Last Sunday after Epiphany

 

Luke 9:28-43a

We have made it to the end of our long Epiphany Season.  The last Sunday before the start of the season of Lent here at church. It is the day we say farewell to Alleluia and begin to transition to the more somber time of Lent.  And it is the day where we read the story of Jesus’s Transfiguration every year.  And let’s just take a moment to acknowledge right from the outset that this story is straight up weird.  Jesus goes up on a mountain gets super shiny, has a meeting with two dead guys, the disciples have this crazy holy theophany (which is really just a fancy word for when God talks directly to you) and then everyone leaves.  It’s weird, so weird.  Especially to modern ears.  And that’s okay.  God is weird.  Being a disciple is weird.  And sometimes, the weird stuff, because it is so outside of our normal experience is where we can learn the most about God and what he is calling us to do.  So today we hear one final Epiphany story, where we get one more, unusually clear glimpse of who Jesus is and what he is doing.

And a lot of the time when we talk about this story we like to focus on the glory.  On this astonishing glimpse of Jesus’s divine majesty.  On the weight of the history of the prophets.  On God’s awesome power speaking forth from the cloud.  But not this year and not with the way Luke tells the story.  Because Luke is really explicit about why they are here and it is the opposite of glory.

The story actually begins with the words “8 days later”.  Which is important because it directly connects this story to what comes before it and the last story we hear before this one is where Jesus tells his disciples for the very first time that he is going to Jerusalem to be killed and 3 days later to be raised to new life.  And then when they get to the mountain today Luke is really clear, much more clear to the other gospel writers about why they are there.  He says “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.”  We want this to be about Jesus proving his glory but Jesus is only here to talk about his death.  

This is really a planning session with skilled experts on the topic.  Don’t forget both Moses and Elijah served most of the ministries with death warrants out against them.  Moses for murder and Elijah for blasphemy.  They know how to evade authorities.  They know how to be effective in challenging circumstances.  If anyone in all of history can commiserate with Jesus about what he is up against, it’s them.  So they get together to start to hatch a plan for Jesus’s death.

But Peter has a different plan.  Because this glory stuff is cool.  Plus, he is really, really tired and it’s nice up here and scary and exhausting down there.  So, he tries to build them all houses, so they can all stay where they are and everyone can be safe and happy and nothing has to change.

And God is not impressed.  And so God comes and literally swallows them up in a thundercloud and yells at them.  Which sounds awful by the way.   No wonder they didn’t tell anyone what happened.  While they are stuck in the cloud God tells them “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”. 

So Listen to what?  Well, what was the last thing that Jesus taught them?  8 days ago, on the way here, in Jesus last speech in the verses immediately preceding this story Jesus tells them "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  That sounds like a pretty good start.  And then just as suddenly as they appeared, everyone else is gone and Jesus looks normal again and he brings them back down the mountain.

And this story is weird but it is also so typical of how we all tend to act.  So much of the time we just want to stay put.  To stay near the glory.  To stay where it is safe. Especially if we are tired or frightened or otherwise not at our best.  But as much as Peter likes the mountain, it was never about glory for Jesus.  He is there to plan his own death because he knows that only then can resurrection begin for himself and for his disciples.

Because here is the thing, the thing that Jesus really needs us to learn this season.  The central focus of all our time together in Luke.  Discipleship always had a cost.  It always means dying in some way, taking up our cross, giving something up.  Like in the Beatitudes 2 weeks ago where blessing the poor and hungry meant woe for the rich and powerful.  Or last week when seeking forgiveness and reconciliation meant giving up on the power of vengeance and retribution.  And now this week, where Peter and has to give up the comfort and glory of this time with Jesus and Moses and Elijah in order to take up his cross and follow Jesus back down the mountain.

But what is most important to realize is that no matter what he does, there is always a cost.  Because if he fails to go, there is an entirely different cost.  Because what happens if Peter succeeds at building the houses and Jesus doesn’t come back down that day?  The lectionary appends these 6 extra optional verses to the end of this story that are very important.  Where Jesus heals this boy, this innocent child of a demon that no one else can fix.  If Jesus doesn’t show up, the boy couldn’t have been healed.  And it shows us the other cost.  Because that is the real cost of safety and security, of staying holed up on the mountain, of holding on to the glory days.  The new ministry that never gets done.  The suffering that doesn’t get relieved.  The lives that never get saved.

So this year as we enter into Lenten season, we are going to be called upon to follow God’s command to listen to Jesus.  To try to listen in new ways to what God is calling us to do.  To listen more deeply, to listen with our hearts and our hands and our voices.  To expand our practice and deepen our faith. 

And to practice listening and thinking about what God is calling us to do.  And to learn to count both sides of the cost, the cost of acting and the cost of not acting.  The cost of speaking up and the cost of staying quiet.  The cost of thinking big and the cost of staying small.  And it can be scary to try new things and to act out and to speak up, especially in times like these.   But in the long run it can be even worse not to.  And so first we practice, we listen, we get stronger and more faithful.  So when the Lord calls us forth, we are ready to act in his name.  Amen.