Epiphany last, 02/03/2008

Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9, by David Zersen

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!' When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.' And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. (NRSV)

SEEING JESUS

This is a story about a bad photographer and a possible vision. A number of years ago, my son and I went on a father/son trip to parts of Europe and especially to Romania. One day, with two Hungarian friends, both of whom were Lutheran pastors, we went hiking high in the Romanian mountains, up where there was snow and clouds. As we gathered near a lake formed from melting snow I took a picture of my son with the other two men just as a cloud moved in on them and completely covered them. I told them it was like the Transfiguration and they were Moses, Elijah and Jesus. A lively conversation ensued between the three as to who was who, in three different languages since the three didn't have a language in common.

Some weeks later, on the flight home, we did a stopover in London and ran around the city taking pictures of various tourist sites. When I got home, I had the pictures developed. To my astonishment, there were several pictures showing three men in a cloud hovering over Buckingham Palace in London. I asked several good photographers how that could have happened. Some suggested that I may have exposed the same roll of film twice by running it through the camera a second time. Others wondered whether the developer printed the negatives of one roll on top of another. Another jokingly suggested that perhaps I had seen a vision and photographed it. To this day, I don't really know what happened, but I treasure the pictures as a memory of something unexplained in my life. And I use a digital camera now so I may never have the same problem. Unless, of course................ something legitimately unexplainable just happens to arise.

SEEING BEYOND OUR DAILY EXPERIENCE

We cannot know what experience the disciples really had or saw in today's text. Matthew calls it a vision, a horoma in Greek. They saw what they had never seen before and it was something so unsettling that Peter gets downright hospitable and proposes to make some huts for all three to dwell in. That makes a little sense when you understand that they were celebrating Sukoth, the festival when Jews erected huts of straw and branches and sat in them to remember the 40 years of wandering in the Wilderness when God had graciously provided for them. Still, there was something paranormal here and it's interesting to compare our own experiences with the disciples.

It's interesting to consider how many people believe they have had such paranormal experiences. According to figures that you can find on the internet, which may indeed be highly suspect, 5 million Americans alone claim to have been abducted by aliens. Millions of others believe they have seen alien spacecraft. Focusing more on religious matters, millions claim they have seen appearances of the Virgin Mary. In Austin, Texas, where I live, I was once contacted by a television newswoman to give an interview about my opinions regarding an image of the Virgin who appeared on dry cleaning equipment in a local suburb.

We can belittle such experiences, but we don't understand why people see what they claim to see or have the visions they claim to have. There are dimensions to the world of the mind and spirit which surpass our ordinary understandings. All of us will grant that sometimes as a result of a dream or a déjà vu experience we are given new perspectives which we consider to be insights or advantages. I'm not trying to promote an interest in the paranormal, but I think the there is more to us and to our world than explainable physical reality.

A parenthetical reflection on this may be helpful. In the U.S., there is a great debate in some areas between the appropriateness of the teaching of evolution versus the teaching of what has come to be called intelligent design. Even if one grants that evolution is a theory which meets the criteria of the scientific method (observe/theorize/test, etc.), must one also grant that in the use of this method there is no place in which to insert the role of a Divine being? In other words, is evolutionary theory, per se, an atheistic approach to understanding human existence and origins?

If so, without actually saying this, are we foisting a theory upon children or a society in general which places them in an enclosed box which God is not allowed to enter?

The prospect of considering meaning beyond meaning or consciousness beyond human consciousness may not be allowed or may be considered politically to some. For this reason, we can be forced to assume that everything has a logical explanation or that the scientific method can ultimately explain everything we seek to understand. I for one consider such a perspective a religious dilemma. Having placed God outside the box, have we made ourselves gods capable of comprehending and embracing all that is within and beyond our universe?

Personally I prefer to acknowledge a power and insight greater than my own, a dimension and depth which I can approach, but never fully grasp. There is something stunning and celebratory about a universe which invites my exploration, but always has more than I can possibly comprehend because it itself is comprehended by One who is beyond our comprehension.

For me there is mystery and interest beyond what I now know because God himself is inviting me to explore what can be comprehended and to rejoice in the marvel of what lies beyond my comprehension.

I can't say that that those who shared with us the story of the Transfiguration thought in the same way. Perhaps they also understood that there are imponderables in the midst of everyday life which cannot be grasped, but which are worth sharing just to prove the point that not everything is flesh and blood, dust and dirt, physical and material, explainable and definable. What they did want to share with us, however, is that the disciples did not lose themselves in reflection and mystical rapture after this experience. At the end of the day, they saw Jesus alone. He was their focus, their authority, their point of reference.

And so it must be for us. There is a hymn which sings "Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus." Pious and even pietistic, perhaps. However, to know that in the midst of life's challenges, puzzles and defeats, there is one who gives us direction and victory, is our most important gift. In Jesus, I learn how to relate to people meaningfully, how to deal with unsettling circumstances positively and how to plan each day constructively knowing that my future is assured. In Jesus I see beyond the limited perspectives that material and physical can create or propose. In Jesus I see more than Moses and Elijah, more than the Law and the Prophets. In Jesus, I see more than poets or musicians or scientists or business leaders will ever see. In Jesus I see the future which already embraces me.

SEEING INTO THE MEANING OF DAILY EXPERIENCE

Of course, such thinking is theological and ethereal and there are down-to-earth dimensions calling out to each of us. There is pot roast cooking on the stove which can't be allowed to burn. And there are troubles between my spouse and myself that need to be resolved. And there is uncertainty in my job that I need to bring to some resolve. And there are financial matters on which I've been stalling that need to be analyzed. Life is filled with such practical matters. And this was true for the disciples as well.

At the bottom of the mountain (17:14-15), there was an epileptic man to be helped, symbolic of all the needs in life that need to be addressed. And there was the journey to Jerusalem with all the unknown that beckoned there. If only they could know in words at least what lay ahead of them, the crucifixion of their leader and their own desperate attempt to make sense of what surely would seem like the end, but was in fact just the beginning. In all of this, they would need to keep their eyes focused on Jesus. In all of this they would need to remember what Jesus had told them. There were many who had given wise words and simplistic solutions. But Jesus had said, "It has been said of old......but I say unto you...." With his words they had been given new insights, points to ponder which took them beyond anything they had ever hoped or dreamed.

So it will be for us as we seek to see and follow Jesus. To accept his summons to discipleship may seem at times to be irrelevant and even burdensome. Yet as he reminds us, his burden is easy and his yoke is light. There is something about letting a love that comes from beyond us, from Jesus himself, transform and irradiate us, which is emancipating. To know that we are loved and to be transported by that love to the needs of our fellow human beings is, when we fully understand it, an exercise in joy.

This is an example of something which comes from beyond us, from beyond the obvious material and physical dimensions in our world. It makes no sense to say there is joy in serving others, joy in bearing our burdens patiently, joy in looking to the hope which God promises in Jesus, joy in trusting when even that hope seems to be lost.

And that is why this is Epiphany, and specifically the last Sunday of this great season of revelation. Because in the lessons of these Sundays, we have learned how to make sense of the nonsensical, to discoverer revelation where others may only hear words. In the visit of the Wise Men, at the baptism of Jesus, in the preaching of John the Baptist, in the response of called disciples, we have seen and heard how God creates new beginnings for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. All around us, there are those who are convinced that life is a dead end, that there is no tomorrow worth waiting for, that people are not caring or loveable, that what they have done can never be forgiven. But you and I have come to be convinced that in Jesus God has begun something new which cannot be stopped. In Jesus, you and I can know, here and now, in the midst of our daily experience, that life is more than what can be tested in a crucible or explained in a theorem. In Jesus we have seen the love that makes life fulfilling.

Prof. Dr. Dr. President Emeritus David Zersen
Concordia University Texas
Austin, Texas

E-Mail: djzersen@aol.com

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