Mark 8:27-9:8
(sermon note:
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’ And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a bunch of men who died in an accident and went to heaven. When they got there, they were not greeted by an angel at a desk like the man in last week’s joke! No, these men were greeted by God himself who told them to line up at his right if, in their lifetime, they had been the head of their household or at his left if they weren’t. After a short while, God was surprised to see that only one man was standing at his right. He said, “All of you at my left, you oughta be ashamed of yourselves! A man should lead his house! I will shower my glory and honor upon the one man who upheld his dignity and led his household. Speak now, you at my right, tell these men how you led your household through times of darkness and despair and what it is that qualifies you to stand at my right.” The quivering man responded, “Have mercy, God, I don’t know! My wife told me to stand here!”
Some might claim that that man didn’t deserve to witness the full glory of God because he was simply following orders from the true head of his household. But any man with a successful marriage will tell you that listening and heeding the wife’s words are the key to a successful marriage! Even when her words are wrong…rare as that occasion may be…it is wise to listen and heed for the sake of peace and harmony in the home. That’s what most wives want in the home anyways, a little peace and harmony, and maintaining them are a primary responsibility of any head of the household. So, husbands, just suck it up sometimes and listen to your wives as a way of fulfilling that responsibility!
Now I don’t imagine Jesus revealed his glory to Peter, James, and John on that mountaintop because they were successfully leading their households. Heck, for all intents and purposes, they had abandoned their households to follow Jesus! We never hear about the disciples’ households but surely some of them had wives and children they neglected in following Jesus. I’m sure it didn’t help when Jesus reinforced such neglect with teachings like the one in today’s reading. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Perhaps the disciples rationalized neglecting their families in honoring Jesus’ command to deny themselves. For sure, it’s a difficult command to honor. Few people like to deny themselves unless they have to. Denying ourselves is risky business. Jesus says that those who deny themselves, who give up their earthly desires, will actually gain better lives but how long must we deny ourselves before we reap the benefits? Are we to deny ourselves indefinitely? That doesn’t seem particularly enticing. God blessed us with earthly desires so that we might experience the full joys of living. A life of denial isn’t a very joyful life. Are we to trust Jesus when he tells us there is a better life through denial? Of course we’re to trust Jesus! I don’t think he’s telling us to deny ourselves of all earthly pleasures but rather to deny some of them. In denying ourselves, we rely on our faith and trust in him to carry us through and he will carry us through. Jesus wants us to get rid of any distractions that hold us back from full-heartedly following him and trusting him.
We heard early in our reading how Peter refused to acknowledge Jesus’ foreshadowing to his suffering and death and resurrection. He refused to believe that any harm could ever come to Jesus. But in doing so, he was refusing to acknowledge Jesus’ full humanity. News flash—we all suffer and die in this world! But that isn’t the end. Jesus showed that there is new life after death. His suffering and death served a higher purpose of revealing this new life. Peter needed to get rid of the distraction that suffering and death are an end. It was keeping him from fully following Jesus even into suffering and death! Peter needed to get rid of the belief that the Messiah wouldn’t suffer and die. Of course the Messiah needed to suffer and die in order for death to be conquered. Jesus saved us from the hopelessness and despair of death. There IS new life after death! All is not lost!
Jesus went on from his difficult teaching to actually revealing the full glory of God to his most trusted disciples: Peter, James, and John. Like I said earlier, I doubt it was because of their household leadership. No, I suspect his revelation was a reward for their genuine and faithful discipleship. He knew they had denied themselves and were fully committed to following him. Genuine and faithful discipleship inevitably leads to a revelation of God’s glory. God reveals his glory to the faithful, plain and simple. Why? To empower and embolden the faithful to do mighty things. The few people in scripture who witnessed God’s fully glory went on to do mighty things indeed. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery. The prophets helped kings to govern the people well. The apostles laid the foundation for the greatest church the world has ever known. ‘Tis an awesome gift to behold the glory of God! And believe it or not, we can all behold it through genuine and faithful discipleship. We can all behold it by heeding that voice from heaven that said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Sorry, wives, sometimes we’ve gotta listen to him too! But hey, he wants peace and harmony too!
So as we head into the season of Lent this week, let us go with attentive hearts and minds. Let us listen and follow our master to the end and rejoice in his resurrected glory. It was suggested in our Bible study this week that Jesus strategically revealed his glory to his trusted disciples as preparation for witnessing the resurrected Jesus. Very thoughtful of Jesus! Let us give thanks for the words of the prophet, Isaiah, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” (60:1) Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
