Not Just a Day (Why I love/hate today) 2.14.21

Not Just A Day (Why I love/hate today)

by Griff Martin
A Sermon for the Beloveds of First Austin: a baptist community of faith
On Mark 9:2-9
For Transfiguration Sunday

February 14, 2021

*This document comes from an oral manuscript.

Now Incarnate and Present God, we ask that you once again take the Word and transform it into a living and breathing reality we can all together experience. Make us attended to your presence here in this space and in these words God, for if we are aware of your being here then nothing else will matter, but if we are not aware of your being here then nothing else will matter. In the name of the Creator, the Christ and the Comforter.

If there was a Valentine's Day Grinch, I would fall in that category. Literally wearing this pink hoodie is even a stretch for me to make this day feel celebrated and joyful… add to it this year when Valentine's Day is on the same Sunday as Transfiguration Sunday, which to me is about as fun as looking at your calendar and discovering that you have both a colonoscopy and DMV appointment on the very same day. 

The last time Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday I just ignored it and the only complaint I got was from one of our single members who had never dated and was very loud and proud about her celibacy and not needing a husband… and she was the one who got all worked up about my skipping a Valentine's Day homily, make of that what you will. 

So this year I am choosing to lean into my irritation, to face it head on. And if you are a big Valentine's Day fan or a big Transfiguration Sunday fan, hang with me. 

Know that it’s not that I dislike roses or chocolates or cards or Jesus in a shiny new costume. I am good with all those things. And it’s not that I don’t like what these days stand for. I am a big believer in love and Jesus, it’s why I am doing what I do. 

Here is my frustration… In my pastoral work, I get to have a lot of conversations that are real and genuine and honest, I get to go to real places with people and talk about the things that matter the most. So I hear a lot about relationships, the good and the bad. And on days like Valentines when I run into the store and I see all these men with armfuls of candy and roses and balloons I want to stop them and say “this is not it… what is needed is not all this, it’s all of this on every other day of the year, not on this manufactured day.” If you don’t do it all year, then don’t bother to do it today. 

Which also means that if you do it the rest of the year you don’t have to fall victim to this manufactured holiday. 

And of course, it’s much the same for Transfiguration Sunday and celebration, this often is read and celebrated as some grand evidence of Jesus being more than just an ordinary human man and the further I grow in my faith the less I actually find these stories appealing because they feel that same Valentine's day cheapness to me… this is not it… what is needed is not all this, it’s all of this on every other day of the year, not just today.

This whole episode in the life of Jesus has often been plucked from Scripture and added to the list of those big moments in the life of Jesus that are used to prove Jesus was as Divine as he was human, let’s call them the Jesus 5… The virgin birth, walking on water, Lazarus, the very resurrection and this, the Transfiguration. 

As I have grown in my faith I have found two truths:

First, Jesus is not nearly as concerned with proving himself as divine as we are with that. If he were, I think the Gospels would read much more like one big magic show and Jesus probably would not have spent nearly as much time telling the disciples what they could not tell people about these episodes. 

Second, the entire follow me and live like me seems to happen way more often in between the Jesus 5 moments and we probably better pay more attention there. When Jesus says follow me, I don’t think he is calling us to Virgin Births and flying and glowing in the sky and bringing people back from the dead. 

And if what I have just summed up seems heretical to you, listen to the end of this entire episode again with new ears. 

But let’s start at the beginning so we can hear the last verses more fully.

The text begins with Jesus needed some time away, the previous chapter has Jesus feeding the crowd, healing a blind man and spending a lot of time arguing with the Pharisees and trying to explain things to his disciples. No one understands exactly what is going on at this point and exactly who Jesus is. 

So Jesus takes Peter, James and John off with him. Now I always think it’s worth pointing out that this is a place we might need to check our expectations. We think of these three as the top 3, those who Jesus was most proud of… but a teacher once pointed out to me, “Griff, you know the kids who most often get a special small group in my class, it’s the one’s who are most struggling with learning a new concept.”

So, it might very well be the three who are struggling to get it the most who go with Jesus… if all of that won’t show you who I am, well, come with me. 

They go up to the mountain and there something happens that is quite magical -- because God is magical. God is awe and wonder and power. And there are these divine moments that are so important in the life of Christ. Jesus literally changes in front of them. 

They see the Resurrected Christ before anyone else, which might be something very important that Mark is doing, remember we always need to know whose Gospel story we are in and how they tell it and one of the most strange elements in Mark’s Gospel is there is no resurrection account, Mark leaves that out -- he leads us to the empty tomb and then is this beautiful ending where suddenly what happens next is up to you... go read it later and pay attention to the notes that tell you where Mark should stop… all to say maybe Mark is giving us the Resurrection mid story, to remind us that resurrections are everywhere if we just look or to remind us you are going to need this image of Christ to make it through what comes next. Pun fully intended, Mark is hiding an Easter egg in the story for us. 

They see the Resurrected Christ and if that is not enough they see Elijah and Moses and then they hear the voice of God with a very clear message: “This is my Son, Beloved -- listen to him.”

And then it’s all gone… And the scene ends, fades to black, no explanation, nothing. But make sure and note how the story ends here as the next scene begins, “As they were coming down the mountain he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until he was risen…”

Which is all the evidence I need that Jesus was not all that interested in proving his own divinity. For starters, if this is what it was about maybe he would have had this moment at the Feeding of the 5,000 (which again, remember, just counts the men, so add in women and children and it’s like a crowd of 10,000 plus). This moment happening there sure would have changed the story.

And if Jesus was all that interested in proving his divinity, he probably would have encouraged them to go and to share this story with as many people as possible. This is the kind of story that probably would have spread pretty fast.

Which is why I believe that Jesus is not nearly as concerned with proving himself as divine as we are with that. 

And then pay attention to what they are doing when Jesus tells them not to tell anyone, they are leaving the mountain. This holy sacred place where Divine Magic and Resurrection just took place, they are headed down the mountain. The ashes are still warm and smoking on top of the mountain and they are headed down. 

And two things stand out to me here…. This entire episode might have been more for Jesus than for them. Jesus needed the affirmation, Jesus needed the embrace, Jesus needed the voice of God. Which might tell us that if Jesus needed that, how much more we need that and need to put ourselves more often in a space and place we can receive God’s love.

And the second thing that stands out is Jesus is way more interested in showing us how to live, how to love and how to bring about the Kingdom of God. For Jesus the stuff that matters most is what happens in the valley, not on top of the mountain, it’s what happens in the everyday life where everyone lives, in the mess and in the struggle, this is exactly where Jesus belongs and this is where the real work happens. It's why they go back down the mountain asap. 

Pay attention to that… if you stay up on the mountain top you are going to find yourself alone holding onto a vague memory, which let me be very clear, that is not Christianity…. Christianity is not feeling alone holding onto a vague memory and hope of what you think once happened, even if a lot of churches and faith seem like that today. 

Jesus following is about the place where life is, where people are, where the mess is real, the conflicts are loud and the potential is everywhere… This is where Jesus does Jesus’ best work. This is where Jesus wants us doing our best work.

Christianity is not about the mountain top, it’s a faith for the valley. Jesus is more concerned with us living like him than proving his divinity. 

And if this is not hitting home enough, if you are still finding all these a bit theologically unsold, well, don’t argue with me, argue with Jesus who before he parts says this to Thomas: “Blessed are those who didn’t see all of this and yet still believe.” And remember, "believe" for Jesus is doing, not thinking....

It’s almost as if this Valentine's Day and Transfiguration Sunday Jesus is saying to us, Y’all are silly, love is proven the other 364 days of the year.... Jesus following is proven in the valley, not on the mountain top.

Which is not to say don’t take this day, don’t enjoy it and treasure it… but if this is all, if it’s just today… well, again, let’s go to Jesus later in the text in maybe the worst verse of all Scripture, from Revelation “Because you are lukewarm and not hot or cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.”

And you wonder why I don’t preach from Revelation more?

These days only truly matter if they match every other day. If not, don’t bother with the celebration. 

Which means maybe we hold onto another aspect of transfiguration which means to change form, maybe we can let this day change us into everyday Jesus followers, which is what it’s really all about… doing the work of transformation until every place and space and every moment is filled with Divine Magic. 

And despite my skepticism, Transfiguration and Valentine's Day do have something to offer us, they both promise us this…. That we are not alone and that love is powerful even beyond our wildest dreams.

We just need to live that all year, not just a day.

Amen and Amen.

*artwork: The Transfiguration by Armando Alemdar