Follow
the Hills
At this point a lot of you know that your Pastor is… geographically challenged…
and some of that is a consequence of owning a GPS
….
But there is another factor—I grew up in Cheyenne Wyoming—if you ever got
turned around there all you needed to do was look for the Rocky Mountains. If
they were to your left you were heading North, if they were to your right you
were heading South.
The Rockies were a guide, a good way to know where I was.
And, I think, the mountains in Matthew’s Gospel are a good guide for us as
well, especially as we consider the transformation of the Transfiguration.
Let’s let the mountains be our guide. The Mountains are our guide.
Prayer
The Mountains are our guide.
The first such mountain in Matthew’s Gospel, is the mount upon which Jesus was
tempted. The Devil took him up a high mountain and he is offered an exchange
—all
Authority on earth—power over every Kingdom, the ability to rule in a way that
would make Caesar Augustus himself blush
—all
that would be given for him, if he would worship the Devil.
Jesus
rejects this form of authority—he’s not
that kind of king, the consent of the world is not a gift to be given
—it
isn’t a favor to be bestowed.
Despite what our sign says out front this week, ours is not a
God who forces us to do things, forces himself on us, ours is a God who woos
us, who is infinitely patient, no short cuts or dirty deals.
Jesus will bring about the Kingdom of Heaven and show us his
authority as Son of God, in a way that reflects what the true meaning of
Kingdom of Heaven and Son of God
–the
ends and the means will be the same.
From there, we find Jesus up a mountain preaching perfection
…
preaching blessings upon those who hunger and thirst,
the
peacemakers, persecuted, poor, and pure,
the
mourning, merciful and meek.
Jesus
making his rejection of the Devil a reality for all those seated at the base of
the mountain, hearing his words and experiencing their truth.
The
beatitudes and sermon on the mount is a consequence of the kind of king Jesus
is.
Then on two separate mountains, Jesus feeds 5,000 and
4,000—bread for all, just as Caesar would promise,
but
for free!
—in
fact, in one account of this feeding the people try to crown Jesus and he flees
—no
authoritarian manipulating people with their bellies, this Jesus…
no,
simply a man pointing to the abundance that is found in God.
Then
we get to today’s mountain—the mount of Transfiguration—where Jesus is
transformed, changed, before his
disciples eyes.
And
let me tell you a little something about transformation
—I
had the privilege last week of peering out into the assembly and seeing all of
you, all of you along with all of the Cross of Life-folk, and I don’t know
quite what to say about it, other than that the first thing I thought was,
“This is an image of the Kingdom of Heaven, right here!”
We were filled!
And there were people of all shapes, sizes, and shades.
People from Plainfield, South Plainfield, outside New Jersey,
outside America
—and
we were all gathered together in worship of Jesus Christ!
On Sunday we looked a little like the Kingdom of Heaven! We were
together transformed, I got to peek for a moment at something
—maybe it is what St. Stephen will look like in our best
possible future
—maybe it was our present
as presented to the eyes of God
—I don’t know exactly what I saw here—but I saw it.
Maybe ol’ Peter felt that way too, wanting to bottle and capture
the moment, to let these end of the world figures, Moses and Elijah, who joined
Jesus have a spot to stay…
I don’t know what he saw, but I do know what he heard! He heard
the voice of God defining who Jesus is, insisting that we listen to him
—there, in Jesus’ relationship to the Father
—that’s where Jesus authority comes from
—not
from any gold plated gimmick given by the devil, but by his faithful connection
to our Creator.
And this amazing revelation is to be held in those three disciple’s
hearts as they hike in parallel to these holy hills in Matthew’s Gospel—being
guided by the mountains of Matthew.
From the terrifying heights of Transfiguration the disciples are
empowered by Jesus. They are told, again, on two different mountains, that by
their faith they might move mountains, in fact, they could toss mount Zion
itself into the sea with their faith.
Then, from yet another mountain, they are warned, a great
cataclysm is coming—fear the end of the age, flee to the mountains, they are
told that there shall be trials and temptations
—and then they sing songs together as they head toward the mount
of olives where their world, their age, comes to an end with Jesus’ arrest
there and crucifixion.
But, there is a mountain on the other end as well
—they meet Jesus again on a mountain in Galilee.
They meet their risen Lord at the end and beyond the end, and he
gives them there the great commission
—All authority on heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, and
so the disciples are called to make disciples of All people and baptize and
teach them, trusting that Jesus is with us until the end of the age.
Follow the mountains brothers and
sisters, they’ll show us what the transfiguration is all about. It is telling
us what kind of King rules the
Kingdom of Heaven… it is telling us by what authority Jesus does what he does, and in so doing it shows us our
own authority as his disciples.
Jesus’ rule comes from his father in
heaven, not any deal, or trick, or blustering show of force or power.
It comes from right preaching and open
generous hands.
It is powerful, it can move mountains.
Yes, holding onto this faith revealed
in Jesus will come with many trial, but Jesus promises he will be with us until
the end of the Age.
-Relationship
with God
-truthful
words and generosity
-a
growing faith even in the face of opposition
-Jesus’
promised presence with us.
These
are the mountain peaks we can follow if it feels like we’re getting lost. They
are what is revealed on the mount of transfiguration.
A+A
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