Middletown Reformed Church

THE MIDDLETOWN REFORMED CHURCH

 

LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY        FEBRUARY 14, 2010

 

GREETINGS

 

It was more than four years ago when I underwent serious spinal surgery to restore my health and wellbeing. People, in their concern, still ask me how I am. I tell them, first of all, that I am mostly free of pain. Thank God. Then I tell them that I’m not as limber as I used to be, and that sometimes I don’t stand straight. I lean forward. I do a daily set of exercises for my mobility and posture. I find a straight vertical structure like a wall. I put my heels to the wall, my rear to the wall, and then my shoulders, and finally the back of my head. Then I drop my shoulders, take a deep breath and stand there for a while. It helps me to stand up straight.

 

There are advantages, however, to walking with a stoop. When we walk with a stoop we tend to look down to the ground. Walking with a stoop may help us to see the curb as we cross the street, or to find and miss tripping over a rut or crack in the pavement, or to miss stepping on a fresh piece of gum someone has discarded, or to find a penny or even a dime that someone dropped, which, of course, is very difficult for me to pick up.

 

But there are greater advantages in walking upright. With our heads raised we see up ahead. We see the trees, and the distant scene, our eyes a lifted to the sky.

 

Coming to church is like a re-orientation. It’s like the exercise I do for my posture. During much of the week we concern ourselves with the mundane things of life. What clothes shall I wear? What shall I eat? Does my car need servicing? Does my social security check come in this week or next week? When we come to church we look up, we look at the horizon expecting to be confronted by the holy, the eternal, by God.

 

My prayer for you is that your eyes may be lifted unto the hills, thaqt you may see the horizon and beyond, that you may see the larger picture, that you may know God in this place and in this hour. And it is my privilege, in the name of Jesus to greet with God’s grace, God’s mercy, and God’s peace.

 

Good morning.

 

SERMON Praying With Eyes Wide Open

 

Text: Luke 9:32

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.

 

Prayer: from Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

 

This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It is a season of penitence that begins with ashes, a recognition of our humanity and mortality. Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return. It is a season of repentance, or turning again to face the Lord Jesus and the judgment of our sin.

 

Lent is a season to focus on Jesus, Agnes Dei, the Lamb of God, who takes upon himself the sin of the whole world. It is a time to remember the suffering of Jesus, the humiliation of Jesus, a time to remember the crucifixion of Jesus, the death of Jesus.

 

But before we get to Ash Wednesday and Lent, there is the transfiguration of Jesus. That’s what we observe today. Today we remember that event when Jesus appeared in glory to Peter, James and John.

 

Jesus had invited the three of his closest disciples to go up a mountain with him in order to get away from the world, and to draw close to God in prayer. It seemed as if the disciples needed a retreat, a time away from the cares of the world. The text tells us that they were “weighed down with sleep”. They were tired.

 

In spite of that, they had stayed awake. Their eyes were opened and they saw a glorious vision. Before their very eyes Jesus was changed in appearance. While Jesus was praying his face changed and his clothes became a dazzling white.

 

Before they had the chance to ask what this might mean, they saw more, they saw two men having in discourse with Jesus. These companions were none other than the greatest heroes in the history of their faith, Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the great prophet. They were speaking to Jesus in glory, about the things that were going to happen, about our Lord’s departure that was to happen in Jerusalem.

 

Peter, being afraid, not knowing what to say or how to react, suggested that they build a shrine here on the top of the mountain, three booths, one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus. Just then a cloud enveloped them, when it evaporated Moses and Elijah were gone. They were left alone with Jesus.

 

It seems as if Peter and the other two would have preferred to stay on the mountaintop but Jesus led them back down into the valley and they continued their journey to Jerusalem and to the cross of Calvary.

 

I find it a curious observation in the midst of Luke’s account of the transfiguration that the gospel writer tells us even though their eyes were heavy with sleep, even though they were tired, they kept their eyes wide open. They prayed with their eyes wide open and therefore they saw the vision. They saw Jesus transfigured; they saw Christ in glory.

 

There’s something here for us about keeping our eyes wide open. There’s something here for us about staying awake and being prepared to see what God reveals to us.

 

I, like many of you, wear bi-focal glasses. I guess I’m not naturally far-sighted or near-sighted at this stage of my life. I use the top half of my lenses to see more clearly that what is at a distance. I use the lower half of my lenses to see more clearly that what is close at hand. I look at things in two distinct ways.

 

It’s that way not only in terms of our eyesight, it is also that way in terms of our vision, our perception. We can look at the world with two distinct lenses. We can look at things microscopically or telescopically. When we look at life through the microscope we see the tiny things, things often invisible to the naked eye. When we look at life through the telescope we also see things often invisible to the naked eye, but we see the big things that are far away.

 

Sometimes we see the just the small picture, and sometimes we see just the big picture.

 

Peter, James, and John had been traveling with Jesus. They had seen Jesus in the midst of the hubbub of life. Jesus healing the sick. Jesus feeding the hungry. Jesus teaching at the lakeside. They saw a man saying and doing wonderful things. They saw God present in these things, even the small things that might have gone unnoticed by others. But they hadn’t seen the big picture.

 

On the mountain, before continuing the journey to Jerusalem and to the cross of Calvary they caught a glimpse of the larger picture. They saw this man, Jesus, transfigured, glorified. They saw this man, Jesus, as a man of the ages set between Moses and Elijah. They saw Jesus, as Christ, as the anointed one of God. They saw Jesus through a different set of lenses.

 

Before we enter the Lenten Season we are reminded that the man we see humiliated at the high priest’s house is none other than the Son of God. We are reminded that the man who is mocked by the Roman Soldiers is none other than the Savior of the world. We are reminded that the man who is tortured by the whip, the crown of thorns and the cross is none other than the Lord of lords. We are reminded that the one who is judged by Pilate is none other than the King of kings and the Prince of Peace. Before we focus on the forty days of Lent and the Holy Week of suffering we are shown the larger picture.

 

One of my favorite illustrations is that of the Anablebs. Anablebs are fish that swim in the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean off of South America. What is special about anablebs is the fact that they have two sets of eyes. With one set of eyes these fish see that which is underwater. They can keep an eye out for predators or food that lurks below the surface. With the other set of eyes they see insects and potential obstacles above the surface of the water. Kind of like my bifocals.

 

As followers of Jesus we need two sets of eyes. We need one set of eyes to see the big picture and another set of eyes to see the close up picture. For you see, God is present in the big picture and on the distant horizon but God also present in what is close at hand. God is present as we stand with awe, our heads uplifted to see the distant galaxies on a clear star-lit night. God is also present in the tiniest moss that survives the cold of winter on the forest’s floor. We may hear God as we listen to a choir of thousand voices backed by a full symphony orchestra, and we may hear God in the cry of a newborn baby. We may see God in the glory of the sunrise and in the solitary candle glowing in the dark.

 

God is Jesus, the Lord of lords and King of kings. God is also Jesus, the man of sorrows, hanging on a cross. God is Jesus seated between Moses and Elijah, God is also Jesus stooped down to bless children brought to him. God is Jesus, the one who points to the Kingdom of God and the end of time. God is also Jesus on his knees as a servant to wash the feet of his disciples.

 

God is big and God is small. God is far away and God is near. God is here and there. He is everywhere, and he’s here and there for us. Keep your eyes wide open. Pray with your eyes wide open so that you may see his glory near at hand and far away. God is here and God is there for you.