of the process. It just struck me that this cone-headed creature here was OUR baby, we were now parents and I was a Daddy! Wow! That’s when the room started spinning out of control!!
For the record, Sulojana did not label it as a SHINING MOMENT on the spot...at least I couldn’t come to that conclusion based on the words she used to describe the process as she was going through it! But, it was a powerful experience for her nonetheless! As we both capped off “our” time of labour with toast and washed it down with orange juice it was as though we were taking part in Holy Communion.
I consider it a great privilege to have had the opportunity to share such special moments with some of you. For the most part they happened in a hospital setting, some at birth, but mostly at the time of death. I vividly recall the time of prayer with Ruth Case, just a week before she met her Maker....and watching a great man and friend, Bob Law, breathe his last in total peace in the Palliative Care Unit at the General Hospital surrounded by his loving family. Following another such time together, one of our members would write me a note that said: “The prayer you had with Mom was one of the most meaningful spiritual experiences I have ever had, one that I will never forget.” Yes, even in the darkness of death, there are SHINING MOMENTS for us to cherish.
The standard sermon on this passage usually goes something like this: “Well, folks, we all know that God gives us mountain-top experiences. But don’t be like Peter and try to stay on the mountain-top forever. Hurry on down, ‘cause there’s a whole lot of work waiting for you down in the valley.” I’ve preached that sermon a few times and it’s a sound approach.
However, if you look closely at why the experience of Jesus’ Transfiguration happened when it did, you realize that the experience by itself was very valuable...both to Jesus and to the disciples. From Jesus’ perspective, the presence of Moses and Elijah and the voice from heaven which echoed the voice he heard at his baptism are all signs that he was on the right track and doing what God wanted him to do.
The disciples, who still were not sure who this Jesus really was needed to see Jesus in all his glory and to hear those same words of identity and assurance: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” When they all came down from the mountain, they would head toward Jerusalem and ultimately the cross on another mountain called Calvary. During this home stretch, their faith would be tested, they would run into all sorts of opposition...and they would need to know that this Jesus whom they were following was more than just another Rabbi, a good man, a great teacher and leader. He was the Son of God. Although his glory was not always visible, they still had the vision of him on the Mountain of Transfiguration to remind them of who he really was. That SHINING MOMENT on the mountain top would sustain them in the valley, even the valley of the shadow of death.
In other words, there is nothing wrong in wanting to enjoy the experience, to prolong the vision, to make the moment last longer....because they would really need to let that vision sink in and take root deep down inside them for it to have the power that it would have in the days to come. As a matter of fact, the “booths” that Peter wanted to build were not permanent chapels, they were really tents. Peter knew as we all do that you cannot live on the mountain top forever, that this “high” would not last, he just wanted to soak it all in...for all he knew, this would be his only experience of its kind...so, why not keep it going for another day or two? Those of you who’ve gone to retreats or Marriage Enrichment weekends or uplifting conferences and undergone a giddying experience or two know the feeling, don’t you?
So, here is the message for you this morning. When God gives you SHINING MOMENTS, treasure them. Remember them. Share them with others. Because someone else may need to hear your story. They will see the world with totally different eyes and will be more open to seeing the moments God has in store for them.
Not only that, but you may need to recall that moment later on as you walk through the valley and need the assurance that you’re on the right track, that you’re not alone, that God is with you and has a definite purpose in life for you. Just remember that you cannot manufacture these moments, all you can do is receive them as gifts when God offers them to you.
A United Church colleague, Wayne Hilliker tells this true story about the Jewish women in concentration camps during the Second World War having to work to build roads: their wheelbarrows were their aprons; their shovels were their fingernails; on cardboard shoes they went out on frozen ground and worked all day; only diluted soup to eat; and then back again at night, on frozen ground, to their dormitory.
When one of the women who survived it was asked later? ’How did you manage day after day after day? What kept you going?’ she replied: ’I don’t know what all it was. But I do know one thing¼when we would go out in the morning to work on those cold muddy roads, we passed a house that had a flowerbox in the window, and in one there was a tulip blooming. And I would say to myself all day when we worked if I make it through the day, going back home, I’ll get to see the tulip again.’
’Just a tulip?’ ’Yes, just a tulip’
You need not go to the mountain-top to experience SHINING MOMENTS. They can happen for you right here on the Prairies. It could be as simple as seeing a natural object or phenomenon in a totally different light. I remember Doris Stansfield seeing the cherry blossom tree outside the hospital window in Vancouver where Gary was dying of leukemia, not as just another tree, but as a sign of the new life that God had in store for Gary when he passed away and for her as she would face life without her friend and partner. It was a vision that would sustain her in the days to come. Have you experienced something similar?
Or, perhaps it was another person that provided that moment for you. There once was a little boy who decided he wanted to go find God. He knew it would probably be a long trip to find God, so he decided to pack a lunch, four packs of Twinkies and two cans of root beer. He set out on his journey and went a few blocks until he came to a park. In this park on a bench, sat an old woman looking at the pigeons. The little boy sat down beside her and he watched the pigeons too. After a while he grew hungry and so he pulled out some Twinkies. As he ate, he noticed the woman watching him, so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. There was something about her smile that fascinated the boy. He thought it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, and he wanted to see it again. So he brought out the cans of root beer, opened one and offered her the other one. Once again she smiled that beautiful smile.
For a long time the two sat on that park bench, eating Twinkies, drinking root beer, smiling at each other, and watching the pigeons. But neither said a word. Finally, the little boy realized that it was getting and late and that it was time to go home. He started to leave, took a few steps, then turned back and gave the woman a big hug. Her smile was brighter than ever before.
When he arrived back home, his mother noticed that he was happy, yet somehow strangely quiet.
"What did you do today?" she asked, trying to figure out what was going on. "Oh, I had lunch in the park with God," he said. Before his mother could reply he added, "You know she has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen." Meanwhile the woman had left the park and returned to her home. Her son noticed something different about her. "What did you do today, Mom?" he asked. "Oh, I ate Twinkies and drank root beer in the park with God," she said. And before her son could say anything, she added. "You know he is a lot younger than I had imagined.”
SHINING MOMENTS. Following our service this morning, our monthly luncheon will lead into a Congregational Celebration of Ministries. I hope it will turn out to be a special moment for you. Over the past few weeks, it has been tough sledding for members of our Official Board and committees as we have wrestled with the new structure we are trying out right now and worked at making sure that all the jobs are filled and all the groups are in proper alignment in accordance with United Church policy and principles, etc. etc.
And, often when we are caught up in all the work that has to happen in the valley, it is easy to lose sight of the vision that brought us to this point. We need to remind ourselves of those SHINING MOMENTS that happened during those workshops led by Clair Woodbury and Joyce Madsen–the moments when we shared our stories, dreamed dreams and made plans. The special session when out of total chaos emerged the meaningful mission statement. And that workshop earlier this year where the new structure took shape. God gave them to us for a purpose. Just as he gave the first followers of Jesus the experience of his transfiguration.
So, don’t throw away those strange and mysterious experiences that have happened in your lives. Don’t let go of those things that you do not understand or cannot explain. Rather meditate on them, delight in them, and use them as a source of spiritual strength for those times when you too head toward your Jerusalem.
Thanks be to our God who blesses us with SHINING MOMENTS. Amen.
