This story of the Transfiguration of Jesus is one of my favorite stories in the gospels and one reason I love it is because it takes place on the top of a mountain. I love to go hiking and my favorite hikes are always to the top of mountains because from the top of a mountain you can stand and see far off into the distance. For many years I have hiked in the Smoky Mountains and my favorite hike is to the top of Mt. Leconte. It is the second highest peak in the park and there are 5 trails that lead to the top of the mountain and I have done each one at least once, most of them twice. From the top of Mt. Leconte you can see for miles all across the Smokies into NC and TN. Another mountain top I love is Cadillac Mtn. in Maine. Although you can drive to the top of this mountain, what is amazing about Cadillac Mountain is that this is the place in the US where you can first see the sun rise. The top of Mt. Washington has experienced the worst weather in the world and has recorded the highest wind gusts, although the day I was there the wind was gusting at 7 mph, and then from the top of Avalanche Peak in Yellowstone NP you can see the Absaroka Mtn. Range off in the distance of Wyoming.
Anytime you stand on the top of a mountain you just know you are going to see something spectacular, so when Peter, James and John go with Jesus to the top of a mountain, they just know they are going to see or experience something special. Something exciting always takes place on the tops of mountains in the Bible. Moses received the 10 Commandments on the top of Mt. Sinai. Abraham went to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac and it was once they got to the top of the mountain that God provided the lamb. Mountain tops are special places, so when we read about Peter, James and John going with Jesus to the top of a mountain, we just know something exciting is about to happen and as we keep reading, we are not disappointed.
While Jesus was praying it says that his clothes suddenly became dazzling white. Jesus’ entire presence radiated with the divine light of God and then suddenly standing there with Jesus were Moses and Elijah. It is here on the mountain top that the entire history of Israel is represented. There was Moses who stood for the law and Elijah who represented the prophets, and Jesus the Messiah who has come to fulfill them both. So all the history, hope and promise of Israel was standing right there on the top of the mountain in the power and glory and light of God What a sight that must have been for Peter, James and John. While we go up to the top of a mountain to get a good view, they were able to see the glorious past and the hopeful future of Israel. They were able to witness not the majesty of creation, but the glory and the majesty of God. It was an overwhelming sight and in that moment Peter is so overcome that all he can think of to say is, look Jesus, how about we build some shelters so that we can just stay here. It may seem like a foolish thing to say, but really, who wouldn’t have wanted to just stay there, stay on the mountain top and dwell in the glory of God?
But as Peter is thinking about staying on the mountain top, a cloud settles around them, Now anyone familiar with the history of Israel knows that a cloud on the mountain top is always a sign of God’s presence. When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to get the 10 Commandments it says he went up into a cloud. In Exodus 19:9 God says to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you and always put their trust in you.” So clouds on the tops of mountains were always a sign that God was present and that was going to speak, so as the cloud gathers around Peter, James and John we just know that God is going to say something and what God says is, this is my beloved, listen to him.
And then as suddenly as the cloud and the glory of God appeared, they are gone and the disciples are left standing alone with Jesus with three words ringing in their ears – listen to him. Imagine all of this all taking place: you are standing there with Jesus when suddenly he radiates light – Moses and Elijah appear and then a could settles on the land and the voice of God speaks and then s suddenly as everything took place it is gone and three words hang in the air - listen to him.
And it is those words that are at the heart of this story. There are only two times God speaks in the gospels, one is at Jesus baptism and the other is here on the mountain top and what is interesting about these 2 times is that in each case God says almost the same thing. At the baptism of Jesus God says, this is my son, the beloved, with him I am well pleased, and then here God says, this is my son, my chosen (or my beloved) but this time God says, listen to him. And so God himself is giving us some clear direction, we are to listen to Jesus.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating – listening is a lost art today. We might hear all that is going on around us, but are we really listening? Listening means taking the time to not only hear the words that are being said, but reflecting on what they mean and what they mean for our lives. In public discourse and in political discourse today, there is a lot of talking and maybe even some shouting, but not a lot of listening. Democrats don’t listen to republicans and republicans don’t listen to democrats. Children don’t listen to parents, and parents don’t listen to children. The world isn’t listening to the church, but the church isn’t listening to the world. Listening takes time and reflection. Listening takes respecting and valuing others. Listening takes thought and prayer. Listening might require some silence and silence is not something many of us are comfortable with. Think about how we fill every moment of our day with sound, the TV comes in the morning, the radio comes on in the car, the ipod comes on when we go for walk, we simply don’t take the time or find the place to get quiet so we can listen.
While all of our electronic gadgets make it hard for us to listen today, it wasn’t that different in Jesus’ day. Notice where Jesus has to take Peter, James and John so that they can hear the voice of God, they have to go up to the top of a mountain. It wasn’t that they just needed to be in that symbolic place to hear the voice of God; they also needed a quiet place. Wherever Jesus went there were crowds of people crying out for him to heal them or care for them. Everywhere he went there are religious and political leaders wanted to debate and argue with him. Everywhere Jesus went there was noise, so it is on the mountain top that they were finally able to get away from all that noise in order to hear the voice of God, and we need the same thing. We may not need to go to the top of a mountain, but we do need to find some places of quiet so we can begin to really listen to Jesus.
Listening not only needs places where we don’t have a lot of noise and distractions, but listening also needs still and quiet our tongues. At times listening requires us to keep our mouths shut. We have to stop talking so we can start listening, that is another lesson from this story of the transfiguration. When the power and glory of God comes up Jesus and when Moses and Elijah show up, instead of just standing in awe and wonder and worship and listening to God, what does Peter do? He starts talking – he just has to say something. He doesn’t know what to say, he doesn’t really understand the consequence of his words, he just has to talk. Can you identify with that? I don’t know about you, but I am so guilty of this - I talk more than I listen. In conversations I am thinking about what I need to say instead of just keeping silent so that I can listen to what others are saying. God teaches Peter a valuable lesson here. Notice that it is immediately after Peter has opened his mouth to talk that God comes in the cloud and brings silence. I think that’s what the cloud coming is really all about; it tells Peter to be quiet, to stop talking so that he can begin to listen.
We need those clouds in our lives. We need those reminders to stop talking so that we can really start to listen. This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and maybe this can be a season of listening for us. I want to invite you to come here on Wednesday evening at 6:30 to just sit in silence and reflection and listen for God to speak before our Ash Wednesday worship. Maybe these next 6 weeks can bring intentional periods of silence for us. If we go for a walk, can we leave the ipod at home? If e drive in the car – can we turn off the radio every once in a while. When we get up in the morning, can we take some time to listen to what God has to say for we turn on the TV?
We can’t listen to God without some silence, but it’s not just in silence that we hear God’s voice; we can also listen for God by reading his word. The disciples were fortunate because they could actually sit and listen to Jesus teach and preach. They could hear his voice explain parables and offer words of forgiveness and grace. They had those actual encounters with Jesus, but so can we. We can sit down and read God’s word; we can hear the same words of truth and love and hope that God spoke 2000 years. Again, maybe this season of Lent can be a time for listening to God by reading His word and studying it with one another. Studying God’s word together is important because sometimes we will hear God speak through the voice of others. Sometimes it will be the question or the insight of someone else that will help us hear what God has to say. That’s why it’s important for us to be part of a small group or a Sunday School class so we can hear God together. Notice that Jesus did not take just Peter or James or John to the top of the mountain, he took them together, he took a small group so they could experience and hear God’s voice together. This is a model for us to follow – we need to spend time in small groups listening to Jesus.
So those three words, listen to him, stand at the very heart of the Transfiguration story and they are still a clear directive for us today, but these three words also lead us to a deeper truth about how we are to live our lives. When we hear God say, listen to him, one of the natural questions for us to ask would be, why? what did he say? What did Jesus say that we are supposed to hear? Look back to the beginning of this story, it says, eight days after these sayings. So 8 days after Jesus has said something, Peter, James and John are told by God to listen to him. So what was it that Jesus said eight days ago that we’re supposed to listen to? Let’s look back and see.
Luke 9:18-21. Now let’s stop here for a moment. Can we see how these stories fit together? Eight days ago Jesus was asking his disciples, Who do the crowds say I am? Who do you say I am? And then eight days later God answers that very question by saying, this is my son. So we see that these 2 stories are woven together so that what God wants us to listen to is going to be found in Jesus teaching here, so let’s keep reading, Luke 9:23-24. And there it is! This is what God wants us to listen to, if anyone wants to follow Jesus we need to deny ourselves and take up a cross. If we want to follow Jesus and experience the full power and glory of God, then we need to deny ourselves and take up a cross.
Now the kind of self denial Jesus is talking about has nothing to do with our possessions; it has to do with where we place our faith and trust. Denying ourselves means we stop looking to ourselves and trusting in ourselves for salvation and life and we start looking to Jesus? Denying ourselves means we stop trying to find the full meaning and purpose in life in what we do and instead look at who we are in relationship to God. Salvation and life and the glory of God are found when we see ourselves as children of God who are accepted by God’s grace and love alone.
And taking up a cross doesn’t mean physically dying, it means we stop living for ourselves and start living for God and for others first. It means we place God’s will above our own and the needs of those around us before our own, but knowing how to do this, knowing what the will of God is for our lives and knowing how God is calling us to meet the needs of others us before our own requires us to do one thing first – it requires us to listen to Him. The only way we will know what God’s will is for us is, the only way we will be able to figure out how to live for others before we live for ourselves, the only way we will know what it means for us to carry a cross will be for us to find those times of silence so that we can listen to him.
So let us listen to Jesus.
Anytime you stand on the top of a mountain you just know you are going to see something spectacular, so when Peter, James and John go with Jesus to the top of a mountain, they just know they are going to see or experience something special. Something exciting always takes place on the tops of mountains in the Bible. Moses received the 10 Commandments on the top of Mt. Sinai. Abraham went to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac and it was once they got to the top of the mountain that God provided the lamb. Mountain tops are special places, so when we read about Peter, James and John going with Jesus to the top of a mountain, we just know something exciting is about to happen and as we keep reading, we are not disappointed.
While Jesus was praying it says that his clothes suddenly became dazzling white. Jesus’ entire presence radiated with the divine light of God and then suddenly standing there with Jesus were Moses and Elijah. It is here on the mountain top that the entire history of Israel is represented. There was Moses who stood for the law and Elijah who represented the prophets, and Jesus the Messiah who has come to fulfill them both. So all the history, hope and promise of Israel was standing right there on the top of the mountain in the power and glory and light of God What a sight that must have been for Peter, James and John. While we go up to the top of a mountain to get a good view, they were able to see the glorious past and the hopeful future of Israel. They were able to witness not the majesty of creation, but the glory and the majesty of God. It was an overwhelming sight and in that moment Peter is so overcome that all he can think of to say is, look Jesus, how about we build some shelters so that we can just stay here. It may seem like a foolish thing to say, but really, who wouldn’t have wanted to just stay there, stay on the mountain top and dwell in the glory of God?
But as Peter is thinking about staying on the mountain top, a cloud settles around them, Now anyone familiar with the history of Israel knows that a cloud on the mountain top is always a sign of God’s presence. When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to get the 10 Commandments it says he went up into a cloud. In Exodus 19:9 God says to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you and always put their trust in you.” So clouds on the tops of mountains were always a sign that God was present and that was going to speak, so as the cloud gathers around Peter, James and John we just know that God is going to say something and what God says is, this is my beloved, listen to him.
And then as suddenly as the cloud and the glory of God appeared, they are gone and the disciples are left standing alone with Jesus with three words ringing in their ears – listen to him. Imagine all of this all taking place: you are standing there with Jesus when suddenly he radiates light – Moses and Elijah appear and then a could settles on the land and the voice of God speaks and then s suddenly as everything took place it is gone and three words hang in the air - listen to him.
And it is those words that are at the heart of this story. There are only two times God speaks in the gospels, one is at Jesus baptism and the other is here on the mountain top and what is interesting about these 2 times is that in each case God says almost the same thing. At the baptism of Jesus God says, this is my son, the beloved, with him I am well pleased, and then here God says, this is my son, my chosen (or my beloved) but this time God says, listen to him. And so God himself is giving us some clear direction, we are to listen to Jesus.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating – listening is a lost art today. We might hear all that is going on around us, but are we really listening? Listening means taking the time to not only hear the words that are being said, but reflecting on what they mean and what they mean for our lives. In public discourse and in political discourse today, there is a lot of talking and maybe even some shouting, but not a lot of listening. Democrats don’t listen to republicans and republicans don’t listen to democrats. Children don’t listen to parents, and parents don’t listen to children. The world isn’t listening to the church, but the church isn’t listening to the world. Listening takes time and reflection. Listening takes respecting and valuing others. Listening takes thought and prayer. Listening might require some silence and silence is not something many of us are comfortable with. Think about how we fill every moment of our day with sound, the TV comes in the morning, the radio comes on in the car, the ipod comes on when we go for walk, we simply don’t take the time or find the place to get quiet so we can listen.
While all of our electronic gadgets make it hard for us to listen today, it wasn’t that different in Jesus’ day. Notice where Jesus has to take Peter, James and John so that they can hear the voice of God, they have to go up to the top of a mountain. It wasn’t that they just needed to be in that symbolic place to hear the voice of God; they also needed a quiet place. Wherever Jesus went there were crowds of people crying out for him to heal them or care for them. Everywhere he went there are religious and political leaders wanted to debate and argue with him. Everywhere Jesus went there was noise, so it is on the mountain top that they were finally able to get away from all that noise in order to hear the voice of God, and we need the same thing. We may not need to go to the top of a mountain, but we do need to find some places of quiet so we can begin to really listen to Jesus.
Listening not only needs places where we don’t have a lot of noise and distractions, but listening also needs still and quiet our tongues. At times listening requires us to keep our mouths shut. We have to stop talking so we can start listening, that is another lesson from this story of the transfiguration. When the power and glory of God comes up Jesus and when Moses and Elijah show up, instead of just standing in awe and wonder and worship and listening to God, what does Peter do? He starts talking – he just has to say something. He doesn’t know what to say, he doesn’t really understand the consequence of his words, he just has to talk. Can you identify with that? I don’t know about you, but I am so guilty of this - I talk more than I listen. In conversations I am thinking about what I need to say instead of just keeping silent so that I can listen to what others are saying. God teaches Peter a valuable lesson here. Notice that it is immediately after Peter has opened his mouth to talk that God comes in the cloud and brings silence. I think that’s what the cloud coming is really all about; it tells Peter to be quiet, to stop talking so that he can begin to listen.
We need those clouds in our lives. We need those reminders to stop talking so that we can really start to listen. This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and maybe this can be a season of listening for us. I want to invite you to come here on Wednesday evening at 6:30 to just sit in silence and reflection and listen for God to speak before our Ash Wednesday worship. Maybe these next 6 weeks can bring intentional periods of silence for us. If we go for a walk, can we leave the ipod at home? If e drive in the car – can we turn off the radio every once in a while. When we get up in the morning, can we take some time to listen to what God has to say for we turn on the TV?
We can’t listen to God without some silence, but it’s not just in silence that we hear God’s voice; we can also listen for God by reading his word. The disciples were fortunate because they could actually sit and listen to Jesus teach and preach. They could hear his voice explain parables and offer words of forgiveness and grace. They had those actual encounters with Jesus, but so can we. We can sit down and read God’s word; we can hear the same words of truth and love and hope that God spoke 2000 years. Again, maybe this season of Lent can be a time for listening to God by reading His word and studying it with one another. Studying God’s word together is important because sometimes we will hear God speak through the voice of others. Sometimes it will be the question or the insight of someone else that will help us hear what God has to say. That’s why it’s important for us to be part of a small group or a Sunday School class so we can hear God together. Notice that Jesus did not take just Peter or James or John to the top of the mountain, he took them together, he took a small group so they could experience and hear God’s voice together. This is a model for us to follow – we need to spend time in small groups listening to Jesus.
So those three words, listen to him, stand at the very heart of the Transfiguration story and they are still a clear directive for us today, but these three words also lead us to a deeper truth about how we are to live our lives. When we hear God say, listen to him, one of the natural questions for us to ask would be, why? what did he say? What did Jesus say that we are supposed to hear? Look back to the beginning of this story, it says, eight days after these sayings. So 8 days after Jesus has said something, Peter, James and John are told by God to listen to him. So what was it that Jesus said eight days ago that we’re supposed to listen to? Let’s look back and see.
Luke 9:18-21. Now let’s stop here for a moment. Can we see how these stories fit together? Eight days ago Jesus was asking his disciples, Who do the crowds say I am? Who do you say I am? And then eight days later God answers that very question by saying, this is my son. So we see that these 2 stories are woven together so that what God wants us to listen to is going to be found in Jesus teaching here, so let’s keep reading, Luke 9:23-24. And there it is! This is what God wants us to listen to, if anyone wants to follow Jesus we need to deny ourselves and take up a cross. If we want to follow Jesus and experience the full power and glory of God, then we need to deny ourselves and take up a cross.
Now the kind of self denial Jesus is talking about has nothing to do with our possessions; it has to do with where we place our faith and trust. Denying ourselves means we stop looking to ourselves and trusting in ourselves for salvation and life and we start looking to Jesus? Denying ourselves means we stop trying to find the full meaning and purpose in life in what we do and instead look at who we are in relationship to God. Salvation and life and the glory of God are found when we see ourselves as children of God who are accepted by God’s grace and love alone.
And taking up a cross doesn’t mean physically dying, it means we stop living for ourselves and start living for God and for others first. It means we place God’s will above our own and the needs of those around us before our own, but knowing how to do this, knowing what the will of God is for our lives and knowing how God is calling us to meet the needs of others us before our own requires us to do one thing first – it requires us to listen to Him. The only way we will know what God’s will is for us is, the only way we will be able to figure out how to live for others before we live for ourselves, the only way we will know what it means for us to carry a cross will be for us to find those times of silence so that we can listen to him.
So let us listen to Jesus.
