In Wonder

Those who are of a certain age may remember that sometime after the Pleistocene Era there was the time of the party ball, a sphere covered with small mirrors hung above a dance floor which reflected colored light all around the room as it revolved.

One might remember the first time encountering such a thing, and simply standing still to experience the delight of the event, and then finally getting into the dance.

Perhaps that is a little hint of what is going on in this scene of the Transfiguration.

It is a windy hilltop in Israel that is (pointed out to the tourists at least as) the place of the Transfiguration.

It has a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside in all directions.

But after climbing up to that height, presumably as a place apart for prayer, the inner circle of disciples is privileged to hear and see far more than they expected, far more than merely scenery.

They are interrupted by the vision of two great figures from Israel's past, Moses and Elijah, speaking with Jesus there on the mountaintop.

The experience begins in a blaze of light, accompanied by the heavenly voice: “This is my Son; listen to him.”

What an event!

Most of the time the disciples have been confused about who Jesus is, but now finally they have a word of explanation.

It flashes before them and they are stunned by its brilliance.

And the first thing they are to do in this situation is...nothing at all!

Silence and awe is the best and most appropriate reaction to the majesty of God.

It is at least a little bit related to the typical reaction of persons who comes into our worship-space for the very first time.

I feel quite sure that the architect intended precisely that reaction.

The height of the room, the brilliance of the windows in the sunlight, the length of the aisle, etc all work together to tell us that we are in the presence of the God of extraordinary power, and that we should first be silent. Our hymn says it well:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence

And with fear and trembling stand,

Ponder nothing earthly-minded

For with blessing in his hand,

Christ our God to earth descending

Comes our homage to demand. [LBW#198.1]

That is not all that we will do, but it is the right place to begin... in silence.

The Transfiguration story goes on to demonstrate our usual response, which is not silence.

Peter starts babbling and trying to manage the situation.

He tries to fit this unique new experience into categories that are already familiar to him.

“Let's make temporary shelters like we do at harvest-time or at one of our festivals,” he suggests to Jesus.

“Here's a place for you, and over there for the others,” he says.

But Peter cannot “manage” this peek ahead at the outcome of creation, and neither can we.

It is just not within our power or ability to do so.

But we can marvel and wonder at the graciousness of the Lord God, that he grants us this glimpse of the future communication among the faithful people of every generation, which is what we can expect of the God who is Word fulfilled.

The Trinitarian doctrine can be stated this way:

The Father addresses the Son, and the Spirit carries the Son's reply.

But this is not the end of the matter.

The Father wants to widen the conversation and include us within it!

When the Father speaks, what he says, is; it is God's creative Word doing its proper thing.

When we speak rightly, it is in imitation of the Father's will; it too should be a word which opens up a new future, a creative word, a word of hope and expectation.

Sadly, most of the time we speak dead-end words, words which do not open ourselves to God's future, but rather are mere repetitions of the past, words which divide, words which express hatred, divisions, and our separations from one another.

When I have our dogs out on the walking path that parallels Lycoming Creek Road, I can't even greet most passers-by, because they have isolated themselves behind earphones and canned words.

There is no room for silence and no room for a fresh greeting, no room for a different future...and they simply rush on by.

It is a small sample of the way we go about things all the time.

--Instead of listening for God and speaking in imitation of his ways, Adam and Eve declare themselves independent of God.

--Instead of listening for God and speaking in imitation of his ways, Moses is tempted to make excuses for his limited abilities, and his people refuse to wait for God.

--Instead of listening for God and speaking in imitation of his ways, Elijah complains about his fears of Jezebel's murderous rage.

--Instead of listening for God and speaking in imitation of his ways, Peter tries to “manage” the situation on the mountain of Transfiguration and organize it in his own way.

When we change the setting and put ourselves in as the players, we can see ourselves in exactly the same way.

We, too, lie, cheat, steal, make excuses, complain unjustly, and try to control God to our own advantage.

All of these actions and attitudes are sin, spelled in so many different ways.

First there needs to be silence, and then speech of another sort.

There has been a prevailing view that every sermon should end with some practical thing which the congregation should embrace and do as a result of hearing the sermon.

Really?

Is our worship to be reduced to mere practicalities?

We know where that attitude leads, to comments such as “Well, I didn't get anything out of that!”

Are we supposed to “get something out of it?”

Isn't the first thing for us to stop our self-centered babbling and listen in silence for what God is saying, and marvel at how wide and deep it is.

The story of the Transfiguration reminds us that the purpose of this worship time is first of all about what God wants to say to us, not the other way around.

We are together in this place to hear what is on God's mind and what God needs.

It is not an escape from the rest of the world, but rather to sort out all of the distractions and to focus on the mystery of the One who is focused upon us.

Like young Samuel, we can finally wise up and in the silence say “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

Impractical? perhaps; but necessary, surely!

As the lessons, hymns, sermon, and the repeated parts of the liturgy do their job on us today, we are driven first to silence in which God's command “Listen to him” is filled with the purest Gospel: “...the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given and shed for you” for forgiveness, for renewal, for life. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.