Do you see what I see?
Mark 9:1-11
I have had several opportunities to go to the top of mountains especially when we lived in Colorado. We drove up in all kinds of weather, even when it was snowing. I have taken the cable cars and when I was a kid hiked.
It is interesting to me that going up has always seemed to take a lot longer than going down.
Sometimes you think you will never get to the peak. Especially walking and you consider turning around before you reach the top. Sometimes when you are going up the zig zag road you may start to wonder if it will be worth the trip.
Usually on the way up, there is not a lot to look at. - Just trees and road, OOPs hard right. I can’t tell you how many times a trip up a mountain has caused me to have a pain in my right arm. The pain is immediately followed by a voice. One of the voices God uses sounds just like Renee, It says Watch the road!
I have found that if I kept going and get to the top it is usually worth it. You clear the trees and the view is more than you ever expected. In Colorado it was only a short climb before you could stop and look back down a valley and see for miles.
In our scripture today…Is what appears to be a little side trip for Jesus and 3 of his disciples. They are going up the mountain, Jesus is in front.
I wonder if it was a little like a day off for these men. If they stayed in or near town they would have been flocked by the crowds. If they are going up the mountain it was a little cooler. Maybe some trees to offer shade. A little time away from the hustle and bustle of the preaching and healing.
So we have a vacation day, a little hiking, fresh cool air. There was no explanation that there was going to be a special lesson. It says they are alone and then the scene takes on the form of a science fiction movie. Their guide to the mountain it transfigured….he is changed …metamorphosed…
Right there in front of them he is changed… What does that mean?
We don’t know about his body, but his clothes look better than what mom could co with Tide and a bottle of Clorox. Bright pure white…Noticeably bright.
I wonder what their faces looked like. Shock – wide eyed with mouths open maybe afraid – with big wrinkles on their foreheads.
If that sight were not enough Elijah and Moses appear…It does not say were there waiting, or came around a rock the scripture says appeared.
If their faces were normal up to this point, they would have has to change.
I have been trying to decide if I would faint, or just run. The surprise or shock would cause some reaction in me.
But there they stand, Peter, James and John as witnesses to this scene.
It does not describe that they were in prayer or sitting but is they have been walking for a while I imagine they were tired and maybe not even looking at the scenery. They were going some ware with Jesus and there is no telling what kind of stuff they were talking about or thinking about.
Then the wild stuff starts. I wonder if one notices and asked the other, Do you see what I see. When did Jesus Change clothes and who are these fellas….?
Ok
How do they know who Jesus is talking too…. Are there signs, subtitles maybe name tags?
Maybe they asked questions on the way down the mountain and found out who they were. Or perhaps the oral tradition of talking about these great prophets told of particular appearance aspects or clothing items.
Maybe they just knew. Intuition, wisdom… revealed directly by God.. May be it is simpler…Jesus just says Moses , Elijah long time no see…..something
The largest question for me personally is what did they talk about? If they had a meeting on the mountain and is says they talked …Was it not important?
Ok, a quick reminder, when you read scriptures you will always end up with more questions than before you read. Sometimes you just have to trust that the details are not as important as “we” think they are.
If fact, I am not sure that them meeting was for Jesus or the other to as much as it was for Peter, James and John.
“What is the kingdom of heaven like? Well, it is always light. Everything looks bright and better than new. You will be able to see and talk to all the Prophets of God when you get there.”
Some how, I don’t think the Jesus could have used words and language that was simple enough for his companions to connect what it was going to be like.
That leads me back to verses 1 and 2 at the beginning of our reading.
And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."
This first verse is normally not connected to this block of scripture if your bible has section titles. To me it looks like the situation that Jesus described 6 days before, came true for Peter, James and John. The witnessing of the kingdom of heaven happens to 3 witnesses which is provable in court…
The three disciples are observers of a divine revelation…..somehow they don’t panic and hold their ground.
I wonder what I would do. How would I react? Is this event a test for the three or is it a gift?
The event in today’s scripture is one of the hardest for people to grasp any personal meaning. I am afraid that most of the time we hear the story about Transfiguration and we offer a polite smile and we go back to looking at the travel brochures of the Holy Land mountain top lodges and the pictures of the rolling countryside.
It is a mysterious uncomfortable moment. This is one of the places in the bible that gets uncomfortable for Christians because it seems to cause more Questions than answers. What if a new Christian or a person that is seeking asks what all that means? Uh oh, we better stay clear of this topic. There are too many boulders that we can’t get our hands on.
So, if we can’t have it shown to us in a way we can understand it we just move on to something more interesting skipping over the tough stuff.
I know this because it happens to me all the time. I am reading and I just skip over the big words and hope I figure out what they mean from the rest of the information. I hope that the bigger story speaks to me and explains it all.
For me to figure out what it means is a climb up a winding path, and I am not sure I will find it worth it. Some parts of scripture take a bit of work for us to gain an understanding of the event. I personally believe that John and Peter and James probably had a harder time with what they were witnessing because they had not seen anything like this.
It is possible that we find faith more easily because we may believe in the impossible. We have the advantage of TV and movies showing us stuff that is impossible all the time. -People coming back to life over and over, -magic, -all kinds of amazing events.
They had been in nearly constant witness to Jesus for a few years. The had seen some wild stuff. They had been amazed, flabbergasted, frightened, and who knows how many other intense moments. But this was completely new.
Can you imagine how mind blowing this image was, Brightness, Appearance of dead people....technically.
This event is described in all the study materials as an epiphany. A moment in the Bible where the divine nature of Jesus is described.
It is a moment when people of the day say to themselves. OH, He is the messiah, the son of God.
Epiphany = The phrase - Light came on. I see and understand. As Christians we have had an experience similar to OH I get it now. It is our moment that we believed, I know Who Jesus is and what he did for me.
According to Mark, just 6 days before Peter answered Jesus Question “who do you say I am?” With “You are the Christ.” Peter had called Jesus the Christ or Messiah.
These men have followed Jesus to the mountain and had the unmistakable proof that Jesus is more than a man, more that a good teacher, more than a prophet.
This event is the record of an event where 3 disciples are give amazing proof that Jesus is the messiah.
It is an exciting mountaintop experience. The Disciples must be shaking their heads and think they are dreaming. The view is stunning and the moment is important.
Then Good old impetuous Peter just has to say something. "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." The text adds, (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
Have you ever had an event where you just said a little too much? Started out with a little polite conversation and just went a little too far and felt embarrassed?
Would any one like to describe one of thoes times? Any volunteers….Me either, later I say to myself “ What was I thinking?”
I believe peter just wanted to “do” something. Here he is a witness to the Glory of heaven to some indescribable revelation of what the kingdom of heaven looks like and he is excited with what he sees. He wants to do something to honor his teacher.
-Do you think he has a clue as to what is going on?
-What the meeting and conversation are about?
-Do you think he was able to think or connect anything accurate about the moment?
It is like a new father in the delivery room that can hardly speak. When asked about the baby… says “its Its beautiful!
We know Peter has a tendency to blurt out what ever comes to his mind, right or wrong. He knows that this moment is special, but he doesn’t know why. He knows that he must be there for some reason and wants to respond to the moment.
It may be Peter’s first impression is that Jesus is equal in importance with Moses and Elijah. These two men that acted as agents for God, one as the Law and the other as a prophet seem to be talking as equals.
Peter wants to build booths, tents, some kind of shelters so that they can be comfortable and stay. Maybe just remain on the mountain top indefinitely.
IT would be really easy to have the idea that this is the kingdom of heaven brought to earth. It’s now…it’s here….
Peter was ready for the mission that he imagined to start and what better sign than for Moses and Elijah to join in the ministry.
But peters vision was flawed. He did not understand that Jesus is not equal with Moses and Elijah; he is above them in the org chart.
They were important workers preparing for his arrival.
Peter was excited by what ever this meant. However, he did not understand the mission of the messiah. He did not know that departure and fulfillment were going to be so painful.
I suspect that the disciples believe that it is the beginning of something great. This was a sign of the start of the new kingdom. Woo hoo instead of Uh OH!
In a way he was right. But the Journey was not starting from the rocky mountain top, it had started 33 years ago in Bethlehem. This event was the sign post marking the exit ramp ahead. The prophecies were “about” to be fulfilled. The kingdom is nearing but there will several bumps in the road.
Jesus never gets the chance to respond to Peters excited stumbling for words.
A cloud appears and envelops them and a voice is heard. "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
A cloud appears and envelops them …What do we call it when a cloud surrounds us around here?
FOG isn’t it…
The 3 witnesses go from dazzling white to a dense fog with the voice of God…If there were frightened before what are they feeling now? Loosing sight of their surroundings. Which way is home? The booming Voice…
Have you ever had the mountaintop experience and heard the voice of God for yourself?
I am grateful that God usually speaks to me in a whisper through scripture and the Holy Spirit. If I heard the actual voice of God I believe it would scare me out of my shoes. I wonder what the Disciples reaction was. It seems like no one is talking.
Then in a flash, it is all gone except Jesus. Was it a day dream, were they really asleep?
God message is that Jesus is the Son of GOD…THAT GOD LOVES Listen to Him!
Ok, Jesus say something. What ever just happened, say something.
He must have explained more, don’t you think?
That raises a bunch more questions in me; I hope they heard something else from Jesus. But we don’t know.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.
Peter James and John don’t share this story with any one for years. It was just too much.
I believe that there are two things that can happen when we get a message from God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit. One is that we think we must be crazy or that others would think we are crazy and we just stay quiet. We sit on the message and don’t share it or act on it. We don’t let it encourage us to take any special risk because of what we know by faith or direct revelation.
On the other hand, we can feel just so filled with the comfort that God is with us that we share what God has put on our hearts or in our minds we don’t care what people might say.
I have a friend, that reacted the second way a few years ago. I did not know him, except as an acquaintance at the time. I was at the meeting of the Exchange Club and at the end of the meeting he asked if he could have just a couple of minutes to say something.
He went to the mike in the front of the room of 100 business men and women and started to talk. He said that God had put a message on his heart that he thought the Club should sponsor a prayer breakfast. That God had told him that it was important that we do it right away and that he wanted a couple of volunteers to help him organize it.
That does not sound so scary sitting here in church. No one would say anything too you about that kind of language in church. But, He was at a secular event. A club, open to all business people. He spoke boldly without hesitation.
I was talking to a mutual friend who was much closer to Jim than me. He said that when they got into the parking lot that day, he asked Jim if he realized what he had said. “God put it on his heart, God spoke to him.” He said he had been shocked at Jim’s boldness. They went to the same church and were in the same Sunday school class had never even talked to each other so openly like that.
He said Jim seem a little surprised at what he had done. He had not even considered his words. He just had to say it. They had the prayer breakfast and as far as I know Jim has never had any problems related to listening to Jesus and sharing what was on his heart.
Jim is a much bolder Christian now than we was 5 years ago.
Are you afraid of what might happen to you if you have a mountain top experience?
Will you really consider following Jesus anywhere and do you follow God’s instruction?
Are you afraid that if you respond with the wrong words that you will loose something maybe personal standing or respect?
On the mountain that day the disciples received a simple message. Jesus is the son of God, Listen to him.
That is an epiphany, an apocalypse, the revelation of God .
Do you believe?
Are you listening?
Are you willing to respond?
Jesus and the Disciples leave the mountain and head for Jerusalem. They are headed to fulfillment of the law.
We are also making the turn in our journey toward Jerusalem.
As of Wednesday we start the Christian season of Lent. We leave the time when we rediscover the messiah and enter a time when we review our lives and see if we measure up.
To give you a little hint the measuring stick is not a human one. It belongs to the voice that was heard that day on the mountain.
Lent is a time we review our journey and look at it from the floor of the valley, we are more like Jesus than we are the disciples because we know where we are headed.
We are entering the time when we renew our intentional listening to Jesus about our lives.
All glory be to God!
The lent Journey starts here Wednesday night 7 PM we are the host church coming together for worship with Oostnallah and Rush. I hope you will come.
