Sermons

pastorEric aug2014Sermon for Transfiguration of Our Lord / Last Sunday after Epiphany

Mountaintop
By The Rev. Christie Webb -

 

Imagine it with me.
Peter, James and John are called to Jesus' side. “Come with me up the mountain.” Up the mountain? But mountaintops are where the glory of God is revealed. Mountaintops are where the 10 commandments were given. Mountains are holy places, where God is closer to humans than elsewhere. And here they are, Peter, James and John asked to go up the mountain with Jesus, the one who Peter just declared to be the Messiah. How can this be? It wasn’t very long ago that they were fishing on the lake, not very long ago that they were called to come and follow. And here, again, another invitation to follow. I wonder if they knew, I wonder if they suspected. I wonder if they anticipated. I wonder how they were feeling as they followed Jesus up the mountain.

 

And then they reach the mountaintop. Jesus is transfigured before them. Dazzling white. Whiter than bleach could provide. Shining. Glorious. And here comes Elijah, and Moses, two of the greats! This is miraculous. This is where they want to be. This is the moment when it's all clear- the glory of God is shining through. Peter speaks what I bet James and John were thinking too: “It's good for us to be here. Let’s stay. I will make you dwellings.” The words tumble out because Peter is terrified. He probably doesn’t even know what he is saying… but it's a good idea right- why would we ever leave this place of amazing clarity about who Jesus is connected to, who Jesus is, really.

 

And then it gets even better. A cloud comes. A voice comes. “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him!” These words echo the words that came at Jesus' baptism- when the dove came, and the heavens were torn. When Jesus' call story happened in an instant: the call of being the beloved child of God. But this time everyone can hear it. This is my son. Clarity about who Jesus is, really. Beloved. And then it is part two of Peter, James and John’s call story. The first part: Follow Me. The second part: Listen to him. These three are now called not just to follow, but to listen, to really listen. To listen to the teaching, the words, the stories. To listen and to follow.

 

And well, I suspect Peter still wanted to stay. I suspect they all did. Let’s stay on this mountaintop, in the midst of this miraculous unveiling of who Jesus is. But it is not to be. We don’t get the narrative of this part of the story, how it was that Jesus said “No, we aren’t to stay here.” We only get that they head down the mountain, and walk down listening to a command to keep quiet, to keep this to themselves until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.

 

Can you imagine? You’ve just seen Jesus dazzling. You’ve just seen Jesus to be companions with Elijah and Moses. You’ve just heard the voice of God telling you to listen to him. And the first thing you have to listen to is that you have to go down the mountain. And then next thing you have to listen to is that you can’t tell anyone about this. You have to leave this wonderful place, this experience of God, to go back into the dust of life. And you can’t bring the story with you the way you want. You have to leave this mountaintop, and go back into the dust of life, and you have to do it amidst ominous statements about the Son of Man rising from the dead, which means the Son of Man will die, which is confirmed again and again by Jesus in the moments surrounding this mountain top moment. Indeed, just one chapter later we will find ourselves in Jerusalem, in the last week of Jesus’ life, in the dustiest of the dusty parts, where the cross is at the finish line.

 

quote webb meetsI wonder if part of your call story has a mountain top experience. I wonder what it was like. I wonder what it revealed about Jesus.

 

I wonder if you too know the experience of wanting to stay on the mountaintop. I know I do. These moments of revelation are just so holy, so profound, so wonderful, we don’t want to leave them behind.

 

I know part of your call story is a call to listen to Jesus, because it is the call of all disciples. But I wonder what it is you particularly are called to listen to today.

 

I wonder if part of your call story is the work of going back down into the dust of life. I wonder if in the midst of that very dust, you too have experienced other profound moments of revelation of who God really is, and how much you are really loved. Like the cross revealed it to us.

 

Like how in the midst of depression in my high school years, I experienced the peace of God and knew how deeply I was loved. Or how in the death of my mother, I experienced the peace of the Holy Spirit, and listened to her whisper that we were going to be okay, and listened to the call in the midst of my grief to accompany others in such difficult moments of life. I wonder how your call story rises from these ashes, these dusty moments, where God was revealed not just in the mountaintop, but in the valleys as well.

 

As I was considering the mountain top and Gods’ presence on it, I remembered a speech by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was his last speech made. He said: “Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

 

The next day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He had been to the mountaintop, Martin Luther King Jr. He had seen the vision of the glory of God, the vision of the promised land, the vision of a world of justice and equality. But he didn't stay there. He followed Christ down from the mountain, into the valleys. He came down the mountain to share the vision with the people. He seems to have known something was coming, that in the dusty realness of everyday life it would not be easy. It just seems as if he knew his death was imminent. But he came down anyway. He listened and followed the call of Christ.

 

Friends, here is the truth. We are sometimes called to the mountaintops to experience the very glory of God. Christ meets us there. And we are called back down to the valleys, to the dusty places of life. Christ meets us there too.

Amen.

 

The Rev. Christie Webb
Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sermon for:
February 11th, 2024


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