Matthew 17:1-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
February 14, 1999<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past few days, we\u2019ve been caught in a cloud cover of a typical California winter\u2014rain. Remember your junior high science class when you learned the three different kinds of clouds? There are the stratus clouds\u2014a cloud formation extending in long, low layers. Then there are the cumulus clouds\u2014a thick formation with a horizontal base and rounded masses piled up on each other. Cumulus clouds are typically ominous signs to an upcoming thunderstorm. Then we have the cirrus clouds, our favorite\u2014a formation of white fleecy clouds usually above 33,000 feet. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are usually cirrus clouds on a Disney vacation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was growing up, my mother who probably learned this from her mother in her Toishan village, taught me to read the clouds that sometimes surround the moon at night. When there was a thick hazy cloud, it usually means that tomorrow will be warm and humid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here in the Bay Area, we have another kind of cloud, San Francisco fog! This large mass of finely condensed water particles is so beloved that it\u2019s canned for export at Pier 39 and so dangerous that it causes deadly pile-ups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today is one of those special days. It\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day. And if you didn\u2019t tell your sweetheart how much you love him or her, there\u2019s still time. Monday is Presidents Day. For many, this will be a day to sleep in. Tuesday is Chinese New Year 4697. With all the rest that you got sleeping in on Monday, you have to get up before dawn to eat the vegetarian meal if you are really traditional. However, there\u2019s another special event that we recognize today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today in the Christian calendar is referred to as \u201cthe transfiguration of our Lord.\u201d\u00a0 This was a supreme moment in Jesus\u2019 life, when God\u2019s power was brightly present.\u00a0 Jesus knew he must suffer, struggling in his humanity with the prospect of a painful death.\u00a0 And the possibility that it might be in vain.\u00a0 But in the transfiguration of Jesus, now he knew.\u00a0 Jesus is now blessed with God\u2019s power that is greater than the sum total of what is possessed by his enemies. Jesus\u2019 power was greater than even the violent and hateful ones that he will encounter.\u00a0 Jesus, the man who walked down from that mountain was not the same man who walked up.\u00a0 His course now was determined.\u00a0 He would suffer.\u00a0 He would die.\u00a0 And he would live again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter, James, and John went up on the mountain with Jesus. After they saw Jesus\u2019 face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white, a bright cloud overshadowed them and from this cloud, a voice declared, \u201cThis is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similar to how God announced the heavenly identity of Jesus at his baptism, God once again validates Jesus\u2019 ministry by literally saying, \u201cThis Jesus is still my Beloved Son, and with all that he has done\u2014his teaching and his healing, his compassion and his conflict\u2014I am indeed well pleased.\u201d This is the transfiguration of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s something like this. When you stand at the bank of Lake Tahoe and gaze into the water, often the glare of the sunlight on the water allows you only to see the surface of the water. If a cloud passes overhead, suddenly the surface is made transparent and the depths of the lake are revealed. Just so, the passing overhead of the divine cloud in this passage enables the disciples and for us to see past the surface identity into the depths of the complete person of Jesus the Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weather forecasters try every half an hour to interpret what kind of weather we will be having. In San Francisco, we are noticing that they are usually wrong. Just imagine my satellite pictures right here, I have three forecasts for you in the next 5 minutes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Getting ready for the pending storm<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Peter saw Moses and Elijah standing with Jesus, Peter said to Jesus, \u201cLord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.\u201d The presence of Jesus together with these two heroes of the faith was a sign that the messianic age had arrived; what the ages had expected and yearned for had, at last, arrived. No wonder Peter was so glad. The weather was sunny and nice. Moses represented the Law and Elijah, the Prophets. With Moses and Elijah by his sides, Jesus stands for God\u2019s continuous promise of a rainbow for his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter was getting ready for any pending storms that might be looming in the horizon. He wanted to freeze the forecast here by building \u201cdwellings\u201d to mark this revelation. Let\u2019s see if we can stop the cirrus and cumulus clouds from gathering out in the Pacific from coming toward the Bay Area was in Peter\u2019s head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Facing a drought<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes the weather forecast is a dry-spell.\u00a0 We may like to hear a sunny and dry forecast, but are we experiencing a dry-spell in our lives?\u00a0 In Exodus 24:12-18, we read that Moses was invited by God to come up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone with the commandments.\u00a0 When Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain, he was up there for six days.\u00a0 Moses waited for six days and nothing happened.\u00a0 It was a drought!\u00a0 What would have happened if Moses wasn\u2019t patient and gave up after 4 or 5 days?\u00a0 The exodus story would be quite different if Moses didn\u2019t weather through the 6 days of drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moses stuck it out. Moses endured. How do you endure those dry-spells that choke your days from keeping your promises to God and patiently waiting for God\u2019s will for your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Preparing for Lightning and Thunder<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the disciples heard the voice from the cloud, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. Although Jesus\u2019 face was shone like the sun, on the faces of Peter, James, and John were dark clouds. They were afraid to know what the voice was really saying to them, when it said, \u201cJust listen to him.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When God told the disciples to \u201clisten to Jesus,\u201d God meant to obey his teachings, follow his commandments, be his disciples, listen to him. Although the voice from the cloud was frightening, that was not what scared Peter, James, and John. They were more scared of the command to listen to Jesus, by the thought that every word of Jesus\u2014even the one, perhaps especially the one, about taking up the cross and following him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Pennsylvania, particularly during some of those hot, humid, and hazy days of summer, dark and dangerous clouds would begin to form and create lightning and thunder accompanied with torrential downpours. You don\u2019t go out during that kind of storm. Peter, James, and John knew their storms were coming and they were very afraid. They were afraid to get up from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the Semanon\u2019s Christmas gathering last December, we participated in their annual gift exchange. After all the children sat on Santa\u2019s lap and received their toys and gift certificates, then the real party begins. The adults were about to have fun. I heard about this before coming that night, but I couldn\u2019t believe it! It was frenetic! What I received after the free for all exchanging at the end, was a huge black umbrella. I traded my plastic tote bag for a much-needed umbrella for a California winter. When we are caught in a cloud cover, you need a huge umbrella. We need\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n When our lives are experiencing long dry spells and the heat of life is choking away all of our hopes and dreams, we can turn to God. Just because God seems to be silent doesn\u2019t mean that we have to keep silent as well. One of the greatest comforts, the greatest privilege, we enjoy as children of God is the ability to turn to God in prayer at any time, in any place. We need an umbrella to keep some of the heat away so that we can pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t pray expecting to get an answer. Pray because it is the only answer we have to get. Praying is the answer when our lives are scorched under the heat of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin Luther prayed some four hours each day.\u00a0 From time to time his schedule would become so hectic, burdened down with so many demands, that he found it necessary to increase the number of hours he prayed.\u00a0 When we are under the umbrella to keep life\u2019s heat away, the answer to our lives is prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Jesus\u2019 disciples, we need an umbrella that\u2019s really big. It has to be big enough for all of us to get under because we are God\u2019s people. For God so love the world, that God gave his only son to die for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we may have eternal life. This umbrella must be big enough to encompass all our sisters and brothers here at Waverly, our sisters and brothers at Sunset. Those up the street on Stockton, those down the street on Kearny; everyone, including even those who God is still seeking out because of his love for his children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Jesus\u2019 face begins to shine and his clothes become luminous, God is revealing the sign of glory that is Jesus\u2019. God is saying, \u201cLook! This Jesus of splendor is who he really is.\u201d Our Lord, Jesus Christ teaches us to extend hospitality not only to our friends but to the stranger, the lost, the neglected, and even our enemies to come and feel the warm climate of Christian fellowship. We need a big umbrella so that we can get everyone under it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.<\/em><\/strong> A Broken Inside out Umbrella<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, the wind and the rain is so strong that your new umbrella breaks and turns inside out. We are then fully exposed to all the natural elements that can threaten our well being. Jesus told his disciples, \u201cIf any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.\u201d When Peter, James, and John fell to the ground and were overcome with fear, they were afraid of losing their lives. No Eddie Bauer, Totes or any other brand name life-time guaranteed umbrella can weather the storm of taking up the cross of Jesus and following him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only must their Master suffer and die but they must take up their crosses also. The umbrellas that we carry around are also broken with the insides out. While the world doesn\u2019t understand this and rejects this, Christ lifts up suffering, sacrifice and death as the cost of discipleship and the resurrection as the glory of discipleship. The glory of the kingdom would not be like the glory of the world. The glory of God is revealed in self-giving servanthood. Jesus knows and exposes all of our sins and short-comings. And when we trust Christ rather than the folly of our own human wisdom to be truth, God loves us as broken umbrellas with the insides out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming down from the mountain, Jesus orders Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone about the vision they have seen until after the resurrection.\u00a0 Why the secrecy?\u00a0 Why would Jesus not want his disciples to spread the good news?\u00a0 The reason is that there are two ways to distort and misunderstand Jesus: One is to get the word about him all wrong; the other is to get it half right.\u00a0 At this point, the disciples have it right, but only half right.\u00a0 They know that Jesus is truly the Messiah by the transfiguration.\u00a0 But they do not yet understand the companion truth: Jesus, the Messiah, must suffer and die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they were to become evangelists at this moment, they would proclaim a half truth\u2014a cost-free gospel, Jesus without the cross. Until the story is complete, they are to remain silent; later they will be commanded to tell the whole truth to the whole world. But only on this side of the cross will they have the whole truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting this Wednesday is the beginning of our 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting emphasis before Easter Sunday. Lent began as an observance lasting 40 hours because the Lord\u2019s body rested in the tomb about that length of time between burial and resurrection. The number four was considered special, a symbol of completeness as in the four winds, the four seasons and the four compass points. The significance of the number four can also found in the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, the 40 days Moses was on Mount Sinai to receive the commandments, and the 40 days our Lord was tempted by Satan. For the 40 days, not counting Sundays, we will be taking time out of our busy lives to pray for one of the ministries in our church. And if you choose, you are also invited to select one of the ways of fasting as a form of personal discipline over the demands of the body and as a means of entering into a heightened sense of spirituality. If you do give up something, such as food, it is a good idea to use the money that would have been spent to help the poor. It is more Christian to give to something than to give up something. Many of you who have officially signed up to participate in this have received helpful materials this week. If you would like to participate, we invite you to select a day and pray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the next 40 days, we will be \u201clistening to the forecast\u201d of the passion and death of our Lord. Lent is the season to not only meditate on the passion of Jesus but also to die spiritually with him. The goal is not greater knowledge but identification with the passion and death of Jesus. Being on this side of the cross, God has given us the whole truth in the death and resurrection of Christ. As we experience once again the suffering and dying with the Lord during the next 40 days, may we also rise in newness of life with Christ in resurrection. May the next 40 days grant us an understanding of the whole truth of Jesus Christ and not just an half truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only reason that we are able to weather through every winter season of heavy rains and being caught in the cloud cover is that we know that the sun will rise again. Without the cold and dark winters for the bulbs to draw nutrients, there would be no tulips or daffodils in the spring. When Peter, James, and John fell to the ground and were overcome with the fear of taking up their own crosses and following Jesus, Jesus came and touched them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus who touched the leper, who touched the hand of the fevered woman, who touched the eyes of the blind men, now healingly touches Peter, James, and John.\u00a0 \u201cGet up,\u201d Jesus says to them, \u201cand do not be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The threatening storm clouds that come our way as Jesus\u2019 disciples still scare us and we fall to the ground and want to hide until the storm blows over. The cost of discipleship is to weather long and hard in carrying our own crosses and following him. And in many<\/p>\n\n\n\n times in our lives, we find ourselves afraid. Jesus is touching each one of us and saying to us, \u201cGet up and do not be afraid.\u201d Jesus the Son of God is here with us. As we bear witness to his redemption in the world, Jesus the Son of God is coming to clear the cloud cover and make all things new in heaven and on earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n O Blessed God Almighty, Grant us your presence that you are with us in seasons of stormy weather. We may be caught in a cloud cover, but we know that your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ brings joy and salvation to all who love him and believe. In the name of Christ that we pray today, Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matthew 17:1-9 February 14, 1999 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco. Clouds For the past few days, we\u2019ve been caught inBuy an Umbrella<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Listen to the Forecast<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Here Comes the Son<\/h6>\n\n\n\n