The Daily Transfiguration

This is one of those scriptures that bring the “wow factor.”  We can easily understand Jesus teaching, feeding and even healing, but this is so far outside anything I have ever experienced it is difficult to wrap my mind around. 

I know Jesus as my Lord. I regularly spend time with him. I seek his council and direction and he gives it. I may not understand how Jesus was resurrected on Easter morning but I know that he lives, so whatever the details are about it, I know that it happened because I experience the resurrected Jesus in real time.

The transfiguration of Jesus is different.  It was a moment for Peter, James and John.  Jesus told them not to tell anyone about it until after the resurrection.

It’s like the promised coming of Jesus when everything will be made right.  It’s a reality that we have to experience to fully understand. I desire, I long for, I pray for a closer connection with Christ.  I have asked God to reveal God’s self to me, to allow me to behold with my eyes His glory, his presence.  This is an experience I have asked God to give me.

Peter, James and John experienced it; we read about it.

They climbed the mountain, Jesus face shone like the sun! Even his cloths where different. Then Moses and Elijah where there.  This is important.  We cannot fully understand Jesus and who he is outside of the context of the story of the Israelite people. Jesus is the consummation of that story.  He is the fulfillment of the promises of God to them and now sits as king over all of creation.  I have prayed for the King, the Lord Jesus to appear to me has not been granted yet.

The reason, the answer that people have given me as to why my request of God, to see his presence, will not be granted is that to have such an experience would negate the need for faith.  Apparently seeing God is just too much proof of his existence. 

I am not looking for proof of existence, I already have that. What I long for is an ever deepening connection to the God that created me, sustains me and blesses me.

Scripture says “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.” Six days after what?  Well if you look in Matthew chapter 16 you will find that Jesus and the disciples are near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is teaching and Peter Confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.  Jesus affirms Peter’s confession.  A little later in the chapter Jesus says that he will suffer and die.  Peter reprimanded him for saying that.  He said “Get behind me Satan!” then he counted the cost of following him.  It was six days after that that the transfiguration happened.  Many think that it was on Mt. Tabor which is 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee.  That’s a leisurely pace of 2 miles a day. They walked for nearly a week to get to this mountain so Jesus could privately take his inner circle of followers to show them his glory.

You ever wonder where Jesus is taking you? Have you ever considered that the reason that you haven’t found what you are looking for is because Jesus isn’t done taking you to the place where his glory will be revealed?

Jesus and the disciples got to the mountain and they stopped.  Jesus probably told the rest of the band to “wait here” I need to speak with Peter, James and John.  So they watch as Jesus and the other three start climbing up the mountain.  I imagine they are sitting down there at the bottom waiting and talking and then from the top of the mountain some bright light was shining and what might have been a rumble of thunder but it sounded an awful lot like words being spoken and then some time later they all come back down the side of the mountain.

Can you imagine?  They were probably like “what happened up there?” and Peter was all like, “I can’t tell you.”  I can’t decide if he was smiling from ear to ear or if he was deadly serious.  You would think with an experience like that, that they would be steadfast in their faith; that they would be so sure of God that they would never fall away.  But as we know, when the time came near for Jesus to be executed, they all fell away.

Have you ever received a blessing from God?  Have you ever failed to be 100% obedient to God? We all have.

I have asked God to show himself to me and he has done it.  Not in the way where I have seen his dazzling radiance on a mountain top but when faithful people demonstrate his grace.  I got a sympathy card from someone who thought I had a loss in the family. I didn’t (that loss happened 9 years ago) but I still was blessed by that act of love.  I see God at work when this congregation this size donates and raises $1500 for people they will never meet so that they can be free of danger of malaria.  I see it when God’s people begin to see the world through God’s eyes and know that it is by our hands that God will transform this world. There is a vision to use this building all week as a preschool to serve families who live near here; there is a vision serve Christ side by side with the Latino population that live near here; there is a vision to renovate this building to make it easier to use so that we can accomplish those ministries.  I have asked God to show himself to me and he has done it.  When people of faith act in obedience to God I stand in awe.  I sometimes don’t know whether to smile from ear to ear or in all seriousness bow to God’s majesty. Both are appropriate.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, he promises that the Holy Spirit will reside in us.  That his law will be written on our hearts and that the Holy Spirit will guide us into truth. When we witness people of faith acting on the prompting of the Holy Spirit we are witnessing the very presence of God. 

When Moses was in the presence of God in the burning bush what did he do?  He took off his shoes. I’m not going to ask you to take off your shoes this morning but I am going to pray for your shoes. I am going to pray for your shoes because we are on a Journey with Jesus and we will need strength for the journey. When we finish we will take off our shoes in his presence. 

God of all creation,

You have made us to be one in you,

with your love working in us and through us.

Bless these shoes and those who wear them,

That wherever they go, your grace, wisdom and self-giving will be conveyed;

May this be a reminder that we are all in this together,

meant for community, born into one family.

Empower the wearers of these shoes to love not only for self, but also for you and your beloved creation.

When we do so, send our spirits soaring that we may thrive in your presence.

In Christ’s holy Name, Amen. 

Overcoming Apathy

 Matthew 4:12-23

Today we are going to talk about overcoming apathy. Apathy is a tough enemy.  I can deal with a different point of view.  I can understand a different opinion.  When someone just doesn't care or is completely uninterested, what can you do? When I am feeling apathy when I should be engaged in life what should I do?

Yesterday we had such a welcome break from the isolation that they past two weeks of weather have forced us into. We gathered in the Activity Center and had a wonderful meal and held the St. Paul UMC Olympics complete with an opening ceremony where we represented different countries. I was on Team Scotland. We competed in several events; we even had a medal presentation. I’ve got mine.  

The highly competitive game of "keeping the baloon from falling"
ended when one team intentionally popped their own baloon.
It was going on for quite a while.

Speaking of Scotland let’s talk about that Scottish restaurant in town, McDonald's.

You ever see that McDonald's commercial where the athletes are biting the gold metal?  Yeah, show a series of people biting their gold Olympic Medal then the last person is chomping on a McNugget.  It’s offensive to me.  I don’t think any one of those athletes would come anywhere near a chicken McNugget.

Jesus said he came to give life and to give it abundantly. When we can claim that promise that’s when we are living the life.  That’s the life that we want. That’s the life we are striving for and over the next several weeks that’s we are going to work toward because Jesus wants us to thrive.

Thriving isn’t just getting by.

Thriving doesn’t mean succeeding in isolation.

Thriving means living and growing in a way that impacts the world positively for Jesus Christ.

Today we are talking about overcoming apathy.  Apathy is not caring. Apathy is indifference.  Apathy is a big enemy of the work of the church.

To overcome apathy will take a blessing of God. It takes a partnership with God in our action. God will bless what we do when we seek to do His will. We might get it wrong once and a while but God is always there to teach us and to help us grow.

If we want to thrive, if we want to claim the promise of Jesus of an abundant life, we have to “do” we have to act.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRoIDXeuY

A lot of the time we’re in the race that we want to be in. we’re in the race that we think we ought to be in. and God lets us run that race. God used Derek Redmond and his dad in that place and in that time. God used what happened to Derek and what happened next. Even when we are in last place in the race that we think we ought to be in God is right there with us saying “I love you. I am right here with you.”

God used Derek Redmond in a different way; a far more powerful way than if he had won that race, because he was willing to “do” he was willing to act.  His dad was willing to “do”, he was willing to act.

His whole life revolved around training for that one event. Everything he did, what he ate where he went was leading to the race that he was only able to run half of.  He surrounded himself with people who understood that goal and helped him get there. 

What is important to you and who are you surrounding yourself with to get you there?  Who you associate with matters.

Psalm 1 talks about the two ways. Happy are those who…

In all they do they prosper.

It’s in what we do with our lives that God makes us prosper. When we hope and wish and pray for something to happen and don’t do anything about it, there is nothing for God to bless.  God blesses us in our actions. The wicked are not so…

How do we receive our righteousness but by our faith in God, our faith in Jesus. It says the “Way of the wicked will perish.” It doesn’t say here that the wicked will perish but their way will. What they do will perish.

If we want to thrive; if we want to live the life, that Jesus came to sacrifice for, then it’s in what we do with what we have been given that matters.

In our Gospel lesson today Jesus withdrew when John was arrested. He withdrew and went to Capernaum.  He moved himself out of harm’s way. Jesus calls us to give of our selves completely.  Jesus even implies that some might lose their lives.  But Jesus does not call us to be martyrs. We are called to persevere and to thrive in this place to proclaim Jesus as king.

We can’t persevere; we can’t thrive if we sacrifice ourselves.  How do we sacrifice ourselves? We sacrifice ourselves on the altar of our employment; we sacrifice ourselves on the altar of consumerism, of religiosity. Jesus doesn’t want us to spend ourselves, to wear ourselves down and to be slowly destroyed.  Jesus came to give life and he came to give it abundantly. He came to give us a life in which we thrive.

Jesus withdrew when John was arrested and he move from Nazareth to Capernaum. He moved from what was comfortable to what he was called to do. He may have withdrawn to avoid harm but he was still pushing toward his mission. He was still fulfilling his purpose. He left his mother’s house and moved out on his own.  He got a new “home base.”

And then he began to preach “repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  It doesn’t seem like the kingdom has come near. His cousin John has been arrested. Consider this: There was now a sense of urgency those he cared about were under threat. It was time to commit to the message he was born to deliver. The Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Jesus, God in the flesh, has indeed come near.

Jesus is continually forward with his message.  Even in his retreat he is doing.  God blesses those who “do.”

Jesus was doing.

In overcoming apathy knowing that getting moving starting something is only part of the equation.  The other part is the circle you draw.  The first circle you draw is around yourself.  You have to persevere.  That means you have to keep yourself as healthy as you can. That means you have to do what you need to do to feed your body, mind and spirit. But we can only thrive when we look outside that circle and look to the well-being of those around us.  When we look at another the way God looks at them we see the same need to thrive and that they are no different from us.  And so the circle that we draw around ourselves grows to include the other.  We should be about expanding the circle at every opportunity.

Jesus went to Simon and Andrew and said “follow me.” And immediately they followed him.  Jesus started expanding his circle. 

They already met.  John the Baptist had pointed Jesus out to them.

No Jesus was going to them and saying “follow me.” i.e. do this thing.

And they followed him.  James and John…the same thing.  Now we always talk about the sacrifice that James and John, Simon and Andrew made to follow Jesus, about what they had to leave behind. But I think that they were looking at Jesus as a better deal. Jesus was going to take them places.  Jesus was someone that was righteous.

Who we associate with matters. Jesus was going to lift them up.

Are the people that are in your immediate circle lifting you up or tearing you down? We may say that we can be a witness to Christ in dark places, but unless we are actually doing that, unless we are lifting them up to Christ unless we are shining the light of hope in dark places then there is a likelihood that they may be actually tearing you down.

We should absolutely be in relationship with those who sit in darkness. We should absolutely go to those places because we can be a light and a witness to Jesus Christ. But if we don’t actually do something then God can’t bless it.  God will bless our action.

You have to expand your circle. 

Jesus went teaching and healing throughout galilee. Why do you suppose Jesus cured every sickness?

What does someone’s illness had to do with hearing the news that the Kingdom of God has come near?

Do you think that one’s physical well-being maybe a distraction to hearing about spiritual matters?

So how is it with you today?

What needs to happen for you to “do?” What are you struggling with? Is your health, your spiritual life your emotional life, your social life? You prayed about it. And god has heard you. It’s time to do something so that God can bless you.

In the Christian life there is no retreat there is only refocus. We stay healthy, we avoid things that cause harm and we press on toward God’s mission like Jesus did.

We are going to receive communion. This is an expression of God’s love that we can see feel and taste.

It brings us to a time when God acted and still acts on our behalf.

The circle starts with you.  God is asking to be let in.  God wants you to thrive.

God loves you so much that he cares more about your transformation than your happiness.  There is transformation when God gets involved.  In that small circle with you and God some wonderful things can happen. But when we expand our circles to include each other the blessings multiply.  We have a gym that is great for walking laps around during these cold and lonely days.  Let’s get together during the week at 8 in the morning.  Let’s get stronger together.

What about people who aren’t here. What about people who are suffering, people that we may never meet.  We can expand our circle out as far as sub Saharan Africa.  We will be having a pancake supper on March 1 to raise money to eradicate Malaria from Sub-Saharan Africa through Imagine No Malaria. You have donated over a thousand dollars.  Let’s welcome the community into this place and bless them with the opportunity to partner with us in caring for the well-being of our brothers and sisters across the ocean. 

The Question

As a church we are on a path to a destination. Looking back over my life I can see exactly why I am here. When I was younger, much younger, standing in a hot Hay mow, waiting for that next bail to fall of the elevator I decided I didn’t want to be a farmer.  So I made intentional decisions that lead me away from that life.

I learned this week that I am not a very good farmer; At least I am not a very knowledgeable one. I have mentioned before that I grew up on and around farms.  My dad raised beef cattle and chickens.  We had various other animals at times.  At one point we had couple of pigs. When I was quite young I remember having a goose that was pretty aggressive and scary. My dad always planted a garden. It was always big and lush. He knows seeds he; he knows soil.  He knows when he wants to harvest so he times his planting.  Apparently I am too impatient.

I learned that I am too impatient with the seeds that I plant.  I want those seed to grow faster and to produce fruit sooner. 

There is something about that seed catalog that you get in the mail. There are all those pictures of ripe fruit and vegetables and flowers in full bloom that is exciting.  The potential of what can be can be intoxicating.

This past week I went to a clergy retreat at the Lake Michigan camp.  As a side conversation I was discussing a prior appointment, the place I was before I came here.  I served three churches.  One of those churches caused me great pain.  The pain I felt was the pain of a father watching his child not live up to their potential.  I was discussing my failure as a pastor at that place.  They are good people with good resources who are facing significant challenges.  I felt like I couldn’t get anything accomplished there.  One example, a woman who is a talented gardener came to me with the idea of planting a community garden in the church yard.  I thought it was great.  We were in a small town with a lot of people far below the poverty line who could use the food that we could have cultivated. The church board said, “No.” We didn’t want the lawn ruined.

At every turn, new ministry ideas were rejected for very good reasons.  Years of this went on. I discussed it with the superintendent.  He said that I was in a long line of pastors whose vision for the church was rejected by that congregation.

I wasn’t going to take defeat like that. In my naïveté I stood up one Sunday morning and told the gathering of 20 people that in 15 years the church would close because there are no new people coming and they were not doing anything different to change what they were doing.

I was chastised after worship by the man who made it clear that he was a major donor to the church. It wasn’t the time or place.

About a year and a half later I was moved here.  

As I was discussing that particular congregation at the clergy retreat, the person I was talking to was surprised to hear that I was the pastor at that particular church.

“I wondered who the pastor was.” “Whoever was here before really prepared them for change.” They were the first Church in the conference to go through a consultation with the Vital Church Initiative team.

So you see I am not a very good farmer. God planted a seed in them it is now growing and will bear fruit.  I left that Church thinking I had failed them. But I was operating in the short term.  I was operating on my timeline.

We are operating on a vision that is short term.  We are finite creatures and that is just the way we work. We are working on the operation of the church. We are working on procedural things that once addressed will make us stronger.  But there is a bigger picture. I’m looking at that seed catalog and I am seeing the potential for great a great harvest.

Right now we are just sitting with pencil and paper in hand and planning out the garden but I am looking forward to the feast after the harvest.

Ultimately, as faithful people, as the church we look forward to union with Jesus Christ.  Where his spirit lives in us. His law is written on our hearts and there is no obstruction between his spirit and ours.  We look forward to a time when our desires for our life match his desires for us. The ultimate harvest is when we all live fully devoted to him and love each other unconditionally and each of our spiritual gifts uphold and strengthen the community.

That’s where we are going. This is where we start from.

Today’s scripture comes to us today in two scenes.  The first scene is John the Baptist pointing out Jesus to his followers for two days. The second scene is Jesus’ interaction with some of those followers.

This is one illustration of the mission statement at St. Paul UMC. “To Know Christ and to make him known.” 

John the Baptist is making Jesus known. And his followers go after Jesus to get to know him.

They are hanging around John the Baptist seeking spiritual nourishment and to some degree they are getting it, because he is speaking the truth.  They are content to stay with John until John points them to Jesus. “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sing of the world!” Then he testified to what he saw with his own eyes. 

The next day: “”Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

Then they followed him.

Someone must have told you about Jesus.  Someone must have told you he was here. You are looking for something and someone said “come and see.”

And so here you are.  We have the cross, and the altar, and the pulpit. We celebrate the sacraments. We praise God with music. But where’s Jesus?

The gathering is the body of Christ.

Look around.  The gathering of the faithful is the body of Christ on earth.

Is it perfect? Have we matched the picture of us that is in God’s seed catalog?  Have we reached our full maturity and potential?

Not yet, but we are headed in that direction.  

Worship is our central act. We gather together to be the body of Christ for the purpose of giving God praise.  Some folks make the mistake of understanding the Christian faith as an individual journey.  Being a follower of Christ means that we are part of a body. When we are alone in our faith we are by definition incomplete.

Remember the vision? All loving each other unconditionally mutually lifting each other with our gifts.

Everybody starts with themselves. We have to make the decision to follow Christ. But that circle of concern that we draw around ourselves quickly expands to include others, hopefully our family. Then our church family. But it can’t stop there. 

Neighbors.  Who is the neighbor?  The one who cares for even the despised.

Jesus concern for people being freed from the distractions of this world so that they can see God’s truth.

An invitation for others to join us in this work, to be a part of the body of Christ for the transformation of the world.

Command of Christ to go and make disciples in Matthew 28 ¹⁶ So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.¹⁸ Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

That is what Jesus commanded his followers to do. 

We are the family of God at St. Paul United Methodist Church. What does all this mean for us?

Our namesake, St. Paul wrote to the Church in Galatia in part:

Galatians 2:20 ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This is part of the vision.  Complete unity with Christ. No differentiation between what he wants and what we do.

 Consider special devotion to St Paul the Apostle as teacher and inspiration of our mission. From him we learn openness to the world that points us to bring the message of salvation to all people. He was the Apostle to the gentiles

Bearing the name of St. Paul implies devotion to Jesus as Master. This devotion embraces the whole person; it is to be applied to spiritual work, to study, to the whole of religious life.

What does the picture on the seed package of St. Paul UMC look like?

That part of you that is beyond your fears, the part of you that is the most real, the part that has never changed since the day of our birth. It is the part of you that survives all.  It is beyond any of your hurts it is the part of you what will live for ever and ever.  It is beyond your failures; it is beyond all our sin.   It’s the part of you that is eternal that was placed in you when God formed you.  It is the You that God loves. That Jesus came to uncover and to set free. It’s the place where the Holy Spirit resides.  That is where we are going.  That is where we want to live, each of us.  It’s a pilgrimage of peeling back the layers.  Of surrendering to God and living out Gods call to live in a new way.

I see in the picture on the package of seeds here at St. Paul UMC fully formed disciples confident of their salvation.  I see Disciples of Christ worshiping from the very core of their being.  I see a community of faith that love and supports each other so much that Christ is revealed. I see this community of believers using this building not only as a place to meet but as a place to serve our neighbors.  The picture on the seed package of St. Paul UMC is a picture of the surrounding communities knowing that if they want to find Jesus, they can find him here.  When our worship looks like the work we do for God in the world and the work we do for God in the world looks like our worship then we are getting close to the picture on the seed package.

So how is it with you today? Jesus asked those who were following him, “What are you looking for?” What are YOU looking for?

When the Andrew heard the question he didn’t answer because he found what he was looking for, he found the Messiah.  He simply asked “Where are you staying?” he was all in, he was ready to follow. 

Jesus is asking, “What are you looking for?”