"From the Pulpit" March 2, 2025

"From the Pulpit" reflections on the weekly texts from Pastor Greg Living Lord Lutheran Church

29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.   

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. [.      Exodus 34:29-35

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 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. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 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. 43a And all were astounded at the greatness of God.]

Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]

Up or Down?

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I included two of our readings for Sunday (Transfiguration Sunday), both of which involve a "going up", and a coming down.  

Well, which is it?  Up...or down?  Where do we live, and breathe, and have our being? Up...there?  Or down...here?  On the ground.  At ground level. Some of us may live up in the higher altitudes, but still, we're all down here, on the ground, relatively speaking. Moses is coming down from Sinai, having just received the "law" from God - you know, the two stone  tablets.  A genuine mountaintop experience - maybe the ultimate mountaintop experience in all of history.

And in our gospel from Luke, Jesus ascends the mountain with his trusted disciples, Peter, James and John.  He's soon joined on this mountain by Moses and Elijah.  Moses, clearly representative of the Law (of Moses), and Elijah, representing the prophets of the Old Testament.

He and the group have quite an experience "up there", with Jesus' clothing turning "dazzling white" - quite a transformation, or...transfiguration, if you will. But when he returns...you know...down here, where we all live, he's quickly confronted with the problems he left behind before he went "up".  People clamoring for his attention. People looking to just touch the hem of his robe, for strength.  People with all kinds of problems - disease, alienation, hunger, you can just imagine.  And Luke shows a side of Jesus we don't often get to see - he's clearly frustrated after this "Rocky Mountain high" if you will.

In fact, he appears to be so frustrated that he says essentially, "How long must I be with you?" Whoa.  Things on the ground aren't like they were up there on that mountain, with the heroes of the faith.

Such moments do occur in Scripture.  Here with Moses, going up, and then coming down Sinai, only to be met with a stirred up crowd who clearly had lost their way.  The people who had come to hear Jesus' sermon "on the mount" (sermon on the plain, in Luke's gospel.). And others.

While these periodic "peaks" in our worship lives are nice (and we all need them from time to time), we don't live on these peaks. We live, down here, on the plains. The air up there is too thin; the winds are too brisk to sustain life for most things; it gets too cold way "up there." And it's lonely.

So, we need a religious/spiritual orientation that can sustain us down here, on the plains.  Where real life takes place.  Because this is where we live, and work, and play, and raise our families, and well...just live. Some would say that life begins...when the Rocky Mountain high...is over.

And here...on that plain, is where Jesus must live.  Our Jewish friends would remind us that we are to reach out and look for God not with closed eyes, or in high places, but with hands outstretched...engaged in the world in all its messiness.  Engaged. Involved.  Moving among our fellow humans.  Turning our faith into action.  We find God in the world by making the world more..Godly if you will.  More God like.

As James might say, "faith, or belief, or spirituality without action is nothing. Anemic.  Boastful and self-serving. Actions without conviction, or without our hearts in it, is mechanistic.  Or insincere.  Or heartless.

Yes, we do need these mountaintop experiences now and then. And I say we an get them most any Sunday during worship, as we gather to hear God's word, sing our praises, pray our prayers, and receive the Holy Supper.  But all of these are made whole by our actions.  How we serve God's people.  How we tend to live our lives.  How we greet one another even. Turning our faith, into action - loving our neighbor. Feeding the hungry. Hosing the homeless. And so much more.

Enjoy your time on that mountain, whatever it may look like for you. Be refreshed by God's word.  Taste and see the beauty of the Lord as you receive Holy Communion.  Enjoy the old (and the new) songs we sing. But we live, down here.  And so, as we Lutherans often like to say, "come and see...but go and do". Amen.