God’s Nine Words to the World
Exodus 34:29-35; Luke 9:28-36
Okay parents, you have one sentence. Eight to ten words. What would you say to your children, if you had just one sentence? And in this sentence you try to capture your core values, those things you want to pass on to your children, the qualities you hope to see blossom in their lives. What would you say? I remember well what my father said to me. His sentence was exactly eight words. I heard it practically every time I walked out the door of our house. Going on a date, going to a ballgame, going to church: it didn’t matter. My father always said, “Remember who you are and what you represent.”
He never told me who I was or what I represented. With a measure of wisdom I did not fully appreciate then, he left that to me to figure out. I’m not sure how this affected my brothers, but I know that I wrestled with it. Who am I? What core values define my life? And just what do I represent? Those were weighty questions for me, questions that I believe led me to faith and to a ministry vocation.
Core values—honesty, integrity, faith, and hard work—those are things we want to pass on to our children, aren’t they? Those are the things that really matter to us, and we try to make it as clear as we can with the hope that they will “get it.” Sometimes we’re successful, sometimes not.
Something like that is happening in this fascinating text from the Gospel of Luke. Remember, Jesus told his disciples over and over that he would be betrayed and crucified, yet they never seemed to “get it.” He told them again and again that on the third day he would be resurrected, but when it actually happened they reacted as if they were clueless. “Who stole his body?” they wanted to know.
In chapter 9, Luke has Jesus and Peter, John, and James on a mountain.
Footnote here: in the Bible, important things happen on mountains—Mt. Sinai (Ten Commandments), Mt. Zion (Jerusalem and the Temple), Mt. Calvary (the crucifixion).
On an un-named mountain in Luke, God nailed down a core value, something that really mattered, and God did it with one sentence. Just who was Jesus? He would be making some radical claims. He would challenge the religious and social structure of their culture. Just what did he represent? Here’s what God said on the mountain, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
Dr. Allan Culpepper, founding Dean of the McAfee School of Theology and my former New Testament professor, says that if God could speak only nine words to the world, they would be these words, one sentence: “This is my son, my Chosen; listen to him!”
We call this mountain top experience in Luke 9 the Transfiguration of Jesus. In most Protestant Churches in this country, we celebrate the Transfiguration on the last day of Epiphany, just before we enter Lent. It serves as a bridge into the Lenten season. It’s important to note the broader context of this story. Luke says eight days earlier Jesus told the disciples for the first time of his death and resurrection. Imagine hearing these words for the first time: “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” That was a staggering revelation! Peter had just declared that Jesus was “the Messiah of God,” something Peter and the others understood in political terms. So Jesus, like a father taking his son’s face into his hands and saying clearly, “Listen to me, son,” told them that he would die, that they would have to take up their own crosses daily, lose their lives for his sake, and be ashamed of him. Hard words to hear. Then he ended with this, “There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God coming.”
Then it happened—the Transfiguration. Peter, John, and James—not James and John, the normal ordering of these two brothers—were together praying. Perhaps Luke was trying to associate Peter and John rather than James and John because Peter and John will play such important roles in Luke’s gospel. Luke records that Peter, John and James were “weighed down with sleep,” when Jesus’ appearance began to change. His face shined like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly two Old Testament figures, Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing the prophets, were standing and talking with Jesus. Peter and the others witnessed this Transfiguration of Jesus and said, in essence, “It’s a good thing we’re here, Lord. We will build three houses, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
But before Peter could cut the first piece of lumber, a cloud overshadowed them. Luke notes, as if he needed to, “they were terrified as they entered the cloud.” From the cloud they heard a voice, which they assumed to be the voice of God, saying those nine words, one sentence, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” And then as quickly as Moses and Elijah appeared, they vanished, and Jesus suddenly was alone. Peter, John, and James stood silent.
Luke says those three disciples told no one of what happened on the mountain that day but let there be no mistake as to what it was. What happened? What did this dramatic Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah mean? It was God’s validation of Jesus, who was the fulfillment of the Law and the message of the prophets of old. Who is this that feeds the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish? Who is this that restores a little girl to life and heals a woman who has been ill for twelve years? Who is this that admits he must undergo great suffering, be rejected, and then killed? God answered in nine words, one sentence: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” That’s who he is. What God told Jesus at his baptism, God here tells the world. This is my Son. This is the one I have chosen. Now, listen to him!
God’s nine words to the world. Peter, if you have any doubt as to who he is, let me resolve that right now. John, if these teaching are puzzling to you, let me clarify them right now. James, let there be no mistake as to the identity of this man or his claims—He is my Son, the One I’ve chosen. Now, your job is to listen to what he says.
That is our job now, isn’t it? To listen. To hear. To “get it.” It’s our job now to understand what God was saying in this man from Nazareth. And what was God was saying to the world in Jesus? Jesus said it all boils down to two things: love God and love our neighbors. Everything else is commentary on those two things. Love God with your whole being. Practice your faith with integrity. No pretending. Be authentic. No show for others. Truly, genuinely love God. And second, love people. Rich people and poor people, gay people and straight people, white people and black people, all people. Really love your neighbor, even as you love yourself. That was Jesus’ message. Really love God, and really love others. The rest is commentary.
I used to watch Larry King Live, when my family would let me. I thought Larry King was a masterful interviewer and had interesting guests. One of his shows is still lodged in my memory. It’s the night he interviewed people about the serial killer Gary Ridgeway, the so-called Green River killer. He was convicted of brutally murdering forty-eight women. These were awful crimes, and he appeared unrepentant through it all. Larry showed a video clip from the killer’s sentencing, when the victims’ family members were given an opportunity to speak to the killer. As you might guess, most were filled with rage and spewed that rage onto Mr. Ridgeway. Some pledged never to forgive him, calling him a loser, a coward, and an animal. He sat stone-faced as they hurled rage at him, just to spite them, it seemed, one more knife stab into their hearts. But his chin began to quiver, and he seemed desperate to hold back an explosion of tears when an older man with a long white beard went to the mike. The man spoke with an unusually calm, soft voice. I looked up the transcript, so I could give you his exact words. This is what he said:
I forgive you for what you've done. You've made it difficult to live up to what I believe and that is what God says to do, and that's to forgive. And he doesn't say to forgive just certain people, he says to forgive all. So you are forgiven, sir.
I don’t know if I could do that. I do know this: that white-bearded man with a soft-spoken voice “got it.” He listened, and he got it.
We stand on a bridge today and peer into Lent. We know darkness lies ahead. Jesus will undergo great suffering. He will be rejected. He will be killed. But not today. Today we are illumined by the brilliance of our Lord, who was the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. We are challenged to listen to his life and message. Genuinely love God. Truly love people. That’s what God is trying to pass on to God’s children. Today God takes our faces into his hands and says, “He was my Son, my Chosen; listen to him.”
Closing Prayer
God, give us ears and hearts that listen, that absorb the essence of our Lord, so that we may be transfigured to be more like him. Amen.
