 Church of the Transfiguration, Photo taken on 1987 trip This mountaintop experience in these Bible verses is known as the transfiguration ~ all that means is a complete change of appearance into something more beautiful. Best symbolized as the caterpillar into a butterfly. Transfigured. Changed.
When I think of the transfiguration, I think of my 1987 trip to Israel. I was not feeling well that day sick to my stomach. The road to the top zigs and zags for several miles. It’s too narrow and windy for the tour buses. Buses stop at the bottom and tourists pile into cabs going up and down. Since I was not feeling well, my fellow tourists had me sit in the front seat. Uh, oh. The driver was smoking a foot long cigar. That did not help my stomache. It was hot. We piled in the cab and the cabbie stepped on the gas. Off we went like a rocket in a race because the more times the cabbie could get up and down the more money they made! No speed limit. The speed, the cigar smoke, the heat. I thought to myself, “I don’t know if I am going to make this through alive,” but the rule follower that I am I thought “at least if we miss a turn and go hurling down the side of the mountain, I am going to be wearing my seat belt.” So I reach over to buckle up. As I try to click the seat belt to make me secure, turns out the cabbie is watching me. He puts his big old hand over the buckle and refused to let me buckle in. Great. I offended the cabbie. That was my introduction to the place of the revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ ~ feeling sick to my stomach on a hot dusty day riding with a cigar smoking cabbie racing at top speed that would not even let me put on my seat belt. When I got my feet on solid ground at the top, I was in no mood to try and comprehend the glorious radiance of Jesus Christ, the dazzling companions of Moses and Elijah, the heavenly glimpse of heaven. All I wanted to do was ___________ (never mind).
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 Instead of asking people what they do for a living when he meets new people, I read about a man that instead asks, “What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?” That’s a great question. The answer is a good indication of whether or not we have picked up our cross and followed Jesus. The question touches on something important in today’s scripture: what does it mean to make a full commitment to Jesus? To follow Christ means to be available for his desires for us… “deny yourself” ~ not what you want, but what God wants!
“What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?” It’s easy to read a great verse like Luke 9:23, READ, and think being a Christian means to give up doing the fun things that I want and instead live a serious, disciplined life that God wants. That is NOT what it means. Take Riley Sanford for example… (Riley is a young man with YWAM that shared with us earlier in the service his experiences as a Trekker leader in Papua New Guinea.) “Do you [Riley] find yourself having any fun at all as you follow Christ?” To find the greatest meaning in life, choose the way of God. It is not an easy path, but it is the only path that gives ultimate purpose.  When I was in Junior High at Nooksack I was probably the only kid to ever be a bit embarrassed at times over his father! I can still hear the times at basketball games in the gymnasium when everyone would stand to sing the national anthem at the start of the games. My father would be at the top of the stands on the opposite side from me in his customary place, a little bit in the shadows. In a day and age when patriotism was taken for granted, I swear this is true. Yes the band was playing, but I could hear my father singing. I just wanted to melt. Why couldn’t my father just be like the rest of the crowd and treat the national anthem as a formality?
There is such a thing as crowd think. The herd mentality. People will do things, or not do things, in a crowd that is contrary to their behavior if left to their own heart. Today I am proud of my father’s example. At the time I so often wished he would just go along with the crowd.  Backstage. Do you have a curiosity to see behind the curtains? Last week-end in Portland Sally and I had the great privilege to see the Phantom of the Opera with a couple of our children. In one marvelous scene the actors are performing. As the scene comes to an end the background props shift, the curtain closes behind the characters, and you realize we are all backstage watching the action, the intrigue, trying to grasp the strange happenings, the legend of the Phantom.
The story of the feeding of the 5000 is a backstage story. |
 
Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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