Fog-Clearing Moments
Sermon
FROM ANTICIPATION TO TRANSFIGURATION
Sermons For Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany
Remember that fog we had last November? I had to venture into it early that Sunday morning. I left home about 6:00 a.m., long before most people even thought about getting up. The fog was dense. My automobile headlights would not cut it. Visibility was reduced to about ten feet. I turned on my dimmer lights and hoped that on-coming traffic would do the same. As I drove, I felt like my car was pushing through a tunnel of smoke.
I was able to drive from my house to the church because I had driven along that route so many times. I knew the hills, curves, landmarks, and the names of intersecting streets. I knew when I was passing the college, the elementary school, the international restaurant, and the grocery store. I knew when I was passing those places, not because I could see them, but because the roadway told me where I was. I knew the road well because I had driven it so many crystal clear days. I had to trust in my memories of a time when there was not any fog in order to get myself through the fog.
A great portion of life is like living in fog. We are not certain of what is around us, where we are going, what or who might be around the next curve. We creep along the roads of life without a clear vision of what has happened, what is happening, or what will happen next. Trying to find our way through social problems, political problems, economic difficulties, family troubles, and personal anxieties is more like threading through fog than flying down an open road. Often we have to follow the road even when we are most uncertain of where it leads.
Likewise, matters of faith and belief are more like a fog than a clear day. Most of us live in a fog when it comes to questions like, "Who is God?", "What is God like?", and "How does God interact within human life?" What we believe and how we came to believe it are not clear to us. Theology is more ambiguous than it is plain. Figuring out what we believe and why, is often accomplished without clear understanding.
Even the first disciples lived in a fog about the identity of Jesus. Though they had decided to follow him, they were unclear about his identity or purpose. The Gospel writers are careful to point out that the disciples did not understand the purpose of Jesus' ministry. "Who is Jesus?" seems to dominate the thinking of the New Testament. Some saw him as the royal Davidic Messiah. Others saw him as the earthly Son of Man who called his followers into suffering discipleship. He was to some the new Moses. Others saw him as being like Moses and Elijah, yet even greater. For others, he was the Anointed Servant of God, the Beloved Son who shares in the glory of God. Because the disciples did not understand, they were often filled with awe, amazement, and fear. Even after the Transfiguration, the disciples did not fully understand who Jesus was or where his mission would take him. As they descended the mountain after the Transfiguration, Jesus charged them with secrecy "until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." But the disciples were totally in the dark about Jesus. They had him confused with Elijah and John the Baptizer.
But, the fact remains that those first disciples persisted in following Jesus, even when they could not see clearly. They followed him even when they did not understand. They stayed on the road with him, even when the fog was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife. That is, they stayed with him until the cross loomed large and heavy. Then they deserted. But, until then, they followed though the way was not clear.
Perhaps the story of the Transfiguration gives us a clue to understanding the disciples' ability to follow, even when they did not understand. Jesus took four of the disciples with him to a high mountain. While there, he was transfigured before them. His face became as bright as the sun. His garments became as white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared and had a conversation with Jesus. Peter got all excited and offered to build three booths, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While Peter was speaking, a voice came from a cloud and said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." The disciples were so moved by this identification of Jesus that they fell on their faces and were filled with awe.
The experience on the mountain was, for the disciples, a fog-clearing moment. Jesus was momentarily transformed before them so that they, the chosen ones, could perceive his true status. He is like Moses and Elijah, but yet even greater, for Jesus was immediately set apart from them, a contrast already prepared for by the writer. The point is that the entire narrative does not point forward to the future existence of Jesus, but speaks of his real, although hidden, status on earth. The mountain, the cloud, and the voice do not place the scene in heaven - but point more to its earthly character, since, throughout biblical tradition, these are signs of divine presence on earth. So, too, Jesus was not given new garments, but his earthly ones are said to be glistening. The presence of the disciples throughout the narrative and their real, although confused, role in the event underlines this conclusion.
This act of God, therefore, was like removing the veil that had hidden reality from the disciples so that they were able to glimpse what they had failed to understand up until then. It was a divine revelation regarding Jesus' person. After recognizing him as God's Anointed One, they were then shown the fullness of the mystery of his person: the Anointed Servant of God is also the Beloved son who shares in the glory of God. It is for this reason that they were told, in the stark reality of a divine command, that Jesus must be obeyed.
Thus, the disciples were able to follow because they had had a fog-clearing moment. They had had an immediate experience with Christ which enabled them to keep on going, even when the road was fogged over. They might not have fully understood, but they kept on following because of that one moment when they had had an immediate experience with Christ which enabled them to stay on the road with him. They had to trust in that time when they could see clearly, in order to get through those times when their vision was blurred and uncertain.
Consider the possibility that we are a lot like those first disciples. Like them, we live with misunderstanding. Life is more like a fog than like a clear day when one can see forever. Most of us are able to make it through the fog because we have had certain "mountain-top" experiences with Christ which gave us great certainty about God's presence in the thick darkness. Without these moments of certainty, we would not be able to continue. It is the fog-clearing moments that make it possible for us to navigate through those time when life is more than difficult.
Most of us have had fog-clearing moments. A recent Gallop Poll reported that eighty-five percent of the people interviewed said that they had had a "mystical" experience with God. This is a high percentage! But, when you think about it, there have been those moments in life when we experienced God's presence and purpose in ways that are deep, profound, and real. So great is that certainty that we would stake our lives upon its reality. Perhaps we cannot explain it, but it is real beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Fog-clearing moments have taken different shapes for various types of people. Some people have had mystical experiences. In these mystical experiences, there has been the clear conviction of a living God, as the primary interest of consciousness, and of a personal self capable of communion with God. For others, a fog-clearing moment has come as a flash of insight while worshiping, reading, beholding a work of art, or listening to an anthem which touches the spirit.
A few years ago, I taught a course in United Methodist Policy at Vanderbilt Divinity School. On the first day of class, I asked the students to share a time in their lives when they were especially aware of God's presence. I asked them to talk about a sacred moment in their faith journies which had become for them a mountain-top experience. I was stunned when a majority of the students talked about the death of a significant person as a time when they knew God's presence with great certainty.
Some people have experienced a sign of divine presence while driving away from the hospital with a newborn baby cuddled in a soft blanket. Some have experienced God's revelation while listening to a friend, caring for the poor, or watching a child play basketball.
Phyllis Tickle lives on a farm in West Tennessee. She is the mother of seven. She lives with her physician husband and her three children who are still at home on a large spread near Lucy, Tennessee, just north of Memphis. Experiences on this farm provide the setting for many of her books and articles. Her love for words and her command of language provide the vehicle to convey what she is learning about Christian life and about herself. "I have learned more about what 'Christian' means in a day-to-day 'let's do the dishes again, or change the baby' day than any other thing in the world," said Phyllis Tickle. For Tickle, those day-to-day experiences have become fog-clearing moments. Tickle, like all the rest of us, is moving through the fog of life. We must also trust those moments when there was clarity.
Most of the time, the fog-clearing moments do not come when we set out to look for them. Most of the time, the fogclearing moments come when we are able to see the divine in the ordinary. Phyllis Tickle said that she never looks for special experiences with God. "Never look for it. Couldn't find it if I did. It overwhelms me. I am attacked by it," said Phyllis.
When those disciples came down the mountain with Jesus, they were still confused about his identity. Was he Elijah? Was he John the Baptizer? Later, the disciples were disappointed because they could not cast the demon out of the epileptic. They were greatly distressed when Jesus said that he would be killed and then raised on the third day. They argued about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. But, they could keep following because there was for them that time on the mountain when they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Like Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers, Transfiguration Sunday immediately precedes Lent. One temptation, especially on Shrove Tuesday, is to stuff ourselves silly with all the sweets that we will be living without for the duration of the coming weeks. Our temptation is to want to stay on the mountain top and to deify the experience. We would rather be alone with the exalted Christ than go down among the people and risk suffering. We, like Peter, have problems with a Christ who suffers. It would be easy to pretend that the exalted Christ, transfigured on the mountain, only appeared to suffer. The Transfiguration functions as the apex of the Gospel.
Who will follow Jesus to Jerusalem? Those who can follow Jesus to Jerusalem are those who have experienced the certainty of his revelation to us. If we do not understand this revelation, it is because we do not see clearly yet. But, just because we do not fully understand it, does not mean that it is any less real. The trick to living the Transfiguration story is to stake our lives on those fog-clearing moments.
About the Author
Dr. Joe E. Pennel, Jr. is the Senior Pastor of the 3,200 member Brentwood United Methodist Church near Nashville, Tennessee. When this book was written, he was the Senior Pastor of Belmont United Methodist Church, a 2,000 member congregation located near Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Former pastorates in Memphis include Frayser Heights, Harris Memorial, and St. Luke.
Dr. Pennel holds a B.A. from Lambuth College and his M.A. and D.Min. from Vanderbilt University. He has continued his interest in theological education by serving as a lecturer in United Methodist Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and by chairing the school's Advisory Council.
The author is a member of the World Methodist Council, the Board of Trustees of Martin College and the Board of Friends of General Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee. He preached for the 1984 Cole Lecturers at Vanderbilt Divinity School and has published sermons in Pulpit Digest and in the 1985-1988 editions of Ministers Manual. Dr. Pennel has been an alternate delegate to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church and a delegate to the Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church. He chairs the Work Area on Worship for the Tennessee Conference. In addition, Dr. Pennel is a member of the Board of Publications of the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Pennel is the author of A Connectional Community, The Whisper of Christmas, and From Anticipation to Transfiguration.
I was able to drive from my house to the church because I had driven along that route so many times. I knew the hills, curves, landmarks, and the names of intersecting streets. I knew when I was passing the college, the elementary school, the international restaurant, and the grocery store. I knew when I was passing those places, not because I could see them, but because the roadway told me where I was. I knew the road well because I had driven it so many crystal clear days. I had to trust in my memories of a time when there was not any fog in order to get myself through the fog.
A great portion of life is like living in fog. We are not certain of what is around us, where we are going, what or who might be around the next curve. We creep along the roads of life without a clear vision of what has happened, what is happening, or what will happen next. Trying to find our way through social problems, political problems, economic difficulties, family troubles, and personal anxieties is more like threading through fog than flying down an open road. Often we have to follow the road even when we are most uncertain of where it leads.
Likewise, matters of faith and belief are more like a fog than a clear day. Most of us live in a fog when it comes to questions like, "Who is God?", "What is God like?", and "How does God interact within human life?" What we believe and how we came to believe it are not clear to us. Theology is more ambiguous than it is plain. Figuring out what we believe and why, is often accomplished without clear understanding.
Even the first disciples lived in a fog about the identity of Jesus. Though they had decided to follow him, they were unclear about his identity or purpose. The Gospel writers are careful to point out that the disciples did not understand the purpose of Jesus' ministry. "Who is Jesus?" seems to dominate the thinking of the New Testament. Some saw him as the royal Davidic Messiah. Others saw him as the earthly Son of Man who called his followers into suffering discipleship. He was to some the new Moses. Others saw him as being like Moses and Elijah, yet even greater. For others, he was the Anointed Servant of God, the Beloved Son who shares in the glory of God. Because the disciples did not understand, they were often filled with awe, amazement, and fear. Even after the Transfiguration, the disciples did not fully understand who Jesus was or where his mission would take him. As they descended the mountain after the Transfiguration, Jesus charged them with secrecy "until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." But the disciples were totally in the dark about Jesus. They had him confused with Elijah and John the Baptizer.
But, the fact remains that those first disciples persisted in following Jesus, even when they could not see clearly. They followed him even when they did not understand. They stayed on the road with him, even when the fog was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife. That is, they stayed with him until the cross loomed large and heavy. Then they deserted. But, until then, they followed though the way was not clear.
Perhaps the story of the Transfiguration gives us a clue to understanding the disciples' ability to follow, even when they did not understand. Jesus took four of the disciples with him to a high mountain. While there, he was transfigured before them. His face became as bright as the sun. His garments became as white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared and had a conversation with Jesus. Peter got all excited and offered to build three booths, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While Peter was speaking, a voice came from a cloud and said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." The disciples were so moved by this identification of Jesus that they fell on their faces and were filled with awe.
The experience on the mountain was, for the disciples, a fog-clearing moment. Jesus was momentarily transformed before them so that they, the chosen ones, could perceive his true status. He is like Moses and Elijah, but yet even greater, for Jesus was immediately set apart from them, a contrast already prepared for by the writer. The point is that the entire narrative does not point forward to the future existence of Jesus, but speaks of his real, although hidden, status on earth. The mountain, the cloud, and the voice do not place the scene in heaven - but point more to its earthly character, since, throughout biblical tradition, these are signs of divine presence on earth. So, too, Jesus was not given new garments, but his earthly ones are said to be glistening. The presence of the disciples throughout the narrative and their real, although confused, role in the event underlines this conclusion.
This act of God, therefore, was like removing the veil that had hidden reality from the disciples so that they were able to glimpse what they had failed to understand up until then. It was a divine revelation regarding Jesus' person. After recognizing him as God's Anointed One, they were then shown the fullness of the mystery of his person: the Anointed Servant of God is also the Beloved son who shares in the glory of God. It is for this reason that they were told, in the stark reality of a divine command, that Jesus must be obeyed.
Thus, the disciples were able to follow because they had had a fog-clearing moment. They had had an immediate experience with Christ which enabled them to keep on going, even when the road was fogged over. They might not have fully understood, but they kept on following because of that one moment when they had had an immediate experience with Christ which enabled them to stay on the road with him. They had to trust in that time when they could see clearly, in order to get through those times when their vision was blurred and uncertain.
Consider the possibility that we are a lot like those first disciples. Like them, we live with misunderstanding. Life is more like a fog than like a clear day when one can see forever. Most of us are able to make it through the fog because we have had certain "mountain-top" experiences with Christ which gave us great certainty about God's presence in the thick darkness. Without these moments of certainty, we would not be able to continue. It is the fog-clearing moments that make it possible for us to navigate through those time when life is more than difficult.
Most of us have had fog-clearing moments. A recent Gallop Poll reported that eighty-five percent of the people interviewed said that they had had a "mystical" experience with God. This is a high percentage! But, when you think about it, there have been those moments in life when we experienced God's presence and purpose in ways that are deep, profound, and real. So great is that certainty that we would stake our lives upon its reality. Perhaps we cannot explain it, but it is real beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Fog-clearing moments have taken different shapes for various types of people. Some people have had mystical experiences. In these mystical experiences, there has been the clear conviction of a living God, as the primary interest of consciousness, and of a personal self capable of communion with God. For others, a fog-clearing moment has come as a flash of insight while worshiping, reading, beholding a work of art, or listening to an anthem which touches the spirit.
A few years ago, I taught a course in United Methodist Policy at Vanderbilt Divinity School. On the first day of class, I asked the students to share a time in their lives when they were especially aware of God's presence. I asked them to talk about a sacred moment in their faith journies which had become for them a mountain-top experience. I was stunned when a majority of the students talked about the death of a significant person as a time when they knew God's presence with great certainty.
Some people have experienced a sign of divine presence while driving away from the hospital with a newborn baby cuddled in a soft blanket. Some have experienced God's revelation while listening to a friend, caring for the poor, or watching a child play basketball.
Phyllis Tickle lives on a farm in West Tennessee. She is the mother of seven. She lives with her physician husband and her three children who are still at home on a large spread near Lucy, Tennessee, just north of Memphis. Experiences on this farm provide the setting for many of her books and articles. Her love for words and her command of language provide the vehicle to convey what she is learning about Christian life and about herself. "I have learned more about what 'Christian' means in a day-to-day 'let's do the dishes again, or change the baby' day than any other thing in the world," said Phyllis Tickle. For Tickle, those day-to-day experiences have become fog-clearing moments. Tickle, like all the rest of us, is moving through the fog of life. We must also trust those moments when there was clarity.
Most of the time, the fog-clearing moments do not come when we set out to look for them. Most of the time, the fogclearing moments come when we are able to see the divine in the ordinary. Phyllis Tickle said that she never looks for special experiences with God. "Never look for it. Couldn't find it if I did. It overwhelms me. I am attacked by it," said Phyllis.
When those disciples came down the mountain with Jesus, they were still confused about his identity. Was he Elijah? Was he John the Baptizer? Later, the disciples were disappointed because they could not cast the demon out of the epileptic. They were greatly distressed when Jesus said that he would be killed and then raised on the third day. They argued about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. But, they could keep following because there was for them that time on the mountain when they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Like Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers, Transfiguration Sunday immediately precedes Lent. One temptation, especially on Shrove Tuesday, is to stuff ourselves silly with all the sweets that we will be living without for the duration of the coming weeks. Our temptation is to want to stay on the mountain top and to deify the experience. We would rather be alone with the exalted Christ than go down among the people and risk suffering. We, like Peter, have problems with a Christ who suffers. It would be easy to pretend that the exalted Christ, transfigured on the mountain, only appeared to suffer. The Transfiguration functions as the apex of the Gospel.
Who will follow Jesus to Jerusalem? Those who can follow Jesus to Jerusalem are those who have experienced the certainty of his revelation to us. If we do not understand this revelation, it is because we do not see clearly yet. But, just because we do not fully understand it, does not mean that it is any less real. The trick to living the Transfiguration story is to stake our lives on those fog-clearing moments.
About the Author
Dr. Joe E. Pennel, Jr. is the Senior Pastor of the 3,200 member Brentwood United Methodist Church near Nashville, Tennessee. When this book was written, he was the Senior Pastor of Belmont United Methodist Church, a 2,000 member congregation located near Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Former pastorates in Memphis include Frayser Heights, Harris Memorial, and St. Luke.
Dr. Pennel holds a B.A. from Lambuth College and his M.A. and D.Min. from Vanderbilt University. He has continued his interest in theological education by serving as a lecturer in United Methodist Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and by chairing the school's Advisory Council.
The author is a member of the World Methodist Council, the Board of Trustees of Martin College and the Board of Friends of General Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee. He preached for the 1984 Cole Lecturers at Vanderbilt Divinity School and has published sermons in Pulpit Digest and in the 1985-1988 editions of Ministers Manual. Dr. Pennel has been an alternate delegate to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church and a delegate to the Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church. He chairs the Work Area on Worship for the Tennessee Conference. In addition, Dr. Pennel is a member of the Board of Publications of the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Pennel is the author of A Connectional Community, The Whisper of Christmas, and From Anticipation to Transfiguration.
