"Pilgrimage To A Holy Place”

In Jesus Holy Name February 13, 2021

Text: Mark 9:2-4 Transfiguration Redeemer

“Pilgrimage to a Holy Place”

God speaks loudest on mountains. Think Mount Moriah, Mount Sinai, Mount Zion, The sermon on the mount. The Mount of Transfiguration. Mount Calvary.

(Jesus Speaks Leonard Sweet p. 72)

Years ago I was privileged to lead a tour of the Holy Land. One of the stops on the tour was the Mt. of Transfiguration. There was a small building near the top of the mountain. I remember stopping at the remains of the 12th century Crusader church, long since destroyed. Only a rusty cross remained. I remember kneeling there for prayer. I knew that thousands before me had prayed on this same mountain. My father who was along picked up several small pebbles from the top of the mountain and took them home with him. A time to remember a moment with God.

Today we find Jesus on the mountain with three disciples. Jesus is glorified. For just a moment, He is transfigured; a blinding radiance pours from Him. He becomes what He was before He came. For one brief, shining moment, the burden of His humanity is lifted. He is elevated above earth’s horizon and escorted into the eternal. He is home again. Familiar sounds surround Him.

(In the Eye of The Storm p. 174 Max Lucado)

Moses and Elijah appear. They too are aflame with eternal robes, standing beside their King. Moses the Lawgiver, whose grave no man knew; Elijah, the prophet who heard the voice of God, not in the thunder storm, but a still small whisper.

Peter said, Lord this is such a great moment….can we stay? Let us build three

tents...” He wanted to stay. For thousands of years Christian pilgrims and Christian tours have made their own pilgrimages to holy places, seeking to hear the voice of Jesus. Peter knew it was a special moment. Lord, can we stay. It was a moment of intimacy with God. They could not stay. In those moments, neither can we… Jesus is always on the move. A vibrant, vital relationship with Jesus is at the heart of knowing God and hearing Jesus speak into our daily lives.

There is a story from a fellow pastor about a cousin of his who was caught in an elevator during a power outage. He told about the sickening jolt when things stopped. He and his companions were thrown into pitch blackness. Then the seven people started shouting for buttons to be pushed. Calling for the emergency phone and jostling to make sure they didn’t touch anyone, or get touched. Then, one of the passengers remembered the tiny flashlight he carried on his keychain.

With the flick of a switch, a small amber light filled the elevator car. Just a child relaxes when a nightlight is turned on in his bedroom, so too, these adults, helped by the most insignificant of lights, found their fears fleeing. For the next 45 minutes they laughed at their fate, shared stories and a little history about themselves. That is the power of light in the physical world. People do not normally like being in the dark. Yet so many live in spiritual darkness searching for a moment of light seeking to understand their eternal destiny.

(Story from a sermon by Rev Klaus 2003)

We are told that Peter James and John followed Jesus up the mountain. That was not unusual. For three years, Peter, James and John followed Jesus just about wherever He went. If He said, we’re going on a boat, they followed. To Jerusalem, they followed. To Samaria, they followed. To a mountain, they followed. Following is what disciples did. But you never knew for sure what was going to happen next. One day, Jesus would talk to a storm. That is not the surprise. The Surprise is that the storm listened. (Mk4:37) Another day, Jesus walked on the water. (Matt 14:25) There was the time He brought a dead person back to life. (Luke 17:11) Following Jesus was almost always a surprise.

Nothing prepared them for what they experienced up on the mountain. First, Jesus started to glow, not with a reflected light coming from the setting sun. No, the light was brilliant, shield-your-face kind of brightness. The light was not confined to His face. His entire body glowed.

Then the disciples see Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. How did they know? They knew. They knew these men were two of the greatest and long ago leaders of Israel. Suddenly a cloud appears. From the cloud a voice spoke. These men had gone to Hebrew school. They knew voices coming from clouds was what their ancestors had heard on Mt. Sinai. The voice was clear: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him.”