Are you making good time?  Last month I was in Mississippi on a planning retreat with some other pastors.  We went out to dinner in Starkville about 25 miles from where we were staying.  We had a nice dinner and as we headed home, I hopped in the back seat.  The two pastors in the front seat have known each other for 30 years or more.  They were reliving the past, sharing stories about their kids, talking about the churches where they serve, and breathing very little.  They were making good time, covering so much of life in such a short drive.  Even so, about 45 minutes into the 25 mile drive on the highway, I finally spoke from the back seat, “I don’t mean to interrupt,” I said softly, “but I’m pretty sure we missed our exit.”  They discounted my remark as one of a novice.  After all, I had never been to that part of Mississippi before in my life.  How could I know that we missed our exit?  I appealed to them once more, this time from a mathematical perspective, since my geographical approach proved fruitless.  “Look how fast you’re going (about 70 miles per hour), now think of how far Starkville is from our exit (about 25 miles), and remember how long we have been driving (about 45 minutes).  You might want to turn around.  You’re making good time, but I’m pretty sure you’re going the wrong way.”  We turned around and were back home in about 30 minutes.

I realize that I often do that right here in this sanctuary.  I race past these powerful stories that surround us - The Stories of the Windows.  I am glad that we have this chance to slow down and let these stories speak to us.  Fred Craddock, who came here years ago, warns preachers and listeners alike not to move too quickly from the scriptures to the application.  He wrote, “First, experience the awe, wonder, and worship.”

This morning I invite you to come up on the Mount of Transfiguration and experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.  Matthew described this moment in Jesus’ life in Matthew 17:1-9. Like most mountain travels, it is not about making good time, so go slow and experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.  Hear now the Word of the Lord:

¹Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴Then 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.” ⁵While 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!” ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. ⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  In this passage Matthew reported the divine endorsement of Jesus’ ministry.   

We have been telling the stories of the windows these last few weeks.  Our focus has been on the west side windows: stories of the resurrection, the ascension, the crucifixion, and the never ending meal of communion.  Today, we come to the Transfiguration Window.  This window was donated by Mr. J. W. Callaway, who I am sure was the proudest member of the fightin’ Texas Aggies class of 1923.  It is one of the windows where it is difficult to see the story of the window, unless you know the story.  At first glance, it looks like the Ten Commandments, a wheel on fire, and some Christian symbol.  But once we know the story, which we just read, we can see that there is a mountain and a cloud, the shekinah, the glory of God.  If you were here last week you remember that the three letters at the top of the window that look like IHS are actually the first three letters in Jesus’ name in Greek – Iota, Eta, Sigma. The Ten Commandments, we know are associated with Moses.  By the way, the Roman numeral V up there is for the fifth commandment - to honor our fathers and our mothers.  If you have not already done so, it might be good to think about that one today.  That only leaves one symbol to be identified, the burning wheel.  In 2 Kings 2:11 there is the story of Elijah, being escorted into heaven by a chariot of fire.  This week I slowed down enough to look at this window and I noticed that the disciples are nowhere to be found in this window.  I began to wonder, “Where are they?” Then it occurred to me they are not in the window, they are in the pews.  So as you look at the story in this window I invite you to experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.
 

Experience the Awe on this Mountain

I love to drive in the mountains, pull off at one of the overlooks, get out of the car, and just soak it all in.  That’s what Matthew seemed to do with this passage.  He described Jesus taking Peter, James, and John with him up the mountain.  This got my imagination going as I could almost see Jesus going to the three of them and saying, “Come with me.  You need to see something.”  Before we get too far in this passage, we do have to do a little backtracking, but remember it’s not about making good time.  Matthew wrote that this event occurred “six days later”.  So we need to look back six days and find out what happened there.  The place was Caesarea Philippi, way up north in Israel, above the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus asked the disciples what the word on the street was about him.  The disciples told him people thought he was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  When Jesus asked them who they thought he was, Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ (or the Messiah), the son of the living God.”  From that point on, Jesus began to tell them what it meant for him to be the Christ.  It meant everything we have looked at the last few weeks in these windows: Jerusalem, suffering, death, resurrection.  Peter did not like this kind of a suffering Messiah and told Jesus so.  Jesus said Peter was setting his mind on human things and not on divine things.  That’s what happened six days earlier.  Now Jesus takes Peter and two of his closest buddies up on the mountain. 

There they see divine things.  They saw Jesus metamorphosized before their eyes, (the Greek word translated “transfigured” is metamorpheo).  He was transfigured into pure translucent light.  They saw Moses and Elijah talking with him.  Matthew used the phrase, “the law and the prophets” several times in his Gospel.  He used it to indicate that entire revelation of God, up to that time, had been spoken and recorded through the law and the prophets.  Here on this mountain are the representatives of the law and the prophets, talking with, testifying to, and giving an endorsement of the ministry of the Messiah outlined six days earlier.

Experience the awe on this mountain.  It must have been an awesome sight, as if the veil had been removed for a moment, the veil between the visible and the invisible, eternity and the present, revealing the truth about the Messiah. Two weeks ago I witnessed the removal of that veil when I spoke of the cross where we see sacrifice seriously.  I have always been mystified by the cross and its cruelty. I don’t claim to have all the answers about it, but I am clear from that unveiling experience that the cross was a supreme act of love for you and for me.  When that veil was removed for just a moment, I found it difficult to speak.  I was humbled beyond words, and at the same time exalted beyond description by the incredible love of God.  I believe the three disciples had the hair stand up on their arms, their words inaccessible as they tried to take it all in.

I couldn’t find the disciples in this window, that’s when I realize they are in the pews.  Experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.
 

Experience the Wonder on this Mountain

Peter could take the silence no longer.  Impulsively, he blurted out, “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.”  He wanted to do something.  There is a difference of opinion as to what Peter’s motives were.  Was he simply trying to be hospitable inviting the two Old Testament giants to spend the night, or was he trying to hold onto the experience?  Either one of these is understandable.  If Moses and Elijah were suddenly before your eyes, wouldn’t you want to put on some coffee and visit for awhile?  If you were having a mountaintop experience, wouldn’t you want to stay there for awhile? R. T. France rightly points out, however, “Jesus’ mission was not to stay in the mountain, but to go down to the cross.” 

Whatever the motivation of Peter for his outburst, he soon discovers that it was out of line.  The glory of God overshadowed them in the form of a cloud and those same words that were spoken at the baptism were sounded once again from that glorious cloud, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  The disciples were thrown into immediate wonder, knee shaking, white knuckle wonder as they fell to the ground overcome by fear.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the Turkish Center in town about the beliefs of the United Methodist Church.  After a fairly brief presentation I opened it up for questions.  One question has stayed with me ever since that evening, “Why do Christians seem to have little fear of God?”  As we talked about this question, it became clear that there is an element that as Christians we may very well have lost sight of when it comes to our relationship with God – a certain wonder that causes our legs to give way.  Look at verse 6, “When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.”  My Turkish friends could have a point that we have lost sight of the wonder of God, of the bigness of God. 

Some people say that there is no need for this kind of response to God.  God is love.  I am not convinced that fear and love are mutually exclusive.  Today is Mother’s Day and I love my Mom, but if you think that I have not or even do not fear my mother, you have never met seen the two of us together.  When I was a little boy and I back talked Mom, I know that there would be an immediate and uncomfortable response.  She was determined that this would not be part of the character of her son.  My mom will turn 80 years old this year and I still fear what she would do if I back talked her or treated her with disrespect.  I have seen fear and love coexist in healthy ways between children and their parents.  Why then would they not co-exist in our relationship with God?

I couldn’t find the disciples in this window, that’s when I realize they are in the pews.  Experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.
 

Experience the Worship on this Mountain

Of course, Christianity is not about being paralyzed by fear.  While it is important for us to remain aware of the magnitude of God, we also see the manifestation of God through an incarnate presence.  Jesus came over to the overwhelmed disciples, placed a reassuring hand on their trembling shoulders, and spoke the most frequent commandment in all the scriptures, a commandment that occurs 105 times in the Bible.  Jesus commanded them, “Fear not.  Don’t be afraid.”  Then he invited them to go with him.  Look how Matthew carefully described what happened next, “And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.”  No one – except Jesus – himself – alone. 

Last Wednesday afternoon we had a district clergy gathering at Camp Allen.  At the last minute, our District Superintendent discovered that our speaker had been hospitalized.  He became quite distraught wondering what he was going to do.  When we arrived, we had notebooks for the gathering, but all that the notebooks contained were three blank pages of paper.  These corresponded with the three sessions that we had.  The sessions were about 90 minutes each.  Half of that time was spent alone with the Bible, a blank sheet of paper, and an assigned scripture.  In that very first passage, I saw no one – except Jesus – himself – alone.  When we gathered together to share our experiences, Joe Fort, our District Superintendent, once again apologized for the abrupt change of schedule brought upon by our guest speaker’s absence.  My friend spoke up, “Don’t apologize.  I’d rather hear God speak than anyone else.”  I couldn’t have said it better.  It wound up being an oasis of worship, and we drank deeply.

Sometimes we may be moving too fast to look up and see no one – except Jesus – himself – alone.  There is a great story in this window.  Can you see it all: the mountain, Moses, Elijah, the glory of God, Jesus?  Yet, I couldn’t find the disciples in this window, that’s when I realize they are in the pews.  Experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.

Are you making good time?  Are you getting a lot of things done? Have you covered quite a bit of ground lately?  I encourage you to listen for the voice of Christ within, who may just say, “Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think you missed your exit.”  Experience the awe, wonder, and worship on this mountain.  Amen.