Matthew 17:1-9
Listen to Him!
James Sledge February
23, 2020
Lately
I’ve been thinking about quitting Facebook. Too much nastiness there, too many
conspiracy theories, too much political manipulation. And maybe Mark Zuckerberg
might address some of the damage Facebook does to our society if enough people
quit using it.
But
then some colleague or notable person that I follow posts something wonderful
that I would never have seen otherwise. That happened the other day when
Frederick Buechner posted something on his page. I may yet ditch Facebook, but
I’m glad I saw Buechner’s post.
For
those who don’t know of him, Buechner is a Presbyterian pastor who’s probably better
known for his novels, essays, and short stories. The other day he posted something
from an old book of his. It’s a bit longer than the typical sermon quote, but I
hope you’ll indulge me.
PREPOSITIONS CAN
BE VERY ELEGANT. A man is "in" architecture or a woman is
"in" teaching, we say, meaning that is what they do weekdays and how
they make enough money to enjoy themselves the rest of the time. But if we say
they are "into" these things, that is another story. "Into"
means something more like total immersion. They live and breathe what they do.
They take it home with them nights. They can't get enough of it. To be
"into" books means that just the sight of a signed first edition of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland sets your heart pounding. To be "in"
books means selling them at B. Dalton's.
Along similar
lines, New Testament Greek speaks of believing "into" rather than
believing "in." In English we can perhaps convey the distinction best
by using either "in" or no preposition at all.
Believing in God
is an intellectual position. It need have no more effect on your life than
believing in Freud's method of interpreting dreams or the theory that Sir
Francis Bacon wrote Romeo and Juliet.
Believing God is
something else again. It is less a position than a journey, less a realization
than a relationship. It doesn't leave you cold like believing the world is
round. It stirs your blood like believing the world is a miracle. It affects
who you are and what you do with your life like believing your house is on fire
or somebody loves you.
We believe in
God when for one reason or another we choose to do so. We believe God when
somehow we run into God in a way that by and large leaves us no choice to do otherwise.
When Jesus says
that whoever believes "into" him shall never die, he does not mean
that to be willing to sign your name to the Nicene Creed guarantees eternal
life. Eternal life is not the result of believing in. It is the experience of believing.[1]
I
wonder if the events of this morning’s gospel reading aren’t inviting us into
something a bit like what Buechner describes. He talks about running into God
in a way that leaves us with no choice but to believe, and surely something
like that happens to Peter, James, and John. If ever there were a “mountaintop
experience, this is one. Seeing Jesus there, his face glowing as Moses’ once
did on Mt Sinai; this was something they would never forget.
There
on the mountaintop, both Peter and Jesus speak, but their words aren’t really
critical to the story. That happens when God speaks. God says two things. The
first identifies Jesus. “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am
well pleased.” This is an echo from Jesus’ baptism, although it is not
exactly clear who heard God then of if they understood. But here, three
disciples see Moses and Elijah, and they clearly understand the significance of
Jesus taking his place amongst the Law and the Prophets, the pillars of Judaism.
Jesus
is God’s Son, God’s Messiah, the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. That
is a belief that most Christians will agree to, although that belief – a “belief
in,” perhaps – does not necessarily lead people to embrace the second thing God
says. “Listen to him!”
Who
do you listen to? I’m not talking about just hearing them but about someone who
could cause you to change your mind or plans. Is there a voice that could lead
you to abandon what you had once thought a certainty, that could alter the trajectory
of your life?
We
live in a world where there are few acknowledged voices of authority. When I
was growing up and Walter Cronkite finished the nightly news with, “And that’s
the way it is,” most everyone accepted that that indeed was how things were.
Nowadays, we live in a sea, a glut of
information, and very often, we seek out the information that conforms to what
we already believe. Conservatives watch Fox News and liberals MSNBC. Social
media can become echo chambers for the like-minded. We like and share posts
that agree with us, and tune out those don’t. Who, then, can challenge us?
___________________________________________________________________________
Today
is a special day on the Christian calendar called Transfiguration of the Lord.
It is observed every year on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the start of
Lent. Traditionally. Ash Wednesday features a litany of penitence, along with
the imposition of ashes. It is an acknowledgment of human frailty and failing.
“Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Many
of us aren’t real big on penitence, though. It’s a downer and makes us feel bad
about ourselves. It certainly can turn into self-flagellation or feelings of
guilt and failure heaped onto us. Yet absent any notion of a basic human
tendency toward sinful, selfish behavior, absent an awareness of the finite,
limited nature of humanity, then all my problems are either my fault, or
someone else’s. Either I failed, or they did.
If
I’m not happy, I must have done something wrong. If I’m not rich enough, I
didn’t work hard enough. If my children don’t excel, I’m a bad parent. Whatever
you are struggling with right now, it’s someone’s fault. If your faith is a
mess, you didn’t pray correctly or learn the right spiritual practices. Having
relationship problems? It’s because you haven’t worked hard enough at it, or
maybe you’re not the perfect match. If some decision you were absolutely sure
about blew up in your face, it’s because you missed something. Or someone did
something to undermine you. That is unless a certain amount of failure,
self-destructive behavior, best laid plans that still fail, and hurting each
other in relationships is simply inevitable because we are human.
I find it incredibly liberating to
realize that I am a sinful human, prone to do things I shouldn’t and failing to
do things I should, that I need help, even a Savior, perhaps. It allows me to
forgive myself, and it helps me be more understanding and forgiving of others.
__________________________________________________________________________
“Listen
to me!” parents sometimes say to small children. They say it because they
understand that children are children, that they will get themselves in trouble
otherwise.
“Listen to him!” God says. These
are not the words of a tyrant but of a loving parent. Yet truly accepting that
requires more than simply “believing in” God. It requires some sort of
encounter. It requires what Frederick Buechner calls “believing into,” to “run
into God in a way that by and large leaves us no choice to do otherwise.”
Have
you encountered Jesus, encountered God, like that? It’s not about being good
enough, smart enough, trying hard enough, knowing the Bible well enough, going
to church enough, or any other enough. It’s not something you can make happen,
but it may require a little risk on your part, a willingness to open yourself
to a presence, a voice, that could alter your life.
“This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well
please; listen to him!”
All
praise and glory to the God who comes to us in the person of Jesus, and invites
us to follow him and learn the way of life.
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