A burglar broke into a home and was looking around. He heard a soft voice say, “Jesus is watching you.” Thinking it was just his imagination, he continued his search. Again, the voice said, “Jesus is watching you.” He turned his flashlight around and saw a parrot in a cage. He asked the parrot if he was the one talking and the parrot said, “Yes.” He asked the parrot what his name was and the parrot said, “Moses.” The burglar asked, “What kind of people would name a parrot Moses?” The parrot said, “The same kind of people who would name their pit bull Jesus.”
Did you get up this morning thinking, “Oh boy! It’s the last Sunday after the Epiphany, which means we get to hear the story of the Transfiguration in church.” I take it most of you didn’t do that. You probably didn’t decorate a Transfiguration tree either, or plan to give Transfiguration gifts, or decorate Transfiguration eggs. You’re probably not going home today for a Transfiguration dinner with family and friends, and you probably won’t get Monday off because it’s the day after the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, the day when we hear the account of the Transfiguration (You might call your boss and see if you can have it off).
This is a special day, nonetheless, because on this Sunday in the Church Year we always hear the account of the Transfiguration, Jesus’s mountaintop experience. In the Bible, frequently the top of a mountain is where God chooses to make himself known. It was on Mt. Horeb that God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. God gave the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. When Jesus preached his most famous sermon, he preached it on a mountain, and that sermon has become known as the Sermon on the mount.
Jesus went up on a mountain to pray. He took with him Peter, James, and John. While he was praying, the two greatest heroes in the history of Israel appeared with him, and Jesus was transfigured before their very eyes. His countenance shone and his garments became glistening white. As they saw this amazing vision, the disciples heard God’s voice saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
The disciples knew that Jesus was a unique person. They believed he was the Messiah, a descendent of King David, who would restore Israel as a free, independent, and prosperous nation. But this revelation they hadn’t expected—that Jesus is God’s Son. He is divine himself, far greater even than Moses or Elijah.
If you had been with Jesus on that mountain, experiencing the presence of God in that way, what would you have done? Peter’s response wasn’t unlike what many of us would do. He wanted to stay up on that mountain, to build three booths, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. He wanted to make a permanent home for them up there; or at least it would be a way to memorialize the event, so that they could return again and again to that special place.
But it wasn’t to be that kind of an experience. Jesus was speaking with Moses and Elijah about the next part of his mission. He had spent time in Galilee, but now it was time to go to Jerusalem, to the cross.
Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? MaryPage Hill and Jane Thompson went to Cursillo last weekend. Cursillo is a weekend retreat in which participants do a great deal of worshipping, praying, listening to lectures about the basics of the Christian faith, and meeting in small groups for discussion. I don’t know if Jane and MaryPage would say this, but I would say that most people who experience a Cursillo weekend consider it a mountaintop experience.
I have to say that every Sunday is a mountaintop experience for me as we gather together as a parish family. It’s always a time for worshipping God, praying, learning about our faith, experiencing the joy of Christian fellowship, and being nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ. There’s often a time in our worship together when I feel like I’ve caught a little glimpse of heaven. I don’t think that even a very active imagination would place the Church of the Redeemer on a mountaintop (although we do have a midden on the property. A midden is a mound made by the Indians who inhabited this area long ago and our midden is right over by our bell tower!). But the type of Mountaintop experience I’m talking about doesn’t happen on a physical mountain, but is a state of being—being in the presence of God.
Do you ever feel that way about our worship together? Perhaps you’ve had other mountaintop experiences. Why do you think God allows us to come up on the mountain with him? From time to time, if we allow him, God lets us see glimpses of our home which is in heaven. He does this so that we won’t lose sight of the goal, so that we won’t become so caught up in the joys and sorrows of this life that we forget that this is only a training ground for heaven.
And he gives us those mountaintop experiences to fortify us for the struggles that come from living as Christians in an unchristian world. Don’t ever forget that Jesus went from the mountaintop to Jerusalem and the cross.
We will leave this place today, having heard God’s word, experienced his forgiveness, and nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ—in order to lead a carefree, self-enhancing life?! No! In order to go from here to offer ourselves in sacrificial love to others, to be Christ’s compassionate arms of love in this sinful and broken world.
That’s what we hope and pray Jane and MaryPage took away from their mountaintop experience at Cursillo. God grant that you and I take it away from here this day. Sermon preached by the
Sermon preached by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
Last Sunday after Epiphany
3 March 2019