The Fullness of Time

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:1-17 (NRSV)

My long-time fascination with the idea of time travel recently lead me to a television series on Hulu called Timeless. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen this show before. Three people from different walks of life are recruited to be part of a team who travel in a time machine to stop the bad guys from altering events in history in order to allow them to rise to power and basically run the world. In the course of doing this, a couple of the characters decide they want to try to use the time machine to alter the past in order to save family members who had historically died in one way or another. They thought if they could go back in time and change the outcome of certain events that lead to the deaths of their loved ones, then when they returned to the present time, they would find their lost family members alive and well since the events that lead to their deaths were stopped from ever happening.

Much to their frustration, these time travelers discovered that no matter what they did to try to change past events, they were not successful in preventing the death of their family members. One of them finally succeeds, but not because of trying to do so. You will have to watch the series yourself to see what happens.

The point I find relevant in all of this is that we often wish we could go back and change things. I’ve heard people say, “If only I had a time machine, I could go back and do that differently.” We all have things we would like to change about ourselves, our past and present behavior, things we have said and done, our relationships with others, etc. Unfortunately, time machines do not exist, so we can’t go back in time to change things. Even if we could, there is no guarantee that it would change the present situation by doing so.

The only sure thing we can turn to is the power of God to transform us, to renew us through rebirth in Jesus Christ. In the fullness of time God came into the world and became one of us in order to set us free from sin and death (Galatians 4). We can allow God’s grace to take away the guilt of our past and present sin, born of the Spirit, as we repent and commit to living for God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We can’t save the world, nor will our technology ever be powerful enough to invent a machine that can, but God can and has, and God invites us to be part of the new thing God is doing in the world.

Transfiguration

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.”
Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV)

Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him.
Peter broke in, “Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?”
While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.”
When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. “Don’t be afraid.” When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.
Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t breathe a word of what you’ve seen. After the Son of Man is raised from the dead, you are free to talk.”
Matthew 17:1-9 (The Message)

This Sunday, February 19, is Transfiguration Sunday. In the church, we traditionally celebrate and observe the moment when Jesus was “transfigured” on the mountaintop in front of the disciples Peter, James and John while having a conversation with the prophets Moses and Elijah. We often reflect on such themes as the glory of Christ, what it is to be on the mountaintop and why we cannot stay there all the time, and other things.

I have included two versions of the Matthean account of the transfiguration in this week’s post. The first is from the New Revised Standard Version translation of the Bible. The second is from a version prepared by Eugene Peterson, commonly referred to as a paraphrase, known as The Message. The reason I include The Message version is because I think it clarifies for us the effect that transfiguration has on us. James and John couldn’t speak at all. Peter wanted to say something but was so awestruck that all he could say was something ridiculous. They couldn’t just stay up there on that mountain forever. Eventually, they had to go back down.

The Transfiguration is the revelation of the eternal glory of the second person of the Trinity. During Christ’s ministry on earth, his eternal glory was mostly hidden. Now, on the mountain, Christ the Redeemer is fully on display. No masks, no smoke and mirrors. This, this, is Christ the King.

The revelation of the eternal glory of the Christ is a transformative experience. As Peterson paraphrases in verse 2, Jesus’ “appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes.” The NRSV goes into more detail about that change. The point is, there was transformation involved.

We are transformed by the glory of the Christ. We are transformed from the inside out. It is not a surface-level change. It is not simply a mask or so much smoke and mirrors. We are not putting on a costume and pretending to be someone we are not. We come to worship on the mountaintop, to be reminded of and replenished by the glorious grace of our Lord, and then we are sent back down into the valley to live as truly and fully transformed people of God, to show forth the eternal glory of the Savior of the World to all of the people, that they may also be transformed.

As I write this, we are only six days away from Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. May we contemplate during these days our own transformation as disciples of Christ and how we will keep a holy Lent so that the glory of Christ can be fully witnessed by others and that they, too, may be transformed by the grace of God from the inside out.

Sticking Out Like A Sore Thumb

In those days, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'”

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Matthew 3:1-11 (NRSV)

This is the first blog update in a few weeks because of my inability to login and access the website. Thankfully, we have that fixed and now I can get back to regular weekly updates.

By the standards of people in first century Judea, John the Baptist was a weirdo. He stuck out like a sore thumb. I don’t know the exact origins of the idiom “stick out like a sore thumb,” but it usually is used to describe something that is clearly out of place and does not match its surroundings. John the Baptist certainly fit that description. He did not seem concerned with making himself look like other people. He did not seem concerned with acting like other people. Instead, he was focused on his mission to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

When the Pharisees and Sadducees showed up, he did not cut them any slack. He called them a “brood of vipers” (think “den of snakes”) and proceeded to tell them how the cow ate the cabbage, so to speak. John the Baptist doesn’t sound like the shining example of how to win friends and influence people, yet people from all over the countryside were coming to him for baptism in the Jordan.

What was his secret? Well, he was following God’s calling on his life for one thing. Another thing is that he was singularly focused on his mission. One of the most important things about John the Baptist though is that he was not afraid to just be himself.

He wasn’t weird just because of what he wore as clothing or what he ate as food. John was weird because, in a world of so many people who were so concerned with keeping up appearances, John just went along being his authentic self.

How often do we just allow ourselves to be our authentic selves? What kind of pressures do we face in life to present ourselves in a certain way? Who has God created us to be and how are we reflecting that to the world?

There is an old movie from the 80’s called “The Breakfast Club.” I’m sure you’ve seen it. Some teenagers get stuck in detention together after school and the whole movie is about how they relate to each other and the trouble they get themselves, and each other, into before they are allowed to leave. Each character is unique, and each one presents to the other as her or his authentic self. Through doing so they gain new understandings of each other and are changed in ways that make them better people. When John the Baptist preached repentance, from the Greek word metanoia meaning “change of heart and life”, what if he was telling the people, at least in part, to stop pretending and just be who God created them to be? That’s what John was doing. That’s what Jesus did.

Let us go with the confidence of children of God and do the same. Amen.