Transfiguration Sunday Sermon
Mark 9:2-9
"I Saw The Face Of The Pilot"
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them,
3 and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.
5 And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."
6 For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid.
7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."
8 And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead.RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
Robert Louis Stevenson gave us this little story:
A ship was in a serious storm and in grove distress. The passengers were alarmed. One of them finally, against orders, went up to the deck and made his way to the pilot. The seaman was at his post of duty at the wheel, but, seeing the man was greatly frightened. he gave him a reassuring smile. Returning to the other passengers. the man sold. "I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well."
"I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well." can be the phrase on which the story of the transfiguration is based.
Jesus took with him, Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain and there Jesus was changed, transformed into a white glow that could never be duplicated on earth. Along with this glow came two people out of the past, Elijah and Moses and the disciples did not know what to make of this.
But impulsive Peter said let us build three booths, monuments to this great occasion. Let us stay here and relish in this moment.
And then a voice said to them, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." When they seemed not to be able to comprehend any more, everything was gone and Jesus told them to follow him down the mountain and not to tell anyone of this experience.
Peter, James and John could have thought to themselves, "I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well." They saw the glory of God through Jesus, Moses and Elijah and heard the voice of God and they could have thought, yes all is well as we ride out the storms of live.
But did they?
Their first impulse was to stay put on that mountain top with all the glory around them. Their first impulse was stay where they were. Their first impulse was to stay in this glory, to stay put, to bask in the glory of God.
I remember when Wanda and I took a vacation out west and we traveled to Pike’s Peak. It was a steep and winding road that led up to the top of that mountain. There we parked the car, got out and went to the observation platform and looked out in all directions. It was truly a wondrous sight.
Then all of a sudden a storm blew in. The wind started to blow, the rain came and the lightening started to flash in the sky. The guide yelled for everyone to come inside, but I was so enthralled by the beauty of the storm, that I lingered. I did not want to leave that great majesty that was all around me. Then, in an instant, lightning flashed again, just a few feet from where I stood, and I hurried into the shelter, still drawn by the beauty outside, but weary of the storm and its ill effects.
That mountain top experience was glorious. I wanted to stay.
The mountain top experience for the disciples was glorious. They wanted to stay, to stay and worship what they saw and hear.
And many times we as Christians want that mountain top experience in our faith life. We want that glorious feeling of being with Christ. Some even demand it. Some even make those who do not feel that way feel guilty! We like the highs, we shun the lows.
Some Christians feel that if their live or those around them are not always glorious, something is wrong with their faith or the faith of those around them. This theology of glory says that if you are not healthy, wealthy, feeling good because of Jesus then something is wrong, either with you or your faith. If you are with Jesus everything is good, great, glorious.
But Jesus did not see it that way. After the experience on the mountain, what did he do? He went down the mountain and set his face for Jerusalem and the cross. Jesus knew that it is good to have those mountain top experiences, but the real work is in the valleys, in the depth of the human condition of sin and brokenness.
Jesus on that cross felt and experienced the human condition in all of it brutality. He knew the depth of suffering we human beings suffer, he knew the guilt, the anguish, the despair that comes with living life. He knew and felt it all on that cross and through the resurrection of Easter he conquered it all for us.
Jesus went to the mountain to be transfigured, but came down the mountain to be a saviour. He calls to us to have a relationship with him, but then to come down into the human condition to minister to those around us with love and compassion.
Another man who had a mountain top experience was Sir Edmond Hillary on May 19, 1953,that was the day when Sir Edmond Hillary, and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, reached the top of Mount Everest.
The first two people ever to literally be, on top of the world.
After Hillary had climbed Mount Everest, be became an overnight celebrity.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
His name became a household word.
He even became a spokesperson for Sears-Robuck and company.
And his name appeared on sleeping bags, tents, and boot laces.
And He could have lived in his little dwelling of success for the rest of his life.
But he didn’t!
What did he do?
He went back to Nepal.
Back to those people, the Sherpas, whom he had grown to know and appreciate and respect and love.
And he was also using his fame to bring them help.
In his speech some years ago, Hillary recounted how an elderly Sherpa from Khumjung village, the hometown of most of the Sherpas on his Everest ascent, had come to him a few years after that expedition and said, "Our children lack education. They are not prepared for the future. What we need more than anything is a school in Khumjung."
So Hillary established the Himalayan Trust, and in 1961 a three-room schoolhouse was built in Khumjung with funds raised by Hillary.
In its first decade the fund focused on education and health.
Since then the trust has built 27 schools, two hospitals and 12 medical clinics, plus numerous bridges and airfields, and also reforesting valleys and slopes in the many areas of Nepal.
He would spent more than half the year traveling the world, raising money for the trust and supervising the various projects undertaken with the funds he’s raised.
And he has continued doing this for more than thirty years.
Mountain top experiences are great, but living, working, helping, loving in the valleys are where Christ asks us to be.
We have seen the pilot and the ship is well, our lives are well and we need to sail into the valleys of life with love and compassion, for our neighbor, who Christ bids us to love.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 24, 2003
