Rosie and I went on a tour to the
Middle East with Nancy Lapp back in the early 80s. We visited lots of sites in Israel and the
West Bank. One of the most intriguing
visits was to Mount Tabor, a bit west,
but located not far from Nazareth in Galilee.
This is supposedly the mountain on which Jesus along with Peter, John
and James had the experience of the Transfiguration.
We got to the mountain in a bus,
were quickly joined by a fleet of taxis driven by Palestinians who took us to
the top. The trip was frightening. The road was very narrow, other cars were
coming down as we were going up and I was never sure that we were going to be
able to pass. The drivers didn’t care how
fast that they went, which added to the worry.
Finally, we got to the top and began
to see the wonder of that mountain.
There was a fine covering of mist; a German tour group was singing in
the chapel and we had conversation with a monk from the abbey on the top of the
mountain.
It was easy to imagine Jesus and his
three disciples here and what their experience was all about. I could picture him kneeling in a small field
covered by the mist and the experience of God speaking to all of them. It was an almost incredible feeling being on
the top of that mountain.
In Luke’s gospel, the story is told
that Moses and Elijah joined Jesus as he was praying on the mountain. Peter, with all of his enthusiasm said: “let us build three tents, one for each of
you here on the mountain.” At that
moment, God entered the cloud of mist and silently said to Peter: shut up! Then
God said to all of the three disciples, This is my son, my chosen, listen to him!
Then all of them were alone on the mountain.
This is a powerful story of the
identity of our Lord. When he was
baptized by John, God said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well
pleased. It isn’t clear who heard this,
whether it was the crowd, or only Jesus.
Here on the mountain of transfiguration, there is no doubt about who
heard it. It was the three
disciples.
This is a great event that we
celebrates today, but an even more impressive part of the story happens when
all of them come down the mountain the next day. They find the other disciples trying to heal
a young man whose father has become quite agitated because he has asked the
disciples to heal his child and they have not been able to. Jesus rebukes the spirit that has thrown the
child to the ground, asks that the young man be brought to him. Jesus heals him and gives him back to his
father. There, in action, is exactly
what God said to all of them on the mountain:
this is my beloved son, listen to him.
I think that this was a powerful
turning point for the disciples. They
were on the road to Jerusalem and finally the death and resurrection of their
Lord. Up to this point, they all had
followed Jesus because he was very charismatic.
Now, Peter, James and John had been told by God the absolute identity of
this man whom they all were following.
It certainly played out in the days that followed. The disciples were terrified by the events in
Jerusalem, but in fits and starts, they continued to follow their Lord. After the resurrection, Jesus came to them
and proved the truth of what God had told them on the mountain. They went on to create the church that we
have all come to love.
So, what is our mission, in light of
all of this? Is it simply to come each
week and worship; or is it something more.
Jesus and his disciples went into the world in search of the poor and
the afflicted and gave them hope and healing.
That is also the mission of the church.
It isn’t important what kind of worship we engage in, as long as we
celebrate the risen life of Jesus Christ in our midst. What is incredibly important is how we
translate that faith into action to help those in this world who are in sorry
states, who have nothing and need healing and hope. When we help them, we are celebrating the
glory of our Lord Jesus, who on the Mountain of Transfiguration was celebrated by
God to be our redeemer, our leader and our friend.
Happy Anniv Rod!
ReplyDeleteavanza