“Secret Secrets Are No Fun” – Mark 9:2-9
Rev. Penelope Erin Taylor - FCC Gainesville, TX
February 15th, 2015
“Six days later, Jesus took with
him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by
themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling
white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them
Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus,
“Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were
terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a
voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked
around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming
down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen,
until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”
I will admit that I had a difficult
time preparing this sermon. I read the scripture dozens of times. I read
multiple commentaries. I started writing, then erased everything, began again,
and then erased again. The past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster
and no matter how often I press the emergency brake, the roller coaster just doesn’t
seem to stop. I grew impatient knowing that 10:00 am on Sunday was coming
quickly and just when I was ready to give up, I found myself focusing on the
words of Peter. “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.” Like Peter, I was unsure
of what was to come or the specific purpose behind Jesus gathering us together
this morning, but I know it is good to be here… and to find myself in the midst
of divine and beautiful secrets just waiting to be unveiled.
In the spring of 2013, I was
entrusted with a HUGE secret. Not only was I entrusted with a huge secret; I
was also given the task of carrying out a top-secret mission. My best friend
had met the love of her life and with the help of many, many close friends a
proposal was in the works. For two months, I pretended to not know anything
about this elaborate plan. Instead, I had convinced Sara that because I was too
close to the source, Jonathan would not tell me a single detail. All I knew was
that at some point during the last week of May, I would be given three hours
notice to get Sara ready, blindfold her, and drive her to a specific
destination that I wouldn’t even know the address of until I got in the car. In
actuality, not only did I know the entire plan, but I had helped Jonathan come
up with the choreographed flash mob that would tell the story of their
relationship all to the tune of “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid which
is Sara’s favorite Disney movie. I also had the giant cardboard boat that we
had constructed, the cue cards, costumes, props, 25+ ring pops for all of our
participants, and even the engagement ring itself hidden in my apartment. After
all, secret secrets are no fun, right?
When I was given three hour notice
(wink) to get Sara ready, we exchanged a giddy, screaming, jumping up and down moment
in which she thought I was just as surprised as she was. As we got dressed and
camera ready – as there was a videographer and professional photographer waiting
at the “undisclosed location” – we dreamed and schemed about what was to come.
Normally, I do not have a poker face, but Sara was sure that I knew just as
little as she did. When the moment finally came and it was just about time for
us to leave, I heard Sara’s voice utter the words I had feared hearing for over
two months. “Umm… Erin… does this have to do with the Little Mermaid…?” I
stopped dead in my tracks, unsure of what to say next and as I looked over at
her, she was holding a page of our 4 page choreographed masterpiece. You see,
Jonathan is an incredibly intelligent man, however his judgment must have
lapsed earlier that day when he had decided it would be a good idea to use
SARA’S printer to make copies of our Tony deserving performance. Here I had
been lying to my best friend’s face for months, convincing her that I was
unable to keep a secret… And there she was holding page 2, reading the directions
for the second ‘sha-la-la-la’ chorus. Secret secrets are no fun.
Although Sara didn’t know all of
the details of what was awaiting her, she had been given a glimpse of the
excitement that was yet to come and waited with bated breathe for the next part.
As we begin to climb the mountain
with Peter, James, and John, we know what awaits them. We know that soon they
will see a transfigured Jesus who is standing alongside the prophets, yet for
just a moment, we are able to pretend that we are just as clueless as they are.
Though we know what they’ll experience, we can hope for a surprise… Yet even
so, we know the story. We know that the disciples will see Jesus in dazzling
white. We know that Peter will miss the point – AGAIN – and God will proclaim
Jesus as son and instruct the disciples to listen to him. We know that after
God has spoken, everything that mattered in the past will be no more, but Jesus
will remain. And we know that as Jesus descends from the mountain with Peter,
James, and John, he will entrust them with a secret – a secret so precious,
that their souls will burst with terrified joy as they await the final cue that
will allow them to share the good news. And even as they prepare to descend
from the mountaintop, Peter recognizes that everything will change soon, but
for right now, for this brief moment in time, Rabbi, it is good for us to be
here.
Like Peter, James, and John, we are
bound to have those brief moments where the presence of Christ is so incredibly
obvious, sitting right in front of us obvious, falling off the printer tray
obvious, but we fail to see the whole picture – and may not see it until we are
prepared to recognize the Risen Christ in conjunction with the Jesus we encounter
daily. Upon that mountain, Peter, James, and John saw Christ much differently
than they ever had. Though God had proclaimed Jesus as son upon his baptism,
the disciples now see Jesus not only alongside the great prophets, but as the
one who will fulfill the work of God. Elijah and Moses are believed to have
ascended to Heaven prior to their death – but not Jesus. Jesus is a game changer.
Instead, Jesus must first overcome doubt, hopelessness, and despair by staring
death in the face and conquering the grave, giving us the opportunity to join
him on the mountaintop and say, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.”
Over the past few weeks, my family
has experienced heartbreak in a way that we could have never prepared for.
Growing up with two significantly older brothers, I always hoped for a younger
sibling. Instead, I was given a baby cousin that I wouldn’t trade for the
world. Growing up, we thought we were invincible. Philip and I did many unsafe
and silly things as kids and teenagers – mostly involving his little brother
and sister, a roof rack, and unhinged doors. We swore to take one another’s
secrets to the grave – even though many of the stories later came out. After
all, secret secrets are no fun. Keeping with our thoughts of being invincible,
we both chose wild and dangerous professions. Philip became a United States
Marine and I became a youth minister. Some questioned our chosen professions –
often saying we didn’t have what it took to survive; yet we never gave up on
one another and still managed to create more secrets and more mischief as we
slowly approached our adult years.
We lost Philip while he was
stationed at Camp Lejeune on January 25th and on January 30th,
we gathered in Houston to bring him home. As we crossed the state line between
Texas and Louisiana, we were met with a group of Veterans on Harleys – NOT
motorcycles – and multiple Sheriff deputies who would escort us the remaining
25 miles into Lake Charles, in front of our high school, and finally to the
funeral home. As the procession made it’s way into our hometown, hundreds upon
hundreds of people lined the streets waving flags, cheering, holding candles,
and showing more love and support for our family and friends than I could have
ever imagined. In front of Phil’s old soccer fields, two fire trucks had come
together to hang a giant American flag from their ladders and just when I
thought I was rendered completely speechless – there was a game changer. Directly
across from our high school, a large group of students had gathered with a 30
ft banner reading, “Welcome Home Phil.”
The next few days were somewhere
between a nightmare and a dream and through it all, I kept coming back to that
sign – “Welcome Home Phil.” That sign had become a pivotal statement for
Philip’s life as a Marine and as a Christian. He carried a cross that was far
heavier than I’ll ever bear and through our grief, he uttered a phrase that each
of us anxiously await saying, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.” Though we
thought we were bringing Philip home that day, Philip had gone home much earlier
and was greeted with a much different banner than the one we saw waving that
Friday night. There was comfort in knowing that Philip had made it home and was
standing upon the mountaintop, guarding all of our secrets.
And even so, the questions remain,
the secrets are not as fun, and the purpose behind the mountaintop experience
seems lost. That is until we realize that our pretending from earlier is
masking reality. Unlike the disciples, we DO know what they’re going to
experience. We know that they will see Jesus transfigured and appear to them in
dazzling white. We know that God will instruct the disciples – God will
instruct all of us as disciples – to listen to Jesus. We know that Jesus has
conquered the grave and risen. Nothing of the past matters. Like Peter, James,
and John, we are entrusted with a secret so precious – a secret that leaves us
with terrifying joy – and a charge to share the good news as a witness of the
risen Christ. After all, secret secrets are no fun.
We are coming into a time when we
are invited to critically examine those things that keep us from fully
experiencing the presence of Christ. Much like the excess fibers that compose a
much different type of lint, we are given the opportunity to shed those things
that weigh us down and keep us from being who God has created us to be. For
some that, that may be anger and grief. For others it may be the tunnel vision
that keeps us from seeing the whole picture of what God has laid before us.
Whatever the excess may be, leave it on the mountaintop. Leave it at feet of
our transfigured savior who promises to welcome each of us home. Descend from
the mountaintop, eager to share the secrets we have been entrusted with as not
only disciples, but as children of God who now walk in the light of the risen
Christ. And when our secrets and our crosses seem too heavy to bear, remember
that Christ has promised to take them to the grave… and we know what happens
when Christ encounters the grave.
It is in our conceived weakness,
that we find the source of our strength – the strength that enables us to climb
the up to mountaintop, to stand in the cloud of witnesses, and to say, “Rabbi,
it is GOOD for us to be here.
You know, a lot of important things
seem to happen on the tops of mountains in the Bible. This Lenten season, we
must summon the courage to make it up the mountain. We may lose our footing, we
may feel like we will never see our ‘Welcome Home’ sign, we may wait with
baited breath, we may encounter blindingly obvious clues of what awaits us, we
may reveal some secrets, but we have been given a glimpse of what awaits us on
top of that mountain. Nothing of the past will matter. As the horizon finally
appears and the incline of our journey levels off, we can make it to the
mountaintop if we can just summon the strength to cry out of our weakness,
Lord, take my hand. Lead me on. Help me stand.
Because I am tired.
I am weak. I am worn.
Through the storm, through the
night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead
me home.
Take our hands, precious Lord, Lead
us home
Amen.
Nicely written.
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