SEE THE CHANGE WE NEED
I Corinthians 15:35-49
Luke 9:23-36
Stephen Hamilton Wright
First Presbyterian Church, Wausau, Wisconsin 14 February 2010
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Change is hard. Change is hard. Most of us don’t deal with it very well, either as individuals or groups. Even changes that will clearly improve the situation aren’t easy. They are stressful because they are unfamiliar, and once put in place, they may bring other related shifts. When the new East High School opened, it was a good change for students and the community. At the same time, it meant that a whole lot of east side restaurants had to adjust their lunchtime business plans. If you get a promotion, you probably will appreciate the increased salary and authority, but you will also find relationships changing and face longer hours and more stress. Whether we like it or not, change comes, and some changes really are necessary for human well-being. Our current President was not the first politician to be elected on a platform of change, and he will not be the last. That means that things keep happening, and we clearly haven’t got it all sorted out yet, so more change is needed. The first problem is knowing which way to go; then we have to get up and go. One thing is sure: change will come, whether we choose it or not.
Jesus shines to draw us into the way of God. Jesus shines to call our attention to the way of God, and to draw us in. On the mountainside, he beams glory just as Moses had long before, after speaking face-to-face with God.[1] The radiance of the scene penetrates the sleepy eyelids of three struggling disciples. They don’t understand the meaning of this vision, but they can tell it’s big. Did you think special effects started with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas? Think again. Even before Cecil B. DeMille, there was God. Talk about a Master of effects! And long before IMAX or 3-D, there were some very vivid storytellers as far back as Moses and beyond, centuries before Jesus, trying to find words to describe the indescribable Presence in which all things exists: we call that Presence God, and we tremble at the wonder. Trace the connections. The Being of All Being gives rise to lightning, stars, Northern Lights, life of every kind, and love. Those who experience the Creating Word of all this glory close up reflect and even project glory themselves. Moses, Elijah and Jesus stand together in dazzling brightness. They are the very light of God. Guess what happens to those who see them? As our vision adjusts, our faces become the likeness of Jesus, mirroring the glory of God as we live out the story of Holy Presence in the world. It might take awhile; even the closest disciples of Jesus didn’t catch on right away. First they suggest building some huts, to try to put some borders around all this glory; then they go silent. Eventually, though, the reality of new life in Jesus overwhelms them, and they in turn begin to project the image of God in which all of us are made. All of us—so it is our turn to gaze on this bright vision and turn to reflect glory ourselves, in our place. Jesus shines to call us to the way of God.
See all the way in. The way has deep roots; look all the way into those connections. On the mountainside, Elijah and Moses stand in glory with Jesus. See where they take us.
Look at Moses, the prophet chosen to lead the people with a Law that favored others in community as the way to honor God. Scripture says that Moses died and was buried in a certain valley in Moab, but it also says that “no one knows his burial place to this day.”[2] For so famous a prophet, whom God knew face to face, it almost hints that the tomb of Moses was not the end of his life. He is the only leading Hebrew figure whose burial is described in that way. Look also at Elijah, the prophet who raised a dead boy,[3] faced down arrogant King Ahab, and called down fire from the sky. The Bible clearly means to show that Elijah did not die, but rode horses and a chariot of fire up a whirlwind into heaven. Jews still save an empty chair for him at the Passover meal, because he is the forerunner of the Messiah. You don’t have to believe the literal truth of such legendary scenes to understand that these are amazing characters. They are representatives of an amazing God, who calls us all to choose the way of life and carries us along the journey. Standing next to Jesus, Elijah and Moses point us to life always in the face of God. They stand for deep compassion for neighbors, and unfailing commitment to justice. They are ready to hear a new word from the Holy One, and have their lives turned around as they respond. They are the spirit of hope against all odds. Their hope in a better way, walking with God, is at the very foundation of our story. Look all the way in.
Seeing Jesus transforms us. The sight of Jesus shining in the way of God transfigures us. Jesus’ intention is to change the lives of all who encounter Him. Let us be as clear as Lake Superior about this: the change is for right now—right now, every day, today. For most of us, transformation to a life fully in the way of Jesus will not happen before death. We are too busy getting through reports, homework, team projects, household chores, taxes, dentist appointments and the rest that we do not have energy or time to offer ourselves fully to the neighbors around us. Almost two thousand years after His life, we go back to the story of Jesus over and over because every day—every day!—each one of us is still trying to learn the way. The good news, the great gospel news, is that because of Jesus, the burden of perfection is gone. His love includes us as we are, whether it’s morning and you really don’t want to talk to anybody else, or late in the day feeling that the whole world needs to take a hike. It’s okay. Jesus shines for all of us, opening space for us to stumble and bumble our way into some kind of new community, to risk conversations and ideas and new friendships. As soon as we step into that space, we start to be transformed. It is all about now. In the story in Luke, Peter, James and John are flummoxed by the sight of Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Peter can’t stand just to stand there, so he blabs some nonsense about building huts for the three of them. It’s okay. Jesus meets us in the middle of our confusion, and calls us to new possibilities. Seeing Jesus changes us.
So, how do we change? How much do we change? The apostle Paul wrote about our transformation in Jesus. Jesus is the new beginning of the human race, and indeed of all creation. Paul’s words about the difference between perishable bodies and resurrection bodies are most often interpreted both as a promise of life continuing beyond death, AND a caution that it will be so different from our current life that there is no use speculating about it. We should also see something closer to our skin right now. In his Letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that we have been buried with Christ by baptism, so that just as Christ was raised from death, we too might walk in newness of life.[4] But this is not about heaven, at least not first of all. Baptism happens in this life, and for this life, as a sign of the transforming power of life in Jesus. “I die every day!” wrote Paul.[5] In the shining light of Jesus, we are raised right now, and every day, from life focused on death to life formed and filled by love. When we give to support our neighbors through our food pantry, we are raised in His shining image. When we cover our cardboard bus for Franklin School with pencils and notebooks in the fall and winter clothes right now, we are raised up. When we take time to learn the concerns and joys of others in these pews, we are raised. When we as individuals make the effort to invite friends to find a place here with us in a community of service and love, we are most certainly raised. When we finally understand that salvation is not about us, not about me and Jesus, but about living the way of God for all our neighbors, then we are indeed raised up in Jesus, right now, and we are already saved. We are transformed. When we really see Jesus, we are completely new. In the light of Jesus, everything changes.
Many things about God are mysterious, and learning new ways is challenging. We are not alone on the journey, and there are things we can discover about how to shape our lives: serve your neighbors, work for justice, live every day in hope of being able to make the world better. Jesus lights the way.