Matthew 17:1-9
“Shall We go Hiking?”
By: Reverend Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church,
Newport News, VA
A colleage of mine told me this week about his experience at Mount Tabor, the place that
many believe the Transfiguration took place.
He told me that it is a very steep mountain, and it takes a lot of work to get to the top.
But this is where Peter, James and John followed Jesus.
It must have been an awful difficult climb.
What I’m wondering is: Where were the other 9 disciples?
Why did they not follow Jesus on this journey?
Were they not invited to come?
Or did they have other things to do that day?
Did some of them have relatives down in the valley that they wanted to visit?
Did one of them decide to go get a hair cut instead?
Did another decide that it was just such a beautiful day that he would rather go fishing?
Whatever the reasons, the disciples who did not follow Jesus to the mountaintop missed
out on an amazing experience.
Were they just not expecting anything to happen?
Was it just too steep of a climb?
They must have been terribly sorry that they missed out on this incredible experience
when the three who accompanied Jesus returned.
Often times this is our attitude toward coming to church.
We have too many other things to do on Sunday.
It’s our only day off during the week that we can sleep in...or get a hair cut, or mow the
lawn, or visit relatives....
....and we’re not expecting anything to happen anyway.
But the truth is, when we decide to put all other claims on our time and lives aside, and
follow Jesus--amazing things do happen--even when we least expect it!
Here was Jesus, climbing up this steep and high mountain...and following right along
were Peter, James and John.
It is often very difficult to follow Jesus.
It can take a lot of effort.
Decisions have to be made.
Priorities must be put in place.
But it is the most important thing that any of us can ever decide to do!
In the Epistle lesson for today that Virginia read Peter testifies about this experience.
He says that he was an “eyewitness” to the “majesty” of the “power” of “Our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
“For he (Jesus) recieved honor and glory from God the Father,” writes Peter “when that
voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my beloved, with
whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice from heaven, while we were with him
on the holy mountain.”
Wow, what an awesome testimony!
What a mountain top experience!
And because of this experience Peter is able to say with confidence: “so we have the
prophetic message more fully confirmed.”
And this is what happens to us when we decide to follow Jesus up the mountain....
When we decide to make it our number one priority to follow Christ!
What we’ve heard about God through other people, through reading the Bible, through
going to church becomes real for us as our faith is confirmed through seeing for ourselves that
Jesus Christ is truly the Beloved Son of God the Father in whom God is well pleased!
And through this experience, our lives can’t help but be changed for the better--forever!
It’s not a myth proclaims Peter....I’ve seen it for myself!
How many of us can say that with confidence this morning?
In verse two of our Gospel lesson it says that Jesus was “transfigured” before the three
disciples.
The word which is translated as “transfigured” in Matthew is the same word which is
found in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 which means to be “transformed.”
Therefore, on the mountain, Jesus was transformed and His true nature was disclosed.
And what is the true nature of Christ? It is that He is God...One with the Father and the
Holy Spirit....who came to earth in human form.
And therefore, when we experience Christ we too are transformed “into His likeness
with ever-increasing glory.”
And every time we step into the church, every time we open our Bibles, every time we
get on our knees to pray, every time we tell others about the incredible story of Christ, everytime
we invite someone to come to church....we find our lives changing and changing as we come
closer and closer to God....as we become more and more transformed into the likeness of
Christ.
I know a young girl, who, one summer was invited to go to a Christian camp.
When she returned to our church she was a completly different person.
Here face shown with the glory of Christ...you couldn’t help but see it!
She was so excited about Jesus that she started reading the Bible every chance she got.
She had tasted the goodness of the Lord, and she hungered for more and more.
Over time, she came to know the Bible better than many people who have Master
Degrees on the subject.
What she had been told about Jesus all her life had been confirmed at that summer camp,
and she brought many new people with her to church....her enthusiasm for the Lord was
contagious!
Her entire countinence had changed, and through what she had experienced, others too
had their faith confirmed.
I have lost contact with her, but last I heard she had become a missionary...and I’m sure
God is continuing to use her in mighty ways.
In our Gospel lesson God told the three disciples: “Listen to Him!”--as He was referring
to Jesus.
And the disciples fell facedown, but when they looked up, they saw Jesus only.
Moses and Elijah were no longer there and the cloud of glory had disapeared, and there
was Jesus only.
There is a basic need within each of us. We need someone in whom we can revere and
put our trust.
It is personal, and can only be given to a Person.
It is intimate and it is love: it is the joy and danger of a complete commitment.
Nothing else can give us this contentment, but at the same time, no human love can ever
satisfy this deepest longing.
Because the One in whom we believe must be above our lies, our hankerings , and our
humanness.
The only One in whom we can place our trust and our full committment is God made
flesh--that is, Jesus only.
All of us must be willing to follow Jesus up the mountain in order to see His true
nature--and therefore be transformed.
There is no other way. There is no other path that leads to life eternal.
But notice what Jesus and the three disciples did after the transfiguration.
Did they stay on top of the mountain?
No. They came down.
Just as an airplane can fly above the rain clouds, moving through a realm of clear light
and even rainbows--it must soon come down to earth.
So the three disciples and Jesus returned from the Mount of Transfiguration to the urgent
need of the valley.
We all must go to the mountain top--it is the confirmation of our faith.
We must be reminded again and again that Jesus is Lord, and that the seal of God is on
Him.
It is the renewal of our strength: when God “breaks through” once more, and we are
empowered.
We are empowered by the knowledge that there is a world beyond this one, and we will
not always have to live in this world with it’s fluctuations of darkness and light.
Because through Christ, the gates of the city toward which we are moving “shall not be
shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.”
But in the meantime, there is work to be done here on earth.
There is the sometimes humdrum work of providing for our families, the more urgent
work of loving our neighbors, and the central work of God’s kingdom without which
everything else lacks any meaning and worth.
And if we are wise, we should not covet any different life here on earth--once we are
in Christ Jesus.
The three disciples got to see something much greater than what was going on down in
the valley because they chose to follow Jesus.
Their priorities were in place.
They knew that nothing can compare to following Jesus....nothing is more important.
We all need to go to the mountain top.
We all need to be transformed by Christ.
And Jesus is calling all of us to follow Him.
And it certainly can be hard work, but it’s more than worth it.
Jesus has declared: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the
road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
That road that leads up to the top of the Mount of Transfiguration is narrow....and it’s a
steep and difficult climb--but it is the road which leads to life.
Who is willing to follow Jesus up the mountain?
Are we?
