Sermon for February 14, 2021 Transfiguration Sunday House of Prayer Lutheran Church

Mark 9:2-9; 2 Kings 2:1-12 Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

I remember the first time I tried hiking to the top of a mountain. It was a day in April; I was about 11 years old. We were in upstate New York, and my dad decided to take me and my brother to Slide Mountain--so named because of a rock slide up near the summit of that mountain. We had seen that rock slide from afar many, many times--and now we wanted to see what this majestic mountain, the highest peak in the Catskill Mountains at 4,180 feet, was really like.

Down at the base of the mountain were the early signs of spring. The ground clear, the buds beginning to form on the trees. The higher we climbed, however, the more winter-like it became: the tree branches bare, snow still covering the ground. At some point on the trail we were no longer walking over rocks, roots, and dirt, but we were actually walking on snow.

The trail itself was still visible through the forest, as if Moses had come and parted a sea of trees to make our pathway clear. But it was a bit hazy, overcast--limiting our vision. Would we be able to make it to the top? Or would weather conditions finally force us to turn back for safety? If we made it to the top, would we even be able to see the view from the cliff at the summit?

While the outcome was uncertain, we kept going forward, despite our unknowing--up toward the clouds, relying on one another for encouragement, and relying upon those who had come before us who had created a trail that reliably led people to the top.

If you’ve ever ventured into a cloud, it’s easy to see why clouds are a symbol of the mystery of God. And when you recognize that God is part of your life--maybe it seems at times as if God is surrounding you like a cloud; you can sense that God is there, all around, even though our human understanding of God is always only partial and a cloudy mystery.

Especially in the Old Testament book of Exodus, cloud imagery is used to describe how people experienced the presence of God. God led them through the wilderness by a “pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.” I think it’s interesting, the irony of God leading people only with things that blur your vision. God said, “I’ll lead you with a cloud by day”--and of course when you’re in a cloud, you can’t see your surroundings clearly. And God said, “I’ll lead you with a fire by night”--of course, since it’s dark at night, you still won’t see your surroundings clearly. You will have to move forward by faith that God will guide you, and then only when you have the humility to realize you’ll never have everything about God all figured out. Like a mountain covered in clouds, God’s majesty is the same as God’s mystery. As human beings we only get to see God dimly and know only in part.

It was like my dad leading my brother and me up Slide Mountain, as we hiked higher and higher, hoping to reach our goal despite not knowing if it would even be possible. We had to embrace the uncertainty of whether we’d make it all the way to the top, and we had to have the humility to read the weather conditions properly, to know the limits of safety, to be able to say “yes, keep going” or “no, turn back”. Even though we couldn’t control the weather, the snow, the clouds, the fog, still with each step we gained bits and pieces of understanding. And we submitted ourselves to the reality that God was unfolding all around us on that mountain--until finally, we did make it to the top, and were treated to a view that stretched for 50 miles. I can still see it.

I like to think of the disciples as being in a similar situation when Jesus hiked with Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. I wonder if their experience climbing the trail to the summit was anything like the time I climbed Slide Mountain? Did the weather conditions change as they climbed from bottom to top? Were the trees beginning to bud at the base of the mountain, while the summit was covered with fog and snow?

Regardless of that, and even with the majestic view I found at the summit of Slide Mountain, our experience paled in comparison to the disciples’, since they had a unique experience of the mysteriousness of God: Jesus was transfigured before them, his physical appearance becoming like dazzling light. And there appearing with him were the great prophets who had led the way before, in Old Testament times--Moses and Elijah. If you’re the disciples, how could you ever explain such a mysterious and glorious vision appearing right before your eyes? You can’t. You can simply experience it in faith and humility.

Or you can react in fear of the unknown. Which is exactly what they do. Since the disciples are afraid of what’s happening, they reach toward the common human impulse of trying to control things. They offer to build three dwellings--one for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah. The disciples figure if they can put Jesus and the prophets in some mountaintop huts, they can gain some control over the situation--like, then they’ll know where God stays, when God goes, what God does, where God is to be found. They want clarity. Certainty. They want to know. Can you blame them?

God’s answer is to overshadow them with clouds: basically telling them “no, don’t build three huts”. Instead they need to embrace the mystery of it all. God comes close to them, yet the closer God gets, the harder God makes it for them to see, as God’s voice points them away from fear and back toward trusting Jesus: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.” God is telling them that they need to live by faith and humility, putting their trust in Jesus, and not in their ability to control the situation or their ability to explain a situation that is really mysterious.

Like those disciples up on the mountain, in order for us to allow God’s work to take shape in our lives, we have to let go of our human inclinations of trying to control God--which never works anyway! In humility and faith, we need to embrace the reality that God’s ways are more mysterious than we can imagine--but even when we can’t explain it or understand it, God is at work, and the presence of Jesus is always available to us. And, with faith and humility, that’s enough.

When the clouds of life overshadow you, when you realize how much is out of your own ability to control, then put your trust in the promises of God: “This is my Son, the Beloved. I’ve sent him to help you. Not even death on the cross could stop him from bringing you God’s love and forgiveness because he is risen from the dead.” So listen to him. In faith and humility, listen for him. Trust that Christ is with you to lead you through the mysteries and the unknowns of life. Amen.