11th Feb 2024 Sunday before Lent, Mark 9.2-9
What an amazing moment. I wonder what for you has been the most life changing experience you’ve had? I suppose I’m thinking along the joyful lines. So for me I could say it was holding my first born Ruth, something happened in that moment that significantly spiritually changed me. Yes there was a lot of joy, but there was also a heap load of fear with it too.
Three disciples go up a mountain with Jesus and they will not come down the same. Its not easy to talk about this, to process this, but it is worth trying.
Jesus up this mountain transforms from being a Carpenter, a teacher, a worker of miracles. We have read, even last week, how in Jesus was the light of all humanity, this is the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. This is the light that gives light to all people. This is the one who called himself the Light of the World.
And now Peter James and John get to see this awesome moment. There will have been joy in it, but also I can see why their reaction might well have also been fear. This is a proper full on awesome moment.
This will shape how you see Jesus, how you pray, how you receive Holy Communion, all sorts of little ways.
This will shape how you see others around you – they too have this light, is there any chance that we could catch glimpses of God’s light at work in them?
Perhaps it might change how you see yourself – particularly in you not being so hard on yourself? But allowing this joy, this light, space to shine.
And I realise that we are good and proper English which means that you will sit politely through this erudite sermon but actually half of you ought to be whooping it up in praise and hallelujahs in a way that would leave our Pentecostal brothers and sisters embarrassed, and the rest of us should be lying flat on the floor in silent worship. This is awesome.
Peter sees Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah and his reaction to all this is ‘Lets build some boxes for you three’. I get that. If you have had a mountain top moment then you want to stay there as long as possible. And so, trying to box up this moment. I get that. But we do have to come down.
When these disciples do come down they will be straight into praying an exorcism for a young boy. So that’s going to shake them!
Notice that Jesus is talking with Elijah and Moses, and then note that they died quite a long time ago, they never knew each other in life. Moses died perhaps 1300bc, Elijah ascended perhaps 900bc. Something like that.
So here’s the weird thing – to Jesus, Moses and Elijah are as alive as you and I are.
And that should bring some comfort to you as you remember the Saints of Old who have been important in your life. Here’s some hope and some joy to come.
Jesus is transfigured and shining bright light, and He’s talking with Elijah and Moses and I was wondering Why these two, and What are these two talking about.
So Moses – when you hear that name, ?what’s the first memories, stories, that spring to mind.
The burning bush – that time where God in Light appears to Moses and speaks His name – YHVH – I am who I am, or I AM. You can read in John’s Gospel Jesus being threatened with a stoning because he said – I AM. And I’ve talked about Jesus the Light of the World already.
Maybe you remember that Moses is credited with writing the Torah, the rules about the Sabbath, so you can just see Jesus checking with Moses: Are you happy about my interpretation of your sabbath rules!?
Maybe with Moses you think about how he led God’s people out of slavery through the wilderness to the Promised Land. You can find it all in The book of Exodus. And in the Passover, we find the original framework that we will use for understanding the death of Jesus on the Cross.
Note that Moses will fail. He will bring God’s people to the edge of the Promised Land but God will say No to him entering.
He will die because he is carrying too much anger.
He has failed.
And now here is Moses in Heaven. I like that. I find a little comfort in seeing a failure in Heaven.
It might be that you look to the life of Moses and you don’t see a failure. Well done you. Good for you. I agree. I think that’s a kindness.
A lesser known story about Moses is how he would go in to talk to God in the Tent of Meeting, and in that tent would encounter the Shekinah Glory of God. Cheaply put, you could say Moses met Jesus already transfigured – back in the OT.
Moses would come out of these meetings and his face was so transfigured himself, so radiant with the glory that the people asked him to put a veil over his face.
What do you think about when you think of Elijah?
Yes the chariots of fire we had in the OT reading.
But also maybe the Still Small Voice, that close encounter that Elijah had with God.
God through Elijah did lots of miracles and that’s a bit like Jesus.
Note how Elisha wants to inherit Elijah’s powerful intimacy with God,
and then remember that this gift is given by Jesus not to one follower, not to only those who saw the Ascension, but to all who have come to believe, to receive, to listen to Jesus. We’ll come to that in a moment.
Note also that Elijah spent most of his ministry blessing people who were outside, Gentiles, not part of God’s people.
Peter James and John must be extra overawed in seeing Moses and Elijah – here is the embodiment of the Law and the Prophets.
Peter might wonder ‘Who is Jesus that He has Moses and Elijah on speed dial?’
And Peter might see in Moses a reminder of the burning bush, of Moses’ own shining face, of the Exodus.
And perhaps Peter seeing Elijah is mindful of the power of God that was given to Elijah’s disciple.
What are Jesus, Elijah, and Moses talking about? Its Luke’s gospel that gives us this peculiar euphemism. They were speaking of His departure which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Departure. An interesting euphemism for death, on a cross. Perhaps within it is a hint at resurrection. Perhaps that Jesus’ departure is more than just His death, it includes His resurrection, it includes His ascension.
But I didn’t realise that the Greek word for departure is Exodus. They were speaking about the Exodus that Jesus is going to bring about through His death in Jerusalem.
There’s a lot to process in this mountain top experience. But oddly the take home point is not – Go get yourself a mountain top experience.
The take home point is the voice of the Father saying “This is my Son, listen to him”.
This word Listen, isn’t what I mean when I am giving you the notices at the beginning of our service and I say “Now Listen up I’d like you to encourage some new people to fill in an Electoral Roll form”.
When God says “Listen” it’s a bit bigger than that. It’s a call to obey, to follow through on what you have received and understood.
So pick up your gospels and start reading them. We will be spending quite a lot of time this year in Mark and in John so you can’t go wrong there. And over there on the table are some pocket gospels you can take with you.
Take a moment to process your own Mountain Top experiences you have had. Those ones that have shaped your life. It won’t be your last mountain top experience, I can promise you that.
So pray for open eyes and ears and an open heart to be able to receive, to be able to listen.
One woman was preaching about a life changing encounter with God and she said “it was like God was really there – and then she stopped herself and said No, it wasn’t, it was like I was really there. I know that God was always really with me, but in this moment, I was able to be truly present to the divine reality, glory, presence that was around me.”
You don’t need a mountain to have a mountain top experience, you need a little space to settle and pray and realise that God is present with you right here right now. In Church, in the slow queue while you wait to pay for your shopping, in the bustle of the hospital ward, in the noise of parenting, grandparenting. We are, none of us, ever very far from a mountain top moment.
Amen.