Preparing for Lent: On that Mountain...
Notes
Transcript
Let us pray…Gracious and Loving God, as we stand on the threshold of another Lenten season, we pray for clarity of mind, openness of spirit, and for our ears and eyes to hear and see what you have in store for us as we remember the sacrifice of your Son for our sins. In the coming moments God, help us to open our hearts, our minds, and our spirits to your small, still-speaking voice, Amen.
This morning we do stand on the threshold of another journey into and through Lent. Lent is often thought of as the time in our calendar when we give something up or fast from something important in our lives. I will say this…I think if we are truly going to fast from something, you need to choose something that is really hard for you to give up, otherwise it won’t carry any real meaning for you. However, that is really not what Lent is really about…Lent is a time of preparation to accept the sacrifice that Christ makes on our behalf. This is typically accomplished through prayer, repentance (asking for forgiveness), giving to others out of our hearts, and denying ourselves.
Now, some of you might be wondering why I am starting this way this morning…well, to be honest, it’s because for me, the start of Lent happens today. When I think about the Transfiguration of Jesus on that Mountain Top, many of these themes come to the surface in Matthew’s telling of how Jesus’ appearance was transformed and how Peter, James, and John responded to the activity of that day on the mountain with their teacher.
To get us started in contemplating what this story holds for us in the 21st Century, let’s start with some background...
Background...
Background...
Today’s story from Matthew places us a very important juncture in Jesus’ life and ministry but even more importantly, it places us in an extremely important point in the lives of the disciples. You see, Jesus is now getting them prepared for his death. I want to step back for a moment and consider this.
Like the rest of us, I am sure, when we are faced with some news or information that causes us pain, our first reaction is to object or maybe ignore the news, like saying, “nope, not true, not real.” I also think many folks choose to ignore the situation altogether because it is too painful to face. Here’s the thing though…no matter how much we fight back against the situation, cause pain in others because we are hurting, or try to ignore it, whatever God wishes to be the outcome of the situation is how it will ultimately be.
I am bringing this up because Peter exemplifies what it means to ignore completely what he had just been told would happen. We often like to look at the disciples as people who do not seem to ever get what Jesus is saying but as I delve into their lives further, I am beginning to see myself in the lives of those men. I despise conflict and do everything in my power to avoid, unfortunately, I am learning that in life, a certain amount of conflict is necessary for us to continue to grow.
So when we look at this episode on top of the mountain, we need to bear in mind that in the previous chapter, in fact in the last few verses of the previous chapter, Jesus introduces this idea that...
From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
Jesus began to tell them plainly that he must suffer and die at the hands of those in authority, so that he could be raised from the dead to bring glory to God. This piece of his suffering is one that I am sure many, if not all of the disciples struggled with. This may be part of the reason that Jesus took his closest friends, Peter, James, and John up on that mountain to begin with, or maybe it was just to strengthen their understanding of who he was. Regardless, while they are there, we witness an event that has no explanation other than being described as miraculous.
One other thing to mention before we discuss the happenings of that day…this story happens at a time in Jesus’ life when I am sure he felt torn about being the Messiah and being human. With a human mind, we can hear Jesus’ anxiety around what he must do in many of the things he says during this time. With his divine nature, we know that he gives himself over to the religious authorities to fulfill scripture (according to the Prophets of old) but that he also does this freely.
For our story and purposes this morning, we need to know that we are somewhere between the Sea of Galilee and just outside of Jerusalem. We do not know the specific mountain upon which the disciples and Jesus stood. We are also within a few short days or weeks from Jesus’ final week of life and he is making his way toward Jerusalem to face the religious authorities who will crucify him.
I think that covers who, where and when of this story…here is the what...
What is happening...
What is happening...
In my own words, here is what is happening here…Jesus needed to prove to the disciples (one of which who had already claimed Jesus as the Messiah) once and for all, before the resurrection, that he is who he says he is. I think this is the whole point of this story for us this morning. Here are three men that have heard Jesus preaching and teaching for the last three years and yet they still have doubts about who Jesus really is and what he is to really do for us as his followers.
So, in a reflection of two of the greatest heroes of the Old Testament, Jesus ascends a mountain to have some quiet time with God. Think about that for a moment…he ascends, why do you think he would have done that…right, it was to move closer to God. In this time, he takes his closest friends to witness to the time he spends in God’s presence. When they arrive on the top of the mountain, God’s glory surrounds them in the form of a cloud, again as a reflection of what happened as Moses ascended Mt. Horeb to get the 10 Commandments, and how Elijah ascended into heaven.
To the astonishment of the three disciples, two other men suddenly appear on that mountain in front of them. Now, I need to step back for another moment to describe the significance of these two men…Moses and Elijah have great importance in the Jewish faith. According to the prophets of Judaism, these two men will appear just before or at the time the Messiah arrives and this is how all Jews will know the Messiah has arrived. The other reason they are significant is how they represent the law and the prophets of the Old Testament, both of which Jesus has just said he came to fulfill. With me on this? This whole event looks like something which had happened in the Judaic histories but also represents the fulfillment of all of the prophecies.
For those men gathered there on top of the mountain that day, it was a significant event which held many consequences…and those three disciples were witnesses to the whole event...
Peter’s Confusion...
Peter’s Confusion...
That brings me to something for us to contemplate, even as 21st Century followers of Christ. How does Peter’s reaction and what he does reflect how we see and feel about what we are to do in today’s world? Here’s what I mean...
Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Peter once again bumbles his way into a circumstance of misunderstanding. His idea here is about hospitality but what he does not quite grasp is that in seeing Jesus with Moses and Elijah is that only one of them can stay. You see, most scholars agree that Peter wants to be hospitable and stay in that moment of seeing these three pillars of his faith standing together. However, Peter misses that the reason that Moses and Elijah are there, we believe is for validation of who Peter has already said that Jesus was, the Son of God.
Stick with me here because I know it sounds like I am talking in circles…I really am not. So let’s see if this will track for us…think in terms of your own faith…when things are going really well, do we think, “wait, I need to stop and thank God for this or that thing that has happened”? Probably, for the vast majority of situations, the answer to that question is no, we often take credit for those circumstances ourselves. Contrast that with the times when things are really hard or we are having a difficult time. In those situations, it is really easy to go to God in prayer and then complain that God is not with us, right? Well, it’s the same for Peter here…Peter has already claimed Jesus to be the Messiah…he says...
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Then in this passage, as a show of hospitality toward a human body, he is trying to make a place for Jesus to stay human. Unfortunately, like many things in life, Peter cannot have it both ways…either he accepts Jesus for who is he is, the Son of God, the Messiah or he accepts him for the human, carpenter’s son from Nazareth. Much like us still today, Peter needs to reconcile his faith to his human brain’s understanding of the physical world around him. Unfortunately for Peter, he does not have much time to wrap his brain around what is going to happen in just a few short days...
So what does this mean for us today?
So what does this mean for us today?
This is still a complex idea which perplexes us today. I don’t know any other way to explain how this situation solidifies Peter’s faith but in all honesty, as I read it each time, I still see a deeply confused man who wants to have his teacher with him always. However, this scene is a turning point, not only for Jesus but for Peter as well. It is at this point that Peter is given no choice but to accept Jesus for what he must do. For the fact that Jesus will be with the disciples for only a short time longer. Peter must come to terms with what he is going to be asked to do as a result of Jesus’ teachings. It is the beginning of Lent for Peter as much as it is for us.
As we journey toward the cross beside Jesus and his disciples this year, I am going to invite us to discover the path that we are on and then invited us to explore what that path might be leading us toward as individuals as well as a family of faith together. This is an exciting time for us…we have made some pretty significant changes this past year and as we delve into what it means to follow Christ, we are also going to explore in the form of an online Bible Study, what it means to give and more importantly receive forgiveness. It is going to be a tough journey but it is one, like Peter, we have not choice but to take. Amen.