sign in sign up
<<
Home , Sermon

Resolving Transfiguration Arguments: the keys to faithful ministry in (Adam Back, Charlene, Madeleine)

There is a legendary high school football play in 2019 in which a player from Fairfield High in California picked off a pass from the opposition. Unfortunately the intercepting player took off running for the wrong end zone. One of his own players chased him for 50 yards and stopped him at the 10 yard line to avoid an embarrassing safety. I once did something similar in a rugby match in SA but this was due to a concussion!

As I read about the responses of Peter and his fellow apostles in this event of the transfiguration of , and in the stories that follow it, I get the distinct impression they are running in the opposite direction, running towards the wrong endzone. Peter sees the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and he is focused on shelters … shelters instead of the Saviour, he is constructing tents instead of contemplating the Master. Instead of contemplation, what ensues in the narrative is argumentation. Distractions from what Jesus was calling his disciples to. Adam, it is a privilege to be with you today on this the service of your ordination, and to celebrate the work of God in your life, and to do so along with your better half, Charlene, with Madeleine, and with this lovely community of believers which has called you, and among whom you , along with Lydia, your intrepid and gifted and caring partner in ministry.

If there is one thing I want to share from this passage and from my own experience in pastoral ministry is to urge you forward to what I know you are really all about anyway, ministry in contemplation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, ministry that is an outflow of participation in him and his mission to the world. The pressures to do many other things and be preoccupied with many other priorities can easily seduce you to start running in the wrong direction. Actually, this exhortation is also for the whole because it is so easy for the church also to lose its way by becoming preoccupied with non-essentials and trivia, instead of keeping the main things the main thing, which is Christ and his glory, Christ and his mission. Argumentation easily replaces contemplation for all of us.

Four arguments are set off by this remarkable revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, this lifting of the veil which had kept his divinity incognito. In John 17 Jesus prayed that after his resurrection he might have the glory that he had with the Father before the world began. Here the disciples are given a preview of that glory on this mountain called Tabor. But it’s funny how even in the midst of the most sacred and glorious moments, question and arguments arise in human hearts.

The chapter begins: 9 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” I am sure Jesus was at minimum referring to the Transfiguration, though perhaps this in turn anticipated the resurrection which according to Paul revealed “the Son of God in power” (1:4) My desire for you Adam, is that in the resolving of these arguments you may find the kingdom of God in power, and the keys to faithful ministry. The first is found in vv.5- 7:

5 Peter said to Jesus, “, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

1. An argument about priority: it reveals that ministry is about the pre-eminence of Jesus the Son of God and affirmation in Him!

So Peter creates the first disputation. By the way, Adam, a good rule of thumb for a minister or anybody for that matter, is that when you don’t know what to say, say nothing! Pressure to say something in ministry is high. Don’t assume you can resolve all problems and mysteries for people. Especially in the presence of wiser people, say nothing. “Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool that to open it and remove all doubt.”

Peter by his actions created an awkwardness which was dramatically resolved by the voice of the Father from heaven. There can be no comparison between Moses, and Elijah, the Lawgiver and the greatest of the Prophets, with the Son of God now transfigured before them. “This is my Son! My only and unique eternally begotten Son, Peter. Not one amongst others. He’s the one you need to listen to! Listen to Him!”

Moses and Elijah had both seen visions of the glory of God; P, J and J now see it in Jesus. Jesus is not seeing God, He is the God being seen! And Moses and Elijah both heard the voice of God in their encounters, but here the Father says, listen to Christ. PJ and J are to hear the voice of God in Christ! Listen to Him!

Should we build a tent for each person? No, Peter! This is an argument and its settlement around the issue of priority: ministry is about the pre-eminence of Jesus the Son of God! Jesus is the priority in ministry, the unrivalled Lord. The kingdom of God with power is associated with his glory, and our centeredness on him, our listening to him!

In ministry, to keep your focus and priority on the Son, is all important. In your theological life there are probably great heroes, Adam: my best guess would be Irenaeus, Teresa of Avila, James Torrance, Fleming Routledge, Malcolm Guite and Stanley Hauerwas. Remember they are mere women and men, and that your allegiance transcends allegiance to them, for it belongs to only one Man, the Man Christ Jesus, fully and truly God, fully and truly Man, Incarnate, Creator, Reconciler and Redeemer, the One whose glory alone is iridescent. All of the glory of other humans is reflected glory. His is radiant glory, the effulgence of the divine being. Listen to Him!

Not that you aren’t accountable. Listen to wise leaders around you who reflect the voice of God, but ultimately you answer to Christ, and you listen for His voice. And your ministry is contemplative, lived out of listening to the voice of the Master. Teresa of Avila said, Mary and Martha come together in the mature soul.

I need to be fair to Peter. In retrospect, he would learn so much from this encounter. In his second he writes, “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” But in the moment here, he is distracted and the change it would make would not be apparent until after the resurrection. In the meantime, he is all over the place, sometimes speaking well and mostly putting his foot in his mouth. Preoccupied with tents at Tabor, instead of being transfixed with the iridescent glory of God.

Peter was preoccupied with doing, when Jesus wanted him just to be. He was ‘footering aboot’ instead of resting in the presence and acceptance of God. One of the most important messages of the Transfiguration event has to do with the pleasure of God the Father with , expressed in the words, “This is my Son whom I love. Listen to Him.” Another tells us that the subject of conversation of that meeting of Jesus with M and E and PJJ, was the departure he would accomplish, his journey to the cross. The Father’s approval and affection for his Son is an affirmation of all that he had been and done so far in his incarnate life, and of all he would do as he went on to the trial, the cross and on to resurrection and ascension glory. One of the vital blessings of the contemplative life is to live in that place of the approval and affection of the Father, which is ours vicariously in Christ.

Adam, the Father takes delight in you for you are in the beloved Son. Live in that place of security and affirmation so that you can avoid seeking it in other places, running for the wrong endzone ... the approval of people, the approval of the politically powerful, the seductions of fame instead of faithfulness.

Adam, it will be good to ask the question, what is that most challenges the supremacy of Christ and affirmation in Christ, what are the tents and shelters that threaten to send you off into the wrong endzone? Positively, what space do you need to create for time spent at Christ’s feet so that your soul can be replenished, so that you can minister out of fullness not out of an empty tank? This involves hearing the written Word, reading and meditating on it, not just for , reading in order to meet the living Word, prayer, time in creation, time fishing in order to contemplate the glory of God in the colours of a rainbow trout, time enjoying the presence of Christ in Charlene, in Madeleine, time just being with your sisters and brothers in Christ who are Christ to you, time being with the poor in whom Christ comes to us. Action then merges with contemplation. Jesus comes down off the mountain to discover that some of his disciples had been unable to cast a demon out of a child. 2. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. An argument about power, credibility, resolved by prayer and by patience.

2.a. An argument about power, spawned by spiritual impotency of the disciples … they had been potent in previous missions, but this one stumped them … is it because they were functioning without the Master? He on the mountain, they in the valley without Him, at least not functioning in participation with Him, but rather in isolation from Him? Later, once he ascended, they would receive power through the Holy Spirit given from the Father through the Son, so that they would be the continuation of Christ’s mission on earth. But now, what is its resolution? Maybe the technique was wrong? Maybe they laid their hands on the child’s head instead of the shoulder? Do we need a new technique for difficult cases in ministry? NO! In ministry you have to know that power is more than charismatic gifting and more than technique. It comes by prayer and fasting, by the life of prayer. How long? Not even the right question … the life of prayer, prayer as gift before it is task …. Gift because we don’t know how to pray … gift because it is a participation in the work of the interceding Spirit and the High Priestly interceding Son… yet it is task, it does involve human agency … take all practical means … walking stick? Remember prayer is not the way to have a relationship with God, it is relationship with God. How can we bring freedom to people under Satan’s sway? By prayer and fasting. The pathway of faithful ministry is prayer. The kingdom of God with power is through prayer, not mere human strategizing. This is the call of the whole church… to pray for and to pray with its . Some particularly gifted … team intercessors. Prayed throughout services. When prayer, which is what is meant to characterize God’s house, is neglected, we easily end up running towards the wrong endzone. There is a place for strategic thinking and planning in the leadership of the church, but it can easily become an idol when it is isolated from the life of prayer. There is a place for good and just administration and these are not antithetical to life in the Spirit. But when viewed as an end in themselves, they become the wrong endzone. 2.b. It is fascinating to observe that ministry is about patience with the imperfect people of God. When Jesus interacts with the father of the stricken child it becomes apparent that the failings of the disciples had contributed to his unbelief. 19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” This may not sound patient but the fact is that Jesus did stay with them and did put up with them … all the way to the cross and beyond! 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. The “if you can” that is picked up on by Jesus is hardly surprising …after all 9 of his disciples failed to heal him. Ministry in Christ may often involve being faced with an unbelief generated by the failings of the church. Again, the only you won’t perpetuate the failings of the church is the life of prayer. Intelligent application of this for today is the attitude of expectancy, though not demandingness. That God will always work, even if not in the way you expect. The kingdom of God today is in an eschatological reserve. Christ has ascended and is all glorious in heaven, and until he returns to bring the fullness of the eschaton, there is a space, one in which the Spirit has been sent to continue the mission of Christ on earth. We live in that space where the kingdom of God in power has come in Jesus, but awaits full manifestation at his second coming. Not all will be healed now. How do we function in this space? Through prayer which is our participation in Christ’s work in the world. Not prayer without action, but action flowing from the life of prayer.

3. Jesus tells them again that he is headed for the cross, and then for resurrection in verse 31. They didn’t understand and were afraid to ask him. And in verse 33: “What were you arguing about on the road?” This was a repeating pattern in Mark, see James and John. Obsessed with position.

An argument about position, about recognition … here is a classic case of disciples running for the wrong try line or end zone. Who is the greatest in the kingdom? The least and the lowest, the child. The pattern of faithful ministry is defined by the cross; it is cruciform. The kingdom of God with power is according to the pattern of the cross, his history becoming our history – the ordo historia becomes the ordo salutis and the ordo missio. It is an upended, inverted, servant, cruciform ministry Don’t worry about place! Great things can happen in ministry when no one cares who gets the credit. Be an equipper not a doer. Take greatest delight when you see the fruit of other people’s ministry. Be an equipper not a doer… Ephesians 4. Expect great pleasure and don’t be surprised when there is also great pain. You are following the Christ of the cross. His endzone on earth was a cross, so expect some of that, sadly sometimes from within instead of outside the church. Rejoice when your suffer for Christ, and rejoice that there is resurrection too. Our greatest brokennesses and pain can become our greatest ministry.

4. 38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” Should we stop others that can cast out demons since they are not one of us? No! An argument about exclusivism. Irony … they hadn’t been able to cast out a demon, and now they see other people doing it and they don’t like it. Wrong endzone is inwardness, is superior feeling, is sectarianism. An ecumenical one. The kingdom of God with power is one of unity grounded in the historic orthodox , a unity that is at the heart of mission (John 17). Broad-minded orthodoxy. An argument about possessiveness … avoid pompous exclusivism … be inclusive of the whole people of God. Sure, value your convictions and your rootedness in the great Mennonite tradition, but always affirm and encourage the work of God going on around you in other traditions and churches. Test? Reaction when you here of the “success” of others. It is said that you shouldn’t praise the of a in the presence of another preacher for too long! Stated positively, this is about recognizing and valuing the unity and of the larger church of Jesus Christ, or the kingdom of God. John 17 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The greatest power in mission is not and discipleship as in the Great Commission; it is not even justice and loving our neighbour as in the Great Commandment; it is not even understanding that the goal of evangelism and justice is helping people be fully human image bearers, as in the Cultural Mandate … important as these are, Jesus’ prayer suggests that the oneness-in-diversity of the people of God, reflecting the oneness-in-diversity of the triune God is the most powerful tool and telos of the church of God, offering an alternative society to the fractured and broken society we live in. Be a bridge-builder. Be a conciliator. Keep the main things the plain things, that is the historic of the church and the authority of the Holy Scriptures that undergird it. Norma normans and norma normata; OR “In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas (commonly translated as "unity in necessary things; freedom in doubtful things; love in all things" or more literally as "in essential things unity; in uncertain things liberty; in all things charity"). Avoid small-mindedness of divisions over secondary things, on the one hand. Avoid large-mindedness that transcends the revelation of God. The posture of faithful ministry is a welcoming one – welcoming all believers and churches that follow - and welcoming the stranger. I am not talking about pomo hospitality; hospitality in a gospel and Trinitarian sense (the gift of the other) is not the alterity of postmodernity (Derrida and Levinas), but the hospitality that invites people, irrespective of where they are at to the centre, that is, to Jesus and to discipleship. Some of our inclusiveness as the church is more Canadian than Christian.

Summing up: In the midst and the aftermath of the greatest revelation of glory that Christ gave his disciples on earth, of what Jesus’ referred to as the kingdom of God with power, the disciples were headed off to the wrong endzone and four arguments emerge. All of them express what it means to run away from Christ instead of towards him. Resolving those questions is the key to faithful ministry in the kingdom of God with power: 1. Priority: Keep Jesus at the centre, not tents. Gaze on his glory. Bask in his acceptance. Receiving the kingdom of God with power by keeping your eyes on the King. 2. Power: Live the life of intercessory prayer. Pray first not last. Receiving the kingdom of God with power comes through prayer, not mere human strategizing. 3. Position: it is upended, the cross before the crown. Seek to serve, not lord it over people. The pattern of faithful ministry is cruciform. The kingdom of God with power is according to the pattern of the cross, his history becoming our history. 4. Posture: rejoice when others succeed, embrace the whole people of Christ in unity, have an open heart to all.