Luke 9, 28-36
Sometimes preparing a sermon is really easy! Sometimes a preacher can read the bible passage set for that particular day and have a very clear idea of the direction of the talk early on.
At other times, a little more digging and investigation is needed in order to uncover the message, or messages for that particular time.
And then there are times like today, when one reads the passage and is just left with a whole load of questions! So, so many questions.
If you were still left clinging to any kind of notion that a minister has all the answers to unlocking the bible, well I’m delighted to be able to put that to bed for you, because I’m just as confused and you are. Possibly more.
You see, it’s not that I have questions because I am unfamiliar with the passage. This bible story or one like it in a comparative Gospel comes up every year, pretty much. In fact, I seem to recall reading extensively on the story of the Transfiguration when I was studying at theological college. And you’d think that that would make it easier for me to write a stylish, snappy sermon which you’re all going to cherish and commit to memory wouldn’t you?
No chance.
I have, as I may have mentioned, so many questions about today’s reading.
Questions are a huge part of our faith though. One of the most common questions I find myself asking as I go about working out what it is that a Priest in the Church of England really does is this….Why?
Why are we doing this?
Why does this happen?
Why does it need to be done that way?
Why is that person the way they are?
Why am I even here Lord?
Why would You choose me to be doing this after all?
Perhaps you find yourself asking similar kinds of questions too? Questions are really, really good, because they help us learn and encourage us to ask of ourselves and those around us, what it is we think we’re doing here.
I don’t know this for sure, but I reckon that the main characters in our story today would have been asking themselves lots and lots of questions. Perhaps we should explore them in a little bit more detail.
Jesus, fresh from His previous ministerial exploits of feeding the 5000 and asking the disciples who they thought He really was, finds himself leading a small group up a mountain.
Nothing particularly unusual about that you might think. Jesus often retreated away from the crowds in order to pray and sleep, and probably just get a bit of peace and quiet. But this time something quite remarkable happens which is so astonishing, it leaves his companions in a state of silent confusion which is to last for some time.
Jesus is praying. And as he prays something happens.
He changes.
We’re told…. “while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”
Somehow or other Jesus changes appearance. He is no longer in well worn clothes with a tired look on His face, but rather resembling some Heavenly being, the like of which the disciples have never seen before.
Once, many years ago, my Dad and I went to a basketball game and during the half-time ‘entertainment’ there was a ‘quick-change act’. One of those cheesy, 1980’s talents which involves a glamorous young woman and a somewhat dishevelled middle aged bloke changing their outfits whilst dancing to some funky upbeat music.
Let me tell you, my low expectations were not needed….they were amazing!
The act was so well polished that if you blinked you’d miss something and the brightly coloured couple went from a garish pink to a shocking yellow before you could say ‘bring back the basketball’.
Typically though I had lots of questions. How did they do that? Where was all the Velcro hiding. What if they ripped off too many layers and were left embarrassed in front of 15,000 people?
In some weird kind of way perhaps that’s how Peter, James and John felt today, as they gazed at the dazzling quick change act that is their Lord and Saviour. But this ‘act’ is no half time entertainment, for soon after appears two other figures. One is Moses and the other Elijah.
We are told they are ‘Speaking of His departure’, referring not to a holiday Jesus was about to take, but rather the nature of His departure from this world, THE DEPARTURE which we are to consider more closely as we approach the season of Lent this week. The departure that we mourn on Good Friday and celebrate on Easter Sunday. The Departure which would change everything for everyone, forever.
Peter, ever an example to us all of engaging our mouths before our brains, jumps in and suggests that now would be a good time for a little building project; a chance to mark this significant occasion with three monuments to act as reminders for generations to come of the awesomeness of the event.
Peter is rebuffed in the form of a heavenly cloud and the audible words:
‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’
Suddenly Jesus is left alone. Alone like he would be when that departure they were speaking of was to come to fruition. Alone like He really is, as THE ONE who is fully God and fully human. Alone, left like He often is by our own boredom, selfishness and lack of steadfastness.
And then comes what is for me, perhaps the most unbelievable part of today’s reading. Our final sentence reads….
“And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.”
How could they keep silent? How could they tell no one? How could they keep it all to themselves?
I’m fairly confident that in the weeks following that basketball game I told pretty much everyone I knew about that quick change act. And here are the disciples, keeping quiet and moving on with their lives.
So what do we do with all of that? What, if anything, can we learn from this bizarre, exciting and frustrating passage from the Bible?
Well, perhaps we might come back to the beginning and think about the questions that we’re asking.
What if….there are no easy answers to all that’s going on here?
What if….my failure as a preacher to write a memorable sermon is because there isn’t an easy, take-away, ‘here are three things to improve your life’ titbit for me to share with you.
What if...this passage reflects much of what we know about our Christian faith; that sometimes it’s confusing, often we don’t really understand, and we struggle to tell others about the things we’ve experienced?
As I’ve said before, having lots of questions is a really good thing. But having few answers is OK too. We don’t really know why Jesus decided to share this moment with these three and not the other 9 disciples. We don’t really know why it was Moses and Elijah and not Abraham and Jeremiah. We don’t really know why it building three monuments was such a terrible idea.
And that’s all OK. Perhaps today teaches us that sometimes our faith is one which is to be experienced, rather than to be forever understood. It’s OK not to understand. Really, it is! Don’t ever be ashamed or worried about not having the answers. It’s OK to be confused.
Peter went on to deny Jesus three time and then be ‘The Rock’ on which our church is built. So it’s probably OK for us not to understand the intricacies of a confusing passage.
There is one thing we can take away from this though….
Just as it did when Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan, a voice came in today’s passage.
This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!
God’s Son, the One who turned water into wine and healed the man by the pool, the One who was touched by the untouchables and chatted with the woman at the well, the One who gave up His time to heal the sick and gave up His life for you and me...He is the Chosen One, and we have a choice. We can take all our unanswered questions and let them get in our way, or we can recognised them for what they are….mere bumps in the road as we journey towards the One who loves us so very much. We can let them stop us on our way, or simply keep walking even though we’re not exactly sure where we’ll end up.
Be encouraged by your confusion….but don’t let it define you. Let the deep and life giving love of Jesus Christ be what defines you as you carry on asking so very many questions.
Amen.
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