Figuring it Out

The First United Presbyterian Church

“Figuring it Out”

Rev. Amy Morgan

February 23, 2020

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Exodus 24:12-18

12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."

 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.

 14 To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them."

 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

 16 The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud.

 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.

 18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.

 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.

 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

 4 Then 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."

 5 While 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!"

 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.

 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid."

 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

 9 As 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."

The letter begins: Dear Holmes. It details a challenging mystery faced by a fictional friend. A subscription service will send a new mystery each month, with weekly follow-up letters offering additional clues to solve the mystery. The final letter each month contains “The Big Reveal,” a letter from Sherlock Holmes solving the crime.

Last month’s mystery involved uncovering the identity of a mysterious man. The client was working for a gentleman who seemed to be engaging in nefarious activities, and who didn’t seem to be what he claimed to be. In the end, it turned out that the employer’s secret identity was a vaudeville entertainer attempting to conceal a new act from his competition.

Reading through Holmes’ solution, it occurred to me that the story of Jesus, a mysterious man with a confounding identity, might make a good case for Mr. Holmes.

Dear Holmes:

I was invited a number of months ago to follow a man who seemed to be some kind of itinerant preacher. I’m uncertain about his educational background, but people sometimes call him Rabbi. But he doesn’t seem too supportive of the traditional teachers of the Law. There are rumors that he was born of a virgin mother, and that angels sent messages about him to certain people. He can miraculously heal people, and he teaches with authority. He’s done some other pretty spectacular miracles, like walking on water and feeding thousands of people. Some say he’s John the Baptist, others claim he’s Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.  

Last week, our band of followers traveled to Caesarea Philippi. I’d never been there before, but it’s a strange and wild place at the base of a large mountain. The Greeks have dedicated it to their god Pan, a half-goat, half-man who is said to inhabit desolate mountain wilds. I don’t believe in any of that, but it did give me the jitters, all the same.

Then the Rabbi asked us who people say that he is. We shared what we’d been hearing. And then he asked who we say that he is. Most of us were stumped. But then Peter, who can be a bit of a show-off, exclaimed that the rabbi is “The Messiah, the Son of the living God!” The rabbi seemed to affirm this response, but then began talking about how he would go to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed and then resurrected. None of us thought this sounded like what the Messiah was supposed to do, and Peter said as much. And then he called Peter Satan!

And then yesterday, Jesus took me and my brother John and Peter up that terrifying, tall mountain. At the top, the rabbi’s appearance suddenly changed. His clothes were dazzlingly white, and his face shone like the sun. And then we saw Moses and Elijah there with him. Peter offered to build houses for them. And then a cloud overshadowed us, and a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” And we were terrified. And then everything went back to normal, and the rabbi told us not to tell anyone about it until after his resurrection.

So now I’m totally confused about who this man is that I’m following around. Is he a healer? A king? A god? Is he dangerous? I don’t know. But I hope to find out before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

James

The gospels give us clues about Jesus’ identity. We even know some things the disciples didn’t. The twelve-year-old Jesus calling the temple his “Father’s house,” for instance, and the voice from heaven at his baptism claiming him as God’s beloved Son. But the whole thing is still a compelling mystery.

We can try to approach it with Sherlock Holmesian deductive skills.

When Jesus takes some of his disciples up the mountain, Matthew adds this very interesting detail that they go up the mountain “by themselves.” The Greek word used here is idios. And yes, that’s the word from which “idiot” is derived. Jesus leads three of his disciples up a high mountain in a desolate wilderness dedicated to a wild mythological creature. This is like the part of the mystery when the protagonists decide to go off by themselves into the creepy dark woods at night to see if they can find more clues. We’ve seen this play out enough times to know that something dramatic and terrifying is about to happen.

The first thing that happens is that Jesus transforms. Not into a werewolf or a prince. But his clothes change. They are whiter than white, which would have been rare sight in the days before Clorox. And his face is shining. Not like good skin care shining. Like Moses after a chat with God Almighty kind of shining.

And then these – I don’t know – ghosts, zombies, resurrected people – join the party. Moses and Elijah are suddenly talking with Jesus like old buds.

I imagine the disciples are already scared out of their wits at this point. They are at least shocked and confused. And so Peter, not knowing what to make of all this, offers to build some houses – you know, just in case the zombie ghosts and shiny Jesus need someplace to take a nap.

At which point, things get super terrifying. A cloud covers the mountain, like the cloud of God’s glory that covered Mount Sinai for six days, the cloud out of which God spoke directly to Moses. And then that cloud speaks to the disciples, who are rightly petrified. No one could see God and live, and this was about as close as anyone got to seeing God. They fall over in fear, and then look up to see Jesus – no more Cloroxed clothing or shining face. Just normal Jesus. Saying, “Get up and quit freaking out.”

So, in one sense, this literally climactic event in the Jesus story is the Big Reveal, the solution to the mystery of Jesus’ true identity. We can easily deduce from his glorious transfigured appearance and the announcement from the voice of God that he is the divine Son of God. The appearance of Moses and Elijah demonstrate that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

But then, on their way down the mountain, Jesus again talks about death and resurrection. He orders his disciples not to share the clues they’ve just found with anyone else until after he dies and is resurrected.

And that information just doesn’t make sense with the rest of the picture. How could someone with divine power, an eternal being, a perfectly righteous and holy person – be killed? It’s possible that Jesus’ followers believed in resurrection – the resurrection of all the dead in the end times. But for one person to die and be resurrected? That wasn’t the plan, as far as they knew.

And so today’s story ends with a cover-up and another mystery. That mystery will continue to play out through the season of Lent we are about to enter into. A season of new clues and revelations that will ultimately lead to what Jesus has been telling his disciples clearly all along: he will suffer and die and be raised from the dead. But until it happens, no one can believe it. No one can imagine it. No one can solve this mystery.

But the truth is, no one ever does solve the mystery. We keep thinking we’ve got it figured out. When Jesus is transfigured. When he’s resurrected. When he gives the great commission. We read the clues left for us by the gospel writers, and Paul, and in the other epistles. And we study the theological arguments and creeds and confessions of the church over thousands of years.

And all it adds up to is a more confounding mystery. We don’t have it figured out; we still don’t know who Jesus is. He is still cloaked in mystery.

And perhaps that not what you expect your pastor to get up and say on a Sunday morning. But I hope that, in some way, it is a relief. That there’s not one definitive answer that some of us know and others don’t. And I hope that, in some way, you find it exciting. That there is more to discover, more to explore, more sleuthing to be done. And I hope that, in some way, it makes us more committed to working together, as a community, to share the clues we’ve uncovered along the way and help each other put some pieces together. Even if we don’t get it right, even if we can’t figure it out entirely, we can begin to understand Jesus, we can begin to see part of the solution.

Because even though we may not have solved the mystery yet, we’re not clueless. We may not understand what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah, God’s anointed one, the Son of God, or even our Lord and Savior. These are mysterious, encrypted titles. But we do know, from the collection of clues we’ve inherited in scripture and in the experiences and insights of the Great Cloud of Witnesses, that Jesus is the way God’s love showed up in the world in flesh and blood. We know that ordinary things – like clouds and fire, mountains and clothes and skin – can reveal divine glory. And we know that we’re supposed to listen to Jesus.

And that may be the most important clue of all. Listening is different that hearing. Sounds come into our ears, and we hear them, but we don’t always pay attention to them, or try to understand them. Listening requires us to process information, make sense of it, make it useful somehow.

Many of the things Jesus says are challenging, or confusing. At one point, his disciples complain, “This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?” Listening invites us not to accept things at face value but to investigate them.

We may never solve this mystery. Just when we think we’ve got it figured out, we come down the mountain to discover a new and contradictory clue. No, we may never solve this mystery, but we can enjoy it.

We can enjoy being surprised and shocked and even occasionally frightened. We can enjoy those “ah-ha!” moments when a piece of the puzzle fits together. We can enjoy gathering clues and sifting evidence around in our heads.

And we can enjoy the assurance that Jesus will always be a mystery, with exciting possibilities. Not a mystery that needs solving, but a mystery that invites our participation. My friends, the game is afoot.

To God be all glory forever and ever. Amen.