Listen!

Mark 9:2-8 (NRSV) 2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

It is interesting to me that Jesus takes these three characters with him to the mountain top. The language is emphatic, apart, by themselves. Jesus and this inner circle of imperfect men get a glimpse of glory. Was it a moment of authentication? Was Jesus giving these three the inside scoop to what was really going on? Was it a moment to say, “Even if the veil was lifted and you could see what was really going on, you would still say stupid things?”

How did they know it was Elijah and Moses? Did Jesus make the introductions? Were they wearing name tags? Of course, we move right past those odd things and into the apparent point. God was speaking, had been speaking. God spoke through Moses and through Elijah. Israel has the Law and the Prophets. Now, behold, he does a new thing and speaks through the beloved Son. The point was to listen to God.

If we could see beyond the veil, how would we respond? Would we be struck dumb, as Peter was? Would it be awe-full? Would we be deeply moved and encouraged to know that God was still speaking, still involved in the mess down here? I think Jesus picked three guys that would talk about it. They weren’t afraid of sounding stupid.

Breaking News

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (NRSV) 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

What is the gospel? I think we have a tendency to reduce it to something that we can capture in a sound bite. The gospel is ‘death, burial, and resurrection,’ we might say. I would ask, to what end? What makes that GOOD news? What makes it NEWS? Jesus came saying that he was the truth. He did not come saying that I have some propositions for you (not that he did not have propositions). He came claiming that he was truth, that he was offering himself as an example of what was truly human, as the love of God for the world, as an invitation to a benevolent relationship with the Creator. Clearly there was an inversion of the usual way of things in the ‘breaking news.’ We who claim to know something about this news proclaim ourselves as ‘your slaves for Jesus’ sake.’

Is that our way? Jesus’ way of sacrifice? Would we become a slave to those we meet, to those we know, to those who trouble us, for Christ’s sake? It is in those moments that the light shines out of darkness. And every time the light shines….it is breaking news all over again!

Psalm 41 - The Blessing

Psalms 41:1-13 (NRSV) 1 Happy are those who consider the poor; the LORD delivers them in the day of trouble. 2 The LORD protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. 3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed; in their illness you heal all their infirmities. 4 As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you." 5 My enemies wonder in malice when I will die, and my name perish. 6 And when they come to see me, they utter empty words, while their hearts gather mischief; when they go out, they tell it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. 8 They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie. 9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. 11 By this I know that you are pleased with me; because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. 13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

I have been thinking about the whole idea of blessing. Happy (or blessed) are those who consider the poor. To be blessed is to manifest the presence of God. Those who pay attention to the poor are those who are living the blessed life, who are manifesting and cooperating in the work of Yahweh. Caring for the poor is not the job of some impersonal government. Caring for the poor is something that should interest those who consider themselves church people. And those who are cooperating with the interests of God are promised God’s attention.

It is interesting to me that the promise is not that you will not suffer or get sick. Jesus cares for the poor and he does not escape suffering or death. I wonder what it means to be healed. Healing and salvation seem to be seriously linked. Is it a cop-out to say that salvation is a matter of wholeness, of the ability to overcome brokenness? Salvation is a matter of re-integration, the sewing back together of that which has dis-integrated?

Some of us have a tendency to say that the sick are un-blessed. We might think, “Oh I escaped getting sick! What a blessing! God was looking out for me.” Those who do get sick…well they deserve what they get. They are reaping what they have sown, right?

Have you ever had the experience of being left by a friend who cannot bear your suffering? I have not felt that sting, but I believe that it happens. “A deadly thing has fastened on me.” A thing of Belial…a demonic thing, that is what the text says. Verse ten has an interesting little poetic twist. The Hebrew for “repay” has the same consonants as “bosom friend” in verse nine. It is also interesting that this prayer asks for permission to exercise vengeance. I think that is an honest response from a hurting heart. I suspect that God’s answer would be, “I think not. That is not your task.”

Why would God uphold this sufferer, if I were that sufferer? It would not be because of my integrity. I only have integrity if I have had some help (getting sewn back together). It is a mystery to me. God wants to bless, to set us in God’s Presence forever. That is the blessing, from ever-lasting to ever-lasting. Amen.

Isa 43 - A New Thing

Isaiah 43:18-25 (NRSV) 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. 22 Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! 23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. 24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities. 25 I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

What an interesting summary of the relationship between human beings, and especially those who choose to be church, and the God who formed them (us). There is a season to forget what has happened in the past, a season for the change in focus. For Israel, they were to forget the season of captivity, back when they were oppressed. How nice it would be to forget a relationship that was toxic, or a moment that we have been holding onto, those kinds of negative moments that we replay in our minds like videotape of a bad movie.

Moments, and words, define us. There was a book mentioned in the New York Times today (02 14 06) by Deborah Tannen. She is a linguist who studies the impact of conversation. The title of her book is _You’re Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation_. Tannen is seeing that we are powerfully impacted by the words that get spoken in relationships that matter to us. I wonder, if we could choose to forget the former things. Could we forget at least enough to be free, to look forward to a new thing that God might be doing in our lives? It must be possible. God claims to “make a way in the wilderness.” I like the metaphor of the wilderness for the journey of life…it is a challenge, a place where we cannot survive on our own. We need the community. We need Providence. However, we often live under the illusion that we are managing this life on our own.

“Yet you did not call on me.” We stop talking to God. We stop being sorry for trying to run the show, or for living unloving lives. We fret…a lot! What do we give God? What does God get out of this relationship with human beings? Not much, if the truth were told. I am mystified by God’s persistent attempts to remain in a relational with us (me). If I bring a sacrifice, it is really a disguise for a blessing for me! Could I give God the ‘fat portions”? I find that funny! God likes the fat portions? What I do give God is a burden. I give my sins. I weary God. Yet He remains the one who blots out my transgressions…for his own sake. Amazing.

What is God expecting from us (me)? Praise. He is expecting his church people to be priests for the world. We are to offer our sacrifices of praise to God for the sake of the world. We are to love the world that God loves, the whole world. The world is troubled. God loves the world. He sent His son. His Son sent those who would be disciples (the church). He did not call them to keep house, but to go love the world. God is about to do a new thing in the wilderness. He is doing it through the likes of us…for the sake of the world. Will we cooperate? Will we go along with the new thing, or are we stuck in the past? I wonder.