1. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. The message from God’s Word on the Transfiguration of our Lord is taken from Exodus 24:12, 15-18 and Matthew 17:1-9. It’s entitled, “What’s Behind the Cloud?” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. The account of the transfiguration of our Lord offers rich meteorological metaphors. In addition to the symbolism of the clouds, one also finds the analogy of barometric “highs” and “lows.” High barometric pressure usually brings clear skies and sunshine, while low barometric pressure brings clouds and rain. In a similar way life itself is a succession of highs and lows. Most of us would prefer a life of permanent highs—clear sides and perpetual sunshine. But we actually need both sunshine and rain! This succession of highs and lows reveals a pattern in the life of our Lord. And the servant is no greater than the Master. What happened to Jesus happens also to us. In his delightful fantasy The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis refers to this succession of highs and lows in a person’s life as, “The Law of Undulation.” We sometimes refer to them simply as the ups and downs of life! We want to think of these highs and lows of life, using the theme, “What’s behind the Cloud?”
3. Clouds can represent highs in life. We speak of being “in the clouds” or “on cloud nine!” It’s a joyous state that we would like to preserve. Like Peter in today’s Gospel, we would like to build “tents” or “booths” and set up permanent residence in this state of excitement. Some commentators suggest that the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths) was marked by enthusiasm over the coining triumph of Israel. Tents celebrated the victory ahead.
4. All of us have tendencies toward such triumphalism or “a theology of glory.” Some believe that this is the natural habitat for the Christian. Adopt the Christian way of life, they say, and you are guaranteed success in every way. Even the Gospel itself is sometimes redefined to fit this theology of glory. In answer to the question: “What, then, is the Gospel?” one theologian replies: “God can change your life and he can use you to change the world.” That may be true, but it is not the Gospel!
5. Theologians William Hordem & John Otwell have written,“The religion of glory always wants to have Easter without Good Friday. Christianity is a religion of the cross because it is the Good News of a God Who did not stay in the remote protection of heaven, far from the struggle of the earth. On the contrary, God came into our life through his Son, and here he drank to the full the cup of suffering, temptation and sorrow. Jesus could call his followers to take up their crosses because first he bore his own cross” (William Hordem and John Otwell, Proclamation, Series B [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975] 15).
6. Clouds can also represent lows in life. Sometimes we speak of living life “under a cloud,” and the reference is to a cloud of misfortune. When it is cloudy, we find our vision obscured and unclear. Living under a cloud can represent a depressed or troubled state of mind. We experience lows in life, the lows of sickness, failure, and disappointment. And yet these lows can become our finest hour. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill told the British people what to expect. He said it would take blood, sweat, and tears to meet the challenge of the war years. But he also predicted that the time would come when it could be said: “This was our finest hour!” So likewise, Jesus said that the real challenges of life could only be met through the acceptance of a cross—through blood, sweat, and tears. He said that this was true of his own life and would be true of his followers as well.
7. Author Vivian Clark has written, “It would seem good to always be up, but that would be impossible and unrealistic. Even Jesus . . . on the Mount of Transfiguration had to return to the valley of life with its difficulties and stresses. Mountaintop experiences deplete our energy because of the high emotional level on which we operate. It is necessary to return to routine—to rest, evaluate, and learn from experience” (Vivian Clark, God’s Remedy for Depression [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980] 29f)… Author Robert Tuttle has written, “Agony and ecstasy provide the balance that makes up life’s pilgrimage. It was true of the children of Israel. . . . “It’s true of us in our contemporary life’s struggle. The Israelites were struggling through the desert wilderness after their escape from Egypt. As with them, it is with us; good news, bad news, good news: good news—escape from Egypt; bad news—wandering in a desert wilderness; good news—the Promised Land ahead of them. And it is with us; the agony of life’s failures and struggle, and the promise of victorious life and fulfillment by the grace of a loving, powerful heavenly Father” (Robert G. Tuttle, God’s Two Hands [Lima, Ohio: C. S. S., 1988] 47).
8. Atmospheric clouds are called “cirrus” or “cumulus” depending on their height above the ground. So likewise, the clouds of life can be “serious” and “cumulative” (“cumulus” and “cumulative” come from the same root, which means “to heap up or pile up.”) Accidents, deaths among friends or relatives, trouble in the workplace, strife in the home or in other relationships—often they all seem to come at the same time. We capture this in the familiar phrase “When it rains, it pours!” This needn’t surprise us! It is not yet time for the Second Coming of our Lord and the end of sorrow and pain.
9. What’s behind the Cloud? (Or perhaps better, “Who’s behind the Cloud?”) God the Lawgiver and Moses. In the Old Testament reading God invites Moses up beyond the cloud to give him the tablets on which he has inscribed the commandments. This Law is to be taken seriously. Though given in love, it represents God’s expectations for humankind. And when it is violated, it incurs God’s wrath—as it did on the children of Israel when Moses came down from the mount and found them worshiping the golden calf. Who’s behind the cloud? God the Lawgiver!
10. The thick cloud, often called the Shekinah or glory cloud, was a symbol of God’s presence in both the Old and the New Testaments. Although the word “Shekinah” doesn’t occur in Scripture, rabbis used it after the close of the Old Testament Hebrew canon to describe the cloud that housed or formed the dwelling place of God. The word Shekinah is derived from the Hebrew root shcn which means “to dwell” or “to live with,” and is used to refer to a dwelling place of God. The Shekinah or glory cloud was a symbolic medium to veil or cover the hiding God.
11. Maria was only 15 when she ran away from home because her parents’ rules were “too strict.” After almost a year of use and abuse on the streets of a big city, she returned home, a modern prodigal daughter. Later she told a youth group: “It took me nine long months on the streets to finally realize that the rules which had seemed so rough and restrictive were actually sources of safety and security. My parents had established those rules not for their good, but for my own.” So, it is with God the Lawgiver. He has given us rules to live by, not for His good, but for our own. If we honor and live by those rules, we can find joy, love, and fulfillment (Michael Brown, Ordinary Sins [Lima, Ohio: Fairway, 1989] 13).
12. God the loving Father and Jesus. In the Gospel for the day God the loving Father expresses his pleasure in his Son and the work of redemption that he has undertaken. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” The glory of that Son is always shining, even when we are “under the cloud” of misfortune and pain. The “bright cloud” that envelops those on the Mount of Transfiguration may point to the bright cloud in which Christ will return (Mt 26:64; Acts 1:9–11; 1 Thess 4:17).
13. Who’s behind the cloud? Jesus! Martin Luther has written: “Holy Scripture frequently likens Christ to the sun, especially the prophet Malachi: ‘For you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall rise, with healing in His wings’ 4:2. . . . The natural sun sends forth a brightness and light by which it makes the day and awakens men from sleep. . . . So Christ, who is the spiritual Sun, sends forth the radiance and brightness of His Gospel into the world and thus enlightens the hearts of men” (Luther’s Works, vol. 12 [St. Louis: Concordia, 1955] 122).
14. During the long winters of cloudy skies in Minneapolis, the Fingerhut Corporation has a drawing among its employees. Winners are taken up in a large plane above the clouds to show them that the sun is still shining! The sun is always shining even when we see only clouds. In a similar way, God’s grace and love in Jesus Christ is always present even when we see only the clouds of misfortune.
15. Being human, we would like to live our lives perpetually “in the clouds,” in a euphoric state of being “on cloud nine!” But, this is unrealistic in a fallen and sinful world. When we perpetuate such euphoric ideas, we practice “a theology of glory” rather than “a theology of the cross” to which we are called. The good news proclaims that behind the clouds of life shines our God, who has given us his instructions for living a fulfilled life, and God’s Son, who imparts to us the righteousness and forgiveness of his redeeming work on the cross! The bottom line to the transfiguration story is Jesus and Jesus alone! So, we are told of the disciples: “When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.” Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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