There is always war. We are reminded again this week. Often when I preach I know it is important for me to talk about something I know. As you know that is often war. I try to avoid the subject as much as I can even if you can not believe me here.
When I finally did return from two different or maybe three different wars to go to university I thought I would have many questions to answer. I thought I should be ready. I invested most of my time in understanding my experience. This is something I have naturally done my entire life. I understand it is not a very common occupation.
For the most part there were no questions. There is something about experience. People had no context to understand the answer I would eventually come to understand. The question failed to form. I have found myself a strange person most of my life. Not being able to understand something never stopped me from asking questions. It puts people sometime ill at ease. I wonder if that is my great purpose from my savior.
The Dalai Lama described The Reality of War
Of course, war and the large military establishments are the greatest sources of violence in the world. Whether their purpose is defensive or offensive, these vast powerful organizations exist solely to kill human beings. We should think carefully about the reality of war. Most of us have been conditioned to regard military combat as exciting and glamorous - an opportunity for men to prove their competence and courage. Since armies are legal, we feel that war is acceptable; in general, nobody feels that war is criminal or that accepting it is a criminal attitude. In fact, we have been brainwashed. War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. Its very nature is one of tragedy and suffering.
War is like a fire in the human community, one whose fuel is living beings. I find this analogy especially appropriate and useful. Modern warfare is waged primarily with different forms of fire, but we are so conditioned to see it as thrilling that we talk about this or that marvelous weapon as a remarkable piece of technology without remembering that, if it is actually used, it will burn living people. War also strongly resembles a fire in the way it spreads. If one area gets weak, the commanding officer sends in reinforcements. This is like throwing live people onto a fire. But because we have been brainwashed to think this way, we do not consider the suffering of individual soldiers. No soldier wants to be wounded or die; none of his loved ones wants any harm to come to him. If one soldier is killed, or maimed for life, at least another five or ten people - his relatives and friends - suffer as well. We should all be horrified by the extent of this tragedy, but we are too confused."
We gather here for Transfiguration Sunday. In Luke's telling the twelve have just been commissioned in their public ministry. They had just fed the 5000. I imagine for this cohort these were good days. Probably the best they spent together. Doubt wasn't gone but it sure seemed to be.
What came next was maybe predictable: 46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in esteem and authority]. 47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and had him stand beside Him, 48 and He told them, “Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me [also] welcomes Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you [that is, the one who is genuinely humble—the one with a realistic self-view]—he is the one who is [truly] great.”
I often like to focus on what one human life has done for the world. Here we see this great assembly. I would say there was a simple reason for what happened. This day doesn't feel so much about us. What would be my question for them as they came back to town. I Imagine myself there with no context for understanding. We finally find one here: 2000 years of context and struggle and war. How would they explain the 5000 were fed. Well you know there is little detail in our scriptures. People don't ask certain questions.
My question is: what separates us from war? I'm here to tell you: nothing. Travel in any direction and you will eventually reach the line of contact. We like to think that borders and walls can separate us. Well we know and we preach that we are all part of the body of Christ. You see parts of our savior seem eternally at war.
In this latest war in Europe both sides pray to our savior and attend the same church. This Methodist break up of ours almost quaint and in truth long overdue. People always try to change the world. Few do. People who think they haven't usually have the most in my experience. Today in our scripture we have an understanding of how our savior was able. We foreshadow the resurrection, but that is for another Sunday.
Archeologist recently commented on working in Jerusalem:
"It's the kind of jumble that you would expect to find in a ruined household following a raid or battle," Gibson added. "Household objects, lamps, broken bits from pottery which had been overturned and shattered… Frankly, jewelry is a rare find at conflict sites, because this is exactly the sort of thing that attackers will loot and later melt down."
Speaking of a rare piece of gold found from the Siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Even as we wage war today we dig in the ground to understand our past. Sometimes it feels like all there is is war.
George Orwell wrote "This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing. As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house."
Never one to complain and not have a solution. He had six rules of writing:
i. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
ii. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
iii. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
iv. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
v. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
vi. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Political action has several problems. Humans are involved so that is problematic.
The Transfiguration from the amplified bible:
28 Now about eight days after these teachings, He took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were [greatly] afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then [e]a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept silent, and told no one at that time any of the things which they had seen [concerning the divine manifestation].
Now it is interesting how they wanted to make three tents. How they wanted to make themselves comfortable. This was when they saw there would be no comfortable anymore. I have heard some of the best sermons on this theme. This is not those. They kept silent. Questions did not form. They were transfigured. They did more than many.
One of my partners in ministry here likes to talk about God having IEPs for everyone. You know these plans for each of us. Well here I think what we had is like we sing. "Peter built the church on the rock of salvation his banner over me is love." They saw glory and splendor and majesty, our savior first revealed to the people in more need of motivation than any we know in history. How did they do what they did? This glory and splendor and majesty kept them going and keeps us going.
The teaching mentioned in verse 28 you may wonder: For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself?
37 On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. 38 And a man from the crowd shouted for help, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only child; 39 and a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it throws him into a convulsion so that he foams at the mouth; and only with [great] difficulty does it leave him, mauling and bruising him as it leaves. 40 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon slammed him down and threw him into a [violent] convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 They were all amazed [practically overwhelmed] at the [evidence of the] greatness of God and His majesty and His wondrous work.
Jesus gives peace. Jesus doesn't put everyone at ease. You unbelieving and perverted generation. Jesus can make me feel uncomfortable, but in each case I have found something new in my relationship to the world about Jesus. Not long surely and forever. I wonder in the heart of Jesus if he would almost like to skip to the end. No one knew better the sufferings to come. We hear whispers of them Jesus they surely scream to. They were all amazed.
George Orwell continues:
"When one critic writes, ‘The outstanding feature of Mr. X’s work is its living quality’, while another writes, ‘The immediately striking thing about Mr. X’s work is its peculiar deadness’, the reader accepts this as a simple difference of opinion. If words like black and white were involved, instead of the jargon words dead and living, he would see at once that language was being used in an improper way. Many political words are similarly abused. The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies ‘something not desirable’. The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice, have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. "
How lucky we are. We don't have to change the world. This world has been transfigured. There are no bad instincts, just as there are no bad notes on a piano; there are only bad players, who make discord out of notes meant for harmony. WfM
I pray for those in war everyday. We are all in war everyday. There will be quite a story told of the defense of Kiev. If you don't know their current president was a character on a popular TV sitcom about being President for the right reasons. He is the President it seems for the right reasons. When we offered him a way out and safety here in America his only response was, “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”
trans·fig·ure
verb
transform into something more beautiful or elevated.
"the world is made luminous and is transfigured"
I don't burn out even though I should, that is why I have faith. As is written in 2 Corinthians 4:1, Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as we received mercy [from God, granting us salvation, opportunities, and blessings], we do not get discouraged nor lose our motivation.
Let Us Pray
Thank you Savior for changing the world
The fight is here
We need your ammunition, not a ride
Thank you for putting us all in your will
Be with those who have left home
Be with those who have stayed home
Let whoever is knocking on the door come with you
We pray for the end of war
Amen
Benediction
Go Ye into the world
Make something better this week
Nottingham 2.27.2022
