Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Some number of years ago now, Matt and I were traveling through the UK. We had been up in Edinburgh for a few days, and now we were arriving in Cambridge, having spent the better part of a day navigating the country by rail. Arriving at the train station, we began picking our way through the city to our accommodations on the other side of town. Luggage in tow, we pushed into crowded sidewalks and cobbled streets, filled with a crush of students and bicycles and the energy that settles over a college town the day before the start of term.
In short, it was chaos. Suddenly, I heard someone crying. Looking around the crowded street, I eventually spotted them in the stoop of a doorway, face in their hands, weeping. In that moment, I hesitated. I could feel the weight of my luggage in hand, the soreness of my feet, the exhaustion of a long day of travel. In that moment I hesitated. Would this person even want to speak to me? Was it any of my business? Would I know what to say?
I turned to look back at the weeping person and glimpsed that another person had appeared to comfort them, to hand them a tissue, to offer a hug. The crowd pressed in again, pushing me onward, hiding the scene from my sight. We walked another kilometre or so to our housing, leaving me plenty of time to consider the soreness of my feet and ponder my hesitancy to act.
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Jesus led the three disciples up the mountain side. The journey had taken the better part of the day. Their feet were sore. They were ready to sit down and take a break. But as they reached the top of the mountain, suddenly Jesus was transformed before their eyes. He shone like the sun, and beside him appeared Moses and Elijah. Perceiving the divine light in front of him, Peter forgot the soreness of his body, the exhaustion of his limbs, and leapt into action. “It is good that we are here!” he cried out to Jesus and Moses and Elijah. Recognizing God’s presence before him, Peter continued, “Let us make a proper place for you; let us set up three tents for you!”
Peter suffered no hesitancy.
Peter never understood the need to look when he leapt, literally. After the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to the disciples from the lake shore while they fished, Peter jumped into the water and swam to Jesus. And when Jesus walked across the stormy waters to a boat full of terrified disciples, Peter did not hesitate to step out onto the water himself and begin walking toward Jesus. And when Jesus first appeared to Peter and called him to be his disciple, Peter jumped up, leaving his boat and his nets in the surf behind him.
I found myself thinking about Peter a lot this week. I found myself pondering what he has to teach us about discipleship.
My friends, we live in a broken world. There is so much suffering, so much pain, so many faces in hands as they weep. Never has that been more apparent as when we turn to look at the community of Tumbler Ridge and the unimaginable loss of life and grief that has washed across our country.
My friends, the world around us aches for compassion. It longs for mercy. It so desperately needs grace. Yes, especially in Tumbler Ridge right now, but not only there. The homeless people living on our rain-soaked streets, the drug addicts caught in the despair of their illness. Yes, there is profound need out there, but not only out there, within the walls of our own family and relations. The wounded relationships, the estrangements that pierce like a knife, the little child who sits up at night struggling with their gender-identity, the grief and the shame that we carry within our own souls.
In the face of it all, it can feel overwhelming! Where are we to begin? We hesitate in our response. We feel the weight and the soreness of our own responsibilities; the pain in our own hearts pulls on our souls. Does the world really want to hear from me? Is it any of my business? Do I even know the right thing to do or say?
So, we second guess ourselves. We hesitate. We spend so much time trying to figure out the right thing, the right words, the right response, that we end up doing nothing at all. And the world around us weeps as we stand watching, frozen in our hesitancy.
But Peter teaches us that discipleship looks like choosing action over inaction. Peter shows us that in the life of faith, it is better to do something than to do nothing at all. In the face of the world’s suffering, pain, and despair, do compassion! Do mercy! Do grace! Do not waste time over thinking what you will say, trust that God will give you the wisdom that is needed! Do not hesitate over the right course to take, God will illuminate the path before you! For it is through the ordinary acts of compassion, mercy, and grace of people like you and me that the greater acts of God are known!
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Fourteen years ago, I was walking through the doors of the church I would come to serve for eight years for the very first time. I had come for an in-person interview with the search committee, and before the interview started, they were giving me a short tour of the building. We stopped in front of a big bulletin board filled with photos of church life in the community. Very proudly, my tour guide pointed to a glossy photo in one corner and proclaimed, “That is the goat that we donated to a village in Central America!”
I peered closely at the photo. Indeed, there was a large goat in the centre of it. Behind the goat and with a big smile, stood my tour guide. Beside the goat stood a villager, looking into the camera.
Looking at the photo, I could not help but wonder whether the village had wanted a goat. I did not give voice to this question, keeping it for my own counsel. But there was something in the eyes of the villager that seemed to betray a question that was playing through their head as the camera shutter snapped, “What are we going to do with this goat?”
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Peter suffered no hesitancy. And when he leapt into action, his actions sometimes—more often than not—left those watching scratching their heads and wondering what it was that he was hoping to accomplish.
Seeing Jesus, Moses, and Elijah before him, Peter cried out, “Lord, let us prepare three tents for you to stay in!” It is left to the reader to imagine the other two disciples turning to look at Peter with a silent question on their faces.
Suddenly, none other than the voice of God thunders over Peter’s plans and declares, “Listen to Jesus.” Looking back to Jesus, Peter and the other two disciples see that he is alone with them once again. Silently, tenderly, lovingly, Jesus leads them back down the mountain, all plans for tents and dwelling places forgotten behind them.
The lesson of discipleship that Peter offers to us is that it is better to do something than to do nothing at all. The other half of the wisdom that Peter teaches us is that when we get it wrong—because we will get it wrong!—then we must stop. We must listen. We must adjust our course, alter our plan, and follow Jesus.
My friends, the world cries for compassion, mercy, and grace! And in our rush to respond, we will sometimes get it wrong—maybe even more often than not. There will be times when our actions or words prove unhelpful or even leave others scratching their heads and wondering what it was we were hoping to accomplish. There may even be times when our best intentions inadvertently create pain. And when that happens, we must be able to listen and hear. We must be able to be flexible enough and creative enough, and humble enough to see the new path that God is showing us, and follow.
What is important is that we do not become afraid to act and frozen by indecision and perfection. What is important is that, like Peter before us, that our boldness is equaled only by our humility to know when we got it wrong, and our faithfulness to Christ to hear where he is calling and leading us.
Because, in the end, it is not our compassion, it is not our mercy, and it is not our grace that we are pouring into the brokenness of the world. It is God’s, and God’s alone. And God invites us into that same compassion, mercy, and grace with all our brokenness, imperfections, and eagerness to be faithful disciples.
Preached by the Rev. Adam Yates