Our Sunday Message

Surprised by God. Enjoy!: Mark 9:2-9
Rev. Dr. Kenneth A. Corr
February 26, 2006
Transfiguration Sunday

  Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.
  It was not unusual for Jesus to retreat from the crowds for a time of solitude and prayer. It was not unusual for Jesus to take Peter, James, and John with him. In many ways, this time of solitude on the mountain retreat was just an ordinary event on an ordinary day. But something happened on that ordinary day that made it extra-ordinary.
  And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
  Young people, the Greek word is “mega-morphed.” Jesus was “transfigured.” The disciples had never seen anything like this. They did not know what to say or do.
  Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
  And just that fast, it was over.
  As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
  Don’t even try to explain it or interpret it, Jesus said. There are some life experiences that can’t be reduced to words or an explanation. My guess is that we have all had some experience like that. Once in a rare while, maybe only once or twice in a whole lifetime, God breaks into our awareness in ways that leave us speechless.
  Abraham was there on the mountain with Isaac. The knife was in his hand. The sacrifice was prepared. His heart was broken, but the deed had to be done. Suddenly, there was a voice that arrested him from the terrible deed and his life was never the same. It is not the kind of thing about which you can easily or casually talk. “Oh, by the way, did I ever tell you about the time. . .” No! It was too awesome for casual conversation.
  Zacharias was performing his assigned priestly duty in the temple. It was something that he got to do on rare occasions and he had prepared himself. He was not prepared for an angelic announcement that, in his old age, he was going to father a child. He left the temple speechless. It was only later, when he fully grasped the significance of this child that he regained his voice.
  I was on a retreat with about twenty other people. There was a woman leading our group. We were sitting in a group circle and she was sharing. In the midst of the sharing, she turned and said something to me that was so profound and so moving, that I have never been able to talk about it except to a very few.
  Some of you have had an experience like that. The deepest, truest experiences can never be reduced to words or an explanation. For Peter, this time on the mountain was one of those rare moments. And Jesus said, “Tell no one what you have seen.”
  In his commentary on this story, William Willimon, the Methodist preacher and author, says, “The story of the transfiguration of Christ on the mountaintop is one of those biblical texts that is meant more to be enjoyed, wondered at, and relished with delight rather than picked apart and meticulously interpreted.”1
  I agree. What would it mean for us to just enjoy this story, but not interpret it? That’s certainly not the way that we have been trained to read or think about a story like this. So, what would it mean to read the text, but not try to interpret it; to listen to the text, but not try to understand it; to experience the text, but not try to get something out of it? What would a sermon look like that you did not get something out of? Wait! Don’t answer that.
  Peter perhaps said it best. The Scripture says that he was terrified. The Scripture says that he did not know what to say. The Scripture says that he made some bumbling suggestions about building a mountain memorial. But then he said it best when he said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.”
  Whatever this is, whatever it means, whatever we are supposed to do with it, first of all, enjoy it. “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.” Is it possible for us to simply spend time with this story, not for information, but for transformation?
  Last Wednesday during our midday prayers, Carol Richardson brought a copy of Raphael’s picture of the Transfiguration. Raphael’s picture shows Jesus and these three disciples in the top portion. Just underneath are the other disciples, down in the valley, frustrated in their efforts to heal a demon-possessed boy. There is a worried father, a curious crowd, and a group of arguing scribes. Raphael’s picture reminds us that when we come aside to worship, the world, with all of its frustration and tension, is never far from our minds. But for a little while, Peter said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.”
  I am taking a class with Dr. Herb Smith at the Rhodes College’s Meeman Center entitled, “The Art of Conscious Living.” He had an interesting experiment for us. He gave us all a raisin; just one raisin. He asked us to look at it. Then we were to smell it. Then we were to put it in our mouth and taste it but not chew it. Then we were to chew, but not to swallow. Finally, we were to swallow. How different that was from the way we usually eat raisins. Can we do something like that with this story?
  Let’s try. You will have to use your imagination. You might want to close your eyes. First of all, you will have to put yourself into the story. What do you see on the mountain? Remember, it was just an ordinary day and an ordinary time of prayer. Look around in your mind. What do you see in your imagination there on the mountaintop?
What colors do you see in this story? Mark describes a glowing whiteness. Do you see any other colors? Are the clothes of Moses and Elijah white also?
  What do you hear? Mark tells us that there was a conversation going on between Jesus and Moses and Elijah. And then there was the divine voice from out of the cloud. What did that sound like? Was it a thundering voice, like Dad’s? Was it a soft, comforting voice, like Mom’s? Does the voice sound like anyone that you know?
  What emotion does this stir for you? Mark tells us that the disciples were terrified. Do you feel any goose bumps as you hear this story? Do you feel strangely sad or happy or guilty? Do you feel numb, without any affect at all?
  Does the story elicit a smell for you? Do you smell the smoke? Do you smell the earthiness of the mountain retreat?
  Walk around in the story in your mind and ask what else do you see? Remember, you don’t have to interpret, just enjoy! What do you sense that God wants to say to you in this story? Mark says that God told the disciples to listen to Jesus. Do you sense that God has a message for you right now?
  It is almost time to leave this mountain moment. It is almost time to return to our own valley of frustration and tension. You can come back any time that you want and spend time here. You can linger as long as you need to. Are you about ready to return to the valley?   Before we go, is there anything that you have thought of as you have walked around the mountaintop experience that you want to say to God?
  When they came down from the mountain, Jesus warned them not to try to talk about it yet. They did not know what it meant. There would come a time when Peter could finally talk about this experience. But not yet.
  Years later, when he was an old man, Peter was writing to the struggling church. He made a promise that with whatever little time he has left, he would never stop reminding them of the things that were of first importance to him.
  Then he reminded them of his own spiritual experience: not his visit to the empty tomb; not the night in the upper room when the resurrected Jesus showed his scarred hands and side; not even the rooftop vision that led him to a new understanding of Gentile inclusion. All those years later, Peter reminded them of this experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. “We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.”2 For Peter, this event was a kind of testimony to all the promises of God. He finally told his story because he wanted you and me to believe.
  I do believe. Lord help me in my unbelief. Amen.

1 Wm. Willimon, Pulpit Resource, p. 38.
2 2 Peter 1:18.