Listen

Jesus’ transfiguration. The story we just heard from the Gospel. Jesus on the mountaintop with Peter, James and John. And Jesus’ clothes become dazzling white and his face shines with the glory of God. It has been described as certainly one of the "top ten" ecstatic experiences in the Bible. We hear it every year on this last Sunday after the Epiphany, the last Sunday before Lent. It’s meant, I suppose to somehow tide us over, give us a little nudge of momentum as we enter into the rigors of Lent.

The transfiguration. Would you like to have been there? Would you like to have been there with Peter, James and John… to have experienced what they experienced? Do you covet such an experience? Long for that sort of experience in your own life?

Why?

If you yearn for such an experience, why?

Projecting our own desires and needs into the story, what do you imagine Peter, James and John got by actually being there? What is it that you yearn for that you imagine they gained?

The absolute joy and wonder of being flooded by the very presence of God? We do call them experiences of religious ecstasy. Was it an experience of overpowering ecstasy?

Or do you imagine that it gave them a sense of certainty in their faith? Did they gain a clear certainty about God’s existence and Jesus’ divinity?

Or in your yearning, do you imagine that they were given a clear vision and affirmation of their own calls to ministry?

Or did they gain almost some sort of tonic that bolstered and enhanced their Christian self-discipline?

Was this experience the solution for all of their spiritual needs and uncertainties? There is absolutely no evidence in Holy Scripture that Peter, James and John gained anything other than the wonder or ecstasy of the experience itself. And, remember, they didn’t go up on the mountaintop seeking solutions or a conversion experience. They went because Jesus invited them to accompany him at prayer. And they only saw the transfiguration, Luke tells us, because they happened to stay awake.

So, again, if you yearn for such an experience… why? If you were to have a mountaintop experience in your own life, how do you imagine that it would change your life? If you covet such an experience, what difference do you think it would make in your life? How would you be different on the other side of the experience? How would you complete the sentence: If only I could see Jesus transfigured, then…

Maybe these are the wrong questions. If we are really yearning for an ecstatic mountaintop experience as the way to solve all of our spiritual problems or fill all of our spiritual needs, maybe we are on the wrong track.

Most people never have an experience like Peter, James and John. The vast majority of faithful people never find themselves literally awash in the dazzling glory of God. Most people do not ever experience that mountaintop, including we might note the other nine disciples. They weren’t there. And there is no evidence that Peter, James and John found the Christian life any clearer or easier after they came down from the mountain.

But even those of us who were not there, who have not been there… we know what happened. We know what God said. And it is God who spoke on the mountaintop. About Jesus, God said, "This is my chosen… my beloved." And then God added, "Listen to him!" All three synoptic Gospels are clear on that part. God said, Listen to Jesus. That was the "take away" that Peter, James and John were given on the mount of transfiguration: God’s command to listen to Jesus.

Maybe that’s the question we should be asking ourselves. Am I listening to Jesus? In my daily life, am I listening to Jesus? How can I listen better? As I struggle with spiritual needs and uncertainties, what is Jesus saying to me? Am I listening?

It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t actually talk to the disciples on the mountain. Evidently he has a little side conversation with Moses and Elijah, but the disciples are just spectators. It’s when they come down from the mountain that Jesus talks to them. It’s walking with them on the dusty road, when they gather to break bread, when they are confused or hurt, when they need healing… teaching… guidance. That is when and where Jesus speaks. They get a lot more of Jesus’ attention around the supper table than they do on the mountaintop.

And that is where he will speak to us if we listen. When we gather to break bread, when we struggle along the road, as we make daily decisions… Jesus is with us and speaks words of guidance, strength and love. Listen!

The transfiguration must have been a glorious experience for Peter, James and John. I certainly don’t mean to diminish that, and I do covet the glory and wonder of it. It is possible for folks like us to have similar experiences, to come face to face with the glory of God. The history of the Christian faith is dotted with individuals who have had such experiences. But you must go up the mountain. You must leave behind absolutely everything of this life, absolutely everything that comes between you and God. Most of us do not have that discipline or that opportunity. And, as glorious as such an experience would be, it is here in this life that Jesus speaks to us. As much as I might covet that 40 seconds of spiritual ecstasy, it is the 40 days and nights of Lent that lie ahead of us. And for the guidance and strength and Godly companionship we need to live every day of this life, Jesus is with us. He speaks to us. Listen. In prayer. From the pages of Holy Scripture. In worship. Jesus speaks. Listen. Listen to him. You will find your life transformed. Listen.