This sermon was part of our "jazz" service, which means jazz music filled the sanctuary. We had a jazz ensemble of drums, trumpet, sax, string bass, and piano. They did a terrific job accompanying the hymns, playing the prelude and postlude, the offertory, and the anthem. The sermon incorporated the jazz ensemble. Each move, as noted below, set the stage for about a 2 minutes improv from the jazz ensemble reflecting that mood. It was really cool, although i'm not sure how to evaluate if it actually led to those gathered experiencing reflections/insights about what God is doing in their lives.
St. Andrew does music really well, and yesterday's service was an example of that high quality of music. We will continue to work to find ways to highlight music as part of our worship experience.
“Tranfiguration Reimagined” SAPC, Denton; 2/11/18; 2 Kings 2:1-12; Mark 9: 2-9
As you listen to the text I am about to read and you hear the sermon preached and played this morning, I invite you to imagine what it means for you to follow Jesus Christ.
Close your eyes; breathe; listen to the words; breathe some more; listen to the music; tap your toes; breathe some more; and imagine - imagine a God who comes in Christ to be part of your life; imagine Christ in all his glory; imagine the Holy Spirit shaping you in this moment
Mark 9: 2-9: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,[b] one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved;[c] listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Move 1: Peter, James, and John - the inner circle of the disciples - follow Jesus up to the high mountain.
Step by step. they slog up the hill. Each foot forward moves them one step higher on the mountain.
they look down at their feet to pass the time. the rhythm of their hiking hypnotizes - step, step, step, step One right after the other. One right behind the other. No stopping until they reach the top.
their breathing grows heavier with the exertion of moving up the mountain; they keep climbing. No time to stop; there is still much of the mountain before them.
the weariness of the morning climb comes to them, and still they go on, one step at a time.
Their weariness is accompanied by a sense of expectation.
they are going up a mountain. they know what Barbara Brown Taylor tells us: “…. every mountain, no matter where it was, was a ringer for the mountain that towered in the Hebrew imagination. Once the people of Israel had seen Mount Sinai smoking with the presence of the Lord, there were no "a" mountains anymore. Every mountain was "the" mountain, the place where the fiery God might be encountered again.
They climb the mountain with Jesus wondering if they will discover smoke, the presence of God, or something they have never imagined.
Each step brings them closer.
What is waiting for them at the top?
Music expresses weary disciples, but tinged with expectancy - they know that on the mountain things happen; but it could be scary or incredible
Move 2: Jesus transfigured
Suddenly, Jesus appeared dazzling white with Moses and Elijah.
the All-star team for Israel stands before the disciples. Moses, arguably the greatest leader in Israelite history; Elijah, one of the great prophets. If those two were one your team, anything could be accomplished. And add Jesus to the mix, the high mountaintop cannot contain the possibilities.
Being disciples could be pretty tough. A lot was expected of them. It is terrifying in that moment to find themselves in the presence of such greatness and wonder, “What is expected of me?”
But the challenging task of discipleship seems more doable in the presence of Moses and Elijah.
With Moses, Elijah, and Jesus in their midst, anything is possible for Peter, James, and John.
their imagination runs wild as they consider what they can do.
A dazzling white Jesus stands before them with unlimited possibilities.
Music expresses the dazzling white of possibilities
Move 3: Have to head down the mountain, back to work.
they want to stay on the mountaintop and build booths. As if they could stop time and settle into that one moment forever.
they linger in this perfect moment. If only they could stay.
But they know, they know that the exhilarating possibilities imagined on the mountaintop can only be lived out in the world below them.
Back where people flock to Jesus to learn, to be healed, to be set free; to have their lives changed forever.
They have to go back down the mountain.
Mood - Longing for the moment they just had mixed with determination for the mission ahead of them
Move 3: Mystery of Christ – don’t tell anyone
their steps are lighter on the way back down the mountain.
they feel energized by the mountaintop experience, but also puzzled by the Jesus’ demand that they tell know now what they had seen until after he had been raised from the dead.
the questions bubble up each step of the way down.
“Raised from the dead?”
“Does that mean Jesus will die?”
“how can someone we raised from the dead?”
“why can’t we tell everyone what we have seen?”
the mystery of who Jesus is increases each moment.
the voice from the heavens echoes in their minds, “This is my son, the beloved. Listen to him.”
Peter, James, and John cannot fully comprehend the God who sends Christ, God’s Son to live alongside them.
Nor do they understand the mystery of this incredible, mystical, cosmic Christ.
Or even why he commands them to “Tell no one.”
But they know the one who has called them to follow. They have seen him heal and teach.
they have given their lives over to him.
Now they go down the mountain ready to follow him into the world.
Mood - mystery of the incarnation
Conclusion:
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