Mark
9:2-9
2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and
James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he
was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as
no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with
Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it
is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 He did not know what to say, for they were
terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a
voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when
they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As
they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what
they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Then
a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is
my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"
·
Here we go.
It’s a short slide. The middle of this week will see both Shrove Tuesday and
Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is also called “Mardi Gras” (“Fat Tuesday”),
“Fastnacht” (“the Eve of Fasting”), Pancake Day, or in some places, Doughnut
Day… anything to get the sugar and shortening out of the house. Ash Wednesday
follows and whatever Lenten discipline we choose will start.
·
Just before
we start our Lent, we hear of the special event called the Transfiguration,
where Jesus was transfigured before
them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could
bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking
with Jesus. I wonder why this sort of thing doesn’t happen to me.
Why can’t I see Jesus transfigured, in his dazzling form, conversing with the
Law-Giver and the Prophet of prophets? Maybe I couldn’t handle it. Maybe
there’s no “maybes” about it.
·
The
Transfiguration is magnificent, terrifying, confusing, amazing, beyond
imagining. (“ausgezeichnet”) It’s
also not the main message of the event. Peter thought it was and wanted to
build three “dwellings” on the mountain so Jesus, Moses, and Elijah could stay
there all the time… and the disciples could see them all the time… and this
great thing would never go away… and maybe they could charge admission… and
everybody would believe.
·
The ‘main
message’ is what follows. A cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son,
the Beloved; listen to him!" With that, only Jesus is left
with Peter, James, and John.
·
"This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" There it is, the command of the voice
from the cloud, possibly more terrifying than the dazzle of Jesus transfigured
and the presence of Moses and Elijah. All the flash and light of the
Transfiguration might be what we expect to see. The meat of the matter is what
we listen to here.
·
The voice
from the cloud called the disciples to listen to Jesus, to really hear what he
had to say. The voice also revealed who Jesus is and what his relationship with
God is. He is the Father’s Son, he is the Beloved, and he is loved. Those words
–so simple and powerful- also say much about the Father. John’s first letter
tell us that God is love.
We are glimpsing the very life of God here.
·
What then
does listening have to do with love? Does the voice from the cloud tell us to
listen because it’s important to Jesus to be heard? Is it important to the
Speaker of the voice from the cloud to be listened to for the voice’s own
agenda? I think the voice tells the disciples – and us for now we hear that
voice passed down to us – to listen to Jesus because it is Good News to us.
What we hear is the good word and new life to us. The voice speaks for our
good, the good of all those who are listening.
·
Now hearing
and listening are not the same thing. You can hear without listening. To
listen, you have to be present, not just overhearing things, like you might
overhear a conversation in a restaurant. Being present isn’t always easy. The
Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky said, “To
listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also.”
·
When we
‘listen’, we take part in what we are listening to. Great music, inspiring
words, the sound of rain, a conversation with a loved one – all of these call
us to be part of them through our listening. Not just hearing; my dog hears thunder
and hides from it. Listening, really listening, makes us part of what is going
on.
·
I tell you
what; I’m going to challenge myself this Lent. I’m going to challenge myself to
listen and not simply hear. There are things and words and people and events
worth listening to. Hearing is passive; listening is active and takes effort.
Some days, I’ll be Stravinsky’s duck and just hear things because some things
aren’t worth the effort to listen. But I want to listen, really listen to what
our God and the people around me are saying in so many situations. I just might
hear the Good News of the Gospel. Wouldn’t that be great? That’s what I want to
do. Would you like to join me?
Then
a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is
my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"
No comments:
Post a Comment