So by this point, I just thought that after I graduated college, I spent a few years working at a toy store. And even though that's the kind of job that every kid dreams of, it was far from my dream job. But even though I didn't enjoy or love every moment that I spent trying to sell Barbie dolls and GIJOs, that doesn't mean that there weren't parts of my job that I did enjoy. And one of the things that I enjoyed the most during my time working at a toy store, something that happened not long after I was promoted from being the assistant manager of a store to being the manager of a store.
Because that was the gear that some of the executives at our company decided that they wanted to bring all of the managers of all of the toy stores across the country together in Chicago for a sales conference. And I know, I know that a lot of people wove having to know to those kind of sales conferences. But this was the first time I ever got a chance to go to one, so I actually kind of enjoyed it. It gave me the chance to get on playing for the first time in my adult life.
And I even enjoyed listening to those motivational speeches that were given throughout the event. And I thought it was pretty cool to get to check out all of the cool new toys that were going to come out just in time for Christmas, Maggie. But the thing that I enjoyed the most about this particular sales conference, the strip, was the entertainment that the company had decided to put together and provide for us the last night that we were there. You see that year the company had been working with a magician named Rocco Solano to develop a new line of products.
And they decided that they would have Rocco come in and perform his act for all of us. And being a magician, Rocco knew that he had to do some of those classic magic tricks that we all know and love. Like Rocco knew that he needed to pull a rabbit out of a hat and he saw his assistant in half. And he did a lot of the close up magic that he is apparently famous for in the magic community.
But the trick that I remember the most from that particular magic show happened when he had one of the kids of an executive come up onto the stage with him. And this kid was walking across the stage. He had on those shoes that light up when you walk. So Rocco reached down and he pulled the light right out of the kid's shoe.
And then he started playing with the light, toss it up in the air and he captured a moment later. And he tossed it up in the air and he'd catch it a moment later. And then he started tossing it back and forth from one hand to the other. And then just to show his skills he'd throw one way out in the audience.
And he'd catch it when it came back like a boomerang just a moment later. And he'd do it again. And he'd catch it when it came back a moment later. And then just to show what kind of skills he had, he'd throw it out in the audience and he'd break out a trick like catching it behind his back.
And then he'd keep tossing it back and forth over and over again. And he reached one way of doing this for a few minutes and he said, okay, it's time for this trick to come to an end. So let me blow out the trick. But then it popped up on the other hand and he pulled it out.
But it would show up on the other hand. Just couldn't get rid of it. So he put it in his pocket. But then it came out on the other side and put it back in his pocket and it came out on the other side.
Put it back in his pocket and it came out on the other side. It came out on the other side. So he tried something different. And he said, we're gonna eat it.
Playing the trick back and forth over and over again. He reached one way or another. Okay, seriously, now it's time for this to end. So he didn't let any good magician would do.
He took the light and he put it back into the kid shoe. He let the kid walk off the stage. And then after everyone finished giving Rocco a round of applause for completing a trick he said, I want to let you in on a secret for how this particular magic trick works. And I'm the kind of person who has always enjoyed when people like Penn and Teller or the Max Magician revealed to you how their magic tricks work.
So I was really excited to see what Rocco was going to show us. And that's when he reached out and he pulled off his thumb. Or he pulled off a prop that's designed to look like his thumb that has a little light hidden in the top of it to turn off and on whenever you press it. And this is when Rocco's whole magic act tied back into the sales conference, the side of things, because he said to us he said, listen, I know it's one thing to see and understand how a magic trick works, but it's another thing altogether to be able to perform that trick for yourself.
So I'm going to give everyone in the audience today a pair of my magic songs so that you can go back and you can master this trick yourself, and so that you can show it off in the store to try to sell the product when it comes out just in time for Christmas this year. So that's how I ended up with my first pair of magic comes. But even though that whole magic show kind of ended up feeling like it was just a clever sales trick, Rocco was absolutely right. But there's a big difference between understanding how a magic trick works and being able to perform that trick for yourself.
And that's because knowing and doing are two completely different things. Knowing and doing are two completely different things. And that brings me to what we've been talking about over the last six weeks here at Malbert Heights as we have worked our way through the season of Epiphany together. And Epiphany is a season where we take a closer look at Jesus's time on this earth to see what Jesus, who is God-made human, reveals to us about who God is and what God values.
And over the last few weeks as we have taken a closer look at the story of Jesus's birth and his baptism, as we've looked at the first people that Jesus called to follow him as well as where his ministry began, we've had a lot revealed to us about who God is and what God values. Over the last few weeks we've seen that there are no outsiders in God's kingdom. God welcomes us. We've seen that God moves toward the people that we try to push away and avoid.
We've seen that God calls people that we think are unworthy of being called to follow him. We've seen that God begins by working in the margins instead of in the middle. We've seen that God doesn't just care about our religious practices, but that God wants us to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him. And all of this is great information.
But just like knowing how a magic trick works isn't the same as being able to perform it, knowing who Jesus is isn't the same as actually following him. Knowing who Jesus is isn't the same as actually following him. And there are a lot of people that sit in churches all across this world every single Sunday who know a whole lot about who Jesus is. They don't do a very good job of following him.
So today as we get ready to look at one final story from Jesus's life during the season of Epiphany, we need to be thinking about what we're going to do with everything that we've learned over the last six weeks. So let's keep that in mind as we look at one last story. The story is found in Matthew chapter 17. So if you've got a Bible close by your Bible app on your phone, I'd encourage you to go ahead and turn there.
And as you're finding, I'm just going to tell you that the story that we're going to be taking a closer look at today is one of if not the strangest story that we read from Jesus's time on this earth. But it can still teach us something important about who God is, about who Jesus is, and also about how we're supposed to follow him. So just keep that in mind. Matthew 17.
And again, I'll remind you the book of Matthew's basically a biography of Jesus. So in the book of Matthew, we get to read about one account of Jesus's time on this earth, including many of the stories that we've talked about. But today we're going to take a look at this weirder account. But before we start reading in Matthew 17 verse 1, there's something else that I need to point out to you.
When we start reading in Matthew 17, we're kind of joining a story that's already in progress. And we see that right at the beginning of this chapter, because Matthew 17 verse 1 starts by saying, six days later. And when you read that, when you read six days later, it should make you wonder what happened six days earlier. So what happened six days earlier?
Well, it's actually one of the most important moments in the history of our faith. Because six days earlier, Jesus was talking with his disciples. When Jesus asked them, who do you say that I am? And that's when one of those disciples, Peter, responded with the most basic confession of our faith.
And he responded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And when Matthew starts the next chapter, Matthew 17, by reminding us of what happened six days earlier, he's also trying to show us what's about to happen is every bit as important as when Peter confess that Jesus is the Christ. So let's take a look at what happens in Matthew 17. Again, we'll start at the very beginning.
Matthew chapter 17 verse 1, which tells us this, it says, six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John, his brother, and he brought them to the top of a very high mountain. He was transformed, transfigured in front of them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as wide as light. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. So in this passage, in this story, Jesus takes Peter, who we just talked about, along with two of his other disciples, James and John, up onto a mountain top.
And while he is on top of this mountain, Jesus's appearance completely changes. He's transformed, he's transfigured. Matthew tells us that his face shone like the sun, and that his clothes were as wide as light. So what Matthew wants us to understand here is that while they are on this mountain top, the disciples see Jesus in a whole new way.
He's revealed to them in a way that Jesus has never been revealed to them before they see Jesus in his full glory, as divine nature is being revealed to them. But that's not all that happens while they're on top of this mountain. Now Matthew also tells us that while they're on top of this mountain, while Jesus has been transformed right in front of their eyes, that two people also appear with Jesus. And these aren't just two random people who show up in the story.
You know, the people who appear with Jesus are Moses and Elijah and Moses. Moses is the one that God used to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, after they had been enslaved there for 400 years. And Moses is the one who received the law that God gave to the people of Israel when he was on Mount Sinai. So the people of Israel thought about Moses.
They would have thought about the very foundations of their faith. They would have equated Moses, the law of God. And then Elijah, the second person who appears with Jesus and Elijah, is one of the greatest prophets in the history of Israel. So Elijah is one of the people that God used to speak on his behalf, and to call the people of Israel to return to him whenever they started to stray from God.
So the people of Israel heard Elijah's name. They would have thought about all of the prophets. The God had used to speak on his behalf and the way that God was constantly calling the people of Israel to be faithful to him. So you have Moses and you have Elijah.
Moses represents the law Elijah represents the prophets. And there's no way that I can accurately explain to you just how important Moses and Elijah are to the people of Israel. But in this story, you have Moses and Elijah who represent everything that God has ever said to the people of Israel, everything that God has ever done for the people of Israel. And now they're standing with Jesus and they're talking with him.
This is a big moment in the history of our faith. This was a huge moment for the disciples who were on that mountain top that day. And Matthew tries to show us just how big this moment was when he tells us what happens next. Picking back up in Matthew 17 verse 4, Matthew tells us this when he shares how Peter reacted.
He says, Peter reacted to all this by saying to Jesus, Lord, it's good that we're here. If you want, I'll make three shrines, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. So this moment, what happens on top of this mountain is so important that Peter wants to build shrines there. He wants to build a shrine for Jesus and for Moses and for Elijah.
And the word that we translate is shrine. Here's also the word that is that we use for the tabernacle. And the tabernacle is the place. It's the tent where the presence of God dwelt with the people of Israel, where they were wandering in the wilderness before they returned to the Promised Land.
And it's also the place where God dwelt with the people of Israel in the Promised Land before the temple was built. So saying that he wants to build these shrines is a big deal. But when Peter's talking about building these places, he's talking about doing it because he knows that what's happened here is so important that they should create a place where God can be honored for what has happened. He wants to create a place where people can come to worship and remember what has happened here.
He wants to create this holy monument where this story can forever be preserved. And there's good reason why Peter thought of doing this. This is actually something that the people of Israel had done throughout their history. Whenever they had experienced a significant moment in their relationship and their journey with God, the first thing that the people of Israel seemed to want to do was to find some way that they could mark that spot, to remember that moment when the Great Flood came to an end and Noah came down off of the ark.
He built an altar to God. When Jacob reconciles with his brother Esau after years of tension and separation, he builds an altar to God. When Joshua finally leads the people of Israel across the Jordan River back into the Promised Land, he builds an altar. Tried a place to worship God.
So Peter wants to do the same thing because Peter's thinking, this is an incredible moment. We need to mark this place. We need to make this mountain holy. And Peter wants to make that mountain holy site because everything that he has just seen on his mountaintop shows that what he said six days earlier was true.
When Peter said that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Peter was saying that Jesus is the one for people of Israel have been waiting for, just like they waited for Moses to deliver them from slavery, just like they waited for the prophets to help them return to God. Jesus is the one they have been waiting for. And now Peter sees this vision. He sees this story play out where he sees Jesus is right there with Moses.
He's right there with Elijah and when Peter sees all of this happening, he's got to be thinking, well, this proves it. This proves that Jesus belongs with Moses. It proves that he belongs with Elijah. It proves that Jesus is someone else that God is using to accomplish his work in this world in a way that has rarely happened before.
So we need to build these shrines. We need to build these altars for these three people. But as great as this whole idea was in Peter's mind, God doesn't let him quite finish. Picking back up in Matthew 17 verse 5, Matthew tells us this, while he, that's Peter, while Peter was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them.
And a voice from the cloud said, this is my son, whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him hearing this, the disciples spell on their faces filled with awe. So while Peter is still talking about building these three shrines, God interrupts him.
But God doesn't interrupt Peter and say, hey, Peter, you know what that is a great idea. That's exactly what we need to do. But let's not talking about it. Let's get busy.
Let's go ahead and start building these shrines right now. No, Peter is interrupted by God so that God can tell him, this is my son, whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him.
God interrupts Peter to tell him to listen to Jesus. And when God tells Peter to listen to Jesus, he's not just telling him to try to hear the words that are coming out of Jesus's mouth. He's telling him to obey Jesus. He's telling him to do what Jesus tells him.
What Jesus tells all of us to do. And I also want you to notice that when God speaks in the story, God doesn't say anything about Moses and he doesn't say anything about Elijah. What does God say? God says, this is my son.
Talking about Jesus. And he does that to show that Jesus isn't like Moses and isn't like Elijah. Jesus is in a class of his own because Jesus is the son of God. He is God made human.
So Jesus is the one that we should listen to. Jesus is the one that we need to follow. And after hearing this voice, Matthew tells us that the disciples that Peter and James and John, they fell on their faces and they were filled with awe. And then in the very next verse, in verse 7, Matthew tells us, but Jesus came and he touched them.
Get up, he said, don't be afraid. And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. So after Peter and James and John fall on their faces, filled with awe, Jesus touches them. He says, get up, don't be afraid.
And when they get up and they look around. Moses is God. Elijah is God. Only Jesus remains.
Like I said earlier, Moses and Elijah are two of the most important figures in the history of Israel. Moses represents the law of God. Elijah represents all of the prophets. So there's no way that I can adequately explain how important these people are to the people of Israel.
But in this story, Moses goes. Elijah goes. Jesus remains. And this shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law, that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy, that Jesus is the one that we should listen to, that we should follow.
And after all of this, Jesus does something that Peter didn't want to do. In verse 9, Matthew tells us that he says, as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them. Don't tell anybody about the vision until after the human one, after the son of man, as raised from the dead. Jesus doesn't let them stay on mountain.
That's what Peter wanted. Peter wanted to stay on the mountain, but Jesus doesn't let them build this sacred space on the mountain. He doesn't let them do anything to preserve that moment because the story of the trans migration isn't about creating this holy experience that Peter and James and John are going to be able to hold on to. It was about showing us who Jesus is so that we know Jesus is the one we're supposed to follow, that Jesus is the one that we need to listen to.
So instead of staying up on that mountain top, where does Jesus go? He comes back down, down from the mountain back into the real world where there are people who need him. And I want to show you exactly what happens once Jesus comes down from that mountain, because we usually don't read, keep reading once we get to this part of the story. But in verse 9, Jesus, Matthew's going to tell us what happens as soon as Jesus comes down from the mountain.
Matthew writes, as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus, oh, I'm sorry. What's my place for a second? Matthew says to them in verse 14, he says, when they came to the crowd, a man met Jesus. He knelt before him saying, Lord, show mercy to my son.
He's epileptic and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or the water. So as soon as Jesus comes down the mountain top, he meets a man who's hurry. He meets a man who needs help, because something is going on with the sun.
So this man brought his son to Jesus' disciples, because he hoped that the disciples could perform a miracle in heal his son, but the disciples couldn't do it. So as soon as Jesus comes down the mountain, and this man sees him, he goes running over to Jesus to talk with him to see if there's something that Jesus could do and why this Jesus could do. In verse 18, Matthew tells us, then Jesus spoke harshly to the demon, and it came out of the child who was healed from that very moment. So after this mountain top moment, where the very nature of who Jesus is, is revealed to Peter and James and John.
As soon as he comes down from that mountain top, back into the real world, Jesus goes straight to someone in need, and he heals me. That's what it means for us to listen to Jesus. That's what it means for us to follow Jesus. It means that we go where Jesus would go, and we do what Jesus would do.
And that brings us back to where we started today. Over the last six weeks, we have learned a whole lot about who Jesus is. Over the last six weeks, we've seen that the way that Jesus welcomes the outsiders, what he greeted and when God invited the wise men to be the first to come and see his son. Over the last six weeks, we've seen the way that Jesus was willing to weigh down into the Jordan River to be baptized, besides people that were considered unclean and impure.
Over the last six weeks, we've seen that Jesus, the first people that Jesus called to follow him as his disciples, weren't priests or rabbis or those that would have been considered worthy in that world. No, the first people he called to follow him were fishermen and a tax collector. For the last six weeks, we've seen that when Jesus began his ministry, he didn't start in the holiest place in all of Israel inside the temple in the city of Jerusalem. No, Jesus began his ministry in the margins of Galilee.
We've seen who Jesus is. But the question that we need to ask ourselves is, are we listening to Jesus, or are we acting like Peter? Are we trying to keep everything that we've learned about Jesus over the last six weeks in this sacred space inside the walls of the church where we can think about who Jesus is and where we can talk about what Jesus did, but we never really do anything to live like Jesus in the real world. Because the reality is that knowing who Jesus is isn't enough.
We actually have to follow him. Knowing who Jesus is is never enough. We actually have to follow him. We have to come down from our mountaintops.
We have to leave our sacred spaces so that we can go where Jesus goes. Because Jesus doesn't want us to stay on the mountain. He doesn't want us to stay in our shrines. He doesn't want us to stay in our sacred spaces.
He doesn't want us to stay inside the walls of our church. So if we're going to listen to him, we have to be willing to follow him back down into the world. Because everything that we've learned about Jesus, kind of like understanding how a magic trick works. Doesn't matter if you know how this works until you put it into practice.
So it doesn't matter how much you know about Jesus. The only thing that matters is if you are actually following him. That's pretty good. God has become to you now in this time of prayer.
We are grateful for this strange story of Jesus' transfiguration, where he reveals to Peter and James and John exactly who he is. When you speak, can you say that Jesus is your son whom you love, that you are very pleased with him, and that we should listen to him? But God, there are plenty of times, and we are far more comfortable with knowing things about Jesus than we are with actually listening to what he tells us. So help us to do better, God.
Help us to listen to what Jesus tells us. Help us to live our lives like Jesus calls us to live them by following his example. Let us be his hands, his feet in this world. Let us share his hope, his peace, his joy, his love with all those that we need.
And God help us to realize that just knowing these stories, having an understanding of who Jesus is, is never going to be the same as following him. So let us put what we know in practice. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.