February 14, 2010

A Glimpse of Jesus in Your Face

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

Luke 9:28-36
 

Last Sunday was one of those days when even when you don’t win, you feel good for the folks who do. For the first time ever the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl. It was the first time they ever played in it.

It was a real boost for a community that is still suffering the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and who, by the way, also have a significant Haitian population and lots of Creole speaking folks.

They’ve been this beleaguered town that came back from tragedy and tried to find some kind of dignity after a situation in which they were somewhat abandoned by the government and told that their misfortune is God’s punishment for all the partying that goes down on Bourbon Street.

Winning a Superbowl is exciting for any city. I don’t have to tell you all that. You remember what is was like when the Packers won, and I remember ten years earlier when the Bears won. It’s like for once everything is right with the world.

The problem is that once you get there, sometimes the experience doesn’t always meet up with expectations. There’s always a negative side to such a smashing success as a Superbowl championship.

Imagine what it would be like if you were on trial and had your court date last Monday. The Jefferson Parish clerk of court summoned 350 people to jury duty. Eighty-one people showed up on Monday. Why were so many people absent for their civic duty? They’re not calling it a hangover. They’re referring to it as “Superbowl flu”.

Dr. Ronald Britsch, a dentist in Chalmette, usually sees his first patients at 7:30 a.m. But didn't even bother booking Monday's appointments before 10 a.m. He figured the previous night's partying would have made that impossible.

At Airline Park Elementary in Metairie, 100 of 320 students didn't come to class. "A lot of them were up late last night," said Principal Lynda McVille. Gee, you think?

But, as you might expect, there was one place where lots of business was being transacted. The New Orleans Municipal Court was busier than normal, with people being processed for minor offenses such as public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. What a shock, right?

It’s great to bask in the glory of something like this. But eventually people realize that life is not about basking in glory; it’s about loving your neighbor as yourself. For us Christians, it’s about letting people see a glimpse of Jesus in our faces every day.

This was the kind of lesson Jesus’ disciples learned as they reflected on this story where Jesus’ appearance changes and dead people appear again and God’s voice can be heard clearly speaking to them.

Sounds like a real riot. Something you’d want to tell everyone about. But as it turns out, they realize that following Jesus isn’t about the glory of experiences like this one. It’s about living your life in God’s kingdom and doing the kinds of things Jesus did to make that kingdom become a reality.

This story appears in Matthew and Mark, but Luke tells it in a very different way. Luke sets the stage for this story of what we call Jesus’ transfiguration by leading into it with a story about Jesus explaining just what it means for him to be the Messiah.

Normally you would expect the Messiah to be a liberator who is welcomed by the people and championed by the Jewish religious leaders. If someone was sent by God to free them from the Romans, of course everyone would want to jump on the bandwagon and support this person.

But Jesus told his disciples that they should not expect that kind of Messiah. He was the kind of Messiah who would not be welcomed. He would be rejected by his own people and killed. But then he would rise again from the dead.

Now honestly, that doesn’t sound like much of a Messiah. But the worst part was that if they wanted to be his followers, they had to go through the same humiliation as he did. They had to be rejected and despised, and some of them would be killed for being his followers.

In 21st century terms, we would have to say that Jesus isn’t marketing himself too well right here. If you want people to follow you, don’t tell them how bad it’s going to be. Tell them how good it’s going to be and then let them find the reality out for themselves later.

That’s the way our current marketing strategies would work. But Jesus was into full disclosure. He told them up front just how bad it might become. The thing is, Luke doesn’t just leave it at that. He tells this transfiguration story in a way that shows the grave differences between what the disciples expect to see and the reality of God’s kingdom on earth.

Eight days after Jesus tells them what a drag it’s going to be to follow him, he takes his three closest disciples, Peter James and John, and goes up a mountain for some time in prayer. As you probably remember, while he’s praying, his face changes its appearance.

His clothes become dazzling white. While this is happening, two men appear and begin speaking with him. Luke tells us that it’s Moses, the one who received God’s laws and taught them to Israel, and Elijah, the greatest of all the Israelite prophets.

They were bright and dazzling, just like Jesus. They were speaking about him going to Jerusalem and all that was supposed to happen there. As you might remember, when Jesus goes to Jerusalem he is arrested and executed.

Luke also gives us a hint that not everything is as it appears. He tells us that the disciples were exhausted to the point of near unconsciousness. The words in the Greek could almost be understood to mean that they were in a trance-like state at this point. Luke uses the Greek word from which we get the English word “Hypnotic” to describe their mental state.

When they saw all this going on. Peter, obviously delirious, asks if they can put together three shelters, one for each of the dazzling people. While that sounds like basic hospitality, the idea is absolutely absurd.

I mean, ask yourself, do these guys really look like they need you to make them a shelter? Are you worried they’re going to get cold or get a sunburn? Really? These guys? Luke even tells us that Peter didn’t know what he was saying.

To me this sounds like a delusion. It sounds like the kind of thing the disciples wanted to see. It sounds like the kind of Jesus the disciples wanted to follow. It sounds like winning the superbowl. It doesn’t sound like the “superbowl flu” you suffer the next day.

As Peter is babbling deliriously a cloud forms and starts engulfing them. When they begin to be enveloped by the cloud, all of a sudden they’re terrified. Now when I read this, I thought to myself, “Wait a minute. You have no emotional reaction when Jesus starts looking like a heavenly being and dead people start appearing as angels. That’s all fine.”

“But when a cloud comes and shrouds you, then all of a sudden you’re scared? What gives?” Again, something’s obviously wrong with the way they’re perceiving this situation.

In their defense, this kind of cloud was widely associated with God’s own presence. That cloud was thought to have resided in the temple when it was built. Remember that when the Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land they followed this cloud through the desert.

A voice begins speaking through the cloud – and it’s obviously the voice of God. God says, “This is my son, my Chosen. Listen to him.” As soon as God says this, everything turns back to the way things were. Moses and Elijah are gone, Jesus looks like normal, and the cloud disappears.

In the other gospels the disciples ask Jesus to explain what happened, and he says he wants them to keep it quiet. But not in Luke. They don’t ask Jesus about it. And they don’t tell anyone what they saw.

Translation: they were embarrassed by what happened. They were humiliated because they were looking for glory and honor and heavenly powers. And instead, God takes this opportunity to remind them that what they really need to do is just listen to Jesus.

God’s kingdom is not about heavenly beings and dazzling clothes. It’s not about having power over people, even if you think you’ll use that power wisely. In fact, Jesus later tells them that the greatest among them is not the one who shines like the folks in their hallucination. The greatest one is the most humble one.

The greatest ones are not the ones who have the authority to tell other people what to do. The greatest ones in God’s kingdom are the ones who do what the voice told them to do: listen to Jesus.

In the chapter before this one, Jesus’ family comes looking for him, wanting to have a talk with him. Instead of welcoming them with open arms, Jesus responds by saying, “My mother and brothers are those who…hear the word of God and do it.”

Forget the glamour and glitz. What really counts is doing what Jesus tells you to do. They wanted a Jesus who was going to overwhelm the world with divine power and, maybe, share some of that power with his twelve closest friends.

What they got was a Jesus who spent his life healing the sick, forgiving the unforgiveable, hanging out with the undesirables, and comforting the poor. The question Luke poses for us in this passage is, “Do you want to follow that kind of Jesus? If that’s what the kingdom of God is about, do you still really want to be a part of it?

Now I’ll admit that what I’ve described for you today is not the only way to look at this passage. But I think it’s most consistent with what we read in the rest of the gospel about Jesus’ bringing God’s kingdom to earth.

Are we OK with a glory that isn’t so glorious? Are we willing to walk down the road to Calvary with Jesus and bear our cross alongside him? Or are we more interested in our illusions of grandeur, the fairy tale version of what the Christian life is supposed to entail?

I want to close by showing you some pictures that may shed some light on what I mean here. Now we may not have the fanciest sanctuary in town. We may not have a rocking worship band with bright lights leading worship every Sunday morning.

But what counts is listening to Jesus. And when Jesus tells us to focus on the poor, we as a church have to take his words seriously. Slide. I took this picture of a chart on the doorway of the pantry at Hope Center (aka CCWC). It shows the information on the churches that had served Loaves and Fishes in the weeks prior to us doing so.

Two weeks ago we ganged up and did our part for the kingdom of God. Slide. We cooked enough chili and prepared enough jello and deserts to feed the poor and the hungry in Waukesha. As usual, people started streaming in looking for a warm meal on a really cold day.

Slide. As I’ve mentioned before, when this group of folks gathers in a small room, the smell is far from glorious. You’re not thinking, “I can see Jesus’ face shining.” You’re thinking, “So this is what the kingdom of God is about?”

Slide. We started serving one table at a time. It’s amazing just how respectful and thankful everyone is for this meal. We don’t have any fights or squabbles. I imagine if we ran out of chili that day all bets would be off. But thank goodness we didn’t.

Slide. Our children got into the work of the kingdom that day. They met and interacted with people they would normally never see or hear from. They’ll never be able to fool themselves into believing that we don’t have a real serious problem with poverty in Waukesha. They stared it in the face that day.

Slide. By the end of the day we had served almost 85 people, give or take. I tried counting everyone on two occasions, but it’s kind of hard to get folks to sit still while you count. It’s kind of like herding cats at Loaves and Fishes.

That’s the kind of Jesus Luke wants us to know. His kingdom is not glorious. His life was not glorious. The life of his followers was not one of glory, but of suffering. His concern was not for the beautiful and the powerful and the well off. He wasn’t concerned about whether or not he was being seen with the right crowd. He usually could be found helping the wrong crowd.

The question for us today is whether or not we want to follow him. Are we hoping to see his glory, or are we more interested in listening to him and doing what he says? Are we willing to follow only the kind of Jesus we like, or are we willing to get down in the trenches with him and build the kind of kingdom he started to build?

As we enter the season of Lent this week I want you to carefully consider the direction of your life. Ask yourself whether or not you’re ready to think about carrying that cross again. Ask yourself whether you seek to have power over others, or whether you seek to submit yourself to God’s rule in your life.