MARK 9:2-9| “IN THE CLOUD”

“IN THE CLOUD”

MARK 9:2-9

FEBRUARY 11, 2018

I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE CLOUD.  I TAKE PICTURES, I DOWNLOAD ARTICLES, I SAVE THINGS I WANT TO LOOK AT LATER, I KEEP STUFF SENT TO ME BY OTHERS, AND ALL OF IT GOES INTO THE CLOUD.

THEN, WHEN I WANT TO RETRIEVE IT, ALL I HAVE TO DO IS HIT A COUPLE OF KEY STROKES, AND IT MAGICALLY APPEARS AS IF OUT OF NOWHERE!

WHAT IS THE CLOUD – AND EXACTLY WHERE IS IT?

THE CLOUD IS NOT, OF COURSE, SOME ETHEREAL, FLOATING MIST ABOVE OUR HEADS, INTO WHICH ALL OF OUR STUFF GOES FOR RETRIEVAL LATER, BUT A SERIES OF COMPUTER STORAGE FACILITIES OWNED AND OPERATED BY COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE, APPLE, VERIZON, ETC.

WE NO LONGER NEED TO KEEP EVERYTHING WE DO STORED ON A HARD DRIVE IN OUR COMPUTER OR LAPTOP, WE JUST SHIP IT OFF TO THE CLOUD FOR FUTURE USE.

IN MY APPLE APP STORE, DOWNLOADS FROM THE CLOUD APPEAR AS A LITTLE PUFFY CLOUD, WITH AN ARROW POINTING DOWNWARD, TELLING ME THAT I CAN DOWNLOAD WHATEVER IT IS I’M LOOKING AT TO WHATEVER DEVICE I HAPPEN TO BE USING AT THE TIME.

THE CLOUD IS A MYSTERY.  I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT EXACTLY, BUT I LOVE IT.

I GOT TO THINKING ABOUT HOW APPROPRIATE THE IDEA OF THE CLOUD IS TO OUR PASSAGE FROM THE GOSPEL OF MARK THIS MORNING, AND TO THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS CHRIST, ABOUT WHICH WE READ A MOMENT AGO.

LIKE THE DISCIPLES BEFORE US, WE DON’T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING ON HERE AT THE TRANSFIGURATION EITHER, BUT WE LIKE IT, AND LIKE PETER IN PARTICULAR, WE’D LIKE TO STAY THERE FOREVER.

IN WHAT IMMEDIATELY PRECEDES OUR PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING JESUS ASKS HIS DISCIPLES WHO PEOPLE THINK HE IS.

THEY TELL HIM: SOME SAY JOHN THE BAPTIST; OTHERS SAY ELIJAH; AND STILL OTHERS THINK HE IS ONE OF THE PROPHETS.

THAT’S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD GIVE US PAUSE FOR THOUGHT FOR A MOMENT, AND, AS WE USUALLY JUST GLOSS RIGHT OVER THIS, WHAT WE MISS IS THAT ALL OF THE ANSWERS THE DISCIPLES GIVE, ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE, ARE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY DEAD!

SO, WHAT THEY ARE SAYING IS THAT THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT JESUS, ABOUT HIS UNIQUENESS, HIS POWER, HIS PERSONA, THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT HE’S SOMEBODY DEAD, RISEN FROM THE GRAVE!

THEY DON’T KNOW HOW CLOSE THEY ARE TO BEING RIGHT!  IF, A BIT PREMATURE WITH THEIR ANSWER!

“AND WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?” JESUS PUTS IT DIRECTLY TO HIS DISCIPLES.

ANSWERING ON BEHALF OF THE REST OF THEM, PETER SAYS: “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE MESSIAH.”  THE SAVIOR.

JESUS THEN INSTRUCTS THEM TO TELL NO ONE; AT LEAST NOT YET; AND THEN MORE ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD; AND IT IS HERE THAT OUR PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING PICKS UP THE STORY.

JESUS TELLS THEM THAT THIS IS NOT “PIE IN THE SKY BY AND BY STUFF” BUT THAT SOME OF THEM STANDING RIGHT THERE ARE ABOUT TO SEE IT HAPPEN; ABOUT TO SEE THE FULL FORCE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN ACTION.

I READ OUR PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING FROM EUGENE PETERSON’S MODERN PARAPHRASE OF THE BIBLE CALLED: THE MESSAGE.  YOU MAY, OR MAY NOT, BE FAMILIAR WITH THIS VERSION OF THE BIBLE, BUT IT’S MODERN; STARK; AND TO THE POINT.

THE REASONS I CHOSE TO READ IT IN A VERSION DIFFERENT FROM THOSE WITH WHICH WE ARE MORE FAMILIAR ARE THREEFOLD:

1. I WANTED TO SEE IF I, IF WE, COULD GAIN A NEW AND DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF THIS EVENT BY READING IT IN NEW AND DIFFERENT WORDS.

2. I READ IT IN A MORE MODERN LANGUAGE TO SEE IF WE COULD COME UP WITH A MORE MODERN INTERPRETATION OF THESE EVENTS.

3. I THOUGHT THE DIFFERENT LANGUAGE MIGHT SHOCK US OUT OF WHATEVER COMPLACENCY WE MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE TRANSFIGURATION, WHICH, IF WE BEEN AROUND THE CHURCH FOR ANY TIME AT ALL, WE’VE HEARD SO MANY TIMES BEFORE.

I HOPE WE CAN ACCOMPLISH SOME OF THAT HERE THIS MORNING;

BUT THE TRUTH IS, I’M NOT SO SURE WE UNDERSTAND THE CLOUD OF TRANSFIGURATION ANY BETTER THAN WE UNDERSTAND CLOUD COMPUTING.

PERHAPS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS CHRIST, AS IT ORIGINALLY HAPPENED, IS AS JESUS HIMSELF SUGGESTED IT:

THAT SOME OF THOSE STANDING RIGHT THERE WOULD SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD COME; RIGHT THEN, RIGHT THERE.

BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS ACCORDING TO EUGENE PETERSON’S THE MESSAGE.

LISTEN TO HOW HE PUTS IT: “SIX DAYS LATER, THREE OF THEM DID SEE IT (THE KINGDOM COME, THAT IS).  JESUS TOOK PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN AND LED THEM UP A HIGH MOUNTAIN.  HIS APPEARANCE CHANGED FROM THE INSIDE OUT, RIGHT BEFORE THEIR EYES.

HIS CLOTHES SHIMMERED, GLISTENING WHITE, WHITER THAN ANY BLEACH COULD MAKE THEM.

ELIJAH, ALONG WITH MOSES, CAME INTO VIEW, IN DEEP CONVERSATION WITH JESUS.”

THAT’S HOW THE MESSAGE DESCRIBES IT.

AND WHAT WE KNOW OF IT, OF COURSE, HAVING HEARD THIS STORY DOZENS OF TIMES BEFORE, IS THAT A CLOUD COMES, ENVELOPING ALL OF THEM, AND VOICE SPEAKS:

“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, WITH WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED; LISTEN TO HIM.”

IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT: THIS IS WHO HE IS; THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE TO DO.

THE THREE DISCIPLES WHO WERE WITH JESUS FELL ON THEIR FACES IN AWE.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, PETER, THE BRASHEST OF ALL, OFFERS AS TO HOW WONDERFUL IT WOULD BE TO JUST STAY RIGHT THERE FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, OFFERING TO BUILD THEM ALL A PLACE TO LIVE OUT THERE DAYS.

IF YOU ARE THINKING TO YOURSELF, OR HAVE THOUGHT IT BEFORE, UPON HEARING THIS STORY, IT IS AS STRANGE A SCENE AS YOU WILL FIND IN THE GOSPELS.

EVEN WITHOUT THE VOICE AND THE CLOUD TO EXPLAIN IT, THE DISCIPLES HAD NO DOUBT ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE WITNESSING.

IT WAS JESUS OF NAZARETH ALL RIGHT, THE MAN WITH WHOM THEY HAD TRAPESED ALL OVER KINGDOM COME; THE GUY THEY HAD SEEN TIRED, AND HUNGRY, AND HAPPY, AND FRUSTRATED AT TIMES;

THE ONE WHOSE MOTHER AND BROTHERS THEY KNEW; THE ONE WHO HAD DONE THINGS THEY’D NEVER SEEN ANYONE DO BEFORE; THE ONE WHO HAD DONE THINGS NO ONE HAD EVER SEEN ANYONE DO BEFORE!

BUT NOW, IN THE CLOUD, RADIANT-FACED, FULL OF LIGHT, A LIGHT SO BRIGHT THAT IT HURT THEIR EYES, THEY WERE ALSO SEEING THE CHRIST; THE MESSIAH; THE SAVIOR; IN ALL HIS GLORY.

THE ONE THEY SAID HE WAS, BUT NOW, WITH SOME CERTAINTY, KNEW FOR SURE HE WAS.

AND HERE’S WHERE I’D LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN TAKE THIS STORY IN A DIRECTION WE’VE MAYBE NEVER THOUGHT OF BEFORE.

BECAUSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS TO US ONCE IN A WHILE.

WE SEE A FACE, IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE FACE OF CHRIST, IT ALL DEPENDS UPON HOW YOU THINK ABOUT IT; BUT IT IS A FACE JUST THE SAME.

PERHAPS THE WEATHERED, DEEPLY LINED FACE OF SOMEONE WHO’S SPENT MANY A HARD NIGHT ON THE STREETS; THEIR FACE ETCHED WITH ALL THE SADNESS AND HARDSHIP OF LIFE ITSELF.

OR MAYBE IT IS A FACE OF SUCH BEAUTY, OF PORCELAIN SKIN, THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU’VE NEVER LAID EYES ON BEFORE, SO PERFECT IN FACT, THAT ITS HARD TO BELIEVE ITS REAL.

OR THE FACE OF A MOTHER WALKING HER CHILD IN THE PARK; OR A FACE IN THE CROWD, WHICH, FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON STICKS OUT TO YOU; OUT OF ALL THE OTHERS; SO MUCH SO, THAT YOU SEE ONLY IT, FOR A MOMENT.

PERHAPS, IT IS YOUR OWN FACE, STARKLY LOOKING BACK AT YOU IN A MIRROR; OR THE FACE YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF WEARING AS YOU STAND, LOOKING OUT ON THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN BEFORE YOU.

IT MAY BE A FACE YOU KNOW, AND LOVE; A FACE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND WON’T LIKELY EVER SEE AGAIN; A FACE THAT IS THERE FOR BUT A MOMENT, BUT WHICH WILL STICK WITH YOU FOREVER.

LIKE THE FACE OF THE MAN I ONCE SAW EATING OUT OF A DUMPSTER BEHIND A WENDY’S;

OR THE DEAD FACE OF CHILD IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM WHO HAD BEEN STRUCK AND KILLED BY A CAR WHILE RIDING HIS ATV;

THE SHEER JOY, AND RELIEF, OF THE YOUNG WIFE AND MOTHER OF TWO, GETTING WORD THAT HER HUSBAND WAS OUT OF SURGERY, AND WAS GOING TO BE JUST FINE.

OR MY WIFE’S FACE, THOUGH NOT MY WIFE AT THE TIME, AND IN A PICTURE, AND NOT QUITE FULL-FACED, BUT AT AN ANGLE, FROM OUR FIRST OUTING TOGETHER, AT, OF ALL PLACES, THE ZOO, WHERE WE HAD TAKEN OUR CHILDREN.

EVERY ONCE AND SO OFTEN, SOMETHING SO TOUCHING, SO INCANDESCENT, SO ALIVE TRANSFIGURES THE HUMAN FACE THAT IT IS ALMOST BEYOND BEARING.

AND I IMAGINE, WERE WE TO TAKE A MOMENT RIGHT NOW, OR LATER, TO PICTURE JUST ONE FACE, WE’D HAVE NO TROUBLE AT ALL CONJURING UP ONE.

“THIS ISN’T PIE IN THE SKY BY AND BY;” JESUS SAYS.  “SOME OF YOU STANDING HERE ARE GOING TO SEE IT HAPPEN, SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN FULL FORCE.”

AND I’D LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT IT HAPPENS, FOR US, OFTEN, IN SEEING THE FACES OF OTHERS; IN SEEING OUR OWN FACE.

MOTHER TERESA OFTEN SAID, IT WAS IN THE FACES OF THOSE MOST IN NEED IN THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA, IN WHICH SHE SAW THE FACE OF CHRIST MOST CLEARLY.

I THINK WE ALL HAVE MOMENTS, KINGDOM MOMENTS LIKE THAT, WHICH, OFTEN, BECAUSE WE ARE BUSY AND DISTRACTED WITH MANY THINGS, SAIL RIGHT BY US.

BUT, THERE ARE OTHER TIMES, FOR WHATEVER REASON, BY WHATEVER MAGIC, A MYSTERY OCCURS, AND IT’S AS IF TIME STANDS STILL FOR A MOMENT, AND ALL WE CAN SEE, AND ALL WE REMEMBER FROM THAT MOMENT, IS THAT FACE.

THIS MAY BE ONE OF GOD’S GREATEST GIFTS TO US; THE GRACE BY WHICH WE ARE ABLE TO RECALL A PERSON’S FACE, AND THEREFORE, THEM, AT A MOMENTS NOTICE, JUST BY CLOSING OUR EYES, AND PICTURING THEM.

IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE’S ACCOUNT OF THE TRANSFIGURATION, SHORTLY AFTER JESUS, PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINTOP, LUKE WRITES:

“AND WHEN THE DAYS DREW NEAR FOR HIM TO BE TAKEN UP JESUS SET HIS FACE TOWARD JERUSALEM.”

IN OTHER WORDS, JESUS WAS DETERMINED TO FULFILL THE MISSION OF GOD FOR HIS LIFE; EVEN IF IT MEANT HIS DEATH AT THE HANDS OF THE WORLD.

AND THAT IS ANOTHER FACE WE OFTEN SEE IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD: THE FACE OF DETERMINATION; A FACE SET ON DOING THE WORK OF CHRIST; COME HELL OR HIGH WATER.

A FACE SO DETERMINED, SO SET, THAT NOTHING WILL DETOUR THE WEARER OF THAT FACE FROM THEIR GODLY CALLING.

SOMETIMES, WHAT IS TRANSFIGURED IN US, TRANSFORMED IN US, IS A DETERMINATION TO FULFILL GOD’S MISSION FOR OUR LIVES.

IT MAY COME WITH A FACE OF LOVE.  IT MAY COME WITH A FACE OF RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION.  A CARING FACE.  A CONFRONTING FACE.

A FACE THAT SHINES WITH SOMETHING; SOMETHING ON WHICH WE CAN’T QUITE PUT OUR FINGER, BUT IS SO UNMISTAKABLY SET, THAT WE KNOW BETTER THAN TO TRY TO CHANGE THE PERSON’S MIND.

IT IS THE FACE OF JESUS SET TOWARD JERUSALEM.  IT IS THE FACE OF THE DISCIPLES, NOW, IN THE AFTERMATH OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION, SET, TO TELL OTHERS OF HIM, AND SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS.

IT IS THE FACES OF MILLIONS OF BELIEVERS OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS DETERMINED TO DO THE WORK OF CHRIST, TO MINISTER UNTO OTHERS IN HIS NAME.

IT IS YOUR FACE.  IT IS MY FACE.  IT IS THE FACES OF THOSE WITH WHOM WE MINISTER; AND THE FACES OF THOSE WHOM WE PASS BY.

IT IS THE FACE OF CHRIST, DEPENDING UPON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT;

AND IN JUST THE RIGHT LIGHT, AT THE RIGHT ANGLE, IN THAT MOMENT WHEN TIME SEEMS TO STAND STILL, AND THE ONLY THING OUR EYES SEE IS THAT FACE, AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES.

“SOME OF YOU WHO ARE STANDING HERE ARE GOING TO SEE IT HAPPEN, SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD ARRIVE IN FULL FORCE.”

IT IS IN THAT MOMENT, THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, THE RESPONSIBILITY, THE PRIVILEGE AND BLESSING, TO LIVE IN THE KINGDOM COME, HERE AND NOW;

AND TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF WHAT THE KINGDOM WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FOREVER AFTER.