Sermons for the Month
Listen to Him
DATE: March 2nd 2003
SERVICE: Transfiguration Sunday
TEXT: Mark 9:2-9“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Listen, we are advised. Listen to ME is proclaimed as we are bombarded with various messages about what we should eat, wear and do so that we become the person the voices say we should be. Listen so that you may know what food will give you energy, what clothes will make you attractive (or cool) and what fun-filled activities will change your life. The parade of infomercials cries out to us. Listen - this concoction will balance your insides and make your countenance glow, that exercise system will make your outside sleek and the secret of uncovering mounds of money will be revealed in this easy-to-follow program. Listen and you will be healthy, wealthy, and happy. But, those promises are seldom fulfilled for more than a moment. They hook us, they fool us, they provide momentary self-esteem, but in the end the voices to which we have listened so willingly fail us. Perhaps that's why every year before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday we hear again this story of the Transfiguration and are reminded of where our ears should be tuned. A voice speaks, "This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him." Yes, we should listen, particularly to the one who is truly worthy of our attention, Jesus. Listen to him! These words are spoken first to Peter, James and John who have gone onto a mountain with Jesus. It's a turning point. Immediately before this event Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus foretells his death and resurrection, to which Peter loudly objects. It is then that Jesus begins to teach his disciples that to follow him is to make sacrifices. Listen to him! I've always wondered if the disciples were contemplating what this might mean as they made the ascent. But, once they arrive there was no time for further reflection. It is then that Jesus' identity as Messiah is confirmed. Before facing the trials to come, this unlikely Messiah is transformed by heavenly radiance, Moses and Elijah appear to counsel with him and the voice of God affirms his ministry. The message seems to be that while Jesus will undergo suffering and death and so will his disciples, their final destination is glory. It's no wonder that Peter wants to make three dwellings and stay put. But, in this event there is more than a promise future glory. The cloud is not there just for effect, but it symbolizes the presence of God. And this cloud does not just overshadow them, but the more accurate translation is that it overwhelms them. (It's the same verb that is used to describe the power of the Most High overshadowing Mary (Luke 1:35), which results in her conceiving Jesus.) The Almighty is there. And the Creator of the universe is telling these imperfect, trembling disciples exactly what to do. As one commentator put it, "…they were taught from childhood to reverence the words of Moses especially, but also of Elijah. Now the voice from the cloud tells them to listen to Jesus. It's not that Moses and Elijah are no longer significant, but that Jesus is of such overwhelming significance that he eclipses them." (SERMONWRITER, March 2, 2003, Volume7, Number 9) So …. Listen to him. The disciples need to do so because when they leave the mountain they will walk the difficult path of discipleship to Jerusalem where Jesus will die. It's hard, though, for them to hear his words because these predictions of suffering are so far from what they expect of the Messiah. They will soon understand that discipleship is rarely easy. And, if we take it seriously, the same is true today. Being a disciple - a committed, active disciple of Jesus - is challenging. And that's why we must pay close attention to God's three-word sermon on the Mount of Transfiguration. "Listen to him!" That's the first step, to listen, to truly hear what Jesus is saying. I'm reminded of an Irish folktale that I'll adapt a bit. It tells of a woman who had a reputation for being very holy. She never missed a worship service and attended not only on Sunday morning, but also mid-week and special services. After being asked how many times she had attended worship a year, the woman began to keep track. She placed a pebble in a secure wooden box whenever she came home from church, and she never forgot. As the years passed, the woman began to wonder if the box was getting too heavy to lift. She asked a strong man who lived in her town to help her carry the box outside. "Be careful", she said, "It is very heavy." But he man picked up the box effortlessly and said, "Your box is very light. I don't think you'll need help moving it." Quickly the woman found the key and opened the box. She looked inside and found only five stones. This she could not understand; the box had been locked and the key was hidden. And, she had put a pebble in every time. And then the revelation came, she had attended worship, but God had not been central in her mind and those around her had not been central in her prayers. Instead, her focus was on herself and only five times had she truly listened to the words of Jesus, the first step in living them. We need to listen so that we can be better disciples. That's why I'm encouraging everyone to give of their time and attention this Lent to come to mid-week worship. It's not so we can add to our worship attendance record, but so that we can hear Jesus' word in a variety of ways - through scripture, through reflections, through music, through prayers - and be renewed and empowered in our own discipleship. And, that's why we will focus on Small Group ministry in the months and years to come, so that more and more of us can listen to Jesus as he speaks through scripture and through his people enabling us to be powerful disciples. We listen to so much JUNK and we allow what we hear to shape who we are. Look where that is getting us in this world. People's lives revolve around how they look and what they own and whether or not other people think that how they look and what they own is acceptable. I imagine that's always been true to some degree, but I've seen this "outer" focus become more profound in my lifetime as we are begged to listen to so many voices that we then allow to direct our lives and turn us into shallow, secular people. It's not hard for me to imagine God saying, "Stop listening to them," while reminding us to "Listen to him," that is, to Jesus. On this day of transition, then, as Lent begins and the journey of Jesus to the cross is in process, let us locate the trustworthy voice in the midst of the cacophony and listen - with our entire being - listen to Him.
AMEN