Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

One of my aunt Noel’s favorite stories about my grandfather, her father,

happened a just a few years before his death …

she was driving him and his brother Graydon on a trip somewhere,

maybe to one of the family reunions …

Now Pawpaw and Graydon were both in their eighties at the time,

Pawpaw had practiced law most of his life;

I can’t remember whether Graydon was a lawyer or not …

anyway, both of them were still very sharp mentally,

but more than a little bit hard of hearing.

Noel says that on this whole trip

the two brothers carried on a lively, spirited, brotherly conversation,

only it wasn’t one conversation,

but two entirely different ones.

Neither of them could hear clearly what the other was saying,

but they weren’t about to admit it,

so they talked past one another the whole time,

with poor Noel about to bust

holding in her laughter for all those hours on the road.

Now my grandfather thought that was a pretty funny story on himself,

so I don’t think he’d mind my telling it,

but the sad truth is, we all have days like that,

even if we aren’t hard of hearing!

Haven’t you ever had it happen,

that you’re talking to someone,

and being as clear as you know how to be,

but you can tell by the confused or blank look

that it simply isn’t registering?

Or conversely, have you ever listened to someone

who is speaking plain English,

simple words, complete sentences,

and yet you just can’t figure out what they mean?

This happens a lot between parents and children,

particularly that branch of the species known as the teenager …

It also happens between children and parents;

that is, it goes both ways.

It happens between teachers and students,

and between preachers and congregations,

and even between spouses, and partners, and close friends.

Sometimes we misconnect, or misunderstand, or miss it entirely!

Jesus and his disciples had the same problem …

The reading from Mark’s gospel,

the story of the transfiguration,

gives an example of how the disciples don’t understand,

and it comes right after a story

where you’re led to think they’ve finally got it,

only to discover they really don’t.

What comes right before the transfiguration,

at least in the gospel of Mark,

is Peter’s confession of faith.

Where Jesus asks the disciples,

"but who do you say that I am?"

and Peter says, "You are the Christ."

And for one brief, exciting moment, we think,

"Yea! He’s figured it out!"

But right after that,

Jesus talks about how he must suffer,

and be rejected, and killed …

and Peter starts to rebuke him!

And it becomes clear that

he doesn’t really understand at all.

And then, six days later,

comes this event called the transfiguration.

Jesus goes up onto the mountain,

and his clothes become radiant white,

and he is seen talking with Moses and Elijah,

both of whom are of course long dead.

Once again,

Peter’s mouth gets him into trouble:

"Let’s build three booths," he says,

"one for each of you."

This time, God corrects Peter"

"This is my beloved Son; listen to him."

Listen to him.

Stop scurrying around;

close your mouth and open your ears.

Listen to him.

Not to yourself, not to what others will tell you.

You’re only going to get the story straight

if you listen to him.

Even so, Jesus tells them as they are coming down the mountain

that they must not tell anyone what they have seen,

until he has been raised from the dead.

Only in light of the resurrection

will everything else make sense.

Then they will understand,

and then it will be all right

for them to share the story with others.

Time and again,

it seems that Jesus has trouble

getting through to the disciples.

In this particular story,

even God can’t entirely get through to them.

Now that’s partly understandable,

because Jesus wasn’t exactly what

the Jews thought they were supposed to expect.

From their reading of the Old Testament,

they expected a Messiah who would be powerful –

more like a king, not a carpenter.

Someone who would help them

chase the Romans out of their land,

not someone who talked about loving your enemies.

Someone who would be admired and respected,

not suffering and rejected.

So it’s understandable that at first

they had a hard time figuring out

who he was and what he was about.

He was so different.

Really, it’s amazing that anyone followed him at all.

Yes, the disciples were slow to catch on.

sometimes almost dense, even.

But with them, it’s understandable.

What about us, though?

What’s our excuse?

Why is it so often so difficult

for God to get through to us?

We have the gospels

in addition to the Old Testament;

many of us have heard stories about Jesus since childhood.

How is it that it’s still

so hard for us to get the message?

In a funny way,

we’re in kind of a reverse situation

from the disciples.

They accepted Jesus immediately

without yet understanding him …

we understand him pretty well,

but don’t often accept him.

We understand that Jesus is our Savior,

but so many of us don’t accept that

we’ve ever done anything we need to be saved because of.

We understand that Jesus is Lord,

but we have a hard time accepting him

as our own individual Lord of our own private life

and as Lord of all the world,

even those countries we don’t like.

Why is it so hard for God to get through to us?

I have a theory about this,

and it’s only a theory,

but it’s based on this story of the transfiguration.

So for what it’s worth, here it is:

You know how Jesus, and Elijah, and Moses appeared,

all talking together,

and Peter got a little scared,

and started that talk about

building a booth for each of them …

Not only was Peter trying to freeze that moment in time,

which everyone knows you can’t do …

He was going to give equal billing

to Moses, and Elijah, and Jesus …

and you can’t do that.

Jesus is Lord, not the others.

But we have a similar problem,

in that there are many things in our lives which demand our attention,

and which either

try to set themselves up as gods for us,

or we try to set them up as gods.

Not Moses and Elijah any longer,

but other sorts of things.

One which most of us have to face at some time or another,

is our work.

Sometimes we give it the stature of a god;

other times it seems to claim that all by itself.

My last two years in college,

I worked in a travel agency for a boss who, to all intents and purposes,

thought she was God.

Not that we had to call her "Your Majesty," or anything like that,

but it was clear that, as far as she was concerned,

she was the center of the universe.

I had an ulcer after one year of working for her.

And it was only when summer came,

and I had some time to back off

and evaluate what had been happening,

and got back in touch with

who was the real God in my life,

and who was only pretending,

that I got well.

And I worked for her another year, then,

without any further damage to my health!

But it is hard for God to get through to us

when the demands of our work

are speaking so loudly and seem so much nearer.

It’s probably even harder

in those situations where we pretty much are our own boss,

and have only ourselves to blame for putting work

ahead of God.

If it’s our own doing, our own fault,

how much more difficult for God to get through.

Sometimes our family can take on the role of a god;

sometimes it’s that one significant person

without whom life would seem to be no longer worthwhile.

Sometimes we allow our nation to become as important as God;

sometimes, like my former boss, we try to let ourselves become God.

Sometimes, money and the security it brings can usurp God’s role.

Any time any of that happens,

the real God is going to have a hard time getting through to us,

because we won’t be tuned in

to where or who God really is.

That’s part of being human!

So we don’t need to berate ourselves

for the fact that it’s sometimes

hard for God to reach us –

after all, it happened even to the disciples.

What we do need to do, all the time,

is be ruthlessly honest with ourselves.

Who is our Lord?

Whose voice are we obeying?

What is God trying to say to us,

and are we hearing it?

If not, what’s the problem?

- Are our hearing aids not turned up? (literal or figurative!)

- Is something else louder drowning it out?

- Is it telling us something we didn’t want to hear?

God wants to get through to us,

to make connection with us.

Let’s do everything we can do.

to clear the way.

Once we have heard God’s call clearly,

there’s no telling what we might be able to do!

Amen.

© 2006 Julie Adkins (e-mail: Drjadkins@trinitypresdallas.org)