From the Mountaintop the Journey Begins Again

February 14, 2021 The Last Sunday after the Epiphany The Rev. Mark Pendleton Christ Church, Exeter From the Mountaintop the Journey Begins Again Mark 9:2-9. 2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 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." 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 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. The liturgical wheel turns this week we move firmly out the Advent/Christ/Epiphany seasons into perhaps the hardest weeks of the year: Lent. As the earth rotates around the sun each year, those us of who live further north than south notice the seasons more. Native and transplanted New Englanders set our internal barometers to this annual and repeating movement. We are wintering now. The days are slowly lengthening each day with more minutes of sunlight giving us hope for spring. The story of the Transfiguration is always the last gospel story we hear before we begin the 40 days Lent and has always been one my favorite stories in the gospels. I heard it first at a college retreat weekend, which itself was a warm and wonderful time when many things came together for me as a very untested and new Christian believer, when the chaplain said that I could not and would not stay at the spiritual high that I was feeling in the moment. That the closeness, the clarity and the emotion I was feeling - surrounded by other young people exploring what I was -- that would most probably level out in the days ahead. I could not stay behind and remain at that place, I had to move on and go forward. The geography of the story matters. Mountaintops in the Bible, I will often mention, are cues: sometime important is going to happen. The higher up one goes and travels, the closer one comes to God. The core disciples - the A Team -- were present. The clouds and a booming voice from heaven made for a true Biblical moment. The connection and message of Jesus baptism is repeated once more: "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" If there had been any doubt before who Jesus was, here was the proof. His faith credentials are revealed as Moses shows up and the great prophet Elijah is there. We can connect with this story in a number of ways. The late Henri Nouwen, Roman Catholic priest and prolific author (in an excerpt from Life of the Beloved) reminds us how we are all probably hoping that "some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well­ being you desire." He asks: "Don't you often hope: Maybe this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship will fulfill my deepest desire. We are intimately loved long before our parents, teachers, spouses, children, and friends loved or wounded us. That's the truth of our lives." That is how you and I can become a part very mountaintop experience. With some hope, prayer, and a lot of inner work, we can hear - even if for a moment - that we too are beloved. Which means not just that we are loved, but that we are dearly loved. I believe we all can be drawn to this story in our desire and need to be seen, spoken to, and loved. Another way to enter the scene is to just be open to the visuals: And Jesus 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. V. 2-4 There are moments in our lives when we need to see with own eyes to believe and know more deeply. How many times have we heard: "if I did not see it with my own eyes, I would have never known?" Look at the power of cell phone camera video's in today's world. Back at the end of May last year in Minneapolis, who could have believed that George Floyd could have been killed in plain sight by police officers if bystanders had not picked up their phones and hit record. To see injustice, cruelty and racism in plain sight and full view is a first step in the change and healing this world so desperately needs. There are days when we need a lay our eyes on a loved one - see them walking through the door after a night out - to know they are safe. Families watching their husbands, mothers and parents get off that plane after a long tour of duty overseas. We are in need that we are forgiven truly by something we have done or failed to so, we often need to see it with our eyes in their eyes. Then we know. A few words about Elijah. Centuries before this Transfiguration mountaintop experience, we learn something about he and his successor Elisha from our first reading from 2 Kings. Elijah could be called a 'prophet's prophet' who lived some nine centuries before Jesus. He stood up to and against Israel's kings and queens like Ahab and Jezebel who were corrupting and defiling the religion that had been passed down to Israel. Elijah was fearless. In one famous account he stood up to and against 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel - Baal being the rival Canaanite fertility god - Elijah and the God of Israel came out on top and the prophets of Baal perished. When we meet Elijah in the passage from 2 Kings, he was nearing the end of his journey. He was about to be taken up to heaven by a whirlwind fully alive - by tradition an honor given to only one other person in all the Bible. Elijah stands out for his faithfulness and courage. Elijah, we learned, made plans for the future. His mission would not end with him. He has apprenticed a successor, Elisha, who had spent 14 years with the older prophet. In 2 Kings the two prophets were making a symbolic last journey through Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho and the Jordon. I like to think of it as the first 'Bucket List' found in the Bible. There is something very human about wanting to visit significant places with those dear to us one last time. In going to these important cities and settlements, each time Elijah tells Elisha: "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me on." And each time - three times -- Elisha responds: "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." The words remind us of the vows Ruth made to her mother-in-law Naomi. "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." (Ruth 1:16). The KJV version: "Whither thou goest, I will go..." The story about these two prophets in 2 Kings ends like this: As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Then Elisha reversed the path the two walked. From the Jordon, through Jericho, to Bethel and then to Gilgal. As he continued God's work, I can only imagine that he words began to echo back to him to give him courage. From above, from beyond, from inside his heart and soul. "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." I believe that we are not left by those who have loved us. Matthew's gospel ends on another mountain - this one in Galilee. This is where the Risen Jesus commissions and sends his disciples to go out into the world. There would be no shrine building at the empty tomb as there would be no shrine building at the Transfiguration. God's world needs us to keep moving, hoping, praying and acting. And remember, he said: I am with you always to the end of the age." Matthew 28. Remember beloved, you don't have to do this alone, even if this past year has tested us in ways we may never know. But you are here this morning. Let us begin the season of Lent this week alone -- together. 2