The Horizon of Faith

This morning, churches all across the world are celebrating the Transfiguration. And as Mark introduces this story, he quotes a promise Jesus makes to His disciples saying, “there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” That promise comes with a lot of questions, because the disciples are all dead. So where did the kingdom of God come with power? Where do we see that in history?

And to help us understand the answer to that, I want everyone to look at this picture. As many of you know, I posted this picture to my Facebook and on Faithlife to see what people saw in this picture, what it made people think about. And, as you might imagine, I have some pastor friends, some Seminary friends who gave very theological answers. But more than that, a lot of people posed questions about the picture. Is the sun rising or setting? What coast was this taken on?

As we read the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration, we see an awesome picture but a lot of the details are fuzzy. You see, Peter and James and John see the kingdom of God coming with power. We don’t know how they knew it was Elijah and Moses, we don’t know what they were talking about with Jesus, we don’t know much about God’s voice coming out of a cloud, but we do know that those three disciples got a glimpse of heaven in that moment in time.

But it’s only a glimpse that we see today. And I want to draw your attention back to the picture on the screen. We see a glimpse of the sun there, it’s a beautiful glimpse and the reflection on the water adds to it - but it’s not the full picture. And the reality is, if you look at the sun it is so blindingly bright that you can’t really see it because of the tears that well up when you look at it - not to mention what is likely serious damage to your eyes.

And when we hear the story of the Transfiguration, we get a small picture of what God’s perfect new creation will be like. It’s a small picture, but it’s a beautiful one and it’s reflection in the church adds to it - but it’s not the full picture. And the reality is, if we were to look at God in His perfection it is so blindingly bright that we can’t really see it because it’s so far removed from where we are and what we are as sinners. If we could see it we would just be driven to tears because we don’t deserve to be a part of it.

But when we look at this picture, when you look at the sun rise (or set - I don’t remember where I took this specific picture), we’re not blinded, we’re struck by the beauty of the horizon. And I want us to look back at this picture and look at the center point for it - the horizon. Because the horizon is the center of this picture, and the sun is the center of that horizon. And as you walk up and down that beach, the horizon stays put. It remains constant.

The horizon of our faith is Jesus, and we see this beautiful glimpse of the eternal future he has promised us. And that promise stays put, that promise remains constant. We can orient our direction, our sense of wonder, our beauty, and our actions around it the same way that the horizon orients sailors, fishermen, and navigators.

And even our faith, we can look at the horizon, and we can look at Jesus and keep the big picture in mind. Because it is His church, not our church. His faith, not our faith. His promises, not our dedication. Nothing we do is going to change that horizon.

But I want you to look at this picture, one more time, and see the clouds and the water. I want you to imagine yourself turning around and seeing the homes and the hotels and the buildings that so frequently border scenes like this. Because that too can remind us of all of the things that can obscure our horizon. Maybe the waves have caught you and you are battered by the busyness of life, maybe the clouds have rolled in and you feel like the darkness of the world is consuming you, maybe you’ve gotten caught up in the home or the business or any of the other buildings behind you. Something in your life is obscuring the horizon, is keeping Jesus out of your sight. But I have a promise for you brothers and sisters, the horizon will always be there. The waves will come and go, the clouds will roll in and float away, the buildings will lose their allure - and the horizon will be there, in all it’s glory and beauty.

And in your life, Jesus will always be there in all His glory and all His beauty. So no matter what brokenness you see in the world, no matter what trials are facing your life, no matter what distractions and temptations have popped up around you - look to the horizon for our lives and faith, look to Jesus. Amen.