Transfiguration                             Luke 9:28-36                                      2/22/04

                                           "And Now The Silence"

Pecans in the Cemetery

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.

"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me, " said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he
thought he heard voices from inside the
cemetery.. He slowed down to
investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me. One for
you, one for me." He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off.

Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. "Come here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard! Satan
and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."

The man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk." When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled to
the cemetery.

Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you,
one for me..." The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord."

Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to
get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, "One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done."

They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the boy on the bike.

There’s an interesting parallel here to the reaction of the disciples at the Transfiguration.

The boy on the bike and the old man get scared out of their wits because they didn’t hear the whole dialog between the other boys. They don’t get it.

Likewise, the disciples don’t get it. Immediately preceding our lesson is the first passion prediction in which Jesus tells them that He must suffer, die and rise again. This is the central point of "the sayings" Jesus refers to in verse 28.

Having revealed this awful future, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a mountain where He shows them the awesome evidence of who He is. This is done to help them see beyond the immediate tragedy they will face. It is done to give them assurance and something to hold onto. They just don’t get it. They don’t understand that being a disciple isn’t about mountaintop experiences; it is about being down amidst the pain and suffering of the world. It is about giving your life for humanity.

But, because the disciples don’t get what Jesus mission is all about we have Peter suggesting they build shelters for Moses, Isaiah and for Jesus. There Jesus (and presumably the disciples) could stay with these notables of the faith in perpetual glory. Peter doesn’t get it even when he is told repeatedly. He would prefer to dwell in glory.

And in the midst of making this suggestion he is reduced to silence as the cloud settles on them and God virtually says, "Shut up and listen to wheat my Son is trying to tell you."

The disciples must put aside their assumptions of what the Messiah’s coming is all about. They must put aside their big plans and even their hopes for the future. They must be silent so they can listen to what Jesus says when they come down from the mountaintop.

Now the silence settles in and the disciples must prepare for the reality of what is to come.

Now the silence comes to us as well. Whatever assumptions or plans or hopes we bring to church, we must put them aside. We begin our service with thoughts of glory as we sing our "alleluias." We begin our reflection on these lessons with good humor and laughter. But, before the week is out, we must come down from the mountain, realizing that Epiphany - the days of joyous light - is over and Lent has begun. Now the silence of Jesus’ passion settles over us.

Thus, we too are told to listen. We are told to listen deeply as the story of God’s love unfolds on the cross. We are told to listen in silence to how that story of suffering is meant to be our transfiguration, lifting us from our state of sin to the state of true glory because we have been washed in the blood of Christ and made God’s own.

And now the silence will tell us that the journey toward the cross is about to begin. Now, will be the time, not just for silence left by absent "alleluias", but also the silence of deep thoughtfulness. Now will be the time for reflection on what God has done in order to make us His own - in order to make it possible for us to move from the stunned silence of experiencing God’s presence on judgment day to the grand music that accompanies Christ in glory.

We can offer help to you during this time of Lenten silence. We will have midweek and special passion week services, devotion books, tactile reminders of the season, and extra times of silence in worship, but only you can make time to really listen to Jesus. Only you can choose to live Lent in your busy lives. Only you can decide on making time for silence as you reflect on God’s love given for you on the cross. Amen.