On the Way to Wonder

First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12

¹Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”
  ⁴Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”
  ⁶Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. ⁷Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. ⁸Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
  ⁹When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” ¹⁰He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” ¹¹As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. ¹²Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Psalm: Psalm 50:1-6

 ¹The mighty one, God the Lord, has spoken;
  calling the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
 ²Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty,
  God shines forth in glory. 
 ³Our God will come and will not keep silence;
  with a consuming flame before, and round about a raging storm.
 ⁴God calls the heavens and the earth from above
  to witness the judgment of the people.
 ⁵“Gather before me my loyal followers,
  those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice.”
 ⁶The heavens declare the rightness of God’s cause,
  for it is God who is judge. 

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

³Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Gospel: Mark 9:2-9

²Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

  ⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

CHILDREN’S SERMONS

         Shifting gears.  Many of us had the opportunity to learn to drive on a 4WD car or truck.  Perhaps it was on the farm, on a dirt road in Kenya, or on the hills of Los Angeles.  One of my scary experiences was learning to drive in our old jalopy named Betsy, my mother co-piloting as I went into the foothills of LA to pick up my sister from a party.  I was headed uphill and had to downshift and stalled.  Sweaty palms.  I could not get the car in gear for the life of me and finally had to ask my mother to take over.  Sooooo humiliating.  How do we down shift when we climb a mountain?

First ?:  the engine sputters and we know we need more power – right?

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Second ?:  engage the clutch peddle to put the engine in neutral so the gears can be changed and synchronized – right?  Something like that goes on under my shaking hand.

Third ?:  Move the gear shift to a more powerful gear (either up or down) making sure you get the right gear and don’t strip the engine.

Fourth?:  Gently step on the gas, feeling it synch with the gears

In my case, I probably tense waiting for the jerk from a rocky transition.

Shifting is not a one-time event on your trip.  Jesus and we are on a journey and today we will see Jesus shift gears.

Prayer:  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be honoring to you, my Redeemer.

SERMON

Today we are encountering Jesus as he and Peter, James, and John climb a high mountain.  It is on mountains that things happen!  Moses sees the burning bush.  Moses receives the Ten Commandments.  Abraham starts to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.  Elijah confronts the 400 priests of Baal.  Jesus delivers his sermon on the mount, defining the principles of the kingdom of heaven.  In fact he is crucified on Golgotha, the skull.  We call it “mountain top experiences.”  Today we’ll ponder what has been called, the Mount of Transfiguration.  Baptism signals the start of Epiphany and Transfiguration signals the beginning of Lent this Wednesday on Ash Wednesday. 

         Transfiguration is not “transformation.”  At the Indy 500 the racecars line up and when the race starts, they do not transform into airplanes.  When the driver puts the car through its gears, it changes from a post card picture to a racecar.  It never becomes something it has not been like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly or a tadpole becoming a frog.  We are not talking today of Jesus becoming something different than what he has always been but we are seeing a revelation, an unveiling, of a part of his personhood that so far has been veiled.

         I can see the road sign, “Uphill grade, no passing lane for a mile.”   There might be a sign showing a car swerving left and right to indicate sharp carves ahead.  Jesus knows it is time to turn to Jerusalem and walk through the crucifixion.  He is preparing to go from his public ministry of teaching and healing, revealing the character of God, and so enter the journey to the cross that we call Lent.  As in other transition points in his life, Jesus draws aside.  Perhaps it is somewhat like us taking our car in for a tune-up before a big trip. 

         Jesus retreats to a secluded place where he can let “his hair hang down” i.e. where he can truly be himself.  Jesus transfigures, drops the veil and the disciples see him as he truly is – true God and true man.  He is the light of the world as his clothes become whiter than white.  He steps into those thin places where the supernatural and the natural meet and there encounter Moses and Elijah.  Perhaps like me, you have wondered why those two men?  Why Moses and Elijah?

         Could it be that he is checking the map and double-checking the route?  I do that before a big trip.  Moses who received the law on Mt. Sinai could confirm that all people are sinners and cannot help themselves.  People are lost without the cross.  The cross and resurrection is the goal, not the defeat of Roman domination.  Elijah, one of the greatest prophets, could confirm the prophecy of a coming savior who would be the sacrificial lamb.  The people want salvation from Rome but prophecy says there will be a suffering messiah.  The map is reviewed and the plan confirmed. 

         But I also think that Moses and Elijah appeared because they could encourage Jesus in unique ways.  Both Moses and Elijah knew what it was like to stand alone on a mountain and stood between their people and evil.  Moses stood at the Red Sea and had to step forward in faith and put his rod in the water for it to part.  Elijah stood alone on Mt Carmel and prayed for the fire of God to eat the sacrificed bull with 12 barrels of water poured on it.  The people were silent.  Both men followed God’s plan and God was faithful – but it was scary.

         Both men also had deaths cloaked in mystery.  Moses walked up to Mt. Nebo with God and died with God holding his hand and no one knows where Moses’ grave is.  Likewise we read about Elijah’s death, more realistically his being swept up to heaven in a whirlwind, chariot of fire as in our Old Testament reading today.  The people thought perhaps John the Baptist was Elijah returned and others believe he will be one of the two witnesses in end times.  All very mysterious but both men testify again of God’s faithfulness and participation in the death of his servants.  We know Jesus was true God knowing this but I believe being true man he also needed the reassurance of the companionship of Moses and Elijah.  The mountain top experience was a tune-up and a checking of the map, the plan. During transition times and before important events we would be wise to follow Jesus’ example and draw aside with God to pray over our plans.  Going for a spiritual tune-up is always good and hopefully before the red light comes on!  Double-checking the map is what we do with Bible study, worship and fellowship.

         Meanwhile our three disciples are terrified and confused.  Perhaps they should build three shelters, three churches – one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus.  Seeing and realizing that Jesus is true man, like us, but also true God, changes us too.  Something happens to us when we comprehend the scope, the power available in our faith, the potential – the reality of who Jesus is.  We too have trouble figuring out which gear we need to use to navigate our faith.  Hence we see so many varieties of Christianity – Pentecostals, End time focuses, faith healers all sort of flavors and varieties in all kinds of languages.  Like Peter we are confused and try so hard to do what we think is right.  Peter has made the mistake of confusing Jesus’ deity with the prophets’ glory.  Jesus is not equal to Moses and Elijah.  He is not just another prophet.  Jesus is true God and true man.

         God speaks from the cloud, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”  God is not assuring Jesus as at the baptism but is now speaking to the followers, to us.  Jesus has called us to “follow” and God now says, “listen.”  As we come to the trials that challenge us like driving up a steep mountain  – or descending one for that matter, the Mt of Transfiguration speaks to us.  We do not need to transform into an angel or something we are not.  Drawing aside to reflect and unveil our true identity and being with friends is always helpful.  Checking the road map as found in Scripture is necessary.  We are not going to avoid death but death is not the end of the story.  Faith is not about being happy ever after on earth but about following Jesus and listening to God.  Are we using the right gears as we travel the route we are on.  It is possible to be in cruise when we need to engage 4WD.  We need to get on our knees and pray. 

         Epiphany is about understanding who our God is as revealed in the person of Jesus.  We started with baptism and the voice in the cloud saying, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased,” and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.  On the Mt of Transfiguration, the veil is taken away for a moment and we see the Jesus who is the light of the world.  Jesus cast out the unclean spirit that would cripple the man in the synagogue.  He has power over the evil in our lives.  Jesus gently extended his hand to Peter’s mother-in-law, put his arm around her and lifted her up and the fever left so she could perform her hostess duties. He gently lifts us up and enables us to do his will.  Jesus healed many who came to him for help.  This is but the beginning of the Gospel of Mark.  Mark reveals Jesus as true God and true man.  But Jesus was not satisfied just with healing us physically but came to spread the good news of the coming of the kingdom, eternal presence with him, under his rule.  Now he turns his face to Jerusalem to provide us with eternal life.  Let us journey through Lent with him.  Ash Wednesday we will place ashes on our foreheads as a kind of map showing that our journey is to the cross because we are ashes.  May God tune us up, open our eyes to the map for each of us, and help us use the right gears to climb the mountains in our lives. Praise his name.

First Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31

 ²¹Have you not known? Have you not heard?
  Has it not been told you from the beginning?
  Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
 ²²It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
  and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
 who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
  and spreads them like a tent to live in;
 ²³who brings princes to naught,
  and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
²⁴Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
  scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
 when he blows upon them, and they wither,
  and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
²⁵To whom then will you compare me,
  or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
 ²⁶Lift up your eyes on high and see:
  Who created these?
 He who brings out their host and numbers them,
  calling them all by name; because he is great in strength,
  mighty in power, not one is missing.
 ²⁷Why do you say, O Jacob,
  and speak, O Israel,
 “My way is hidden from the Lord,
  and my right is disregarded by my God”?
 ²⁸Have you not known? Have you not heard?
 The Lord is the everlasting God,
  the Creator of the ends of the earth.
 He does not faint or grow weary;
  his understanding is unsearchable.
 ²⁹He gives power to the faint,
  and strengthens the powerless.
 ³⁰Even youths will faint and be weary,
  and the young will fall exhausted;
 ³¹but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
  they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
 they shall run and not be weary,
  they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm: Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

 ¹Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God!
  How pleasant it is to honor God with praise!
 ²The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
  and gathers the exiles of Israel.
 ³The Lord heals the brokenhearted
  and binds up their wounds.
 ⁴The Lord counts the number of the stars
  and calls them all by their names. 
 ⁵Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
  there is no limit to God’s wisdom.
 ⁶The Lord lifts up the lowly,
  but casts the wicked to the ground.
 ⁷Sing to the Lord| with thanksgiving;
  make music upon the harp to our God,
 ⁸who covers the heavens with clouds
  and prepares rain for the earth,

      making grass to grow upon the mountains. 
 ⁹God provides food for the cattle
  and for the young ravens when they cry.
 ¹⁰God is not impressed by the might of a horse,
  and has no pleasure in the speed of a runner,
 ¹¹but finds pleasure in those who fear the Lord,
  in those who await God’s steadfast love. ^20cHallelujah!

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

¹⁶If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! ¹⁷For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. ¹⁸What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
  ¹⁹For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. ²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. ²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. ²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

²⁹As soon as [Jesus and the disciples] left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
  ³²That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
  ³⁵In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” ³⁸He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

CHILDREN’S SERMON        

         Many of you here will remember the movie, “Chariots of Fire” and its beautiful theme song that captivated our hearts.  The opening and closing scenes show the British track team running in the sand along the ocean beach in preparation for the 1924 Olympics.  Eric Liddel the Scottish runner for the British team is the son of a missionary, studying at Oxford, helping his sister run “the mission” and pondering his future.  He takes a break in his work to train for the Olympics.  On the ship going to France, he learns that his qualifying race will be run on Sunday.  This news throws him into a moral conflict.  He believes that the Sabbath should be observed in ways that did not include running an Olympic race.  Harold Abrams, the Jewish English runner on the team runs for Liddell and Liddell runs the 400 meter race, not the 100 meter.  One of the questions running through the movie is the question, “Where does the power come from to run the race?”

Prayer:  Lord as we ponder that question today, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, my power source.

SERMON

Do you have Sunday traditions?  One Sunday morning my son asked me, “Mom, why don’t you cook any more?”  In Kenya, we would always had homemade coffee cake on Sunday morning.  I was not doing home baking in the same way.  “No TV till after lunch,” was a family rule.   Sunday evening the kids were required to put on a DVD with a Christian theme.  They quickly learned to find a redemptive theme in many of their favorite videos!  As a child I earned by weekly allowance of a nickel by being able to tell my parents what the sermon was about.  My parents went out to lunch with friends on Sundays.  Others use Sunday afternoon to visit grandma.  In all these situations, there is a worldview that understands Sundays to be a day of rest.  Possibly this traces back to God resting on the seventh day of creation or the third commandment that tells us to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.

         Today’s text shares three Sabbath day insights into Jesus’ Sabbath.  Last Sunday we saw him in the synagogue but he was not silent, observing but actively engaged, being the living Word as he read the written word.  He was engaged in the confrontation of evil, the unclean spirit crippling a man at the synagogue.  He did not claim, “a day off,” but silenced and expelled the evil spirit, restoring the man to life.  Surely by now Jesus can chat with his disciples about the lesson he taught or the good deed he performed!  Jesus heads to the home of Simon Peter, along with Simon’s brother Andrew and their friends James and John.  Probably others were involved but unnamed in the passage.

         As Jesus enters the house, he is told that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever.  Possibly lunch is not ready and people are hungry.  Traditions of hospitality are upset.  I would guess there is tension in the air.  Again the predictable is interrupted by “evil” that is illness, or at least by inconvenience.  Why does our author, Mark, shares this incident?   It is the beginning of Mark’s gospel and he is showing us Jesus’ concern for even women, for an elderly woman, not at the synagogue, probably widowed and sick..

         “³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.”  “At once” Jesus cares for Simon    Peter’s mother-in-law when he hears she is sick. We do not see Jesus confronting evil as with the unclean spirit, by ordering silence and dismissal.   Instead we see a tender scene.  Jesus takes her hand.  No bull dozing into her space.  It says that then he lifts her up.  I can only imagine that it is an arm around her shoulder to support her in a kind of hug, respecting her weakness and lifting her up.  Then the fever leaves.  Sometimes Jesus does do miracles and confronts evil with miracles but sometimes he enters our lives, gently, quietly, extending a hand, putting his arm around our shoulder and gradually helping us stand and get our balance.  God is not sitting back on some heavenly couch on Sunday, watching us through his cosmic television or zooming into our station to see what the deal is for when he goes to work on Monday, when he is back on the job. Restoration and revival can happen any day of the week, in church or in the home.  Restoration happens in direct confrontation with evil in our lives and restoration also happens in a gentle, encouraging approach that reaches God’s hand to us, assisting us to stand, and returning us to service.  Jesus is the living Word, written and spoken, found in church and Jesus is the compassion that works in our relationships.

         Secondly, the people are awed by Jesus’ dealing with evil in the synagogue and his fame spreads.  By evening, people have gathered at Simon Peter’s home with the sick and demon possessed.  The Sabbath is not over and Jesus is still healing “many.”  Sick are healed and many demons are cast out BUT “he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”  Twice we have now heard Jesus tell evil to be silent.  Interesting! Mark is again challenging our concept of God.  God does not rest forgetting us on the Sabbath, withdrawing from his creation.  AND God does not want the testimony of evil to build his kingdom.  Why?

         Can you imagine the post scripts to the testimony of those spirits?  Jesus healed Jimmy, why not you?  Jesus healed Sam, and he was not as sick as you.  Jesus healed Eunice and she is not deserving like you.  Jesus healed Sarah so follow that healer.  Evil cannot be trusted for loyalty to God, cannot be trusted to understand God’s plan, and cannot be trusted to tell the truth. So Jesus again tells the evil spirits to be quiet.  We may not be the person with an unclean spirit like last week, we may not be the sick person healed today, and we may not be one of the townspeople that gathered that evening, but that does not mean that God is not dealing with evil in our lives and in our world.  In all those scenarios, Jesus is willing to work and restore to us life as he is true God with the power and true man with compassion for our situation.

         So where does that leave us?  The next morning, Jesus is missing when more people come for help.  The news of a healer has spread and many need healing.  Success is so intoxicating and the needs of humanity are never ending.  But Jesus, “while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” For a third time our concept of God is confronted.  What was that about?  When we think of God, we do not think of a being with questions, with doubts, with confusion but in the face of success and human need, Jesus, true man withdraws to a deserted place.  Jesus has been tempted in all the ways people are tempted and he understands our doubts and confusing time when we need to withdraw and collect ourselves, to reconnect with the eternal and “charge our batteries.”  It could be that Jesus as true man also needed these times alone to think.  When the disciples find Jesus, they hear that the goal is not to heal and cast out demons but to spread the good news that the kingdom is near.

         Jesus draws aside to refocuses himself and refocuses his disciples.  Jesus has not come to make our life happy and comfortable. In the end people must still die.  Death by the virus is not sadder than death of a child with cancer or a mother in a car accident or a husband killed on the job.  Death is never welcome.  The wages of sin is death and we are all sinners.  Jesus has come to deal with death and to offer us life, not just to heal a temporary problem.  Jesus, and the gospel writer Mark, refocuses us.  The focus is not the miracle but the miracle worker and the spreading the good news that the kingdom of God is near.

         This Sabbath we have gathered around the living word to refocus our hearts and minds.  Are we looking for a miracle today and the deliverance from evil that has a grip on us?  That would be nice!  Are we looking to be lifted up from that would which holds us down so that we can serve better?  That would be nice.   Are we looking for God who is present and restoring our lives every day?  He does not rest nor does he grow weary.  Let us close with the words of the prophet Isaiah.

²⁸Have you not known? Have you not heard?
 The Lord is the everlasting God,
  the Creator of the ends of the earth.
 He does not faint or grow weary;
  his understanding is unsearchable.
 ²⁹He gives power to the faint,
  and strengthens the powerless.
 ³⁰Even youths will faint and be weary,
  and the young will fall exhausted;
 ³¹but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
  they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
 they shall run and not be weary,
  they shall walk and not faint.”

And the people of God said, AMEN!