February 11, 2024 homily on Mark 9:2-9 by Pastor Galen for Transfiguration Sunday
A Winning Team
This week I had a flashback to when the Ravens were in the Super Bowl, and how dynamic it felt to be in Baltimore. It felt like the whole city was lit up in purple, and there was this spirit of euphoria everywhere you went.
I played on my high school’s soccer team, but we were not really a winning team. In fact, we had the worst record in the whole league. During my last 3 years in high school, we only won a total of two games. But I do remember how good it felt when we won that one game during my senior year in high school! We felt like we were walking on air. You would have thought we were the league champions!
I have to wonder if that’s how it felt for Peter, James and John when they saw Jesus’s glory revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration. The majority of the time, Jesus’s divinity was hidden. He walked around looking like a regular person. His clothes were not always freshly pressed, his hair was not always in place. His feet were probably muddy most of the time from walking the dirt roads of Galilee. But in those brief moments on the mountaintop, his appearance was changed. The veil was torn away, and his glory was revealed.
Up there on the mountaintop, it was made clear to these three disciples who Jesus really was and is. Moses and Elisha appeared with Jesus, representing the fact that the law and prophets had all been pointing forward to Jesus. A cloud overshadowed them, and a voice called from heaven, saying, “’This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’” (Mark 9:7).
What an amazing experience! Standing there, seeing Jesus revealed in all of his glory, the best way I can describe it is that the disciples must have felt like they were on the winning team. They could have been called to follow any teacher, but they had been called to follow Jesus. And now they had received a glimpse of who he really was! No wonder Peter suggested they build dwellings there on the mountain! They must have wanted to stay up there on that mountain forever, just soaking in that euphoric feeling. Surely it must have felt like they were on the winning team.
Back Down the Mountain
But they couldn’t stay up there forever. They had to come back down the mountain. And when they did, they had to interact with people who had never experienced what they had just experienced. The other disciples, the crowds of people who followed Jesus, the religious leaders of the day—none of them had been up there on the mountain. None of them had seen Jesus’ glory revealed in the way Peter, James, and John had.
Jesus told Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone what they had experienced, but the disciples probably figured that no one would have believed them anyway. And so they walked around, holding on to a secret that could not be revealed until after Jesus had died and resurrected and ascended back into heaven.
Surely when the going got rough, Peter, James, and John must have wished that they could go back up there on that mountain. Surely when people doubted Jesus’s message or failed to grasp who he really was, the disciples must have wished that others could see Jesus’ glory revealed in the same way they had seen and experienced. But they had to wait and be patient. They had to trust the process, and continue to follow Jesus and be faithful to Jesus, knowing that they were indeed on the winning team, even when it didn’t feel like it, and that all would be revealed in time.
Mountaintop Experiences
As I reflected this week on the profound experience that Peter, James, and John had on the mountaintop, only to return to a world where others hadn’t shared their experience, it struck me that we as Christians may sometimes feel this way today as well. We too may feel a similar disconnect between our mountaintop experiences with God and our everyday interactions with those who haven’t shared those experiences.
Maybe there was a time when you felt like you heard God speaking to you, or sensed God’s presence in a powerful or profound way. Maybe you felt an overwhelming assurance of God’s love or experienced God’s provision undeniably. Maybe you obeyed God’s call to go in a radically new direction.
Whether you’ve ever experienced one of these “mountaintop” experiences in your life or not, my hope and my prayer is that every time you come to church (or when you read these sermons), you would experience God’s presence. That you would feel a connection to the Living God, and each and every one of us would experience the warmth and encouragement of a loving and caring community that points us toward Christ.
The structure of our worship service is designed to create space for us to experience God. We gather together, we greet one another, and we prepare ourselves to worship. Then the leader calls us to worship, and we sing songs that direct our focus and attention toward God. We hear the Word proclaimed through Scripture, and expounded through a sermon. And then we are invited to respond to the Word in various ways: through songs, and prayer and reflection. We give of our tithes and offerings, and even this is an opportunity for us to remember and experience God’s provision in our lives. On communion Sundays, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us when he gave himself for us on the cross, and we partake together in communion.
But then we are sent forth. Back to our homes, back to our families, back to our friends and neighbors and coworkers. We come back down the mountain and interact with many people who have not just had the experience that we’ve just had They’ve not heard the Word that we’ve heard, or been called to respond in the way that we have. For them, Sunday morning is just like any other morning. And so we wonder, how can we possibly describe the goodness of God to those who have not seen or experienced God’s glory?
Sharing our Story
Well, one of the methodologies of pointing people towards Christ is to share our story. Sometimes this is called “witnessing” or “testifying.” It’s sharing our story of how God has changed or transformed us, or how we’ve experienced God working in our life, or answering our prayers. I would encourage us to do this as we can. It is good to share our story—or rather, the stories of how God has been at work in our lives. These stories can help others get just a glimpse of God’s glory, and may help them to desire to experience God for themselves.
But sometimes we may feel a bit like Peter, James, and John coming back down the mountain. It’s not that Jesus has prohibited us from telling our story. In fact, when Jesus was getting ready to ascend into heaven, he gave us the Great Commission, and instructed us to make disciples of all nations (see Matt. 26:19).
But in many ways, our society has discouraged us from sharing our personal religious experiences with others. When it comes to “polite” conversation, religion is right up there with “death” and “politics” of topics that we’re told to avoid. And often we may think to ourselves, “Even if I did share my story with others, they probably wouldn’t believe me anyway!”
Still, we can and should look for opportunities to share about God’s goodness with others, when the time is right, and if we can do so in a winsome and loving way that points people to God’s love.
Following Jesus in a Post-Christian Society
But if you feel a bit like Peter, James, and John—like you’re surrounded by people who don’t seem to understand, or who have never experienced God in a meaningful and profound way, you’re probably not the only one who feels that way.
People who study these sorts of things say that we as Americans are living today in a post-Christian society. There was a time in our society when it was much easier for Christians to feel like we were on the winning team. As recently as the 1980’s, over 70% of Americans were members of a church or a synagogue or mosque. Today that number is less than 50%.1 And church attendance numbers are even worse. About 25% of Americans say that they attend church regularly.2 However, one researcher used cell phone data to determine exactly how many people are actually in church on any given week, and found that only about 8% of Americans attend church on any given Sunday! And only 3% of Americans attending church weekly.3 (Apparently many people like to think that they attend church more regularly than they actually do!)
Of course, it is possible for someone to have an encounter with God without going to church. But I think these numbers help put things into perspective for us. If we feel like we’re surrounded by many people who do not know the Jesus that we know, who have not experienced God’s glory in a meaningful and powerful way, that may be true.
And so, how do we live in the midst of such a post-Christian world? What does it mean for us to be a community church that seeks to make disciples of Jesus Christ in a society where the overwhelming majority of people do not attend church regularly? Do we walk around smugly with the knowledge that we’re on the winning team, and just bide our time until Jesus returns, when the world will finally see and know who Jesus is? Do we walk around condemning the world, criticizing everyone who isn’t living the way Jesus would have them live? I hope not!
Trusting a Christian
Several years ago, a study was done of people who recently came to faith in Christ. These were largely people who had not attended church while they were growing up, or people who had not been following Christ for many years. While conducting interviews with people who had recently come to faith in Christ, the researchers discovered 5 stages, or “thresholds” that people tended to go through on their journey towards Christ. 4
The first stage, interestingly enough, is “Trusting a Christian.” Many of these folks had had negative experiences with or stereotypes of Christians. But having a Christian in their life that they could trust often helped them take a first step towards Christ.
The other 4 stages were: curiosity, openness to change, seeking, and then following. Someone can go through these stages quickly, or over the course of a lifetime. And of course, not everyone will choose to follow Christ. But for folks who have never learned to recognize God at work in their lives in a meaningful or profound way, the first step they often take toward Christ is learning to trust a Christian.
Conclusion
And so this morning, as we interact in a world where many people have never experienced the love and the mercy of God in a real and powerful way as we have, may we ask God to help us be the Christians that those around us can learn to trust. May we hold on to those experiences and encounters that we’ve had with God, and may we be willing to share our story as the folks in our lives learn to trust us, and then become curious, and open to change. May we be on the lookout for those people in our lives who are seeking Christ, and may we invite them to follow Jesus along with us. And may we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.
Amen!
- https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx ↩︎
- https://jabberwocking.com/how-many-people-really-attend-church/ ↩︎
- https://twitter.com/Devin_G_Pope/status/167955451656209206 ↩︎
- https://www.ivpress.com/i-once-was-lost ↩︎
Hampden United Methodist Church 