| Redeemer Lutheran Church 1084 W. Bullard Ave. Fresno, CA 93711 Phone: (559) 439-8500 Fax: (559) 439-8585 office@redeemerfresno.com The Reverend Clarence Eisberg Phone: (209) 725-9082 Cell: (209) 631-3108 pastor@redeemerfresno.com Worship ~ 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Family Ministries ~ 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion ~ 2nd & 4th Sundays |
| Connecting People to Jesus and to One Another! www.lcms.org |
The Reverend Clarence Eisberg |
March 6, 2011 |
“Come with Meto The Mountain” |
Charles Swindoll in his book Day By Day tells the story of a mysterious event that occurred several years ago to a group of young guys from the church he pastured in Southern California. They were on a back packing trip with their youth leader. While taking in the breathtaking sights on a day hike, the youth leader realized he had lost the trail. A heavy snowfall had completely covered the path, and he didn’t have a clue as to where they were or how they could get back to the main camp. Sundown was not far away, and they were not equipped to spend the night on the windblown slopes. They had left their tents and gear back at the camp. While trudging through the snow, entertaining thoughts just this side of panic, they suddenly heard someone on the slopes above them yell down: “Hey the trail is up here.” they glanced up and to their relief saw another hiker in the distance. Without hesitation, they began to make their way up the mountain to where the hiker had stood on a large boulder. The climb was exhausting, but their relief in finding the way gave them an adrenaline rush. Finally they arrived… but to their surprise the man who had yelled at them was nowhere to be found. Furthermore, there were no traces in the snow that anyone had been sitting on the boulder, nor were there footprints around the rock. The trail, however was well marked and led them to safety. To this day they do not know the identity of the stranger who led them to safety. Pastor Swindoll believes it was an angel. Mysterious things happen on mountains. In our lessons for today…. God gives an invitation to Moses: “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here and I will give you tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written. Mysterious and strange things can happen on the mountain. In Matthew 17 Jesus invites his three closest disciples to “come up on the mountain with me to pray”. Just six days before two very important events happened. At Caesarea Philippi Jesus had asked the disciples a simple question. “Who do people say that I am?” Various answers were given. It’s not different today. Some think Jesus was a gifted teacher and healer. He was a great philosopher. Then Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter replied. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Matthew writes: “from that time on Jesus began to tell them about his journey to Jerusalem where he will be arrested by the teachers of the law, the Pharisees. He would be betrayed by one of his own. Arrested. Tortured. Publicly condemned and executed. He would be killed but he would rise from death on the third day.” the disciples could not handle these words…they begged him not to go. Jesus… “you do not understand the mind of God.” When they were on the mountain… Jesus had been praying Luke tells us that “Peter and the others were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake….” When they eyes were opened… they saw Jesus standing with Elijah and Moses. His clothes were dazzling white, whiter than anyone could bleach them. They were as bright as a flash of lightning. Moses and Elijah were speaking to Jesus about his “exodus”, his departure which would happen in Jerusalem. Peter spoke: “Lord it is good for us to be here.” He wanted to put up three shelters… holy markers for the place where God appeared… In other words… Can we stay a little longer? Can we come back to this place again? Then a bright cloud appeared and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!.” And just as quickly as it began, the moment ended. Years later when he was reflecting on this emotional connection with the Almighty God, Peter writes: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye witnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him on the Mountain… “this is my Son whom I love….” It was a moment one could never forget… When the hikers were lost, God used an angel to guide them to the trail. It was a moment they will never forget. When people are spiritually lost they panic at the end of life’s journey. They search here and there… wanting “peace and harmony” with their Creator. We need a light that will guide them to their eternal home. That light is Jesus Christ. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds/ In a believer’s ear; It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his fears. It makes the wounded spirit whole, and calms The troubled breast; This manna to the hungry Soul and to the weary rest… God sent Janet and Colleen to children to help them see Jesus. Their first task was to develop friendship. (would be a good place for Colleen and Janet to tell of their mission trip to Hong Kong) 1) Intimacy is the experience of knowing and feeling that you are accepted. “God created man in his own image, He created male and female in His image. God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” Genesis 1:27,31 Today, as human beings one of our greatest needs is the need to be accepted. Visitors to a church want to know… “Will they accept me?” One of the major responsibilities of parents is to help their children know that they are loved and accepted for “Who” they are and not for “What” they do. You and I know that is not how society works. Dr. James Dobson in his book “Hide and Seek” states that “without a doubt the most highly valued personal attribute in our culture is “beauty”, physical attractiveness. Accordingly, the personal worth of a newborn infant is anxiously evaluated by his parents…. Soon mom learns to appreciate the face that God has made, even if others do not. What do the stories of Cinderella; Sleeping Beauty; Rudolph; really tell our children? Well, let me ask you. How do you respond to a mother showing off her precious infant? Do you say: “Oh how cute.” What a darling. Or do you catch your self searching for words? If physical attractiveness is a measure of self esteem and acceptance in childhood it becomes super significant and all consuming during adolescence. The gold coin of worth and personal self esteem is “beauty”. The silver and bronze coin of worth and personal self esteem is “athleticism” and intelligence. God has thrown away our culture’s value system and says to each one of us… You were created in my image…I like you. 2) When we experience acceptance then we are reassured of love through pleasurable contact. This happens with parents and children all the time. A parent reaches down to hold a hand of a child… there is a hug. Every time one of us reaches down and pick up the 11 month old baby what happens? First you smile… then they smile. Every child is looking in your eyes… a smile tells them they are accepted. Have you ever picked up your grand child and not smiled? What was their reaction? This is critical. What happens if children are never hugged or no one smiles at them when they are picked up? They become emotionally crippled. A smile. I accept you. A hug. I love you. Lovers share this feeling all the time. A kiss. A phone call. A card. A flower at Valentines. When we experience acceptance, a word of welcome, a smile, a hug then we are reassured that someone accepts me. 2) When we feel acceptance through friendship, nurture and care, we begin to understand what it means to be in “harmony” with one another and to be at “peace.” 3) Intimacy and friend ship with people and for that matter with God, means that we are in an “expansive” or growing relationship over time. Falling in love takes time. Companionship, friendship with others or with God, takes time. Perfect love, harmony and peace are now things people in our world hope to possess. Even with one in every two marriages in California ending in divorce… people still come to the church to be married. There is hope, a longing for intimacy and acceptance. Marriage is the ultimate statement of “acceptance.” People today are in a constant search for acceptance and affirmation. We hope to find peace and harmony and intimacy. But we often experience rejection and “alienation.” Isn’t this what worries Sunday visitors? People simply want to know that someone accepts them. Look at Adam and Eve. Why were they hiding from God when “he came walking in the garden in the cool of evening”? They were afraid. They were afraid of rejection. They were afraid that God would no longer accept them. They had made a serious mistake and disobeyed the one command that God had given them. In Genesis chapter 4 we find the story of Cain who had killed his brother. He became a “wanderer”, lonely, exiled, emptiness and non-acceptance filled his life.” It was both a physical and psychological punishment. Cain, alienated from God, could not even see the “mark” that God’s love had placed upon him that spared his life. Forgiveness for Adam and Eve came through sacrifice, the shedding of blood. It opened the door for prayer and conversation with God. A moment of dialogue creates an opportunity to restore friendship. God acted in love. God demonstrated his forgiveness. God’s act of grace meant that God gives Adam and Eve and to us what we do not deserve… “forgiveness.” In the story of the Transfiguration we find that God has not changed. He has been demonstrating his compassion through Jesus to the leper, the outcast of society, the sinner Zacchaeus and others. He had been demonstrating God’s power and care by healing those who suffered from disease and demon possession. He was about to physically demonstrate God’s abounding love as the perfect Lamb of God, who stretched out his arms upon the cross. God spoke only a few words to these three disciples on the Mt. of Transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” It was a moment of intimacy. The disciples experienced the presence of God. No wonder Peter said: “Can we stay.” When God speaks he asks us to listen to the words of Jesus. When we apply the words of Jesus to our lives… they will work. When you forgive, you will bring reconciliation, peace and harmony to your marriage, to your home, your work place. When you act like the Good Samaritan you will bring healing and reconciliation. When Jesus died on the cross, he made it possible for us to experience friendship, acceptance with God. Alienation is replaced by acceptance. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was the ransom price for our sin, paid in full. To be in harmony with God, to be at peace and to grow in an expansive relationship over time is a wonderful experience. Listen to the beautiful words of Paul in Romans 5:1-2,8 “remember that at one time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship…. excluded from the promises of God, without hope, and without God… in the world… but now, because of Jesus you who were once far away, have been brought near through the blood of Jesus…shed on the cross. (Eph. 2:12-14) The Transfiguration event reminds us that Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God who restored me and you who have been alienated by sin, to intimacy, friendship, harmony and peace. |