A message for Sunday next before Lent (22nd Feb 2009)
I have no doubt that some of you readers have experienced the pain of being alone – and truly alone. I am not talking about suffering from the feeling of loneliness. I am not talking about being in the midst of strangers when you are overseas or in a strange, lonely place. I am not talking about that loneliness because someone you love is not with you.
What I am talking about here is being alone in your pain or hurt because other people cannot seem to know or understand the hurt or pain inside you. You find it difficult to talk to your family members or friends because you feel that they cannot understand or sympathize. Or you may be carrying a problem too embarrassing or too personal to talk about with your friends or colleagues. So you are left all alone to struggle with that pain and hurt.
I am not ashamed to tell you that I have struggled many times in such loneliness in the course of my personal life and ministry. I know that it can be very lonely for people at the top – if you are managers, directors, chairpersons, or head of departments - because very often you don’t get the sympathy of those under you when a personal crisis strikes.
There is no doubt that there are many people who suffer in silence. And if that is allowed to go on for too long, it can be very dangerous for the persons who suffer and those around them. As such they need assurance and comfort of some sort.
It is with this understanding that we look at the Transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospel that is to be read in Church this Sunday. If you have never experienced or understood what it meant to be all alone in your hurt and pain, it may be difficult to understand the feeling of Jesus as he climbed the mountain with his three disciples. Physically he had these three close friends with him, but internally he was alone with a great burden in his mind or even fear in his heart.
What was it that was troubling Jesus? It was the thought of the coming crucifixion – the pain of death on the cross. Crucifixion was a common form of punishment by the Romans in those days and Jesus must have seen the suffering of person who was hung on the cross. He knew that the Romans treated their prisoners with brutality and that thought must be really agonizing.
It was when Jesus was praying about this imminent death that the transfiguration came. His face shone like a sun and his clothes become as white as the light. That was also what Moses saw when he went to meet God in Mt. Sinai.
Transfiguration came to reassure Jesus, to give him the strength to go on, and to have courage to take that terrible road to Jerusalem and to face the waiting cross. The transfiguration was a foretaste of glory of heaven. It came to reassure Jesus that beyond the pain and death on the cross, there would be victory, resurrection, ascension and glory as he reigns in heaven and until he comes again.
This was confirmed by the presence of Moses and Elijah. According to the Bible both men left the world in a mysterious way. Moses died on Mt. Nebo, on the other side of the Jordan, and Deuteronomy 34: 6 says that ‘to this day nobody knows where his grave is.’
On the other hand, Elijah did not die. The Bible says (2 Kings 2:11) that he ascended to heaven in a chariot and horses of fire. The presence of both men seems to give assurance to Jesus that he would also go to heaven in a mysterious way.
There was also the voice from heaven which said, “This is my Son, my chosen; listen to him.” If you remember, that was the same voice repeating the same words to Jesus at his baptism. These are all that Jesus need to give him strength and courage to go on to face that terrible suffering and death on the cross. He would not need further assurance. This was what transfiguration meant to Jesus.
Just now I talk about pains and hurt that we may have to endure all by ourselves. For those of us who suffer in silence, we may be praying for a transfiguration or a divine intervention of some sorts to come upon us. The story of the Transfiguration can be seen as an assurance for people with minor or great personal problems: when life gets tough and when the burden becomes heavy, God is always there waiting to help.
But the problem with some of us is that when we are confronted with crises or problems we tend to seek earthly solutions, and therefore the heavenly wisdom is forgotten or ignored. Not all of us are with serious problems but most of us are concerned about the problems faced by our close friends, members of our families, or colleagues. So other peoples’ problems can become your problems. Some people think that problems can be solved by running away or withdrawing themselves away from others. Others try to solve theirs through confrontation, venting of anger, or taking up revenge. Jesus did not use any of these. Instead he went up to God in prayer, and in that prayer he was made to see, to understand and to foretaste the glory that was yet to come.
You have to take note that Jesus took the initiative to go up the mountain to be away from the people for awhile and be with God. The God that we worship is always willing to help us, but this God will never force his way into our lives. Our God is a God of freedom. You need to give him the permission to do something in your life before he does them. That is why we pray to God. Prayer is a means of asking and giving God the permission to help us out.
You will also note that, when Jesus came to God with great burden in his heart, God did not take away that burden. He did not take away the cross from his path. Instead, he showed him where that cross would lead him. Thus we need to remember that whenever we ask God to solve our problems, it does not mean that God will take away those problems. He may not take away your illness, your pain, or that heavy responsibility that you are to shoulder. Sometimes you have to go through these the rest of your life. But these are what you can be assured of when you come to God:
Firstly, God may help you solve your problems, and give what you ask for. Many people have been blessed by God in such ways.
Secondly, if he doesn’t, God will always show you why such problems and hardships come upon your life, and he will help you to see where those experiences can lead you. You will find that people who have great sympathy and love for others are people who have gone through much suffering themselves and have allowed God to teach them through those suffering. But you also see people who are embittered by their personal experiences. These are often people who have never sincerely taken their problems to God.
Thirdly, when you come to God he will surely give you the strength, courage, patience to go through your life’s experiences.
The Transfiguration story can be interpreted in a number of ways, but this time I just want you to see it as an assurance that when we come to God with our burden, he will make us see it in a different light. However, it is important to come to God with an open mind and open heart – meaning that be prepared for the surprises that he will give you. Remember that our God is a faithful God and he does not change. So whatever was true with the prophets, with Jesus and with Christians who lived long ago, should be true with us today. So our prayers for ourselves and for those of us who are suffering in silence and in loneliness, is for transfiguration and transformation to come upon our lives. Pray also for other people whom we know are suffering at this moment – that they too will know God and see him at work in their lives. May be you can do something more than just praying for them – bring them to Church and share with them the words of comfort and assurance from God.
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