consider what he says to you

consider what's to come...

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke!

It had been a long day... So when the rabbi suggested a hike to go pray, the thought of relaxing instead, sounded more appealing. 

Up on the mountain, as per usual, Jesus’ prayer stretched on. After not long, their minds began to wander, and then their eyes grew heavy...

Before they could fall asleep, though, their attention was snatched. Jesus, right before their eyes, was changing. His clothes dazzled, his continence transformed. 

Then, lo and behold! Moses and Elijah standing with him, talking about his Exodus in Jerusalem…

• Can you imagine?

It could have been hours, but you know it only felt like seconds. No sooner had they arrived, than they were leaving.

Peter can’t just let this moment just pass him up. After all, it is too good for them to be up there, with these two holy men and their leader in his glory. "Let us build three dwellings,” he blurted out.

We don't know what he said after that. Before he could finish his thought, he was interrupted. Interrupted by God...

A cloud envelops them. And then, from the cloud, the very voice of God.

• Can you imagine that?

The voice doesn't say much. Jesus is declared as the very Son of God, the chosen one. The voice tells the three cowering disciples, to listen to Jesus.

Then, the cloud dissipates, and Jesus is found alone. It’s only him…

In the aftermath Peter, John and James are at a loss for words. The four of them go down the mountain in dead silence.

This we we can relate to. Confronted with Jesus and his glory, we too are silenced...

Confronted by the glory of God in Jesus, our words fail us.
On this holy mountian, let your voice drop.

We too are attracted to the glory of God, and also terrified by it...

They say that's why folks don't sit in the front pews. We want to be near God, but we're afraid to get too close...

Would you be willing to behold the glory of God? Could you bear the consequences? Could you go on living?

Carefully weigh your answer.
After all, Luke, that master storyteller, at this moment of Jesus' transfiguration; suddenly loses his penchant for detail. The story becomes hazy. His evocative depictions all of a sudden get general, almost bland. 

It's as if there are no words to convey what happened to Jesus' appearance. Or, if there were, he couldn't bear to record them.

Peter, ever foolhardy, makes an attempt to stay there. But the voice of God won't have it. "This is my son, my chosen; listen to him."

Peter, always quick with a word, is silenced...

And maybe that isn't all bad…

In a world where seeing is believing, it's as if the glory of God can't be held by the eye…

There’s a story of a White House correspondent for one of the major television networks some years back, prepared a report for the evening news on some aspect of presidential politics against deadline. The report, delivered by the correspondent, was critical. With time running out, stock footage was pulled. That evening, images of the president in a series of flattering settings flashed across the screen, as the corespondent skewered one policy or another.

The morning after the report, the Director of White House Communications called the reporter and thanked them. The reporter was pleased, but a little confused. "Thank you," she said. "You know the report wasn't positive, though. Right?”

"Oh sure," replied the director. "Your words were negative, but you used our pictures. In the battle between the eye and the ear, the eye always wins…"

In the battle between the eye and the ear, the eye always wins…

In a world where seeing is believing, it’s as if the glory of God cannot be held by the eye. That it can only be heard…

In fact, when it comes to the glory of God, your eye will always deceive you. The glory of God, as the voice from heaven says, can only be heard.

Peter, and who can blame him; only believed what he could see. The voice from heaven, however, had other plans. The voice silences Peter, and tells him to listen to the one who, moments ago, was transfigured. 

Finally, the glory of God can only be held by the ear. 

We have to admit, though, Peter still didn't get it. 

Right after our little section, Jesus says "Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” Now, back down the mountain, Luke finds his voice again. With one line he slays us. ”But they did not understand this saying," he wearily reports. 

It was what Peter saw that determined what he believed. In fact, it wasn't until the end, until after the terrible death, that everything finally came together. That it all finally became clear.

That's the crux of this day, too. Isn't it?

Today, Jesus is up on the mountain, in all his glory. He's even accompanied by heroes in the faith. And we like Peter, people who believe the eye over the ear, want to stay there. 

But the voice from heaven has other plans for us too. 

We are to listen to the one who is doesn’t way a word but goes down the mountain. The next thing Jesus actually speaks are the words about his upcoming death, that I quoted earlier. 

We are to listen to the one who sets his face for the city that will crucify him; Jerusalem. The one who leads us to another mountain, on the other side of Lent. There, he will be surrounded by two other men. Rather than saints, though, he's flanked by criminals. Instead of dazzling white, he’s clothed in rags, tortured and dying. 

At that mount, Golgotha, Peter has no desire to stay. He flees. And we along with him. 

When you look at the cross, all you can see is Death… 

It is a strange thing; Jesus’ glory cannot be seen. The glory of God, revealed in Jesus, can only be heard. Your eyes will finally fool you. You must obey the voice, you must listen to Jesus to behold the glory of God.

It's a strange thing. The old Christian word is “scandal,” or “paradox.”

It's scandalous that God's glory isn't to be seen, but rather heard. 

This is finally our life. In a world that refuses to believe anything that cannot be seen, we believe what he hear. It’s what we live by. In fact, what we hear is our glory.