2After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"
8Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Last Saturday at Pacific Lutheran University, the Bishop of the ELCA, Mark Hanson was speaking at a synodical social justice event. Last month, he and his family had attended the presidential inauguration in Washington D.C. Before the formal inauguration, his family was attending a worship service. Not certain where to go next, Mark Hanson in big-time Bishop garb approached an African-American woman sitting down the pew. He asked the woman for directions, which door to exit to, and what was she doing for transportation. She responded to questions with some directions. Walking back over to his family, he noticed how quiet they were. Finally, one of his children said, “Dad, did you know that was Oprah Winfrey?” He confessed he had no idea who he was talking to. He was certain neither did she.
Something symbolic about cultural and religious authorities asking each other “what is the true way”. It also says something about how often the holy and the human intersect, the sacred and the secular get together, and spiritual and cultural icons are side-by-side and don’t even know it. Seems to me this should not surprise us because this is God’s will most clearly manifest in Jesus. The Transfiguration is an event where the ordinary & the miraculous are plainly on the same continuum. Elijah and Moses in glory share fellowship on the mountain top with Peter, James, and John in khakis. Jesus is the link between the earthly and eternal, the common denominator between grounded & glorified. Eugene Peterson writes, “We are not permitted to segregate our salvation away from the details of getting around and making a living. “Pass the broccoli” and “Hear the Word of the Lord” carry equal weight in conversations among the saved. My hope is to lift up the necessity of the natural, physicality of our faith. Sacraments are served in the kitchen and chancel.”
Spirituality has come to function as a catch-all term for Everything Beyond and More and Deep. Spirituality is not immaterial as opposed to material, not invisible as opposed to visible, not interior as opposed to exterior. Quite the contrary; spirituality has much to do with the material, the external, the exterior. There is a physicality to faith, organic to Jesus as only human and holy God at the same time. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, among us, and for us. God physically enters the human story, born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, recruited in Galilee, ate meals in homes, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, led a parade to the Mt. of Olives, was crucified on Calvary, buried in a graveyard, and physically resurrected. We don’t have a problem in realizing the physicality of our faith when we suffer or someone we love suffers. “Why me? Why now? Why this?” These are natural questions but they are just as valid when you’re in pleasure. Enjoying a grilled steak with family, being invigorated walking in the woods, morning coffee, taking a hot shower on a cold day, embracing a child, sleeping on the couch, splashing in the pool, smelling a loved one after being away. That was last weekend’s grace.
The writer of John’s Gospel, when he wants to assure Christians of the authenticity of his spiritual experience, he calls on the physical senses- “what we have heard—seen with our eyes—touched with our hands concerning the word of life”. Our five senses are not impediments to our life of faith, our sensuality is not a barrier to our spirituality; it is the only access to it. This may explain why we must be physically grounded in our spiritual faith. The dangers for believers is that we will make our life in Christ abstract – somewhere out there, or intellectual – a set of doctrines, or emotional- faith depends on feelings, entertainment- I need another mountaintop.
That is why God insists on embracing and immersion in community where we have people we will bump into and things to do “take this bread”, wash those feet, write that check, wrestle with prayer, go on that mission, & so on to keep our faith real.
The Transfiguration is a mysterious gospel event. On top of Mount Tabor, Jesus is transformed, metamorphized into the radiant, dazzling, high-beam glory. On either side Jesus has Elijah representing the prophetic tradition and Moses representing the fulfillment of the Law. How did they know these prophetic bookends were Moses and Elijah? Did they have name tags or had they had flannel board pictures of them in synagogue school? What a fellowship? OT hall-of-famers Moses and Elijah somehow brought into the present in glory and the NT brash up-and-comers Peter, James, and John presumably in street clothes. Jesus is at the heart of where holy/human, earthly/eternal, past/present, visible/invisible, & life/death intersect.
Peter’s reaction is charged with fear and good intentions, “Let’s build you God guys each a cubicle” presumably so they can perpetuate the experience. But, God intervenes, “Be quiet, listen to My Son”. In a nanosecond, there is only Jesus. The disciples want to stay, but Jesus says “Let’s move on”. He keeps moving, fulfilling his call, physically taking his disciples so they don’t become salvation spectators.
Mickey Rourke had been nominated for an Academy Award for “The Wrestler”. The movie is about Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a professional wrestler who was once a star of the wrestling circuit but is now way past his prime. The violence is over-the-top and the rabid fans can’t get enough. These small-time wrestlers perform at American Legion halls, have to hawk their own t-shirts, etc. to diehard fans, are out to entertain. The wilder the weapons the better to beat your opponent. Metal chairs, razor wire, one patron allows a wrestler to use his artificial leg to clobber his nemesis. Things go too far when Tommy Rotten, the guy with the Mohawk & wicked mascara, gets out a staple gun that leads to Ram’s heart attack. However, the wrestlers embody unspoken camaraderie, brothers in arms & with headlocks, a very physical fellowship. Before he goes into battle Ram gets his hair foiled & body tanned. Before the match, they are all, even the refs, in locker room fellowship; taping up, pumping up, cheering up, laughing it up, & hamming it up.
Today we are dealing with our ministry of fellowship. The ways and means by which we stay connected to each other, support our relationships, and rejoice in being the body of Christ. Part of the purpose of fellowship is to keep us from being spectators in the life of the church. We can be diehard spectators who prefer to sit in the pew, alternate between cheering and booing depending how leaders, staff, budget, and organization is performing. Some believers are rabid fans who never do more than offer their critique, lament the church’s deficiencies, and act spiritual.
The band of believers, the communion of saints, is called to embody camaraderie, physically fellowship, sisters in solitude, brothers in arms. Maybe like being all together in the locker room with “Ben Got Zen” Gutierrez, Shelley the Bruiser Bratlien, Tommy “the Stogey” Booth, Rich Wendt aka The Renaissance Man, or one of Marsha’s minions. There are times when we are like a locker room, like at the Men’s Meat & Eat. Lots of stuff killed and grilled, Costco size desserts, no salads. We watched some silly hunting video but it was real fellowship. There are times we are deadly serious or way sad, like when one of us is hospitalized or hurting.
I like the way the Apostle Paul puts the fellowship of Christ, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you are a part of it.” Homeless until we find a home in the physical fellowship, shelter of the church, only with Jesus.
There is another housing crisis where people have no where to live but the streets. In Los Angeles a local homeless man says that if they don’t get on a bus to nearby shelter then there is the cold, hard reality of the sidewalk. There are bodies all over. When night falls everyone finds their spot on the sidewalk. But, things changed for the homeless man a few weeks ago when a new cart (EDAR) landed on the streets. “Everyone Deserves A Roof” is a cart by day and mini-camper by night. It is a portable booth and bed that is on wheels. During the day it transports your stuff and at night it folds out into a bed with canvas roof. Five hundred of the moveable shelters were introduced into LA County by Hollywood producer Peter Samuelson. There are 73,000 homeless and the goal is to produce 10,000 shelters at a shopping cart factory. At night I sleep better and during the day I can’t help but show it off.
Perhaps, we can consider our personal relationship with Christ as our own EDAR. Helps us sleep more peacefully at night & during the day we are to let Jesus show. We do this by doing the physical things Jesus gives us to do. By going on that mission to help the homeless, eating pancakes Shrove Tuesday, drinking from the cup of salvation, wrestling with prayer, laughing it up, washing feet, hugging our children & grandchildren, & worshipping weekly. Doing these things keep Jesus at the heart of this home, the focus of our fellowship, and the light of our life.
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