Befuddled, and that is OK

Further, it is Jesus who is in charge of everything, including us, and he wants to entice us into listening to him, following him, and being an active part of his body the Church.

Even the Gospel-writer Luke tried to get things under control, and failed.

He says at the beginning of his gospel that he intends to write an ”orderly account” of everything about Jesus, but then he immediately launches into the story of the old couple Elizabeth and Zechariah who could not believe that God was planning to provide a son for this childless couple.

“How can this be?” asks Zechariah, and the angel strikes him dumb.

It is a rather disorderly way to begin his account!

The one story that we have about Jesus growing up has him giving an impertinent reply to his parents when they ask him why he was perched there in the temple speaking with the teachers.

Then when it is Jesus' turn to begin teaching, he uses parables for everything.

Where we would expect there to be clear, concise explanations, Jesus tells a story.

The kingdom of God is like a farmer that throws seed everywhere, even on the road.

What a wasteful mess!

The kingdom of God is like a man who had a servant who was caught swindling the master, who then called his master's debtors and had them write off their loans so that he would have friends when he soon would be fired from his job.

And the master hears about the swindle, and says ,”You're a genius; well done!”

On and on we could go through the parables.

And at the end of each one of them, we say that maybe we have a hint at what each story means, but still we are mostly confused.

It is the same problem when we come to the Gospel lesson for this day.

Peter and John try to manage the strange event by offering to build field-shelters as would be done at harvest-time or for the fall festival.

Elijah, you sit on one side, and Moses there, and Jesus right here in the middle.

They were trying to fit an unexplainable event into categories which they already knew.

And it is a fumble.

We try to explain something I order to control it.

We want to “get a grip on it”, to figure it out and be able to say “Got it!”

But what if the one which we are trying to understand, God, can never be gripped, seized, or controlled by us?

Here in worship we're not able to control God in any usual way, but rather we are daring to expose ourselves to the possibility that God will get hold of us!

The book of Proverbs starts out with “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” [1:7]

What is this “fear”?

There is a measure of honor and respect involved, but also plain ordinary fear.

We can rightly be afraid of this One who is so mysterious and other than ourselves, the holy One whom we cannot control.

So as we hear this story of the Transfiguration, we admit our confusion, right along with Peter and the others.

Thus far in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has been teaching his disciples, often using the parables, but they don't really seem to be grasping what Jesus is saying.; there is plenty of confusion.

So also on the mountain of Transfiguration, Jesus is not teaching in verbal parables, but in a visible one.

Lights, heavenly voice, visions of Moses and Elijah from long ago; all of these things are very confusing.

Now we wait for the preacher's explanation, that will make it all clear.

I could add some more exegetical details, but explain it? No!

What if its purpose is not to have us get lost in the details but only to focus our thoughts, hearts, and minds on Jesus?

What if it is to be like encountering a great work of art?

I'll never forget an incident from a half-dozen years ago when I visited the Prado museum in Madrid.

They were hosting an exhibition of a number of the paintings of Rembrandt in a single room.

There were hundreds of people jostling one another to try to get close to the masterworks.

The best I could do was to stand in the center of the room and since I am a bit taller than the average Spanish older adult, able to look over the crowd at the paintings around the room.

I had read about Rembrandt's use of light and dark, I had seen lots of prints in the various art-books, but they are nothing like the effect of seeing the works in person.

The energy that pulses from those originals in their contrast of light and dark cannot really be described; it must be experienced.

I couldn't explain it any more than that; descriptions fall flat.

If there is ever a chance to see original Rembrandt paintings, don't miss it!

I can't say that I “get it” since I have no idea quite how he achieved that effect.

Rather, I say that the paintings, the effect, his masterworks, “got” me!

I could hardly wait to tell Katy about my adventure and what I experienced.

That is at least a little of what we experience as we listen to this visible parable of the Transfiguration.

We're here together today for more than hearing rules for living, or getting good moral examples.

Jesus leads us through and beyond all those things, to an area where he is mysterious and wonderful, beyond explanation or understanding.

The Presbyterians in the Westminster Catechism of 1647 express it this way:

its first question and answer are...

1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

...to enjoy him forever!; that is as good as it gets!

We join the disciples in singing “How good, Lord, to be here!” [LBW#89.1]

It is beyond rational explanations; it is the ecstasy of knowing our lives pointed to God, a joyful mystery greater than we know how to describe.

And we should treasure any such chances that we encounter.

Last week, Gary sent me a link to a very informative article about current archaeological excavations in the Holy Land, and I appreciated that very much.

But at the end of the online article were comments of readers, most of them hate-filled and vitriolic.

I have heard since that there are apparently persons who look for opportunities like this to write the meanest things possible.

How sad that is!

But we are not going to allow our lives to be controlled by such phlegm.

The darkness shall not overcome our vision of God's future which transforms all of our tentative and temporary hopes into something far greater than we can imagine.

William Willimon summarizes: That we couldn't comprehend, explain, or figure him out is, in a way, confirmation of his divinity.

Jesus befuddles us, not only on the Mount of Transfiguration but when he ate with a welcomed sinners, when he died for us sinners, and when he showed us a way that was not our way.

We just cannot comprehend or control him. Thanks be to God!

So now we join with the saints of all the ages past and with angels and the whole host of heaven to sing as the eastern church has done for many centuries:

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.

Alleluia, alleluia, Lord Most High![LBW#198.1,4]

Let all say 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.