Listen to Him
Our gospel lesson for today is a description of a mountaintop experience. A mountain top experience in the literal sense because Jesus, James, and John were together on Mount Tabor, and a mountain top experience in the figurative sense, because it was one of those magical moments that God grants us every so often. Do you know those moments of which I speak? Those moments of joy and peace that occasionally come upon us in life, briefly yet memorably. For Jesus, the transfiguration is an instance of empowerment when he is so filled with the Holy Spirit and the love of God that he literally glows. For the disciples, it is one of those high points in their journey with Jesus when they see him transfigured before their eyes as the Son of the living God. For us, mountain top experiences are usually moments when we feel at peace, when we feel joy deep inside, when for a fleeting instant we know that the world is as it should be, and we are at home within ourselves.
Oh, to be on the mountain, to feel those highs and that deep sense of comfort. Peter is right, we want to stay that way all the time, we want to live in those moments and have them never end. If you have ever had a mountaintop experience, then you know what I mean. You know how wonderful they are and how fleeting. I have had them while being out in nature – fishing on a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly and the water so calm that the fish will see you if you move too quickly. I have had them in sacred spaces – walking quietly through a great cathedral enraptured by its beauty, pulled into the mystery portrayed by its vastness, feeling deeply a part of the faith that made such a magnificent structure possible. I have had them in the presence of others – holding and feeding my child in the dark calm of the night, so in love with this creature in my arms, so positive that there is no better place to be in the entire universe than in this place at this particular moment. I have had them in this place – holding the paten full of bread watching all of the people who mean so much to me come forward to feed on the bread of life. Being on the mountain, living in these moments is so wonderful, I can only imagine what it must have been like to be with Christ quite literally on a mountain witnessing his transfiguration.
And yet, it seems to me that the truth about life tells us that we cannot live on the mountain. We cannot live inside those magical moments. They are fleetingly brief. For the disciples, the experience on Mount Tabor is followed by the journey to Jerusalem. They must leave the mountain to travel down into the valley toward the destiny to which our Lord is called, a valley that leads toward the chasm of the crucifixion.
I don’t know about you, but if the world around us as it is unfolding these days represents the valley then I definitely want to find higher ground. Things are a mess in our valley, they feel chaotic, mean, frightening. I know that there are dozens if not hundreds of good people who worship here at the Cathedral who have lost or may well lose their jobs. Civil servants and others who have dedicated their professional lives to serving our country, whose jobs are being wiped away like a scythe through tall grass. What are we to do when up is down and down is up and an entire agency like USAID, dedicated to bringing assistance to the most vulnerable around the world, is characterized by the richest man in the world as, “a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America”? During these times of moral ambiguity, how do we survive in the valley, how do we hold it all together, how do we support one another when all we want to do is hide or climb back up the mountain?
Luke answers this question for us at the end of our reading for this morning. As Peter and the others are contemplating building shrines to memorialize their mountain top experience, God, cloaked in cloud, interrupts them and says – “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” Listen to him, God tells Peter, James and John, because you can’t stay up here and the only way to make it in the valley is by Christ and in Christ and through Christ. Listen to Jesus, the voice says – he is the way, the truth and the life.
When life is chaotic, confusing, seemingly unhinged, we need something to ground us, something to use as a foundation, something to give us direction and larger purpose. I believe that something is faith in our loving God and the trust to follow in the ways of Jesus. Like sailors caught in a violent storm who spot a lighthouse in the distance, the waves crash, the wind howls, but if they keep their eyes on the light, they can find their way home. In our culture today, people are being tossed by waves of shifting values, misinformation, and distortions of the truth. Listening to Jesus is like fixing our eyes on that lighthouse—it gives us direction when everything around us is dark. Like a traveler in an unfamiliar wilderness who relies on a compass, many today are navigating life with no moral compass, or worse, one that constantly moves based on popular opinion. Jesus offers an unwavering moral compass. Even when the world says right is wrong and wrong is right, His truth remains steady.
What happens if we take this command seriously, if we truly try to listen to him? Will it make life easier? No, it will most likely make life more difficult. Will we be good at doing what he says? No, we will probably fall short time after time. But if we hold onto Christ like an anchor in the storm we can learn to love in new ways, to love others as he loves us. In our divided society this means extending grace to friend and foe alike, this means learning to love even our enemies. If we listen to Jesus, we can learn to care for the marginalized and the mistreated, we can learn to live with courage and hope. Because in Christ we are promised that God will be with us even as we suffer. Jesus tells us that he will be with us always, even to the end of the world.
So friends, this Lent I invite you to engage deeply with scripture, to read what Jesus says, to read the Gospels and listen, seeking transformation more than information. I invite you to prioritize prayer in your life, prayer focused on opening yourself to God. Those mountain top experiences we have in life are wonderful, but they are fleeting. They are gifts when they happen but, truth be told, they don’t happen all that often. Most of the time we are left to live in the valley and these days that can be a tough place to be.
So, listen to him:
When fear and anxiety threaten to overwhelm you, Jesus says: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1).
When greed and self-interest dominate our culture, Jesus says: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36)
When injustice and oppression seem too great to fight, Jesus says: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
When the truth is distorted and lies are loud, Jesus says: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
When you feel weary and burdened by life’s struggles, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
When you are tempted to seek revenge and hold grudges, Jesus says: “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)
When the world encourages pride and self-promotion, Jesus says: “Whoever wants to be first must be the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)
When life feels uncertain, and the future is unclear. Jesus says: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:34)
Listen to him. When you struggle to trust that God is still in control, because Jesus says: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
Friends, for many of us these days are very difficult, the mountain top seems far away. But we have not been left alone, there is a way through the valley, we have a guide. And as I said a couple of weeks ago, I will say again today – Jesus is everything and I’m holding on to him like a drowning man holding onto a life jacket. Because as far as I’m concerned, no one else has got the truth, no one else has got anything lasting for me to cling to. So, listen to him. We may have to journey through the desert and walk the way of the cross. But always remember at the bottom of the hill where Christ was crucified there stands a tomb, an empty tomb, and if we listen—truly listen—we will discover that even in the darkest valley, resurrection is coming. Amen.