Have you ever thought you had something all figured
out only to find out later you didn’t? Such was the world of the disciples who
first began to follow Jesus. Faithful Jews, they had been taught the ways of
God: the laws, the prophetic words, and the promise of a coming Messiah. They
thought they had it all figured out…until they met Jesus.
“Who do they say I am?” Jesus asks. Various answers come
pouring in but it is Peter who takes the coveted prize of Jesus’ approval when
he answers, “You are the Messiah, son of the Living God.” Jesus is so pleased
he declares Peter the foundation upon which the church will be built. I bet
Peter was proud but he fell off his self-imposed pedestal quite quickly, for no
sooner than he had climbed up and settled down Jesus began to teach that he was
going to go to Jerusalem where he would suffer greatly and die at the hands of
those who would reject him. In an amazingly audacious act Peter pulls Jesus
aside and scolds him for making such claims.
(Matthew 16:13-20)
A suffering Messiah? A dead savior? This was not
like anything Peter had been taught so he tried to set Jesus straight. His
reward this time? He was called Satan and pushed aside.
We all know how that feels, to think we know
something only to find out later we didn’t know anything. It makes you question
everything. It leaves you confused, fearful, and unsettled. Such was the state
of Peter’s heart when today’s lesson picks up …
1 Six days
later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up
a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them,
and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3
Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4
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." 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the
Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" 6 When the
disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be
afraid." 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus
himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered
them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been
raised from the dead." (Matthew
17:1-9, NRSV)
I remember
the first time I went repelling with my husband. We were practicing high-level
rescue off the 4th floor roof of a fire-training tower. I had
practiced all the elements – tying the knots, laying out the rope system,
fashioning a harness – I could do it all. Then came the moment I had to
actually repel. I had to actually hang my body over the edge of a 4-story
building and trust ropes, knots, and my belay person to get me safely to the
ground. Now, I don’t like heights and I didn’t like this one bit but I had to
do it to get my certification. So, I made it over the edge but then comes that
moment when you have to lay back and trust your equipment to keep you from
falling. I made it one step, then I made it two steps, then I realized if I
went for the third step I would be at the point of no return – and that is when
I began to panic. I looked up into the loving eyes of my husband and said, “I
can’t do it. I’m coming back up.” And I will never forget what he did next….he
moved to the edge of the roof and I saw one leg come over the edge and I
thought, “He is so amazing, he is going to go down with me and make sure I’m
ok.” It took me a second to realize the rest of him was not coming over the
edge – just his foot – just a big ol boot - which was promptly placed on my
forehead as I heard him say, “You aren’t coming back up” and he pushed me to
take the third step. It is amazing we are soon celebrating 27 years of marriage
considering all the bad things I said about him that day.
Fear,
uncertainty, distrust; call it what you will, it can cause us to want to shelter
in place where we think things are safe or at least more controllable than
moving forward. We tend to want to stay on the roof where we think we have it
all figured out.
We can
see this all around us, even within The United Methodist Church. We are falling
right in line with the rest of the world into the traps of division and
polarization. We are being taught to fear and distrust brothers and sisters because
we think we have to characterize our fellow believers in the same categories
the world insists upon: We must be conservative or liberal, fundamentalist or
progressive. We not only use these labels but we allow the labels to become the
wall that divides us. If you are “that” you are wrong and I don’t trust
anything about you. If you are “that” I am uncertain we have anything in
common. If you are “that” then you must now be my enemy. When we do this we
allow our fears, uncertainty, and distrust to stifle us from moving forward.
Peter was
confident in what he thought he knew. Peter was hanging off the roof, confident
of his skill, sure of his knots and systems, trusting all was going to be just
fine. Then Jesus arrived with a boot to the forehead and began to unravel some
of Peter’s theological knots by challenging everything Peter thought he knew about
God’s work through the Messiah.
It was
quite a bruising fall. I am sure that as Peter trudged up the mountain with
Jesus six days later he was still nursing his wounds but I bet he was also
shaken to the core with new uncertainty and fear. Did he really know what was
going on? Had he been wrong to trust Jesus? Was he now following some crazy man
on a suicide mission?
Once he
got to the top of that mountain and looked upon the shining face of Jesus, when
he saw the vision of Moses and Elijah there, Peter knew he had not been wrong
about who Jesus was. Peter is so excited to be back on sure footing again he
wanted to just stay right there. Let’s build condos and move in! If we stay
here I don’t have to deal with that suffering Messiah confusion.
Isn’t
this always our temptation when faced with a transfiguring and transforming
truth that challenges our previously held convictions? We don’t want to admit
that our certainties about God just might not be certainties after all. We are
much more comfortable settling down right where we feel we know what is going
on. Here’s the thing though – Jesus didn’t let Peter stay in that place – and
like it or not, if we yield ourselves to Jesus, he won’t let us stay there
either.
Yes, we
get uncomfortable when we are faced with differing theologies but there are
ways to help us find the confidence we need to step out of the shadows of what
we have always known and into the shining radiance of a living, breathing
experience with God that seeks to shine a new light of understanding. The key,
I believe, is in the three phrases uttered upon that mountain.
“Listen
to him”
“Get up”
“Do not
be afraid”
God tells
the three disciples they are to “listen” to Jesus. Folks, this is essential for
us as we seek to understand who God is and what God expects of us. We have to
listen to Jesus. We do so by committing ourselves certainly to reading
scripture and seeking encounters with God in worship but prayer is also an
essential key. Starting January 1st, United Methodists all across the
nation have been committing themselves to praying for a way forward for our
denomination. What we believe is that we can find unity and a path forward if
we all trust that we are seeking to hear what God is saying and will act
accordingly. “Listen to Jesus” means we have to push aside our own ideas and
expectations, just like Peter did, and listen with open minds and hearts to
what Jesus is trying to teach us. If Peter had his way there might never have
been a cross of salvation and a resurrection of eternal life. Sometimes what we
think we know can do more damage than
good.
It
strikes me as odd that when the disciples hear this command they fall to their
knees in fear. Is listening to Jesus really that terrifying? It is when the
things Jesus says challenge our own belief systems. Jesus understands this
though. Jesus understands how hard it is to face truth when we have been so
comfortable in our misunderstandings. So he gently touches his disciples and
says, “Get up and do not be afraid.”
Hanging
off the edge of a 4-story building, I thought Tim would be my savior. Instead
he literally booted me into the place of my deepest fear. The thing is, Tim was
confident in my safety. He had tied those knots himself; he had double-checked
everything personally. He knew that I was going to be safe – even if I didn’t.
Because he trusted in my future wellbeing he was able to thrust me into my fear
instead of helping me avoid it.
When the
disciples heard Jesus’ call for courage they looked up and saw all that was left
was Jesus. Jesus himself alone, Matthew says. Except he wasn’t alone was he –
he was with Peter, James and John – and together they walked down that mountain
to face a world of suffering, rejection, division and pain…but they would not
face uncertainty for in the shine of their Savior’s face they knew one truth
above all others. God was with them, and brothers and sisters, God is with us
as well.
On the website for the Pray
our Way Forward initiative someone wrote: “If there is ever a place where we can be
one, it’s in the space where we meet God.”
Let
us enter that space together as we pray. I offer this prayer written by colleague Rev. Amy Vaughan.
The Climb
O Lord,
Even as we struggle
And groan under this crust of frozen earth
Your steadfast love measures each step.
Lead us as we re‐imagine
Transformation
Balanced within
Unity,
New forms
Living in
Holy Places.
As we climb mountains,
And the air grows thin,
May we be reminded to listen with Our eyes and
our hearts.
You are the rope that we grasp,
The solid footing on which we stand,
And the broad horizon we will see
When this veil of our own self‐made fog clears.
Lead us, again, as we,
Brother and sister,
Make our way,
Hand in hand
To see together
The way forward.
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