Exodus 34:29-35
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Luke 9:28-36
“Let’s Make a Deal” with Monty Hall is a classic game show. Although it was broadcast back in the 60s and 70s on ABC and NBC, you can watch reruns of the show today on the Game Show Network. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host, Monty Hall. The contestants have to weigh the possibility of an offer for a valuable prize, or an undesirable item, referred to as a "zonk". The prize and the “zonk” are kept hidden behind one of three doors: door number one, door number two and door number three. As the host, Monty Hall would heighten the anticipation of finding out behind which door the valuable prize was hidden. Both the contestant and the audience at home and in the studio want to witness the unveiling: will it be the valuable prize or will it be the “zonk”.
It is difficult to know sometimes in life which door hides the valuable prize and which door hides the “zonk”. We don’t always see and understand the truth even when it lies right in front of our faces. The Apostle Peter, who has traveled with Jesus himself and lived with him day in and day out, has declared Jesus’ identity as the Messiah of God, but he does not fully comprehend what he is saying. Peter and the disciples cannot see the complete truth; they do not understand the depth and breath of Jesus’ identity and purpose.
So Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray as was his habit; his time away from the people and the crowds to be with God alone. But this time it’s different. There is more at stake with this visit to the mountain top, for Jesus is preparing to make the journey to Jerusalem. He wants to make sure that at least one little group of his followers know who he is. He wants to make sure Peter, James and John would come to understand his true identity. So they go to the mountain top to pray seeking God’s blessing for the journey to Jerusalem; the road leading to his arrest, death and resurrection.
As they prayed on that mountain top, it’s as if the door hiding the valuable prize has been opened. The veil that had covered the disciples’ eyes is removed for a moment so they can see Jesus and the universe in a new way. It’s like the moment when a person with poor eye sight looks through their first pair of glasses and they discover a whole new reality. Because when Jesus’ appearance changed and his clothes became dazzling white, there was more at work here then just having really clean clothes. It’s the glory of God shining around him and through him. This moment on the mountain top, the Transfiguration, is a revelation of Jesus’ true identity as the Messiah. This validation comes through Moses and Elijah, the greatest leader of the people of Israel and the greatest prophet, coming together as if to say the entire history of God’s people confirms Jesus’ true identity.
Now Peter, James and John, though they are tired, the Scripture says they are able to remain awake enough to see the glory of God and Moses and Elijah with Jesus. But they obviously don’t get it. They don’t understand what’s happening here. It’s only later, after Jesus has ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit came upon them that they begin to understand what they had experienced on that mountain top.
Have you ever experienced an event in your life that you did not completely understand at first? Think about those times in your past when you thought you knew and understood what was happening but later realized there was more to it. Why does this happen? Why do we when we witness a powerful, significant moment in our life do we not fully grasp its significance?
When I was eighteen years old, I thought I knew everything about everything. Nobody could tell me differently. I was so set in my ideas about what the world should be like that I was not open to new perspectives. My mind was shut to new possibilities. A new idea could have knocked at my door but I would not have woken up to answer the door. You could say I was asleep at the wheel. I was a sleeper who would not awake. I missed opportunities to grow and learn.
There are many of us who live life in chunks of time, moving full speed ahead, never taking the time to reflect and examine who we really are, where we’ve come from and where we are going. It was Greek philosopher Plato who said, “The unexamined life is the life not worth living.” How many of us have examined our lives in depth? How many of us really spend time in deep thought; spend time in thinking through the full consequences of our behaviors and our decisions?
Do you examine the consequences of spending more time at work and less time at home with your spouse and children: how do you think that’s going to work out down the road? Do you examine the consequences of cheating on tests and homework in school: how will that play out in the long run? Issues of infidelity and addictions: How objective can you be? Sometimes we can be so lethargic that we will not face our own questions, fears and doubts. When faced with difficulties in life, we can shut out what disturbs us. Anyone of us can drug ourselves mentally until our mind is sound asleep; numb to our surroundings. The painful, difficult memories are kept at bay, at least for the moment.
Peter, James and John did not get it. They did not fully grasp the meaning of their experience on the mountain top. They did not fully grasp what they had witnessed. The veil was lifted for that one significant moment so they could see the full glory of Christ first hand. But these guys don’t get it. Their coping strategy is to reduce the terrifying glory of Christ to something he and the others can understand. Peter wants to reduce the glory of Christ to a dwelling that could be visited from time to time. It’s easier to handle. It’s easier to manage. It’s easier to present to the Session for their approval. It’s easier to wrap our minds around something really big when we know the bottom line: is the prize behind door number one or door number two? Peter soon discovers that God’s glory can be neither reduced nor controlled, especially as it is finally unveiled under very different circumstances and on a very different hill outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem.
I believe that there are times in life that are meant to wake up our slumbering spirits; times that shatter our prejudice for new ideas; times that wake us up from our love for a life of ease; times that awaken our minds and spirits to the presence of God at work all around us. Times of sorrow pull and stretch our hearts and awaken our souls. The experience of love, a real love that can awaken us to possibilities we never dreamed were possible. The awareness of the needs of others wakes us up from our private, quiet place, expanding our view of the world beyond ourselves and caring enough to meet others at their point of need.
In essence we are a new creation. We are a new creation with new ears to hear, new eyes to see, and a new mouth to proclaim the glory of God in Christ Jesus. When we proclaim Christ is our Lord and Savior, we receive the new covenant, written by the Spirit of God on human hearts rather than on tablets of stone. When we proclaim Christ is Lord, the veil is removed so the grace and glory of God in Christ is fully revealed.
So with unveiled faces, we see the full glory of God in Christ: his connection with God’s chosen people, his soon-to-come death on the cross and his much anticipated resurrected glory. It is with unveiled faces we see the resurrected Christ. When we seek him out and strive to know him, we become more and more like Christ; we begin to imitate him and take on his traits and characteristics.
As we engage the world with his amazing love and grace, we reflect his glory into the world. We reflect his glory whenever we comfort someone in need of an encouraging word. We reflect his glory whenever we serve at Philabundance or West Kensington or Face to Face in Germantown or feed the homeless of Philadelphia with bag lunches in sub-freezing temperatures in the middle of January. We reflect his glory whenever we seek to free men and women from bondage to sin and death that they would know that death does not and will not have the last word!
In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” We will reflect the glory of God in Christ until the whole world sees the glory of Christ in each one of us, hears of God’s amazing love and grace through the life of Jesus and comes to live for Him in the freedom of the spirit of God.
It is God’s Word that leads us to follow Christ even when we don’t have a clue what’s going on. This is not easy to do, but we are encouraged to not lose heart because we have a living hope in the living Christ. Amen.
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