AWESOME!!
Exodus 34:29–35 Luke 9:28–36, (37–43)
Preached by the Reverend Kathy Peters
February 14, 2010

The truth is my friends we want to be “awed” by God!  We want an experience that assures us, reassures us that we are not alone, that God is ever present, and that we too can see and touch and taste God’s glory, God’s wonder…even for a moment.  What is that about, this deep human longing to taste, however briefly, the transcendence of God, this longing to know for sure that God is with us and above us and beyond us and yes we even sometimes hope beyond hope that God is…in charge! We may not admit it even to ourselves but there are times when we long to be on the mountain top and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is with us and that God will lead us exactly where we need to go. Yet we come to this transfiguration Sunday each year with some modern skepticism about these stories of Moses and then Jesus on the mountain. Shining faces? Direct communication with God? Moses and Elijah making an appearance from the long gone past?  God’s voice booming down from heaven? Did it REALLY happen? Do mountain top experiences really exist? What can it all mean for me in my life? Looking into these stories might give us some clues.
First of all I hear God saying …..be still and watch for me, listen!
Jesus and the disciples needed to move away from the crowds, get away from the busyness and business of life to pray and to encounter the holy and even then Peter needs to DO something!  “I’m on it Jesus!  I’ll just build three tents and we’ll all live happily ever after on this mountain!”  And I can just imagine God in the style of Agent Gibbs if you are an NCIS fan reaching down and giving Peter a “you are missing the point” slap upside the back of his head. One might imagine God's annoyance that Peter didn't have sense enough to remain silent at such a moment. If Moses was told he couldn't see God and live, perhaps Peter should have been told that he couldn't see God and talk so much. (adapted from S.A.M.U.E.L. ucc.org 2/14/10)  Listen! Take in the moment.  Let go of your need to control it all, be still and watch for God.
Secondly the message is clear, you just can’t stay on the mountain. R. Alan Culpepper observes, Peter's attempt to enshrine his mountaintop experience wasn't what Jesus had in mind:  "Faithfulness is not achieved by freezing a moment, Culpepper says,  “but by following on in confidence that God is leading and that what lies ahead is even greater than what we have already experienced" (Luke, New Interpreter's Bible as quoted in S.A.M.U.E.L. ucc.org 2/14/10)  We are asked to not get “stuck or frozen” in the awe and comfort of the moment but rather to be open to letting the experience of God  move us and change us so that we might become more of who we were created to be. Can it truly be an encounter with God if we will not allow ourselves to be changed by it?
Third, we have been hearing often in this epiphany season that God made us to shine. Moses and Jesus shine because God sees them in all their glory as God sees us in all of our glory! The world has told us that shiny stones and shiny vehicles will make us happy but God knows that is not what we need. God knows our true shine that is beneath all the dirt and grime that has accumulated over years of living in the world. Because God sees us as we really are we can shine.   What a powerful affirmation and an awesome responsibility.
We need to hear the rest of the story in Luke if we are to get our final clue about what these stories can say to us:

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God. (Luke 9:37-43)

God's voice was heard during the glorious episode up on the mountain, but God's power is dramatically revealed in what happens the next day, on the street where people are suffering.
"The more open we are to God, and to the different dimensions of God's glory," N.T. Wright cautions, "the more we seem to be open to the pain of the world. We are right to be wary when we return from some great worship service, when we rise from a time of prayer in which God has seemed close and his love real and powerful. These things are never given for their own sake, but so that, as we are equipped by them, God can use us within his needy world"(as quoted in S.A.M.U.E.L. ucc.org 2/14/10)   The Valentine’s message is alive and well as we see the wonder and love of God, we are called to love this world that is in such need.
So there you have it….be still, listen, watch for God on the mountain and in the streets below, let your love and light shine even as you are moved to care for all in God’s creation! As I said: What a powerful affirmation and an awesome responsibility.
So where is this awesome God?  Where is this glory that we long to see?  Kate Huey pastor of the New Vision United Church of Christ in Cleveland says it this way: “Where is God?  All the earth – all creation, broken yet beautiful, is full of the presence of God. We don't have to climb a mountain to find God, although we might have to turn off our cell phones, our computers, and our television sets long enough to notice…like our ancestor Jacob, who said, "God is in this place, and I wasn't aware of it." God is in the beauty of nature, in all its glory; God is in those moments of unconditional, tender love we share; God is there, between the lines, when we share our stories and our fragile hopes; God is there, in our suffering and in every moment of rescue, restoration, and resurrection. But be careful, my friends…the light is so bright – you may need to shield your eyes.
As I turned these two stories over in my mind and thought about this moment in the life of Jesus, when he was about to face toward Jerusalem and everything that would happen there, I realized that we don't need to climb mountains or build tents or look for supernatural events in order to be transfigured, changed, not just in appearance but for always, deep down. Every time we experience love, forgiveness, healing, God's grace in our lives, we are changed forever. Every time we have a glimpse, just a glimpse, a sense, perhaps, of God's presence in our lives, the presence that fills all of creation including your life and mine, we are changed forever. And then, the love we show one another and the love we offer to the world, the peace and justice and healing we work for, the forgiveness and reconciliation we seek, the hope we offer to those we meet, no matter what, no matter who, this love can change the world – the way it looks, the way it feels, the way it is, not just today but in the days ahead, for all of us, God's children, beloved and blessed by God.”  (quoted in S.A.M.U.E.L. ucc.org 2/14/10)   Amen!