The Shepherd’s Voice

Astounded at the Greatness of God

Readings for Sunday, February 14^th
Ex 34:29-35
2 Cor 3:12-4:2
Lk 9:28-43

Today, is a day of new light, new enlightenment, new illumination. Last week Josh spoke about the Law and Gospel events that occurred when Jesus told Peter to put his nets once again in the water to catch fish. He had been toiling all night, caught nothing, but Jesus was to open his eyes to the restoration of God’s original plan for creation. Today, this eye opening, jaw dropping, dazzling display of God’s greatness continues.

Once again in order to better understand God’s action here we must turn back to the story of Moses receiving God’s covenant called the Torah, or book of the law on Mount Sinai. Look back at our first lesson today. (Ex 34:29-35)

Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand and his face shone. He didn’t know it, but when he came before the people they were afraid of him because his face was shining. Later he veiled his face.

To get additional perspective we need to go back still further to Ex 31 which is the initial story of Moses going up to Mount Sinai to receive the two tablets of the law. Just before he went up the mountain he spoke to the people about honoring the Sabbath day to keep it holy. He proclaimed the mercies of God and how important it is for God’s people to regularly honor God. Moses said, “It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” This is part of God’s pattern for refreshment. This is how we understand God’s original plan.

Apparently, this message did not take. Exodus 31 doesn’t give us a time table for how long Moses was gone, but it says when the people saw that Moses was delayed in returning they turned to Moses’ brother Aaron for a solution. Wow!

Have you every been betrayed by someone close to you, maybe really disappointed by a brother, sister, parent, child? Today is Valentine’s Day. I’m sure there will be someone disappointed today with their mate or their significant other. Maybe you didn’t get a card or flowers or the candy you wanted, that’s disappointing. People disappoint, but an awesome and loving God does NOT disappoint.

In the case of Aaron, Moses’ brother, he disappointed Moses. When Moses was delayed in returning, the people go to Aaron and say I don’t know if this guy Moses is ever coming back, were tired of waiting for him. They tell Aaron they want gods to worship so Aaron says take all your gold jewelry and we’ll make a golden calf. They do it, Aaron proclaims a festival day and the people rise up early the next day to eat, drink, and revel in perverse ways.

God sees this and is not happy telling Moses “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.” Now this, is a major law event.

Moses argues with God, not to condemn the people, now who hasn’t done that right, so eventually God spares them and Moses returns to the people. When he comes down the mountain with the two tablets of the law he sees the revelry, the partying, the perversion, and he burns hot with anger and throws the two tablets to the ground and they shatter.

This story is filled with deliverance, rejection, deliverance, rejection, deliverance, rejection. For many of us this is also our story. We are delivered from the hand of evil, our lives become one of revelry, and we forget God, reject God, but God does not reject us, does not give up on us because we have an astounding and great God.

In our Old Testament lesson today Moses goes to the mountain and returns with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand with his face shining. Later Moses veils his face because the people are afraid of his shining face. However, God, our amazing God forgives and continues to love his people and us, but our God also has set limits or boundaries for us in the process of showing us the goodness of all of creation, the natural order established in creation.

Do we like the boundaries, no, I don’t either? Our little Lulu, she’s growing up fast, she’s a little mischievous, like any puppy, well right now as we are still potty training her, she can only go into certain parts of the house without us being right there. We have a 36” high fence we use, but there have been times when she has been so determined to go beyond the boundaries that she has climbed over the fence. Sharon still loves her. Me, I’m more like Moses in becoming upset with what he saw the people doing.

Our relationship with an astounding and great God, who still loves us, no matter what varies, it changes from day to day. When Jesus took Peter, James and John up to the mountain to pray I’m sure they had no idea what was about to happen.

Look at our gospel text for today (Luke 9:29-13) it says, “And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” Departure. Plan. Accomplish.

Who would have thought, get up one morning, go to pray and you will see Moses and Elijah. Jesus appearance changes, his clothes become dazzling, much like what happened to Moses much earlier when God approached him. This must have been a fantastic moment for these three disciples. I’d call this a real mountain top experience, one that I’d never forget. Some of us have had what we call mountain top experience in our faith. We want to remember them, relish in them, return to them whenever possible.

Several years ago, Philadelphia bomb squad dogs went crazy as they sniffed frantically around a suspicious box. Police worked quickly to stop incoming airport traffic. They shut down a nearby train line. Something that intense needed to be treated with respect. The package was highly suspicious. The trained dogs were hysterical near it. Intensity built as they prepared to X-ray the contents. It turned out to be cooked crayfish. Some small, smelly, harmless creatures generated a boatload of worry for nothing.

Peter, John, and James had an intense encounter with Christ on a mountain. They were scared out of their wits. They didn’t know what that cloud contained. They only heard a voice saying, “Listen to him” (Luke 9:35). The imperative grammar of that word means “be obedient.” Do what Jesus tells you to do.
The saying “There are no atheists in foxholes” applies here. Whenever life’s intensity goes up, so does our willingness to listen obediently to God. The people of Israel experienced, Peter, James, and John experienced it, and we experience it when we encounter God in an intense way. Life’s intense encounters help us respond to Christ obediently. That cloud is no small, harmless event. The mountain top encounter was a foreshadowing of Jesus obedience, his departure, God’s plan. Just as Moses receiving the law teaches us about a redemptive and loving God this event foretold of Jesus departure, his plan to go to Jerusalem, his ultimate death and resurrection.

Of course Peter wanted to do more than just have this event as a past memory he wanted to build a tent, a monument in our terminology, to commemorate this mountain top experience. Don’t we all like to do that when we have these kinds of moments in our lives? However, it wasn’t what God wanted. It wasn’t the essence of the story.

In order to better understand this whole transfiguration event please now take a look at our second reading from Paul to the church in Corinth. Earlier, I mentioned that Moses had placed a veil on his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory of God and be afraid. This is how Paul speaks about it: (2 Cor 14-16)

Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. “Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

If we wish to see the significance of Christ’s transfiguration we must remove the veil from our minds and understand that our astounding and great God wants us to see the truth. The transfiguration is a foreshadowing of Jesus death and final resurrection.

The voice from above said, “This is my Son, my Chosen listen to him!” Our pattern in life is much like the people in the wilderness — deliverance, rejection, deliverance, rejection, deliverance, rejection. How can we stop this?

We can’t. Rejecting God is in our nature, we don’t like boundaries and just like Lulu we try to get around them. It’s our desire not to be bound by creation patterns, but it’s our desire to be God. We don’t want to listen to God or be controlled by God’s laws, but in reality when the veil is removed only God is in control.

For some of us there are just too many distractions in life. To paraphrase the poet Denise Levertov, we have the spiritual attention span of a minnow. Fortunately, when God heals us, just like when Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father we too must be astounded at the greatness of God.

The pattern of creation is clear, our proclivity to be delivered and reject God is clear, our desire to remain veiled is clear, but when God removes the veil, not only in the temple, but the veil over our eyes, our minds, and our hearts, when we put these mountain top experiences of Moses, Peter, James, and John in place we become transfigured and we see an awesome God full of love and grace. Remove the veil and be astounded at the greatness of God today.

Amen

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