Homily for Sunday, February 26th, 2017 Good Shepherd and Graves
Chapel
The lessons:
Exodus
24:12-18
2
Peter 1:16-21
Matthew
17:1-9
Psalm
2
The Collect: O God, who before the passion of
your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy
mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance,
may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from
glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The lessons for
today focus on two mountaintop experiences set forth in scripture: Moses called
to meet God on Mt. Sinai, where he receives the Ten Commandments, and Jesus
transfigured on the mountain, as witnessed by three of his disciples. So that his authority will be clear to
the disciples with him, and those of us who are called to be disciples of Jesus
today, two preeminent Old Testament prophets (Moses and Elijah) join Jesus for
his mountaintop experience, where Peter, James, and John hear the voice of God,
from out of the clouds, saying, “This
is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
The prophet Elijah had his own
mountaintop experience, you may recall, when he was hidden in a cave, afraid of
the enemies that pursued him, and he heard the reassuring still small voice of God
speak to him. The final
mountaintop experience of Moses occurred when he made his farewell to the
people upon Mt. Nebo. Before he died, God took Moses there to see the Promised
Land the people would enter without him.
Whenever I hear mention of a
mountaintop experience, I cannot help but think of the speech Martin Luther
King, Jr., made in Memphis, Tennessee, the very night before he was
assassinated there on April 4th, 1968. A Baptist preacher and son of a Baptist preacher, King,
although only 39 at the time of his death, had been steeped in scripture
throughout his life. King’s voice
was a prophetic voice, and that is uniquely obvious in his last speech when he
says, “Like anybody, I would like to have 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…” Of course, we know how this story ended, the very next day. Like Moses, King would not live to see
his people enter the Promised Land.
Abraham also had a profound
mountaintop experience: Just as he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mt.
Moriah, a dreadful deed Abraham undertook at God’s command, the voice of God
spoke to him, ordering him to stop. Abraham’s obedience to God passed God’s
ultimate and most difficult test.
When it comes to his own beloved Son, the Lord God will make that most
difficult sacrifice and allow Jesus to be crucified on the hilltop of Calvary.
Before that terrible end, both Jesus and his principal disciples experienced
the overwhelming assurance of the Transfiguration, and Peter tells us in his
letter, “For we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty” when “…he received honor
and glory from God the Father.” No
wonder the expression “mountaintop experience” has come to mean something
dramatically life-changing!
After taking time to examine
these mountaintop experiences, I wonder if they are really meant for ordinary
people like us. A mountaintop
experience, though incredibly impressive, sounds scary, if not downright
dangerous. When Peter witnessed the transfiguration of the Lord, he was so
terrified he babbled something about building dwellings and then fell to the
ground along with James and John. Jesus touched them and said, “Get up and do
not be afraid.”
“Get up and do not be afraid.”
God speaks those words to us as well.
As we affirm in our Baptismal covenant, we are called to “Seek and serve
Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.” Our Christian faith
is lived in community, and the work God calls us to do usually involves service
we offer to our community and to the larger world—all persons, all God’s creation.
Sometimes the tasks before us may appear to challenge us beyond the extent of
our abilities. The cross we are given may seem to be more than we can bear. How are we enabled to answer the call to
service? We are transfigured.
Our faith in Jesus Christ
transfigures us. Our collect for
today includes a petition in which we pray to be granted that very
transfiguration: “Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his
countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness
from glory to glory.” How do we dare pray to be changed into the likeness of
Jesus? It is in John 14 where Jesus tells the disciples, on the night of the
Last Supper, that he will be with them always, empowering them and supporting
them to carry on his mission. He says, “The one who believes in me will also do
the works that I do…I will not leave you orphaned…In a little while, the world
will no longer see me, but you will see me. On that day, you will know that I
am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you…Do not let your hearts be
troubled, and do not be afraid.”
Like the cowering disciples, we
may wish to hide our eyes. Or, we may try to do the wrong thing—like Peter’s
offer to build three booths. But walking in love as Christ loved us changes us
over time. Gently and subtly, we become the ones others seek when they need
help and friendship. Gently, and without our knowing exactly how it happens, we
begin to wear Christ’s face for everyone we encounter.
When Moses went up on Mt. Sinai
to meet with God and receive the Ten Commandments, “a devouring fire”
surrounded the mountaintop, and the people waiting below were terrified by
thunder and lightning. When Jesus
undergoes his transfiguration, “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes
became dazzling white.” As 21st century disciples of the Lord, bolts
of lightning most likely will not be our calling cards. Nor will our faces
shine like the sun in a way that strikes terror into the hearts of those around
us. No, our transfiguration does not have to be so impressive, even though we
are called to be lights of love in a troubled world. As Peter suggests in
today’s epistle, we would do well to be attentive to the Lord’s transfiguration
and our own “as a lamp shining in a dark place.” Perhaps we will
illuminate things more in the manner of a small candle. But even a small
candle, thrust into deep darkness, becomes a bright and very welcome light.
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AMEN.
