“Power and Glory from Above, Part 2: Walking with Jesus on the Road to Calvary” by the Rev. Don Wahlig, February 11, Transfiguration, Year B - 2 Kings 2:1-12 • Psalm 50:1-6 • 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 • Mark 9:2-9

THEME:  Listen to Jesus and follow him in working for the Kingdom.
 

Today we conclude our 2-part sermon series on God’s power and glory. Last week Isaiah showed us how God strengthens our faith when we are down, and lifts us back up when the time is right. This morning we are going to move in the other direction. We are going to start up on the mountain top and then follow Christ back down to earth.  As we do, he will teach us a lesson about faithful living, a lesson that you and I will need as we approach this upcoming Season of Lent and beyond. 

Let’s start with you. Have you ever had what you would describe as a mountain top experience? I’m talking about a moment when God’s presence was so palpable that the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. When it was clear to you that you were somehow in the presence of the divine. I want you to think about that. For those of you online, I am going to ask you to type a brief description of your experience into the chat field after the sermon. For those of you here in the Meeting House, I’d like you to share your experiences with one another during coffee hour.

If you have had one of these mountain top experiences, you are not alone.  Half of all Americans claim to have had a life-altering spiritual event of one kind or another. They happen to men and women alike, both young and old. A surprising number happen to children. They happen to people of all religions and no religion. They even happen to atheists, making them ponder the existence of God. Here are some examples. A neuroscientist tells of a childhood experience sitting on a rock surrounded by trees.  He suddenly feels that he, the rock, and the trees are all part of a greater, unified whole. He writes, “Following this experience, my purpose in life became clear:  I would later become a scientist to demonstrate that the essence of human beings cannot be found in the brain.”

An author from California tells of a childhood experience walking through an orchard to the top of a sloping hill with acres of tall grass, blowing in the breeze, birds flying, and bees humming. Then the sudden realization of what she calls an “inclusive awareness . . , I in them, they in me, and all of us enclosed in a warm, lucent bubble of livingness.”  Christians, of course, also have these experiences. A famous pastor and Oxford professor was walking down an English country lane one day when, as he says, “Suddenly I became conscious of the presence of someone else. I cannot describe it, but I felt that I had as direct a perception of the being of God all around me as I have of you when we walk together.” 

As diverse and varied as these experiences are, they have a common thread. First and foremost, a surprising number happen outdoors in nature. That is how they often happen in the Bible, too. In the desert wilderness, God drops in on Abram and Sarai for lunch. On Mount Moriah, God stops Abraham from killing Isaac. On Mt. Sinai, God speaks to Moses from the burning bush.  On the very top of Mt. Sinai, God gives him the tablets of the law. In scripture, mountains are where you are likely to encounter God. And that is exactly what has happened to Peter, James and John this morning.  

Jesus takes them up a mountain, probably Mount Tabor, a few miles west of the Sea of Galilee.  There Jesus reveals to them his true identity.  They witness the revelation that Jesus is none other than God. And not only God in the flesh, but God in all his divine glory. They are joined by two great figures from Israel’s past, Elijah and Moses. And then, as if that is not overwhelming enough, God’s own voice rings out, “Listen to him.”  This is the turning point in Mark’s gospel. From here on out, Jesus’ path leads to Calvary and nowhere else. That is God’s plan and Jesus will not deviate from it, even though it means suffering, rejection, and death, something no one else understands at this point, including his disciples. Yet, Jesus tells them that they, too, must pick up their cross and follow him.  But no disciple – not even the most ardent follower – will do that without understanding not only who they’re following, but where they are going. They need a vision – a vision of the leader, but they also need a vision of the goal. 

And so Jesus shows them not only who he really is, but who he will be when God’s plan is fully unfolded. He shows them his dazzling divinity, and also his future glory as the King of God’s Kingdom. That is the point of the Transfiguration. Peter, James and John do not fully grasp that. Then again, how could they?  Even so, when Jesus leads them back down to earth, from the realm of the extraordinary to the realm of the ordinary, they are not the same. The vision of Jesus the Christ and Jesus the King has transformed them in ways they do not yet understand. 

The same is true of you and me. Science has discovered that our experiences of God change us. They change the way our brains work. A few years ago, a radio journalist named Barbara Hagerty discovered this when she surveyed massive amounts of scientific research on people who reported transcendent experiences. The subjects were from all over. From Pentecostal Christians to Carmelite nuns, to Buddhist monks, to ordinary folks who have had near-death experiences. Scientists studied them all.  You might think that scientists would be skeptical of these claims of spiritual experience, and many are. But more and more scientists are inclined to take these mountain top experiences seriously.

That should not surprise us. After all, it was Albert Einstein who famously said, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” Einstein was by no means the first scientist to see God’s fingerprints in creation.  That’s what Barbara Hagerty, our curious journalist friend, discovered in study after study. They indicated a common change in brain function among those who experience the divine. The frontal lobes light up, the parietal lobes (which orient us in space and time) go dark.  That change in brain activity produces feelings which are common across participants of all religions and cultures. People reported feeling love, compassion, purpose, and connection. That sure sounds to me a lot like Christ and the Kingdom he promised to usher in.  You and I can feel that, too, as we encounter God by following Jesus. In fact, maybe today of all days.

Did you catch that reference to “After 6 days”? That means Jesus chose to reveal his divinity on the 7^th day. Mark is pointing us to the rhythm of creation, and to the sabbath. Divine revelation is a Sabbath experience. Every Sunday, we can see and celebrate Christ not only for who he is as God incarnate, but as Ruler of God’s coming Kingdom.  And just like he brought Peter, James, and John back down to earth to walk with him on the Road to Calvary, so Christ calls you and me to walk with him in our Monday through Saturday lives.

For many of us that means serving Christ at work. After all, we spend more time with our work colleagues than we do with our own families. If discipleship at work is of interest to you, I will be leading a small group on that very topic after Easter.    For others it may mean serving Christ at school, or where we volunteer, or at home. Wherever it is that we are called to serve Christ, now is the time to do it.  It will not always be comfortable. Reorienting our lives to serving others can be downright uncomfortable. It means letting go of those things that get in the way of following Jesus, and doing more of those things that point others to his Kingdom.

And for all of us, Sunday is the day we get to see the mountain top vision of Christ and his Kingdom. Then we have to follow Jesus back down the mountain to do his work in the Monday through Saturday world. It is a cycle, a rhythm – a Lenten rhythm. So, as we approach the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday later his week, consider these 3 questions: First, what is distracting you from being Christ’s faithful disciple?  What things will you need to let go of? Second, what are the things Christ wants you to do more often, things he wants you to do better? Third, what new or renewed practices and disciplines will you undertake to do Christ’s work more faithfully?

Whatever they are, keep that vision of Christ and his Kingdom front and center, the vision of being grace-filled and sharing his love with all.

May it be so.