“Astounded”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, February 27, 2022
Luke 9:28-43a (Forward, p. 29) CEV p. 1071
I can hardly blame either the disciples or the crowd for being amazed and astounded at Jesus. For the ‘three’, the inner circle of Peter, James and John, there had been the incredible and perplexing experience of the Transfiguration, and for everyone later on there was Jesus’ amazing deliverance of the demon-possessed boy. No wonder they were amazed. However, there is something about both occurrences defied any quick or easy explanation, so let’s look at them in turn.
With the Transfiguration, there has long been something that puzzled me, two somethings in fact. Firstly, how did the disciples know that the two heavenly figures with Jesus were Moses and Elijah. There were no photos or drawings back then; in fact, such things were forbidden within the Jewish religion! And then, secondly, how did they hear so very distinctly what the three of them, Jesus, Moses and Elijah, had been talking about, namely Jesus’ departure (‘exodus’ is the exact word) that He was to accomplish in Jerusalem? The three of them had been fast asleep up until then! My guess is that while they did keep quiet about this at the time and not say anything to anyone, they did indeed discuss it eventually with someone, with Jesus in fact. My guess is that Jesus filled them in on the details.
Even so, it would still have been rather unnerving, to spot these three ‘heavenly visitors’ and to see Jesus transformed in such an incredible other-worldly way. And then, to be enveloped by a cloud and hear a voice from heaven. Surely this would have reminded them of Mount Sinai and of the Shekinah glory of God. Surely this would have astounded and amazed anyone!
And then, as they came down the mountain, the four of them were greeted with a rather sad and dismal situation. There, at the foot of the mountain, was a boy wracked with a demon, a distraught father, and a helpless group of disciples. (Talk about a ‘downer’: being brought down abruptly from a ‘mountain-top experience’, this has to be it).
In today’s parlance, the boy manifested all the symptoms of an epileptic seizure, and the disciples seemed helpless to do anything about it. Jesus castigated them for their stubbornness and lack of faith but then went ahead and healed him anyway. Truly, this was just as amazing and astounding as the Transfiguration experience.
So, what are we today to ‘make’ of these things, these things from the past? To me, to glimpse anything of the glory of God, whether in Jesus Christ or in God, or to glimpse anything of God’s or Jesus’ works, is to encounter something truly amazing, truly astounding. So, why don’t we today experience more of this today? My guess is that this might stem from two things: firstly, we don’t step out in faith and ask God to act in our lives? And secondly, we don’t have a sense of expectancy that God is indeed going to act in some dramatic and noticeable way. I pray that we, all of us, then may have the eyes to see and the hopefulness and faith to accept it. Amen.
Forward notes: “Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray” (verse 28).
“Maybe they were more used to it than I am living in the Midwest, but it seems to me that the people in the Bible did a lot of casual mountain climbing. Going ‘up on a mountain’ to pray—even a small mountain—is no joke. Before the trip that led to the Transfiguration, Jesus and his disciples would have needed to do some careful planning. In a desert area, they would have needed to carry an enormous amount of water. And surely they would have had to bring some snacks.
“Many of us, myself included, long for transcendent experiences of meeting God in prayer. It’s easy to forget that those experiences are often preceded by years of work. If we seek a mountaintop moment, we first have to figure out how to get ourselves up the mountain. Everyone’s ‘mountain’ will look a little bit different, but for all of us, the effort will include a life of prayer, worship, and integrity. There is no shortcut up that mountain—but what we will find at the top is worth the climb.”
MOVING FORWARD: “What steps are you taking to prepare for going “’up on a mountain?’”
