It you were here in worship last week, you know that we had a small visitor here in the congregation. One of our members brought their little granddaughter here to be with us – and what an amazing experience it was. She was of course as cute as a button as are all grandchildren – but she was also quite charming – and something wonderful happened to everyone who looked at her – their faces sort of ‘lit up’ in joy and most of those faces were transformed into some of the silliest grins imaginable!
We’ve seen that look before. We have seen it in the face of a new mother as she holds her newborn for the first time. We see it on the faces of the father, the grandparents and the bothers and sisters as their faces light up with joy at the sight of thie new little person who has become a member of their family - faces beaming with pride as they behold a loved one...
And we have seen that look on the faces of brides and grooms during their weddings. As a pastor I get a bird’s eye view and it’s a wonderful thing to see. The brides positively beam with joy – and the grooms do too. In fact, while the couple recite their wedding vows to each other, their faces just seem to shine as they look into the eyes of the one they love more than anyone else.
Time seems to stand still because at that point in time, time seems to stand still and nothing else is as important as the face onto which they gaze.
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We hear about this same kind of thing happening in the Bible, too. Our text from the Old Testament book of Exodus tells us that when Moses was leading the people of
This morning we read that each time Moses came down from the mountain, his face was radiant – it glowed with the glory of God. This really scared the people of
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It is no wonder then that the disciples in this morning’s scripture segment don’t know what do or say when they see Jesus transformed before their eyes – shining with the glory of God and talking to Moses and Elijah. Imagine if one of us began to glow in the dark?
Imagine what that must have seemed like: Jesus, their teacher, the person they ate and drank and walked, talked and slept with, standing there in glory. What would it be like if someone you knew started glowing like that? Interestingly, the word that Luke uses here to describe Jesus’ glorified body is the same one he will later use to describe the body of the risen Lord – Jesus transformed into the stuff of heaven – and here the disciples see a glimpse of it already.
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This story of the transfiguration comes at a pivotal time in the gospel of Luke. Already, we see the forces of Herod beginning to band together to get rid of this prophet from
-- and now, as Jesus turns his face toward Jerusalem, and death, we find him on the mountain top with the inner circle of his disciples – praying – and as he is praying, the appearance of his face changes and his clothes become dazzling white – he is surrounded by the presence of God - and the God of all comfort sends two great people of faith to comfort Jesus.
Luke tells us they were discussing his departure – his exodus from this life – his death in
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Peter James and John recognize the men as Moses and Elijah and since they don’t know what else to say, they volunteer to make three little tents for them to stay in. After all, why leave the mountain? This is pretty cool stuff! Here we are, alone with God, Jesus, Moses and Elijah – what could be better? Maybe after a while we can shine with the glory of God, too! Maybe we can become heavenly stuff!
Heavenly stuff – I wonder what that is? Of course, how can I know? I think that we forget that things made from flesh and blood are just not designed to last for an eternity. Bodies wear out. Things decay. Even trees grow old and die. Did you ever see things un-rust? Or see things in your refrigerator become un-green? The gift of eternity is indeed a gift, not just a natural occurrence or a right of birth.
Someday, we will be made of that eternal stuff. Someday, clothed with immortality, we will walk and talk with Jesus, Moses, Elijah and all the others who died in faith. But that is not all that there is.
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All this happens as Jesus is praying. Jesus goes to the mountain to pray and this is where and when God comes to meet him. Jesus is pretty big on the activity of prayer. It is after his baptism, while Jesus is praying that the voice from heaven says, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
God always comes to us when we pray – and sometimes we too can be enveloped with the presence of God. Maybe not when we’re praying ‘Now I lay me down to sleep.’ Maybe not when we’re praying, ‘Bless this food to our bodies’, and may be not even when we’re praying, ‘Our father who art in heaven.’ But perhaps in those times when we stop talking long enough to listen to what God has to say to us. Perhaps in those times when we are taking a walk beside the lake, gazing out across a field, admiring a painting or even sitting with our eyes closed and listening to the wind – the presence of God will come in a mighty way.
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We may all long for mountain top experiences – and we may all have a few in our lifetimes. But we cannot live on the tops of mountains. Like Jesus, we need to come down to fulfill our purpose. Like Peter, James and John, we still have more to learn before we’re ready for eternity in glory. Like Moses, we will need to return from those times with God to do God’s work among the people.
Couples will always remember the day they got married – the looks in their eyes and the radiance of their faces – but you can’t base an entire marriage on one moment of bliss. Marriages are made in the day-to-day tasks of living, the give and take, the mutual care and affection one shows for the other. That moment in time may be glorious, but it is nurtured and it grows over the course of a lifetime.
That radiant face on a new mother as she holds her newborn – lasts only a moment. The real task of loving that child comes with the cooing and cuddling in all the months that will follow. It comes with the feedings, the dirty diapers, ear aches, fevers and cares that will last a lifetime.
- And we all know that those eager faces of that newborn’s brothers and sisters will change too, as they adjust to life with another child in the family.
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The life of faith is like that, too. We may want just the really wonderful times with God. But like a baby with colic, or a marriage going through a rough spell, it is getting through tough times that make relationships strong. So too with our faith. It is when Jesus meets us in the workplace, when the spirit of God comes into our homes and gets us over the crises of life - that our faith becomes stronger, more sure, and more a part of who we are.
Life cannot be lived entirely on the mountain – but it should always be lived in a spirit of prayer. It is only when we pray that God can really get our full attention. It is only when we pray that we can, like Moses, be surrounded by the cloud of God. It is only when we pray that perhaps we too, will shine with the radiance of the glory of God.
The season of Lent starts this Wednesday, February 17th. We will start a period of 40 days and seven Sundays when we – as a church – not just this congregation, not just this denomination, but all of Christianity, will turn our attention to preparing for Easter – the glorious celebration of the resurrection.
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If we devote ourselves to prayer between now and then, I think we can all have faces glowing with the presence of God. Perhaps there will be so much joy of the Lord in us that we can all look like newlyweds. Perhaps we will have spent so much time in the presence of God that our own faces will shine with the same radiance of God’s glory that Jesus had.
Certainly, it will be worth the investment in prayerful time in the presence of God.
Amen.
