Weekly Sermon

“It’s Like…Confusing”
Last Sunday after Epiphany and Transfiguration
2Cor. 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-36
February 14, 2010
By Rev. Mark E. Zender

Father may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O’ Lord our Rock and our Redeemer… Whatever we have to say about both of today’s readings I think they’re probably among the most confusing stories we‘ve read. What I just read, the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, our first reading about Moses up there on the mountain, clearly I think are related, either way definitely both mysterious.

What I want to do this morning is explore that mystery and listen perhaps to how God speaks to us, maybe not as directly as we just read about but how these stories today especially the Transfiguration is a kind of parable for sometimes how God speaks to us at worship here on Sunday mornings.

A lot of my sermons I try to clear up what seems confusing and mysterious about the text we’ve just read. The problem is hearing the story of Jesus being mysteriously transfigured before his confused disciples is way, way beyond any explanation that I can give!

So far in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus has spent his time patiently trying to teach his disciples about the nature and the reign of God. He uses all sorts of pithy little stories, parables to help them grasp what he wants them to know about God. The Kingdom of God is like… a Sower sowing seed, a farmer who has a barren tree, a merchant in search of fine pearls. Jesus uses analogies to get across to what Gods reign means. These parables or stories though don’t seem to ever help the disciples understand more clearly. I can’t recall after any one of these stories any of the disciples saying something like “Oh that‘s it! I get it! Most of the time these stories, these parables at least the way I see them seem to confuse rather than enlighten.

If we look back in Luke’s Gospel chapter 8 verses four through ten, Jesus is asked by his disciples; “Why Lord, do you teach us using riddles? And here’s what he says; “I speak in parables so that looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand.” Why in the world would Jesus speak in such a way as to confuse us?

The Bible says this about knowing, about understanding or wisdom as the Good Book puts it and it just might explain what Jesus was talking about when he said what he said about speaking in parables or riddles as the disciples put it... The Bible says that, “The beginning of wisdom is fear or reverence or humility before God.” In other words when it comes to knowing or understanding about God, wisdom is being able to say “we don‘t know.” To admit that we don‘t know, to let the mystery remain a mystery. That’s the kind of wisdom, knowing or understanding I think the Bible talks about. To admit that we don‘t know is the beginning of what the Bible says is wisdom... Sound confusing?

What if, when we come here to worship Sundays, what if the point of worship isn‘t so much that we understand and “get” God? What if the point of worship is to let God “get us“? This Transfiguration story is almost a kind of parable I think on what we do here at Sunday worship. Here’s what I mean…

Jesus takes his disciples up on that mountain and they don‘t have a clue, do they? They have no idea what’s going to happen next, let alone what does. Here he is Transfigured right in front of their eyes, garments glisten a bright white, a light and voice from heaven, Moses and Elijah appear! Talk about confusion, talk about being befuddled! It’s as if he’s saying, you think them parables I’ve been teaching are hard to figure out, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet… it’s as if Jesus takes the disciples today to a place that’s totally un-comprehensible, a place so mysterious yet so wonderful that the disciples don’t want to leave, they don’t want to come down from that mountaintop experience, do they? Lord, it’s good to be here, they cry!

It seems the disciples experienced something that day, something so a mystery, something much greater than they could ever understand …and they never want to come down from that place. It’s almost as if they too are transformed from this encounter. And I wonder if that’s exactly what Jesus wanted them to understand about God, that he‘s so not understandable? That maybe that’s where our relationship with God begins, that we’re so, so humbled by the mystery of it all, that we say, “We don’t know.”

Like I said, what if this Transfiguration story is a kind of parable of what we experience at our worship? We come, we meet, we listen, we share… and somehow, some way we encounter something indescribable, sometimes. God maybe even speaks to us, pokes us, prods us. Can’t explain it, too mysterious but something’s revealed, something happens, something interrupts or intrudes.

One of my all time favorite Scripture verses comes from John chapter 1 verse five. “Jesus came as light shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.” Jesus came to our “darkness” and our darkness can’t figure Jesus out, that’s how I interpret that Scripture. We can’t comprehend God coming to us as this One who’s crucified. Jesus confuses us as he eats and welcomes sinners. As he died up there on the cross for our sins. It’s all so mysterious, isn’t it? Confusing, befuddling, just like our story today but I think that, that’s okay. Strange as that seems, I think that’s the point, that’s the beginning of wisdom…

As far as I can figure like our reading today, sometimes Jesus leads us beyond what we think we know. Sometimes, he takes us way up there to another realm perhaps. To a place beyond our understanding, beyond our explanations. You know, as hard as I try I still can’t seem to figure out all there is to figure about Jesus, about God. The way I see it, like those disciples today, that’s probably a good place to be. To me that’s worship about as good as it gets.

Let’s pray,

Ever living, ever loving God grant us the grace to worship you as you are rather than as we would have you to be. Guide us into the depths of your mystery. Help us scale the heights of your glory. Show us that the mystery of you is not so much a problem to be solved, a question to be answered or understood but rather a relationship to be enjoyed. Help us to love you as our God, our Guide, our Savior. AMEN