No one wants to be mistaken when it comes to figuring out the answers to all of life’s questions, especially when we are surrounded by religious leaders and peers who seem to think they have it all figured out and know better than we do regarding the direction we should go. Sometimes the pressure to walk away from what we believe is wrapped in intimidating language giving rise to doubt and causing our vision to fade.
Good Morning, and welcome to this week’s Sunday Message.
Lately I have been reading a number of stories about cloud covers hindering the ability to see. Each story has me thinking about you and our community here as we sort through our own beliefs, or non-beliefs. It is assumed people from ancient history had more physical proof to confirm their beliefs, a real voice, an actual angelic figure by their side, a constant guiding star, or an animal speaking the common language of the people. I’m not convinced they did. Most of the time our experiences are real enough for us to trust. Sometimes we try to convince ourselves we do not need proof to believe when proof might help. Other times we entertain doubt as confidence fades like a rainbow appearing in the sky after the clouds passed.
For today, let’s spend a little time on three verses fitting between the story of Jesus’ Baptism (Matthew 3:13-16) and the day when John the Baptist was beheaded (Mark 6:14-32) as well as when Jesus fed the 5,000 men (in addition to women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 14: 33-44).
Let me give you the backstory to when Jesus looked at his watch and said, “Hey, gang, let Me check my schedule,” and sent a message telling the king of all their known land to get off his back. The Bible literally says Jesus called him a fox, you know like the one that steals eggs from the henhouse. This is early in Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem after his cousin, John the Baptist, had baptized him. It was after people along the shore were so caught up in the spirit filled aura they were certain God’s voice spoke, saying, “This is my beloved son.” Jesus had already spent a considerable time tempted in the desert, and had begun his ministry gathering a motley crowd of disciples, healing people, eating with questionable characters, preaching, healing some more, and starting to be less appreciated by the political and religious leaders than his cousin John. That same Jesus who knew John had been imprisoned was making quite an impact with his message of not looking at people as if they had higher and lower degrees of value. He was mistreated, disrespected, and banned from temple activities instead of seen as equally worthy in the eyes of the community and the loving God of His Hebrew day school classes.
In the middle is this curious short trip the disciples, Peter, John, and James, took with Jesus up a mountain to pray. They reported seeing how Jesus’ face changed, his clothing became a dazzling white as they all entered the presence of Moses and Elijah, famous figures from biblical history. After a cloud wrapped around all of them and dissipated, all they saw was Jesus. In Luke 9:36, we read how the three disciples kept silent about this event after they returned to the village. It says, “After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.” There is more here to unpack I will save for future messages. For now let’s look at what happened not long after this fascinating experience about which “They told no one any of the things they had seen while they were away.”
Returning down the mountain to the community, Jesus and the lucky three continued the work they had begun until their next chilling moment. Let’s read those three verses about the day Jesus said, “Let me check my schedule,” when he was warned King Herod was coming after him.
Luke 13:31-33 begins, “At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."
Did Jesus respond, "Where? When? How? Let’s go…quick! Everybody scatter!” No, He did nothing of the kind. Instead…
“Jesus said, “Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it’s hard to believe a prophet can be killed outside of Jerusalem.' “
In other words,
Dear Fox,
I’m committed.
I’m doing what’s here for me to do.
My schedule is full.
–Jesus
For good reasons or not, those Pharisees tried to get Jesus out of there. He knew it was likely a true story. As I mentioned earlier, he was aware John was probably not going to make it out of prison alive (which we learned in a recent Sunday Message). It certainly wasn’t a great omen, but Jesus had more important things to do right where he was. The events leading up to this afternoon were of great significance, and whatever happened inside that cloud on the mountain before disciples saw Jesus only, could apparently change anyone.
Jesus, as theologians will say, was all man and all God. He spent thirty odd years living in the villages, experiencing life as all man, otherwise, how could it be that he was tempted as are we. If he did not truly live as we do, could he be the physical expression of Universal perfect love and a witness to how it can change all the rest of us and our world? When he came down from that mountain, something had happened to this man but the disciples did not seem privy to what it was.
On this day, Jesus, who knew the work of his father was as important as ordained ministry, acknowledged he had work left to accomplish when he heard the warning. Instead of heeding their alarm, he retorted, ‘Listen, my Pharisee advisors, I really don’t have time for this. I’ve got today, I have tomorrow, and I have who knows how much time on the other end of three days, but I do have three days. You tell that fox who wants to steal all the eggs from the chicken coop, my time is limited and my schedule is restricted and I’m going to do whatever I can do right here, right now. I’m not leaving.’
This, to me, is a reflection of the wisdom in my own reasoning about advising you not to go away silently if what you are doing is a good thing, even if others hate it (or resent you for some totally unrelated reason). You are not mistaken if you decide to stand your ground in order to complete a task you had at the beginning of your present journey. Do not let the faded vision lead to doubting what you know and believe. We see dimly through the glass. Trust what you know is on the other side.
That exit back down the mountain to the rest of the work waiting to be done was for the people who needed to see miracles to believe, and followers who had yet to learn what Jesus had to share. They were the focus of Jesus’ resolve. His commitment was founded in fearless trust. He had confidence and assurance God was in the land of the living. His father was going to be there no matter what the political leaders – or Jesus’ own people - were about to do.
If Jesus was all god and Jesus was all man, Jesus might have felt like the Psalmist, when he spoke confidently, and when he asked for the Presence to be with him. If he was all God and all Man, he also knew this wasn’t going to give him the lifetime of ministering his passionate message would need. It wasn’t likely to go the way he perhaps wished it would. Herod and his fans, and the hometown folks and religious leaders, all had been after him since BEFORE he was born. It was clear his time was up and he was headed for serious trouble.
If life as we know it ends, and we all realize it does end, this momentary example from Jesus removes us from the concept of letting the bad guys and naysayers win. Those who would stop us in our tracks, those who would use any criticism, true or false, to rationalize annihilating us, of pulling us away before we are ready to let go, retire, or resign, cannot be our top priority. We do not need to succumb to their fear tactics.
I don’t know who among us is struggling against opposition while doing the right thing or who feels the pressure to detach, walk away, or back down. It probably was not easy for Jesus to resist as advisors urged him, “Get out of here,” but please allow me to be a voice calling you onward today. Be steadfast.
I want to say as one last word to you and our community. We may not see the whole picture for the fog. We may not understand why the cloud has hidden what we think is the best part, but there is something we can do and time is limited, so even if it gets scary, dangerous, or potentially painful, tell your fox to forget it. You are too busy to worry about them. Concentrate on what can be done. Participate in the work – the very good work of inspirational godpresence – being the hands, and eyes, and feet, and voices. Whatever it is, regardless of the threats and the fear, we must respond, “I am doing what is here for me to do” and carry on with what we believe to be true.
This is Pastor Gloria signing off for now. I wish you a glimpse of your vision before the cloud hides it and the confidence to trust what you saw.