Loving God, we give you thanks for the gift of holy moments and the light of Christ that continues to shine in the darkness.  Help us to hear your call to shine that light wherever help is needed; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Whatever else this experience on the mountaintop might be, it is a holy moment.  It is an experience for Peter, James and John where they know that the glory of God is real, and they know who Jesus is, and they know that even those who lived long ago are alive to God.  It is an experience that will strengthen them in their faith and that they will remember for many years to come.  We can think of this as a mountaintop experience.  We can think of it as a spiritual experience.  We can think of it as an “aha!” moment when the power of God is real and they realize who Jesus really is.

    It can be difficult at times for us to relate to a story like this.  Some of us might wish that we could be on a mountaintop with Jesus, in the presence of the glory of God, but many of us might feel as though this is totally out of the realm of our experience.  In order to explore this a little bit this morning, I’m wondering how many of you have ever had an experience that you would classify as a holy moment – an experience where you knew for sure that God was present and active....

    I’m asking this because not everybody has experiences like this.  Only three of the disciples were present on the mountain, and the rest of them only heard about it later.  The interesting thing is that even the ones who were on the mountain with Jesus had times when they seemed to forget all about the glory of God that they had seen in Jesus.  They still run away in fear when Jesus is arrested.  Peter still denies three times that he even knows Jesus.  There are times when the darkness is so great that it is difficult to remember the light.

    So why not just stay on the mountain?  Why not build some booths, as Peter suggests, and stay awhile?  As nice as that might have been, Jesus knew that he couldn’t just stay there and hang out on the mountain with God.  There was a world full of hurting people out there who needed his healing touch.  There were people out there who desperately needed to hear some good news and to know that God loves them.  And he was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew the kind of death that awaited him.  Yet, he also knew that it was only the way of the cross that was going to bring life.

    One of the things that I most appreciated about the Palestine of Jesus course that I took in the Holy Land was the way in which it ended.  One of our last stops was Kiriath-Jearim, which had been the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept up until King David had it carried to Jerusalem.  The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of the presence of God and had the word of God within it in the form of the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments.  At Kiriath-Jearim, there is a church that honours Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the one who carried the living Word of God within her.

    As the course came to an end, we were reminded that we also would carry the Word of God and the presence of God with us as we left.  Rather than staying in those holy places, we would carry the experience with us, along with the presence and power of God.  Thinking in these terms made it easier to leave a place that had given me so many experiences of holy moments, and I continue to go back in my mind to those holy places.  As I do so, it gives me something to hang on to during those times that are difficult and tiring and distressing.

    One would think that seeing Jesus in his future glory must have had the same effect for Peter, James and John – in spite of the fact that some of the things they would experience were so traumatic that they would temporarily forget about it.  In fact, it is no accident that both before and after this mountaintop experience, we hear about taking up your cross and denying yourself and suffering and death.  While those who believe in Jesus certainly can and do experience holy moments, experiencing ridicule or persecution or suffering are also part of believing in Jesus.

    The thing is that we continue to live in a world where so many cry out for healing and for freedom and for the knowledge and experience of the love of God.  While some try to make faith in Jesus into “happy, happy, joy, joy” all the time, this is simply not possible when we take seriously God’s call to follow in the way of the cross -- and yet you can still have joy in the midst of suffering.  We continue to be the “God-bearers” – the ones who carry the love of Christ within us and pass it on to those who need it the most.

    You may have heard recently about Kayla Mueller - a twenty-five year-old American aid worker who was kidnaped and killed by ISIS.  In many ways, her story is a prime example of what it means to deny yourself and to take up your cross.  In her case, her mission in life was to stand up for those who were suffering and to do whatever she could to help them.  This was how she ended up working in Syria.

    Kayla was kidnaped in August 2013 and was imprisoned by ISIS militants.  While in prison, she slowly worked on a letter to her parents that she hoped would one day be smuggled out by one of the other prisoners.  In her letter, she wrote about how in the end, “the only one you really have is God.”  She also wrote about how “even in prison, one can be free.”  Her faith continued to be her strength, and the thing that bothered her the most was how much her parents were worrying about her.  She didn’t care so much about her own situation, but more about the pain it was causing her family.

    It was only recently that proof of her death was sent to her family.  In refusing to play it safe or to ignore the needs of those living in dangerous places, Kayla really did deny herself and take up her cross.  And even though she lost her life because of her faith, really, she found it.  For, even in prison, she was free.

    Of course, not everybody will feel God’s call to go and help people in foreign lands.  There are plenty of people who are suffering right here!  Yet, will we listen to God when we are called, and are we willing to deny ourselves for Jesus’ sake?  As unappealing as it all might sound, these verses that we heard today reflect the same truth that Jesus knew - that only the way of the cross would lead to life.

    Yes, there is still suffering, and yes, there are still people in need.  That is why we can’t just hang out on the mountaintop.  However, we do not get sent out alone.  Instead, we carry the light of Christ within us, and we carry with us those holy moments that we have experienced, and God places upon us the Holy Spirit.  And oddly enough, even in the midst of pain and suffering, we discover the life that truly is life.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Transfiguration (NL 1)                            Matthew 16:24-17:8
February 15, 2015
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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