Glimpses of Jesus Mark 9: 2 - 9

             One December morning, during a trip to my hometown, I set out to visit someone in the hospital.  Backing out of the garage, I was met by a thick blanket of fog, and I was a little concerned about driving 40 miles in low visibility.  But these were my stomping grounds; I had grown up here; I knew the route.  I found that if I moderated my speed, I could see far enough to brake for cars slowing down ahead.  And I knew the roads well enough to anticipate intersections where cars might pull out in front of me. As I drove on, the visibility deteriorated.  Even slowing down to 30 mph I could see only 2 or 3 stripes ahead on the road.  Fear began to outweigh the disappointment of a missed visit with a sick friend.  Reluctantly, I found a place to turn around and headed back to my Mom’s house. 

            Sometimes, along my faith journey, I feel like I’m traveling in a fog.  There are times in my life when I set out with a clear vision of the path God has laid out for me.  But somehow, somewhere along the way, the clouds of doubt and fear, busyness and fatigue, misunderstandings and misplaced priorities settle around me.  The fog rolls in, and I can’t even see 2 stripes on the road ahead of me.  All I hear are the voices of naysayers.  And I wonder—am I still traveling the route God is planning for my life? Or did I miss a turn? I pray for the clouds to lift. I pray for revelation. I pray for a glimpse of Jesus.

            Peter, James, and John experience a revelation in today’s text. Inviting them away from the crowds and from the other disciples, Jesus leads them up a mountain.  Reaching the top, he is transfigured—changed in appearance, clothed in dazzling white robes, and flanked by Moses, the law-giver and Elijah the prophet. The disciples realize something important is happening, but they don’t fully understand.  How many of us ever do truly understand when we experience a God-moment?  A thick fog envelops the mountain.  The disciples cannot even see their hands in front of them.  They are paralyzed with fear.  Then they hear God speaking.  “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.”  The fog lifts. They see Jesus, only Jesus.  “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

            The disciples get a glimpse of Jesus on the mountaintop. He is revealed as God’s son. But the disciples have to piece this glimpse together with all the other glimpses they get during Jesus’ ministry in order to really know who he is.  What other glimpses have they had of him?  Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law; Jesus restoring the leper to cleanliness and community; Jesus releasing the man paralyzed by his sins; Jesus feeding the hungry crowds; Jesus calming the storm’s waves and wind.  What glimpses are they yet to see? Jesus the suffering servant, not the military or political hero. Jesus crucified.  For the evangelist Mark, all of these glimpses are necessary to know who Jesus is.  And for Mark, who Jesus is—his identity—reveals the good news.

            Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus to the mountaintop and there beheld his glory in this transfiguration experience.  They lived with him for the 3 years of his ministry—seeing with their own eyes his acts of healing; hearing with their own ears his words of forgiveness; smelling with their own noses and tasting with their own tongues the food he miraculously provided and shared; and touching with their own hands his body that had been transfigured —clothed in heavenly, dazzling white up there on that mountain.  With their own senses they experienced revelation. 

            But what about us—2000 years later?  Where is our revelation?  Here—in the Bible.  Noted 20^th century Reformed theologian, Karl Barth said that Jesus is the Word of God (That’s Word with a capital W.) and we encounter him in the word of God (That’s word with a lower case w).  Jesus is revealed to us in the Bible.  How?—in our daily Bible reading—listening to the words and the way they speak to us in our quiet, alone time.  And Jesus is revealed in our group Bible study.  On Sunday mornings we are discussing a book—Why Jesus Matters.  The author weaves scripture, tradition, and the history of the church to reveal Jesus to us.  Reflecting on what the author says and listening to the others in the Sunday School class, I find myself challenged to articulate what I know and what I believe about Jesus.  And articulating it in the safety of our Sunday School class with people who love each other prepares us to articulate it Monday through Saturday with people we work among and play with and live next door to.

            Jesus is revealed in group Bible study.  On Wednesday mornings, about 13 of us have been gathering to read and discuss a different parable each week. These parables are very familiar to me.  I preached on one them recently.  I gave talks at spiritual renewal retreats on another of them.  I have studied these parables forward and backward and yet—every week, I experience a new revelation as I listen to and participate in the discussion. 

              Group Bible study—Our Presbyterian Women meet monthly—this year studying the Beatitudes.  Because this group of women have been studying together for several years, they have developed a relationship of trust among each other. They feel safe and free to ask deep, probing questions—of the text and of the written study.  Group Bible study—I look forward to our Lenten study of the gospel of Mark and how Jesus will be revealed to us through Mark’s lens. We experience revelation of the good news of Jesus the Christ through Bible study—individual and group.

            Jesus can also be revealed through our relationships with others.  We see Jesus shining through the actions and interactions of family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers.  But you know what, when those interactions reveal Jesus, it’s generally because they grow out of the study of God’s word—familiarity with the stories of God’s activity in human history; familiarity with the the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; familiarity with the story of the early church learning to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  When those interactions reveal Jesus, they generally grow out of the study of God’s word—familiarity with its language—language of love and forgiveness, language of love and justice, language of love and service. 

            Another avenue through which Jesus is revealed is through our conversation with God—our time of prayer—of talking to, of listening for, and of sitting in the presence of God.  And we experience revelation of Jesus through worship, for our time of worship combines Bible study, fellowship, and prayer.

            When the fog settles in—when the clouds of doubt and fear, busyness and fatigue, misunderstandings and misplaced priorities settle around us, we need to see Jesus.

We need revelation—revelation that comes in the glimpses of God’s reign breaking in the here and now—through healing and reconciliation, through feeding and clothing, through teaching and learning and inviting. The fog does lift. We can and do and will see Jesus.  For he is here among us, and nothing can separate us from his love.