2 Cor. 4:3-6; Mark 9:2-9
For
many of my brothers and sisters preaching this morning this text explodes from
the pages with an affirmation that our God and our God alone is holy and
sacred. A few preachers, blinded by the allure of postmodernism and haunted by
the possibility that the religious tapestry of this world might carry more
legitimacy than some might wish to consider, groan under the weight of Paul’s
glorious claim.
Simply put, a
traditional reading of this text begins and ends with the confirmation that
Christ is Lord. Any pertinent knowledge to be gathered concerning the nature of
God is initiated and confirmed by staring deeply into the face of Jesus. That
said, I know that you are a group of devout and intelligent folks who cringe
when any religious conversation begins with those two dismissive words, “Simply
put.”
Understanding God is
not simple. Knowledge of God is an ageless mystery that has confronted every
culture of humankind. Is declaring “Jesus is Lord” the beginning and the end of
any dialogue or does this affirmation limit us from participating in other
conversations? I invite you to join me on a journey this morning. It is a
journey which will encourage you to cling to your own affirmations concerning
God yet ask you to be open to other conflicting voices.
Our journey begins in
Corinth. Early in his missionary journeys Paul helped to establish a church in that
cosmopolitan city. From the day the first metaphorical stone was laid, the
foundation of that church was out of balance. The congregation was composed and
dominated by varying traditions and cultures. Some were Jewish converts who had
been raised on the gifts of the Torah. Others were more familiar with varying
Greek and Roman traditions. It was Paul’s design to bring them together as one
in Christ.
It was a noble
experiment, but one that caused Paul a great deal of pain. Paul, trying to use
language familiar to the Jewish converts, spoke of Christ as the new covenant
who was exposing them to a new law. Immediately this raised questions
concerning the Law of Moses. Paul found himself in a quandary and used an
analogy that might not have been particularly helpful.
In the initial chapters
of Second Corinthians Paul stated that the new law of God was not written in stone
but on human hearts. Furthermore Paul argued while Moses had viewed this glory,
a veil was placed over his face to keep the Israelites from seeing the glory of
God. But with the resurrection of Christ, the veil was removed, revealing both the
face of God and the promise of life eternal.
So what’s the problem?
It seems in celebrating the power of the resurrection, Paul unintentionally throws
Moses under the bus. Let me state this differently. If I asked you, “What is
the ultimate goal of your religious experience,” how would you respond?
Here are some
frequently given answers:
To
live eternally with God;
To
be reunited with family and friends forever;
To
love God with all my heart, soul, and mind;
To
love my neighbor as I love myself;
To
strive for inner peace;
To
enjoy enlightenment and the highest wisdom;
To
discover spiritual emancipation;
To
affirm there is no god but God;
To
live in harmony with God;
To
enjoy God and glorify God forever.
Which if any one of
those answers would you eliminate based on your faith journey? I doubt it will
surprise you that each of those answers come from our own Christian tradition.
What might startle you is that most of those answers also are also celebrated
by other religious tenets outside the Christian experience. A major separation between most religions
comes in how one celebrates and defines heaven. In all religions other than
Christianity entrance to a heavenly reward is based on human action. As
Christians, our key to eternity is understood through the incarnation and
resurrection of the one we call Jesus. God became human and lived among us. To
quote our Presbyterian Brief Statement of
Faith, “God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.”
That is a critically unique presupposition in understanding who we are as
Christians. In order to drive this point
home, instead of celebrating the glorious inclusiveness of God, Paul appears to
negate the very essence Judaism, that being the Law of Moses.
You might think I am
nit-picking but historically the third and fourth chapters of Second
Corinthians have been consistently used to develop sermons that were not only
anti-Jewish but became the springboard legitimizing violence by Christians
toward Jews for over 2,000 years. Is that really what Paul intended? Certainly
not. Paul wanted the folks in Corinth to celebrate the uniqueness of Christ. But
I also believe Paul wanted them to live life as Jesus lived it. The foundations
of that lifestyle rest solely in those commandments written in stone.
Today is
Transfiguration Sunday. It is the Sunday we celebrate a mystical occurrence
when three of the disciples witnessed a holy moment as Jesus stood between
Moses and the prophet Elijah. As the clouds of heaven swirled around these
prominent figures of not just one but three religions, the disciples of our
Lord heard God declare, “This is my son; listen to him.” What God did not say was,
“This is my son; ignore what you have heard from the past.”
The three religions
that originate from Abraham define themselves through moments on a mountain.
Moses goes to Sinai to discover something about the essence of God and is given
the Ten Commandments. When Moses returns, God reveals God’s self as gracious,
merciful, slow to anger, and steadfast in love. God was saying to Moses, “If
you desire to keep my commandments, go down the mountain and tell my people to
act like I act.”
Moses partner at the
Transfiguration, Elijah, had his own mountain top experiences. The first was
Mount Carmel when Elijah stood toe to toe with 450 prophets of Baal. At the end
of the day, only Elijah remained standing.
Unfortunately Jezebel was not at Carmel. When word reached her of
Elijah’s victory she put a bounty out on his head. The prophet escaped to Mount
Horeb where he hid out in a cave. When God finally spoke to Elijah, the words
were hardly complimentary. “Elijah, what are you doing here?”
Elijah quickly
responded, “I did everything you asked but Israel has forsaken you. I am the
only one left who worships you and they want to kill me.”
God said, “Go out and
stand on the ledge.” A great wind came up, then a storm with rain and
lightning. Elijah feared for his life. Then there was silence. Finally the
voice of God said once again, “Elijah what are you doing here. Return to the
valley.” The message was loud and clear. First, Elijah could not hide from
life. And second, no one, not even Jezebel, could stand against the word of
God.
The third man standing
between Moses and Elijah on Mount Hermon was Jesus. His inspiration also came from
the mountains. Be it the Sermon on the Mount or Golgotha, the mountain top
moments of Jesus were divine. But his
inspirational words and deeds were observed in the valley.
Even if we go beyond
the Judeo-Christian tradition, Mohammed climbed Mt Hira and was visited by the
angel Gabriel. In a series of vision Mohammad was given what we now call the
Koran. Mohammed considered the ethical teachings of both Moses and Jesus to be
divinely inspired. The first commandment of Islamic teaching and the first
commandment of Mosaic Law are identical, “There is but one God.” When the
visions were complete, Mohammed was not allowed to stay in the safety of the
cave. He was commanded to return to the valley and share his visions.
Moses, Elijah, Jesus
even Mohammed found inspiration in the mountains. But the followers of each of
these religions lived exactly where we live today, in the valley. The valley is
filled with contradictions. The valley is filled with confusion. Sometimes the valley is even filled with
hate. Worst of all, often that hate is experienced and even initiated from
those who claim Moses, or Mohammed, or even Jesus to be their inspiration.
It pains me that words
of compassion, words of reconciliation, words of love, words initiating from God
can become so twisted when they make their way to the valley.
I know God through the
inspiration and the resurrection of the one we call Jesus. He is my Lord. He is
my savior. And he said, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
Ellie Wiesel knows God
through the inspiration of the one called Yahweh. Wiesel claims Yahweh to be
the Master of the Universe. Wiesel also claims Yahweh as the one who said,
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Sami Rosouli knows God
through the inspiration of the one he calls Allah. Born in Iraq, Rosouli speaks
for millions of Muslims who have always understood Allah to say, “Love your
neighbor as yourself.”
Each of us, in our own
way, anxiously waits to see the face of God.
Each of us, in our own
way, earnestly listens for the voice of God.
But sometimes, in the desire
to be faithful, what is seen and heard is compromised by voices of fear and
confusion who try to isolate God from the rest of God’s creation.
Then God, or Yahweh,
or Allah responds, “If you love Me with all your heart, soul, and mind, you
will love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
By doing so the light
of God shines on each of us.
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