Matthew 17:1-9
February 6, 2005
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
When I come to church on Sunday mornings, I park my car on Sacramento Street usually below Kearny and sometimes below Montgomery. I park on the left side of the street and begin my morning walk climbing the hill to church. Before too long, I begin to see the corner of our church; its historic clinker bricks and gold painted sign. Unlike Grace Cathedral which is on top of the hill, our church is not quite on top. It’s on the side of the mountain.
Last weekend, a bunch of guys went on our annual Men’s Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We had a great time exploring the theme, “When there’s a will, there’s a way.” By the end of the weekend, we were not ready to come down from the mountain so soon. We spent time sharing stories and praying together. We ate great meals as well as delicious siu-yehs. We extended our mountain-top experience by going to a Baker’s Square for lunch. And what a fun-filled time we had!
Life is the experience of going up a mountain and even if we don’t like to, we have to say, life is coming down from it too.
Transfiguration
In the passage we read for today, Jesus was at the midpoint of his ministry. Clouds were hanging over his ministry. The Pharisees and Sadducees were making it increasingly difficult for him. His disciples were bickering. And Jesus began to talk to them about suffering, the meaning of Jerusalem, and the cross. He talked about saving one’s life by losing it.
Six days later, Jesus took the leaders of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, away from the others. He led them up the winding hill to the top of Mount Hermon. And there on the mountaintop, something happened.
We’re not sure what occurred, but they called it “transfiguration,” which means “change” or “metamorphosis.” Moses and Elijah appeared. Jesus’ face shone in a way they had never seen it before. His garments glistened and it hurt their eyes to watch. And God spoke, saying, as he did at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved son…Do not be afraid.”
This encounter turned the disciples inside out. It changed their lives and they were never quite the same ever again. Simon Peter wanted to stay there forever by building tabernacles/churches/cathedrals. Like us men last weekend, we wanted to stay at the mountain retreat longer with no chores to do or meals to cook and just enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.
But Jesus shook his head. The vision faded. Moses and Elijah left as quickly as they appeared. And Jesus and the three disciples made their winding trip back down the mountain.
Disengage to Engage
In verse 9, Jesus called this experience a “vision” a theophany. What happened on the mountain was a visitation from God. And the disciples would tell about that day over and over again when God came down and they beheld his glory.
My prayer for the men who attended last weekend’s retreat is that they experience a visit from God. My prayer for the Women’s Retreat next month is that they too will have a visit from God. Every Sunday when we climb up the side of this hill to come to worship, I pray that we will have a visit from God too. There comes a time when we have to climb up this hill to disengage in order to engage.
From time to time, we busy disciples need to stop, look, and listen—quit our doing and just stand there. That’s a hard thing for most of us. We think we have to do something.
Have you seen the T-shirt that says: “Jesus is coming back-Look Busy!”? There’s more truth to that then we let on. We can miss God’s visit because we are too busy. The reason Jesus took his disciples with him to that quiet place of disengagement was to prepare them to understand the crucifixion and all that will follow.
We come to church on Sunday to disengage from the other days of the week. Some of you get up even earlier than you do on the weekdays to drive over an hour to disengage from work in order to engage with God. Like the disciples on a journey with Jesus seeing how he taught and healed every day, we do the same from Monday through Saturday. But then on Sunday morning, we disengage from our six-day routine to engage with God on this side of this mountain at church.
Open Our Eyes to See
Initially the blinding light of the Transfiguration blurred Peter’s vision and he wanted to encamp on top of that mountain forever. He wanted to build three tabernacles, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Who would want to depart from such electrifying presence?
While Peter was making all of his building plans, a bright cloud overshadowed them to correct Peter’s blurred vision. A voice spoke from beyond to clear up Peter’s incorrect vision of what God wanted. God said, “This is my Son. The Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” The disciples fell down with fear. Jesus came to them; touched them and told them not to be afraid. And when the disciples looked up, their vision wasn’t blurred anymore because they saw no one else except Jesus himself.
Like the disciples, when we listen to God’s plan for our lives instead of trying to impose our own plans on God, we begin seeing transfiguring experiences that we have not seen before. We begin to see the big picture of God’s plan.
The disciples remembered God had said, “This is my beloved. Do not be afraid.” Even if Jesus suffered, they would later understand that God was still with Jesus. Even if life did not work out the way they thought it would, they believe that God didn’t abandon them. The disciples began understanding that the big picture of God’s plan in the world may not be known by them but at the same time, the mystery of God is something that they should not be afraid.
When we experience some of life’s greatest sadness such as losing a loved one, we become blurred in our vision of life and we begin to doubt that God was with us. We all have, one way or another known this feeling. Just as God corrected Peter’s vision, God corrects ours as well. When we look toward Jesus suffering for our sins on the cross and knowing that God permitted his own son to die for us, we are comforted and not afraid anymore. God said, “Do not be afraid.” Even when life turns out to not be exactly as we had thought it should be, that life’s mysteries cause us to doubt our faith, we can believe that God was in our lives all along. And in God’s time, we too will come to understand.
Our Annual Meeting
Later on this afternoon, as a church we will gather as Jesus’ disciples to open our eyes to see the big picture. As separate boards and committees or distinct fellowship groups, we can end up like Peter wanting to build up our own tabernacles because our visions are blurred. As individuals, we can often become blinded from seeing the big picture of what God has in mind for us.
But when we come together to listen to God’s plan for our lives and for our church, we begin to see transfiguring experiences that we have not seen before. In 2 Peter 1:16, we see a church that was under persecution for their faith. The people in this church were reminded of the Transfiguration of Jesus and said, “We have been eyewitnesses to the majesty.” What a wonderful thing to say about Christians and the church!
When we hear and read the annual reports describing the faithful ministries at FCBC this past year, we are those Christians who are eyewitnesses to God’s majesty all around us. When we pay attention to God’s majesty every day, our perspectives of the world change. And in turn, we are changed inside out. But after being on top of the mountain, we need to come back down the mountain to re-engage in the world.
Down the Mountain
After the Annual Meeting this afternoon, I will once again walk down the hill to where my car is. Symbolically, I will experience the truth that none of us can stay up on the mountain forever.
Reality intrudes. Visions, unfortunately, do not last. There are just enough mountain peaks to get us through the lonesome valleys. We can’t stay on an emotional high forever.
As quickly as it came, the vision faded. Moses and Elijah disappeared. Jesus’ face did not glisten anymore. He looked just like them. It was time to go back down the mountain.
At the bottom of that mountain, an epileptic child convulses and the disciples stood helpless. They had no idea what to do.
Peter, James, and John and even Jesus could not stay on top of that splendor mountain. Neither can we. Reality still intrudes. We lose a job. We get depressed. We have a wreck. We lose a loved one. We wish we didn’t have to get out of bed.
Down the mountain is like what our son recently experienced in Boston after the big snow storm they had. With fewer trains running, commuters pushed and shoved to get onto the trains for work. Unlike normal days when people would line up politely in front of each doorway, this was not like school. This is life.
And life is sometimes tough and crowded and difficult. But the test of any vision is what we do when we get back down to the bottom of the mountain. This is life. Unlike the disciples, we must learn how to care for the epileptic child. We are called to make this world a better place. We are called to make this a better church. We are called to let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Going to Another Mountain
Today is the last Sunday of the Epiphany season and next Sunday is the beginning of Lent. We will begin the journey of coming down the mountain of The Transfiguration and journey with Jesus as he alone is able to climb up the mountain of Calvary. We know that the glory of God shines not just in the transfigured face of Christ, but also in the disfigured face of Christ—the face that bore the pain and anguish and sin and woe of the world. For the face that shone on the mountain is the same face we see on the cross. And the God who was there on the mountain is the same God who was there on the cross.
God does not stand aside from the trouble and cruelty of the world. God doesn’t stay on top of the mountain and watch with no interest from a distance what we do down in the valley. God is not absent from the daily fray and chaos of life, but God is here all along. God who was on the mountaintop, came down from the mountain, and walked the road toward the cross so that we may have eternal life.
Let us pray.
Gracious God, thank you for showing us the face of Jesus as your beloved Son who leads us to know you as our Father God. When we leave this holy place on the side of this mountain, abide with us and us with you so that in the daily work that we do in your name will lead to a world when justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. O God, we are ready to listen to Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen.