(Matthew 17:1-9)
Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn
INTRODUCTION:
There's a classic Peanuts by Charles Shultz that you've all probably seen. Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy are all lying on a hill looking at the clouds. Lucy says, "If you use your imagination you can see lots of things in the cloud formations. What do you think you see, Linus?" Linus replies, "Well, those clouds up there look to me like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean; the cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, a famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there gives me the impressions of the stoning of Stephen. I can even see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side."
Lucy responds, "Uh, huh, That's very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?" and Charlie responds "Well, I was going to say I saw a ducky and a horsie, but I changed my mind."
If you take the time to notice, most clouds are very beautiful. Their shapes CAN remind us of things and people. I love watching the sun rise and the glow of the sun begin to color the clouds and the day and push back the darkness. And I don't think there's anything more beautiful than marshmallow clouds toasting in a sunset.
Clouds can be beautiful but clouds can also be very frightening. There's not much that's more frightening than storm clouds violently waging war on a field of battle above your home or community; throwing their arsenal of lightning, hail, and rain raging in the wind of their fury.
In the Scripture, clouds have a significant meaning. They are both beautiful and a thing of fear. For a cloud is always more than a cloud. Clouds are symbols of God's presence. God first spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, but after that encounter, God always spoke to Moses out of the clouds that surrounded the Mountain of the Commandments. Or the cloud that would descend upon the Tabernacle in the wildness. God's presence was made known by the pillar or cloud of smoke that lead the people of Israel.
In the Old testament God always comes shrouded in clouds. This wasn't a cloud of dust like accompanied the Lone Ranger. Nor was it the same type of cloud that the radio hero "The Shadow" used. Remember the Shadow. "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows." The shadow had the ability to cloud men's minds and appear invisible or influence their thoughts. God came shrouded in cloud to protect God's people. To look upon the face of God was death, not from fright or fear but because of the overwhelming glory, beauty, and grace of God.
I. THE EVENTS:
This morning we have a passage in which, once again, God visits in a cloud. In today's story, there were witnesses. Jesus was at a crossroads in his ministry. Would he take the road to the cross or would he turn away. That temptation was always with him, always there, always nagging away trying to lead him astray. He fought that temptation by spending time talking things over with his father, in prayer. Again we find Jesus seeking counsel with his father. This time he took Peter, James and John with him and he went up a high mountain to pray.
While praying, a cloud descended, not an unusual occurrence in the mountains, right? But this cloud was filled with the presence of God. And God brought company. For suddenly, standing before them were Moses and Elijah. Two of the Old Testament's greatest figures. The giver of the People and the Law and the chief prophet. That was pretty auspicious company.
And right before their eyes Jesus was transformed glowed with the glory of God. Not only do we get to see the glory of Jesus, but the glory of God is reflected in Jesus. For Jesus was the perfect, flesh and blood reflection of God ever present in this world. No wonder the disciples were so excited and filled with awe and terror all at the same time. They had stood in the presence of God and the culmination of all that God had done up until that day. And they lived to tell about it. No wonder Peter wanted to build tabernacles to commemorate the event. That cloud filled with God's presence, made that place, holy ground.
II. HOLY GROUND:
A. Have you ever stood on Holy Ground? I have. There's a farm just outside South Fork Station in southern Missouri. It's owned by Mary's parents. Not far from the few remains of an old well house, in the middle of a pasture and hay field there is patch of ground that is holy ground. It's holy to me but it probably wouldn't be to you. It's holy to me because this is where God took away my fears and anxiety about answering the call to preach. And it's in this spot where I finally surrendered my life to that call. To me, this place will always be holy. Since it's on the farm, I can go back and remember. And at times I have. Just to remember.
There's another place that is holy ground for me. A place many of you have been or seen on television. It's the chancel at First United Methodist Church in Ft. Worth. It was a night that was really the culmination of my experience in that field. You see, it was at that rail that Bishop Russel, Albert Outler, Eugene Robertson, Leonard Radde and Howard Quiett all laid hands on me and I was ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. I relive that moment every year at Annual Conference, whether it's at First Ft. Worth or anywhere else. I go back to both of those spots in my mind and remember both my call and my ordination.
B. There are a couple of other places as well. Anywhere in Israel. You can ask almost anybody who has been there, there is just something about the land, something in the air or the water or whatever but Israel just FEELS holy. You can feel and almost touch the reality of the presence of God.
In Israel, the Sea of Galilee will always be a holy place for me. The first time I went to Israel, Mary went with me. Because of plane delays in New York and Paris we landed in Tel Aviv about five or six hours late. We got our luggage, met our guide and headed to the hotel in Galilee. We took a bus but it was dark and cloudy. All we could see were the lighted gas stations and businesses. We couldn't tell much about the surrounding country at all, it reminded us of home. We checked in, unpacked, and wound down by looking out the window of our room which overlooked the Sea of Galilee. We finally went to bed. In the middle of the night we were both hot. We had gotten up and tried to figure out the thermostat but couldn't. So we opened the door to the balcony and let the cool air in. Because of the time difference and the excitement of the trip we woke up early. We laid there in bed talking about the trip and what we hoped to see. In the background we kept hearing this arrhythmic sound. I had heard it before but couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded a little like a hammer hit wood but not very hard. Or with any purpose.
We went and stood on the balcony looking out across the Sea of Galilee. The skies had cleared. The moon and the stars were visible. And in the moonlight you could see the Golan Heights. All of a sudden it dawned on me what that sound was and where I had heard it. I'd heard it while serving in Japan while working with the fishermen in the village close to our base. It was the sound of the floats in the fishing nets hitting the side of the boat as the nets were brought in. And sure enough, as the sun started to rise, we could see a fisherman casting his net just like they did 2000 years ago. That fisherman, the lake and the sun rising were all we could see from our balcony. We were taken back in time. What a wonderful way to start the trip. That will always be a holy place for me.
C. There are others as well. Some in Israel, others here. Glen Lake Camp is a holy place for a lot of people. You have holy places in your lives as well. It might be the Church where you were baptized or where your children were baptized. It might be the spot where he proposed or where you said "Yes." It could be the chapel where they held the funeral for your parents or grand parents. It could be the Sunday School room where you first realized or first accept God's love and forgiveness. We all have holy places.
III. THE MEANING FOR US:
We all have those spots that we feel are holy ground. Those places where the cloud of God's presence has touched our lives and we will never be the same because of them. Those places where we had Mountain top experiences. Sometimes we go back. Sometimes we remember and we're strengthened. We revisit those high points in our lives and they rekindle the call or the hope or the faith that we once had. And they strengthen us. That's why they're given. They are given to affirm, confirm, and empower.
A. AFFIRM: Mountain top experiences affirm both us and the truths of God. Mountain top experiences draw us closer to the holy by drawing us into the presence of God. In those experiences, we are wrapped and enfolded in God's love or God's Holy Spirit or both. We feel the presence of God or we feel the love of God in a special way. We feel affirmed.
B. CONFIRM: We also feel confirmed. Or we have the answer to some issue we are struggling with confirmed. It's that "Is this the right thing to do? Show me a sign." kind of deal. God shows us a sign or through a series of events or people, what we thought was the right thing to do is confirmed. It may be through a phone call or a handshake or a note from a friend. It could be a rainbow or a butterfly or a song on the radio. But, like Jesus standing with Moses and Elijah, you suddenly feel the confirmation of God.
C. EMPOWER: The purpose of these mountain top experiences is usually two fold. They are for you and for others. They are for you because they transform you or change you. But they are also for others because they energize you for God's work. God empowers you to use your transformation and inspiration to help transform and inspire others.
As a consequence, you can't stay in that spot. Peter, James and John wanted to build tabernacles so they could stay in the experience. What Jesus understood though was that if they stayed on the mountain, they would never get to the hill called Calvary and his ultimate purpose, which had just been confirmed by the presence of Moses and Elijah and the voice of God, wouldn't get accomplished.
It would be horrible if I had surrendered to the call to preach, gone to seminary, been ordained and then moved back to that spot on the farm and stayed there writing sermons and preaching to the cows and the birds but never preaching to God's people. Our Mountain top experiences are important. We meet God in the clouds. We are affirmed and confirmed. But we can't stay on the mountain top. We are empowered and filled up in order to empty ourselves out in service for God.
CONCLUSION:
Let's close with another Charlie Brown story. Charlie Brown is at camp and he is helping with the younger kids. He and the boy he has been assigned to help are sitting on the dock, looking at the stars. Charlie Brown says, "See that star, Cormac? That's the North Star. Here's your chance to try out your compass. See if the needle on your compass points in the same direction as the North Star."
Cormac says, "It'll never work."
Charlie Brown asks, "Why not?"
And Cormac says, "I just dropped it in the lake." (1)
That's what happens when we try to stay on the mountain. From the experience we get the right directions for our life. And just when we know which direction and where to go, we drop the compass in the lake by trying stay on the mountain. Jesus went up that mountain, not to stay, but to be affirmed by God. To have his mission and vision confirmed through the presence of Moses and Elijah. And to be empowered for the hardest part of journey yet to come, to take up the cross of our sinfulness.
Remember with joy and thanksgiving the mountain top experiences you have had. Remember and visit the places that are holy ground for you. But also remember that God used that holy ground and that experience to transform you so you could be about the work of helping to transform others.
This is the Word of the Lord for this day.
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Bibliography
1. Peanuts by Charles Shultz, 7-21-92
Other References Consulted