Tag: listening to God

We’d Best Get On With It

Background Passages: Luke 9:28-36, 2 Peter I:16-19; Matthew 28:18-20

I am a J. R. R. Tolkien fan. Unabashed.

Since first introduced to The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy over 40 years ago, I’ve read and re-read those books several times. The movies, the first of which was released in 2001, remain among my favorite movies.

Tolkien, a Christian from England, embedded biblical imagery throughout his books. In the Lord of the Rings, a hobbit named Frodo is chosen to destroy a certain ring that gives evil its power by casting it into the fires of Mordor. At one point stop along the way, Frodo believes he delivered the ring into more capable hands and can now go back home to his quiet shire.

It was not to be. Gandalf tells Frodo, “We have reached Rivendell, but the ring is not yet at rest.” Despite his desire to return to home and safety, Frodo realizes it is his responsibility to finish what he started.

As he struggles with that decision, Frodo’s best friend and companion on the journey, sums up the situation. He says, “I’ve never heard of a better land than this. It’s like being at home and on holiday at the same time, if you understand me. I don’t want to leave. All the same, I’m beginning to feel if we’ve got to go on, then we’d best get on with it.”

Sam and Frodo both realized as comfortable and glorious as it was, Rivendell was not their final destination.

Jesus must have felt something akin to that as he stood on the mountaintop during his transfiguration. As comfortable and glorious as it must have been to talk with Moses and Elijah, Jesus knew the ring was not at rest. There was still so much more to do. The most difficult part lay ahead. This glimpse of heaven was not the final destination.

It was certainly a message Peter and James and John needed to see and hear.

Jesus and his disciples retreated to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus could escape the crowds and teach them about the critical nature of his mission without interruption. The conversation about Jesus’ identity culminated with Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the anointed Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus used that confession to begin teaching about the suffering and death that lay ahead of him.

Peter especially didn’t like the implications of that which Jesus shared. Mark’s gospel tells us he pulled Jesus aside and “rebuked” him. Peter had the temerity to tell Jesus to quit talking like that. Despite his confession and all that Jesus shared with them, Peter and the others still failed to grasp exactly who Jesus was.

I have to think that conversation weighed heavily on Jesus’ mind as they journeyed back into Galilee. When he reached a certain point, Jesus left most of his disciples at the foot of a mountain. The Bible tells us what happened next.

“…he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

“Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ (He did not know what he was saying.)

“While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, ‘this is my son, whom I have chosen: listen to him. When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and told no one at that time what they had seen.” (Luke 9:28-36)

I’m not sure any of us truly know exactly what happened to Jesus during the transfiguration. By definition, he was changed. It’s not that bright spotlight from heaven lit him up like a rock star on stage. Jesus’ transformation came from within. One commentary said Jesus’ divine nature “broke through the limits of his humanity.” The light of glory shone from within causing the radiance appearance of his clothes. Don’t you love that interpretation?

I don’t know that Jesus needed the transfiguration to finish his task. The conversation surely meant something to him, however. From his words in Gethsemane, we know the human side of Jesus dreaded the suffering to come. I’ve read this passage many times, but this is the only time I realized what Moses and Elijah came to say. Did you see the topic of their conversation?

“They spoke to Jesus about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31)

With his eyes fixed on the cross to come, Moses and Elijah came to encourage and urge Jesus to finish what he started. To keep moving forward to the purpose for which he was sent. To stay on the mountain as life passed by below would condemn the world to ruin. I suspect even Jesus needed to feel the encouragement of others.

It seems the real reason for the transfiguration had its roots in the conversation at Caesarea Philippi. It’s one thing to proclaim Jesus as Lord. It’s altogether a different thing to understand it…to have it transform your thinking and change your life.

When Jesus asked the disciples, “But you? Who do you say I am?” They recognized him for who he was, but still wanted to fit him into a familiar box…to have him behave as they needed him to behave within the social and political turmoil of the day.

“You are the Christ,” Peter declared while visions of victory parades danced in his head. “You are the Christ,” declared James and John while they held out hope for ruling seats of power within his kingdom.

So what did the transfiguration mean to these disciples?

Perhaps the things Jesus tried to explain to them since Caesarea Philippi took an emotional toll on the disciples. By the time they reached the top of the mountain, they grew weary. While Jesus went off to pray, his disciples took a nap.

When the transfiguration occurred, they were awakened by the sight of Jesus shining like a bolt of lightning, blinding in his radiance. I suspect I would have been a lot like Peter in that moment…a man not fully understanding what he had just seen and heard, but knowing it was significant.

Riveted in awe and wonder, he reacted with unbridled enthusiasm. Compared to the wonder of what they experienced the world below was just too harsh. The future Jesus shared…too unsettling.

Leave it to Peter to try to memorialize the moment. “Let’s set up a tabernacle for each of you. We don’t want to leave this place. Let’s stay right here.”

As those words escaped his mouth, a mist enveloped them. They trembled in fear. God’s voice cut through the cloud…a command that was also a plea.

“This is my son whom I have chosen. Listen to him.”

Hear God telling these critically important disciples, “You’ve seen who he is. You know it in your heart. You’ve said as much. Change your frame of reference about the Messiah. He is my Son. He’s telling you how it must be. For once in your life, listen to him…really listen.”

There on the mountaintop, God reminded those disciples, the ring is not at rest. The end game must play out before the world can be set right.

At the transfiguration, this inner circle of disciples who struggled to fully grasp who Jesus was, caught a glimpse of his heavenly glory. Jesus underwent a dramatic change in appearance so the disciples could see just a fraction of his heavenly glory.

Up to that point, the disciples knew him only by his human touch, the sound of his voice and the power of his miracles. Now, they came to a greater realization of the deity of Christ. God offered desperately needed reassurance in the form of a blinding light.

Even then, they didn’t always get it right. After the resurrection, however, that moment on the mountain made perfect sense. That’s why Peter could write with such certainty as one transformed by the transfiguration experience.

“We did not follow cleverly invented stories we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty… We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

So, the transfiguration reinforced in Jesus the purpose for which he had been sent into the world. It gave his disciples a chance to see beyond the human Jesus to the divine. To start listening, to pay attention to what Jesus was telling them about who he was and what he had to do.

What does the transfiguration mean to you and me?

It’s just as easy today to build a box in which to keep Jesus. He’s the genie I call on when I want something. He’s my excuse for taking a certain political stand. He is the author of pithy sayings that I quote to express my piety. We still too often make the mistake of failing to understand what his death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb means in a 21st century world.

We describe those times we have grown closest to Christ as our “mountaintop experiences.” We bask in the warmth of that feeling. Take a few selfies. Build a few tents and say, “I just want to stay here where it’s amazing and safe.”

That’s not our role any more than it was the disciples’ role. We follow a Christ who puts us in unbelieving world to be its transfiguring light, blazing bright enough from within so the world can see him in us.

The Christian church as a whole has stayed too long on the mountaintop. Stayed within the fellowship of believers. Celebrating the majesty of God and building our share of tents…all with a slightly distorted view of who he is. With this world struggling as it is, now is not the time to marvel. Jesus’ work through us is not finished. Maybe it’s time we “Listen to him.”

At the end of his earthly presence, Jesus commissioned those of us who now clearly understood who he is and what he did.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you, always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 18-20)

I’m probably reading too much into Tolkien’s writings. I think he understood that God’s work in us is not yet finished. “The ring is not yet at rest.”

Read Tolkien’s words again. “I’ve never heard of a better land than this. It’s like being at home and on holiday at the same time, if you understand me. I don’t want to leave. All the same, I’m beginning to feel if we’ve got to go on, then we’d best get it on with it.”

Get on with it. Not with a sense of reluctance, but with the excitement born from a transfiguring and transforming experience with God’s son.

There is work to be done. We’d best get on with it.

Your Servant is Listening

Background Passages: I Samuel 1:1-21

We live in a time when it seems people have a hard time hearing God speak. The noise of our technology, the rattle of the personal and global sabers and the drone of strident political debate drown out God’s voice.

Some might suggest that the low tide of our spiritual lives is a result of God backing away from us. That he has little to say because we have proven ourselves unworthy. Maybe. But, I don’t think that thought is consistent with the character and nature of God. More than likely, we are at fault. When we no longer hear God speaking it’s more likely because too few of us want to listen.

Life in America today reminds me of a distant time in Israel, when too few of God’s people listened for his call and direction.

“…In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not too many visions.” (I Samuel 3:1)

I first heard the story as a child. The passage was sanitized somewhat to protect me from the more sordid details. It is the opening verse in the story of God’s call to Samuel to serve as his prophet in Israel.

You probably remember the story as I do. Samuel forever portrayed as a young child, sleeps in the temple after being dedicated to God’s service by his grateful mother, long unable to have children. As he serves in the tabernacle, he is one night awakened three times from his slumber. Samuel assumed the voice calling his name was his surrogate father and mentor, Eli, the priest. Two times Eli sent him back to bed telling him he was dreaming.

The third time, Eli realized that the boy was being called by God. He told him simply, “If you hear the voice again, answer, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” For the fourth time, the voice called to Samuel who responded as he had been instructed. “Your servant is listening.”

That childhood lesson ended there. The teaching clear. God calls. I must listen. This is a lesson I still need to hear, even as a senior adult. However, there is more to this story for those who want to take it to the next level.

First, God’s call is personal. When God speaks it is a personal message just for me. If his call were generic and meant for everyone, it would be far too easy to dismiss it. To lay at the feet of someone else. “That task is not for me. Let the church staff do it. That’s why we pay them.” When God calls, he is calling me. His call is applicable to my life. My call to service and ministry. It is personal.

Secondly, his call is penetrating. God does not need to speak in a voice of thunder that can cut through the noise, rattle and droning that dominate our lives. Don’t get me wrong. I’m living testimony that God will sometimes use a 2” x 4” across the nose to get our attention. His quiet call to salvation and service is capable of cutting through the most hardened heart and the most reluctant soul.

Thirdly, God’s voice is persistent. God’s will is not easily thwarted. He does not give up on us without a fight. So, when we don’t hear him the first time, he will call again…and again…and again. He will call out our name. He will tap us repeatedly on the shoulder. If we still do not respond, he will nudge another to remind us to listen, just as he nudged Eli. I’m grateful that he is persistent in drawing me to him.

While the story teaches much about the work of God in making the call, it also teaches us a lot about the response he desires from us.

First, I must make myself available to him. When Samuel heard the voice, he immediately got up from his slumber and responded to it. True, there first few times he didn’t know who was speaking, but he responded. He opened his heart to the possibilities. When God called Isaiah years later to carry a message of repentance to his people, the prophet responded in much the same way as young Samuel, “Here I am. Send me.” It has been the right response for ages. “Here I am.” I am available.

Secondly, Samuel eagerly responded. Each time his name was called, Samuel ran to Eli. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t walk. He didn’t wait until morning when it was more convenient. He got up and ran to the one he thought was calling with eagerness and anticipation. “Here I am,” he said. His actions said, “What can I do for you?” Samuel possessed a heart that was ready to be moved. A mind open to the possibilities. A spirit willing to act. It’s not enough to be available. We must be ready to respond immediately to God’s instruction.

Finally, Samuel served obediently. The children’s story ends with Samuel available and eager. The message for the rest of us takes it one step further. It calls for obedience.

If we remember the beginning of the chapter, Samuel lived during a time in which the people of God had a hard time hearing him speak.

“…In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not too many visions.”

Israel’s spiritual leaders lost their focus. Eli, the priest, had grown old and complacent in his faith. His sons, also priests, used their positions of power to satisfy their own personal desires. They desecrated the sacrifices. They extorted payments from those who came to worship. To his credit, Eli confronted them about their sin, but they refused to listen. Eli, ultimately, failed to discipline them for their evil deeds, even after being warned of God’s displeasure.

The failure of the spiritual leaders led to the failure of the people to worship God fully. To allow him to lead and direct their lives.

God eventually told Samuel he was about to do a new thing in Israel that will make the “ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.” When God called Samuel, he placed upon him a heavy burden. Change was coming. God would assert his control over the lives of his people in an effort to draw them back to him, but it would come at a cost to Israel…to Eli and his family…and to Samuel. It would be Samuel’s responsibility to announce God’s judgment to Eli, man who served as father and teacher in his life. It would fall upon Samuel to chastise a king and a nation.

Despite the cost, Samuel did as God required. Because of his faithful obedience, scripture tells us,

“The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up and he let none of his words fall to the ground.” Samuel proved trustworthy in the word of God that he proclaimed. As a result, all of Israel knew him as God’s prophet.

Living as we do in a nation that prides itself as a “nation under God,” it’s sometimes hard to find the evidence of it. It feels as though we have drifted away from God and his purpose for our lives. I wonder what it will take for us to return to a place where our words and our actions reflect the will and purpose of God?

God’s message will always be personal, penetrating and persistent…calling us as individuals to respond to his voice. For when enough individuals respond with availability, eagerness and obedience, our words…which are God’s words… will not fall to the ground unheard and unnoticed.

Maybe all it takes are enough of God’s people saying, “Here I am, Lord. Speak, for your servant is listening.”