28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. Luke 9:28-36 (NRSV)
Sermon
Most of us believe in a higher power. We believe that God is the creator. We believe God controls what happens in the world. And we even believe that in the past especially during Bible times God communicated directly with people… We are pretty sure about the Bible stories and how God appeared and spoke directly to people. But even if the Bible stories are real for us …we are skeptical about whether God continues to appear or to speak directly to people today. We think that in those ancient days… God said all that was really needed… and no longer needs to speak to people in person. In short we suppose that God has gone silent.
Sometimes we wish we could have lived in a different time with Jesus…walking with him…listening to him speak and teach us personally about God. We can’t understand why Jesus or God doesn’t appear here and touch us so that we are miraculously healed… We are more than a little envious of Moses and Elijah who have personal conversations with God at the top of mountains…or of Peter, James, and John who accompany Jesus to the mountain top. We wonder what is so special about these particular disciples that Jesus invites just them and not the other nine. Why are the nine not also witnesses to the changes of Jesus’ appearance?
While most of us have not personally heard God speaking to us…I know of some modern day stories of God’s presence. I am reminded of a friend of mine telling how God spoke to him personally. It happened while he was studying at University. He and a friend went out ice fishing for the day. They both brought some snacks to munch on… Not knowing about his severe allergy to nuts… his friend brought cookies made with peanut oil. Immediately upon biting into a cookie… his throat started to swell and his air-way started to restrict… By the time they got out onto the highway my friend was beginning to go in and out of consciousness. About half way to the city when he was in very bad shape he heard God’s voice saying; “I am with you. You will be alright.” This was a life changing experience for him…
I don’t have any personal stories that are nearly as dramatic… And I can’t remember any times when God has spoken out loud to me… but there are a few instances in my life in which God seemed very present. Some of you may have heard the stories of how Sylvia’s Bible… which had not been used for some time…was book-marked on the very passage I was frantically looking for… or how at another time…my Bible fell open to a particular passage about wagon tracks…which I did not even know was in the Bible. Each time something like this happens… I am caught completely by surprised… I am surprised by the calm which recognizing God’s presence brings… I am surprised by the changes which come over me. And I wish that my relationship with God would always be like it is at that moment.
Today… when the three disciples are invited up the mountain to pray…they have no idea about what is about to happen. To their great surprise Jesus’ prayers are interrupted by a sudden change in his appearance…and then they see the ancient prophets Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus… the surprise is even bigger. They know that something important maybe even monumental is happening …and want the moment to continue. Aware that the prophets are about to leave…and not wanting the moment to change… Peter suggests making some dwellings…to keep them. He wants this surprising event to last for a long time.
What surprises me most… about times when I have felt God’s presence…is how quickly that I forget it… and how quickly the moment looses its freshness. It isn’t very long before the next big crisis looms and panic or fear of the possible outcome causes me to loose confidence in God’s presence. I forget about how close I felt when God helped me through the previous situation. It seems that very often we approach crisis situations… forgetting that God is with us… ready to help us through…
Again today after having had such a wonderful mountain top experience with the visit from the prophets and after seeing how Jesus’ face and clothing becomes so brilliantly bright … It does not take the disciples long to forget and loose confidence in this special event. Moments later, when a cloud approaches and casts its shadow and then totally covers them…they are terrified. If that is not enough… the voice of God from the cloud silences them completely… saying: “This is my Son, my chosen; listen to him!”
True to their instructions the disciples keep silent and tell no one about the things they have seen. We are not sure why they are silent. Maybe it because they are afraid or terrified of what God might do for recounting their experience. Maybe they don’t understand what happened and need an explanation. Maybe they are just embarrassed and don’t want to say what happened in case no-one believes them. Maybe they think to themselves that it is their own personal encounter with God and no-one else needs to know about it. Regardless of the whys… the disciples remain silent.
However they are not silent forever. After they have had sufficient time of listening to Jesus and after sufficient time to reflect on everything that has happened to them since meeting Jesus… And after Jesus dies and rises…and after the Day of Pentecost when they have an even more surprising encounter with the Holy Spirit…their tongues are loosened. They are no-longer silent. Instead every encounter and every moment with Jesus and with God is spoken and written about. They have remained silent listening to Jesus… They have learned about God through his teaching…and his healing. They have learned about God’s kingdom…in which the least important… little children… the poor… sick untouchables…sinners of all kinds… are all equally important in God’s eyes. And the disciples are eager to tell everyone what they have discovered.
So today we can learn from the disciples… We can learn to be surprised by God. We can learn patience to listen for God’s instructions. And we can learn to speak about our God with confidence.
So let us open our eyes and prepare to be surprised by God’s presence… Let us open our ears to listen for the teachings and instructions of God’s Son. And let us open our hearts to fully understand what God’s words mean for us and for the world. Then lets us open our lips offering God’s words of love for our world. Amen
Out of the Wilderness 