Today's Meditation
Read Matthew 17:1-13
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 12but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
This passage is recorded in all three of what is known as, the synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which record many of the same stories and accounts. It is not recorded in John, which departs from those three in many ways. I've preached on this passage nearly every year since 1988. In fact, it was my "candidating sermon" for two small churches that I served in Southeast Ohio for two years. It's difficult to think about new things to say about this passage each year. However, this month, as a white ally, I have been concentrating on highlighting the cause, plight, and movement of Black Americans and Black Lives Matter...helping to shed just a little bit of light to my Christian brothers and sisters. I was reminded of Martin Luther King Jr's speech a month before he was assassinated called, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" and immediately thought of Moses going up to Mt. Nebo to the top of Pisgah and looking over into the Promised Land and of this passage when Jesus took his closest friends to Mt. Tabor and was transfigured before them.
We often think that the mountaintop experience is the "height of enlightenment". It is there that we see what God has promised us; a holy, promised land (for Moses), the revelation of Christ as Messiah (for Peter, James and John), or the completion of a long journey toward equality (for MJK). But it is in the valley of everyday living that we do the work that is required of us to "get there".
As in the lyrics to the final verse of the song listed below: "Lead us down those daily pathways, where our love is not confined".
If ever I had a theme for my preaching and teaching, it would be this: our love towards ourselves, one another, all of creation, and God conquers everything. The act, thought, and living out of LOVE is still work. It is not always easy. It sometimes comes at great cost. Love transforms us as it did Moses, Messiah, and Martin. Love is our gift back to our creator as it was God's gift to us.
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