Busy Work On The Mountain Top

Mark 9:2-13
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus as recounted in Mark’s gospel gives us quit a bit to ponder. There is the lofty yet lonely location in which the events take place and the isolation of the characters involved who are eventually even shrouded by clouds. The setting of this event seems very intentional and important. There are also the various voices that speak in the passage, actually or by inference. Jesus, God, Peter, Moses, and Elijah are each quoted to the reader or are seen by others to be speaking. Words obviously play a major role in this story which is appropriate as Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. But today I’m struck by this section of the text: “And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified” (Mark 9:4-6). All that Peter could think about at the appearance of Moses and Elijah was a building project of sorts, essentially busy work.

Peter’s fear is understandable, but there was really no reason for the three disciples to build tents or booths for Jesus and the other. In fact, Peter’s offer reminds me of the old cliché of sending someone to boil water just as a women goes into labor. It’s the sort of thing you send someone to do so that they will be out of the way. But Peter’s offer also raises an interesting question for us to consider. Are there times when our involvement in the life and work of the church amounts to no more than “busy work,” meaningless actions carried out for no real purpose? How often do we offer to build booths when we should pay attention to what is going on, to events we’ve been blessed to witness, opportunities we’ve been given to see the word of God unfolding in our midst? Are there times when we would rather tend to the day to day stuff of organization or institution when what we should be doing is touching lives by sharing ourselves? I know how easy it is to let myself get lost behind a pile of work. I also know how easy it is to miss out on real opportunities to minister.

Peter was frightened, and there is much to frighten us today as well. Peter wanted to do something – anything – rather than absorb what he was seeing. Finally the voice of God called him and the others back to the need to listen and to be involved in what Jesus was saying and doing. Day to day the voice of God calls us as well. Our response must be to stop with the busy work, and to get busy doing the real work of the coming reign.

Prayer: Lord God, guide us in our living that we may set aside that which would distract us from your will. Help us instead to serve you and to respond to your call in all we do. In Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.

How Did He Know? Why Does It Matter?

Matthew 17:1-13

Matthew’s account of the transfiguration leaves us with an interesting question. “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’” (Matthew 17:1-4). So, how exactly did Peter know who Jesus was talking to? How did he know it was Moses and Elijah? A couple of humorous answers have occurred to me over the years. One is that Moses and Elijah wore nametags: “Hello, My Name is Moses.” Another is that Peter has seen pictures of these men on their collectors’ cards. (Just imagine what Moses’s “rookie card” would have been worth!)

What I used to think was that Peter recognized the two prophets because he knew the history, the scriptures, the stories of Israel’s past. But I’ve changed my mind somewhat. Now I believe that it’s not so important how Peter recognized Jesus’ conversation partners, it is more important that he did recognize them, but that in the end he still didn’t get what was going on. In telling this story Matthew gives a clear signal to us as readers about Jesus’ identity, but Peter and the others are left in a fog, literally and figuratively.

The question then becomes more about what we do with the knowledge that we’ve been given. Do we “get it,” that Jesus is the Son of God to whom we are to listen? Or do we continue to wander in a haze of misunderstanding, failing to grasp the big picture? If Jesus is the Son of God, if Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:7a), then why are we living the way we live, doing the things we do, causing the sorts of problems that we seem determined to cause? Jesus is the Son of God; even Moses and Elijah know it. Now it’s time to live as though Jesus’ identity means something to us as well.

Prayer: Lord, help us to grasp the glory and the grace that is all around us and to live as redeemed people, not as those stuck in the past. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Word About THE Word

Isaiah 55:1-13

Mark 9:2-13

I like to talk. Ask anyone who knows me and I’m sure they will agree. But that doesn’t mean that everything I say is important. My words—like anyone else’s—vary in meaning and purpose. We all say a lot of things in the course of a day that are less that significant. Not so with God. When God speaks it is for a reason. “[My word] shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). When God speaks, things happen according to God’s will. The power of God’s word is a common motif in scripture, of course. From the very beginning, for example, God speaks and all creation comes into being (Genesis 1:1ff). In the New Testament John’s gospel sees the creative power of God’s word incarnated in Jesus Christ (John 1:1f).

In our gospel reading or today all of this seems to come together as the voice of God is heard on the mountain saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him” (Mark 9:7). Of course this is not the first time we’ve heard God speak in Mark. A voice from heaven is also heard at Jesus’ baptism saying very much the same thing: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (1:11). The point is that when the word of God—God’s voice, God’s speech—intersects with the Word of God—God’s Son, Jesus Christ—we should take note. It’s like a giant flashing billboard that reads, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!”

If we do pay attention we will learn what the disciples seem so slow to comprehend. That Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, set apart for God’s will. That though he will suffer, that very suffering will ultimately reveal his glory, and in his glory we find our hope and salvation. That’s a lot of meaning packed into just a few words, but when God speaks, things like that happen. Are we listening?

Prayer: Lord, help us to hear your word and to live according to your will as disciples of your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Different…But the Same

Hosea 13:9-16
Acts 28:1-16
Luke 9:28-36
Our readings for today would seem to be about as dissimilar as they could be. The passage from Hosea is an oracle of judgment against Israel strongly condemning the people. Acts continues the story of Paul’s journey to Rome as a narrative. Luke, also in narrative form, tells the story of Jesus’ transfiguration. While God’s words are spoken in Hosea and Luke, God is not directly quoted in Acts. Each reading has a different thrust, with Hosea calling for repentance, Acts demonstrating the healing power of those who followed Jesus and the will of God that Paul arrive in Rome, and Luke foreshadowing the resurrection. And the differences go on from there.

But there are similarities as well. Each account is grounded in human history within a particular time frame. In each, God is working toward the restoration of the relationship between Creator and creature. Behind each reading there is a person of faith who is willing to record words and events for our consideration. And of course, we trust that the Holy Spirit is at work through each passage shedding light on the words and bringing them to life for us.

While there is only one God, the manner by which God interacts with us is not “one size fits all.” Different times and places require a diversity of responses or actions. What God might do in one setting is not what God does in another. If scripture could be condensed to five or six verses I fully believe it would lose it’s elasticity and it’s deft ability to touch us on so many different levels and in so many different circumstances. So thank God for all the variety we encounter in the Bible, but thank God, too, for the similarities that bind it all together and make it such a living (and life-affirming) document.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the word through which you speak to us and offer guidance. May we ever be attentive to you and your will for our lives. Amen.