Readings: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36
Has anyone here had a mountaintop experience like Peter, James and John? Have you ever wondered why these three were the ones who got to have this experience? Was it because they were special, were they holier than the other nine apostles, or were they closer to Jesus than the others?
I don’t believe it was for any of these reasons that they experienced the transfiguration of Christ. I believe that the reason Jesus picked Peter, James, and John is found in the scriptures.
Peter by his own admission was a sinful man. Peter was an impetuous man who one minute recognized Jesus as the son of man in the next minute would try to dissuade Jesus from his mission to travel to Jerusalem to challenge the status quo of his own religious leaders. Jesus rebukes Peter’s request to abandon his mission by commanding him to, “get behind me Satan!”
What do the scriptures reveal about the sons of thunder; James and John. When a Samaritan village refuses hospitality to Jesus and his disciples James and John say, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54). Jesus, of course, rebukes James and John for their violent response to being offended. These two also had their mother go to bat for them in order to secure prestigious positions with Jesus (to sit on his right) when he comes into power. Not only were they seeking after power, but they also had to rely on their mother to speak up for them.
This created such a stir amongst all the other apostles that it challenged the unity of the group. At this point, Jesus gives special teaching on true leadership and the proper use of power. He tells them that they are not to be like the Romans, ”Who make their power felt by lording over others.” They are to be servant-leaders that care for others and lead by the example of ethical behavior and authentic love. They are also to be dutiful slaves that will lay down their lives for others rather than seek after their own rewards.
I believe Jesus chose Peter, James, and John to go up the mountain with him for some additional instruction on how to be one of his followers. Their hearts were also slow to believe that what he said was true and so they needed proof. How many of us rely on proof before we will believe and act as Jesus does when confronted with life’s challenges? How many of us rely on miracles of bleeding Eucharist, the Shroud of Turin, or miracles of healing before we will believe? And how many of us truly exercise faith, a faith that does not demand a sign. Recall that faith, means believing in something for which there is no proof.
I believe that Peter, James, and John were knuckleheads who refused the message of Jesus. A message that is based on just two commandments, love God and love your neighbor as yourself. It’s that simple yet challenging message of Jesus, to “love as you have been loved.”
As a member of Knuckleheads for Jesus let me tell you a little bit about the mountaintop experience I had in 1972. In 1971 I had nearly flunked out of Pennsylvania Military College. In 1972 I had moved on to Norwich University, a school that was in dire need of students to fill the ranks of the cadet corps. And I fit the bill. I went to Norwich and started over in my freshman year again.
I got overly involved in extracurricular activities, and by the middle of the first semester, I was failing again. One of the things I got involved with was the Nordic ski team (Cross-country skiing and ski jumping). Before the snow began to fall that winter the Nordic team was required to groom the slopes below the ski jump. So there I was, late one afternoon as the sun was going down on the mountainside that overlooked the university campus. What in the world was I doing working on the slope below the ski jump instead of in my room trying to pass my courses? I stopped to take a rest leaning on a shovel looking at the university campus below. I could see the entire university as it began to get dark, as the lights were coming on, I was reflecting on the fact that I would probably be expelled by the end of the semester. I was failing to apply myself to my academics.
And then it was as if a veil parted and I could see much more clearly in my mind’s eye. On the campus below I could see at one glance everything that was defeating me and everything that challenged me. It was as if I had awakened from a deep sleep. I could see the sporting complex, which had lured me into more activities than I had the sense to be in. I could see the academic buildings, where I struggled to stay awake during class because of late night adventures. I could see the University Chapel with the tall steeple and bell tower. I realized what lay before me was my stumbling block, my mission, and my guide. In a split-second, everything became very clear and I knew that if I focused on my mission and stayed true to my faith I could succeed. “ I could do anything in Christ who strengthens me.” I knew that somehow, someway, I would succeed.
My heart became light, but unlike Peter, James, and John I didn’t want to stay there on the mountain, I wanted to go back down into the valley and begin anew. I knew that I would succeed not on my own, but with the help of God. As I walked down the side of the mountain in the near dark I was not afraid of stumbling, I knew the way. And I knew that at that moment I would succeed. In May 1976 I graduated from Norwich University with a degree in engineering and a commission in the United States Air Force. If any of my professors knew what I was thinking at that moment they would have thought that I was out of my mind. My record in their grade books was of many failures or near failures.
What was different for me was the same for Peter, James, and John – I had seen a bright light and shining in my heart. A light had overcome my darkness, a light that no darkness could overcome. As I walked down that mountain not a single grade in the professor’s grade books had changed. And by all outward appearances, nothing had changed. But everything was different! I don’t know precisely what Peter, James, and John saw on Mount Tabor, but I believe I have some idea of what happened in their hearts because of what I saw on Norwich Mountain in Northfield, Vermont. It would be many years before I fully realized what had happened on that mountain. I was afraid that telling this story might rob it of its power, so I didn’t share it with anyone until many years later. And even then, most people probably thought I was somewhat deranged. Maybe that’s why Jesus told Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone at that time.
Did I have this experience because I was holy? – far from it! Did I have this experience because God loves me more than you? No! Was it because I was closer to God than other people? Not at all! I had stopped going to church because I was too busy having “fun.” I believe the reason I had this experience is that I was a knucklehead and God loved me anyway, he wanted me for some other purpose than cross country skiing, or parties, or the squandering of my father‘s money on tuition.
It’s hard for me to believe even today that in two semesters I won a scholarship that paid for my education. But don’t think for a second that all of a sudden I became a good. God would have to return to me with all manner of intervention in my life in order to save me from myself. I’ll save those stories for another time, but just remember God deals gently with sinners, fools, and looks after the child within us.
I pray that you will all be open to God‘s intervention in your life as he intervened in Peter, James, and John, and even me, when we act like knuckleheads. Have a blessed transfiguration.
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