When God Speaks Unexpectedly
a sermon based on Matthew 17:1-9
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

When Jesus took Peter, James, and John along on a little trip up the mountain, they probably felt very honored. They must have felt that they were the chosen among the chosen. Or perhaps not. Maybe they thought: "what does he want us to do now? Do I always have to do the work? Why couldn't he pick Andrew or Judas, or someone?"

What do think they expected? A board meeting? A field trip? A prayer meeting? The scripture passage leaves us in the dark on these questions.

One thing we can be pretty sure about, though, they did not expect what was to about to happen: Jesus turns into "Mr. Clean" right in front of them. Beams of light shining from his body. And if that wasn't enough of a marvel, Moses and Elijah appear. I think it's pretty safe to say that the disciples were surprised, and not just because the author uses the word "suddenly."

I'm not sure how they would have recognized Moses and Elijah. I don't suppose they had name tags. Perhaps Moses was still carrying the stone tablets with the 10 commandments around? And maybe Elijah was wearing a heavy duty mantel that was still dripping wet from hitting the water right before he was carried away in the chariot. Maybe they introduced themselves. Or maybe the disciples just somehow knew. It was a moment of revelation anyhow, so maybe our disciples just had that insight.

The great theologian Karl Barth described a divine revelation as that moment when God lifts a veil from one's eyes. So perhaps, what the disciples saw in Jesus, i.e. his brightness and divinity, was what he really looked like in God's reality. And just for a moment, God lifted the veil from Peter, John and James' eyes so they could see him for what and who he really was.

And just when Peter seems to get somewhat comfortable with the unusual scene, comes surprise number three: a bright cloud envelops them and the voice of God Almighty is heard affirming the divinity of Jesus, God's own son. And at that point the disciples are down-right scared. They handled all the other surprises pretty well. They were probably used to surprises from traveling around with Jesus. They saw a lot of miracles and unusual signs. But hearing God in an audible voice was too much to handle even for the more mature among the disciples.

What about us? Are we ever ready to hear God's voice? Do we really strive for a spiritual revelation? And if we do, what will our reaction be once God speaks to us? I think we could handle it if God spoke to us in a way we expect God to speak to us. But what if God speaks to us unexpectedly. Will we be in shock or scared like Peter, John and James?

I think it is human nature to expect God only to talk to us at certain times, in certain places and in certain ways. We expect God to speak through the pastor, the choir, the readings from the pulpit on Sunday mornings; we may expect God to speak to us in our devotional time, our Bible study time, etc.

In other words: we expect God to speak and reveal Godself to us on our own terms--when we're ready for God to speak!

What the account of Jesus' transfiguration expresses is that, when it comes to God's communication with us, God is a God of surprises. It almost seems like God wants to catch us off guard at times. Just when we expect him to come in through the front door, God is knocking at the back door, whether we're ready or not.

That seems to be Jesus' message so many times in the Gospels; he literally shocks people with his answers and with his actions. It seems that we humans want to follow Jesus on or own terms. We tend to be religious, i.e. we want to worship God, but we want to do it when we always do it--on Sunday mornings. We want to talk to God, but we want to do it when we make time for God (during our devotions). We want to serve God, but we want to do it when it is convenient to us. We want to give, we want to be in charge over how much.

A part of our human "religiosity" is wanting to have some control over our spirituality and even over God. Just like the Pharisees of Jesus' time we come up with religious rules, with parameters, with expectations; we come up with the right theology for the right situation. We have it all figured out . . . until God speaks to us in a moment of surprise. And at that moment we get . . . .scared. Why? Because we realize that we are not really in control, God is! And that makes us nervous!

Our disciples weren't the only ones who had to learn this lesson. Moses who appeared before them had a similar experience. Moses probably did not expect God to talk to him in the wilderness. God got Moses' attention with a burning bush that was not consumed. And when he did, Moses stood before God in awe. Suddenly, Moses realized, God can turn even a desert into a sanctuary.  Just like that!

The message of the transfiguration account is: when we say yes to following Jesus, we need to do so on God's terms--not on our own. If we give our life to God, we give control over our lives to God. All the way! God wants to talk to us, God wants to use us every day in different ways, in different places, not just during the worship hour on Sunday mornings.

The question is: Are we willing to follow Jesus on God's terms? Are we saying yes to God, even though we get no guarantees or promises of a comfortable, secure life? Are we willing to let God be God over our lives no matter where it takes us? Christ calls us, as he did Peter, John and James, to follow him; to follow him up the mountain--into humanly unknown territory, into God's territory. A territory of revelation and divine mystery. But a territory that's beyond our control. What will our answer be?