"The Experience"
8-31-14 (Ordinary 22/Proper 17A - Semicontinuous)
Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28
The Experience
One of the mentors at our gathering in Louisville told a story this week that really captivated me as I reflected on this week’s readings.
He told us about a boy who went with his family to Mt. Rainier. The little boy was excited to climb the mountain with his family, but as they came to the trailhead at the summit, he started to read the sign with the legal notice spelling out the various dangers that he might face on the trail - loose rocks, wild animals, narrow ledges, and more… and being the young boy that he was, he started to feel afraid of following through with his family’s plan. But also being a young boy, he knew he had to maintain his “image,” and so he didn’t tell his family that he was nervous… he went with the standard “This looks boring.” And so he chose to spend his day in the visitor’s center while his family hiked.
Since he didn’t want to go up the mountain himself, he decided that he would learn about everything in the park during the day until his family came back. He learned about the flora and fauna, the geology and how old the mountain was, what kind of rocks and minerals you could find on the mountain, what plants were edible and which ones would land you in the hospital. He finished his first tour through the visitor’s center and then decided to go through another two, three times to make sure he’d completely mastered every fact, every statistic, every piece of information until he felt he really knew Mt. Rainier.
When his family came back from their trek on the mountain, he came running to greet them, full of confidence and pride at all that he had learned in the visitor’s center. He took them on the tour of the visitor’s center and even impressed the guides and park rangers as he went through every fact and figure about Mt. Rainier that he had learned in that building…
As he showed them the facts and figures, his family pointed out the things they’d seen and experienced - the Erigeron Aureus and Phlox Diffusa that the boy gave facts about were the beautiful, Alpine Golden Daisies that shone radiantly on the summit and the rich, sweet scent of the Spreading Phlox that sprouted up from the stone outcroppings all along the trail. As he told them about the average wingspan of the American Eagle, their migration and nesting patterns, they tried to convey to him the incredible sound that the eagles made as they soared overhead, calling to one another as they caught updrafts and downdrafts, spreading their great wings out across the sky. As he told them about the changes that happen from one elevation to the next, they told him about the view they had from the mountain, the ability to see for hundreds of miles out over the world, completely uninterrupted by anything but the chill mountain air. And the boy started to realize that, as much as he had learned from the visitor center about Mt. Rainier, he didn’t really know the mountain because he hadn’t yet experienced it.
Sometimes, we discover that as much as we think we know about our faith and life… we’ve never left the visitor’s center. But take heart! Because we’re in good company - in fact, we’re in the company of the saints when it comes to the discovery that we don’t always know as much as we think we do.
It happened to Peter just moments after he’d been so strongly affirmed by Jesus for his confession that Christ was the Messiah. Now that his identity has been affirmed to the disciples, Jesus starts to get down to business, teaching them about what is to come and what he knows he will have to undergo. They know that he is the Messiah, but they need to know who the Messiah is - it’s time for the disciples to finally start hiking up the mountain. And, in fact, the very next moment in Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus and some of the disciples literally climbing the mountain and experiencing the transfiguration.
But Peter has spent too much time in the visitor’s center - he thinks he knows what the role of the Messiah is; in fact, he thinks he knows it better than Jesus does. And so he takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him - “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you!” Peter’s being invited up the mountain, he’s being let in with the rest of the disciples on the great Messianic secret, but all he sees are the warning signs at the trailhead, the things that he is afraid of and that don’t mesh with his own preconceived image of what and who the Messiah is supposed to be. And so he tries to bring Jesus back with him to the visitor center and re-educate him.
Moses had it happen to him when he was already on the mountain - he didn't see a warning sign to scare him away; just a burning bush. But as the voice of God called out of the bush and not only invited but commanded that Moses would go to Pharaoh and deliver his own people out of slavery... Moses wished there was a visitor center that he could go to, if not just to learn why it was him that God is calling out. But as Moses stands before God, backpedaling as best as he can, asking God for God's own credentials and trying to create a visitor's center in which he can take shelter of any kind, God speaks into his uncertainty and fear and gives Moses the promise that he will bring God's own people back to the mountain, where they will all worship God as one people again.
In both of these encounters, there’s a distinct and clear call - God invites Moses, Peter, and each and every one of us to the experience. Jesus’ statement, get behind me, is the exact same phrase in the Gospels that he uses when he calls the disciples to “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” When he calls Peter Satan, he recognizes the temptation - in fact, the tempter - that Peter represents in this moment, that desire to let his own fears of death and betrayal steer him away from the mountain and back to the visitor center. Peter wasn’t the only one who was afraid of what Jesus was saying, after all. And so even as Peter quite literally stands in front of Jesus, blocking the way, trying to change his mind and get him to take a different path, to come back to the visitor’s center… Jesus redirects him - he says “don’t stand in my way, but get on board with me… get behind me and come join me on the way.” Don’t settle for the visitor’s center alone when the experience itself still awaits you further down the path.
It’s the experience that has substance and that ultimately makes the difference in our lives. The visitor’s center can be a wonderful place to visit - they might have the most interactive, high tech exhibits imaginable, the best facilities and beautiful displays, great guides who can tell you everything you want to know, even restaurants and gift shops that help provide for your needs and help you find great ways to remember your visit… but the visitor’s center is only ever there to point toward the experience, to give it background and depth. Without the experience itself, there’s no visitor center in the first place. And it’s the experience that shapes us, that makes us who we are, and that allows us to ultimately invite others to come and see what we have seen, as well. We can impress someone with our knowledge of an eagle’s wingspan, but until and unless they’ve seen the eagle itself, seen those wings spread as it soars on the thermals, heard its cry piercing through the crisp mountain air… all the statistics lose their meaning.
And this is what we are called to in our own Christian lives - we are called to follow the great I AM, to go with confidence, knowing that the same God who has called us also goes with us, and to know that that same God also gives us strength to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him with boldness and joy. And as we follow, as we experience the life that God has called us to, and as we let that experience shape us, transform us, mold us and move us, it’s amazing who we find beside us on that journey - who we may have drawn to have the experience through our own tales. To God be the Glory. Amen.
Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28
The Experience
One of the mentors at our gathering in Louisville told a story this week that really captivated me as I reflected on this week’s readings.
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| Photo Credit: Tanya Alexander (freeimages.com) |
Since he didn’t want to go up the mountain himself, he decided that he would learn about everything in the park during the day until his family came back. He learned about the flora and fauna, the geology and how old the mountain was, what kind of rocks and minerals you could find on the mountain, what plants were edible and which ones would land you in the hospital. He finished his first tour through the visitor’s center and then decided to go through another two, three times to make sure he’d completely mastered every fact, every statistic, every piece of information until he felt he really knew Mt. Rainier.
When his family came back from their trek on the mountain, he came running to greet them, full of confidence and pride at all that he had learned in the visitor’s center. He took them on the tour of the visitor’s center and even impressed the guides and park rangers as he went through every fact and figure about Mt. Rainier that he had learned in that building…
As he showed them the facts and figures, his family pointed out the things they’d seen and experienced - the Erigeron Aureus and Phlox Diffusa that the boy gave facts about were the beautiful, Alpine Golden Daisies that shone radiantly on the summit and the rich, sweet scent of the Spreading Phlox that sprouted up from the stone outcroppings all along the trail. As he told them about the average wingspan of the American Eagle, their migration and nesting patterns, they tried to convey to him the incredible sound that the eagles made as they soared overhead, calling to one another as they caught updrafts and downdrafts, spreading their great wings out across the sky. As he told them about the changes that happen from one elevation to the next, they told him about the view they had from the mountain, the ability to see for hundreds of miles out over the world, completely uninterrupted by anything but the chill mountain air. And the boy started to realize that, as much as he had learned from the visitor center about Mt. Rainier, he didn’t really know the mountain because he hadn’t yet experienced it.
Sometimes, we discover that as much as we think we know about our faith and life… we’ve never left the visitor’s center. But take heart! Because we’re in good company - in fact, we’re in the company of the saints when it comes to the discovery that we don’t always know as much as we think we do.
It happened to Peter just moments after he’d been so strongly affirmed by Jesus for his confession that Christ was the Messiah. Now that his identity has been affirmed to the disciples, Jesus starts to get down to business, teaching them about what is to come and what he knows he will have to undergo. They know that he is the Messiah, but they need to know who the Messiah is - it’s time for the disciples to finally start hiking up the mountain. And, in fact, the very next moment in Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus and some of the disciples literally climbing the mountain and experiencing the transfiguration.
But Peter has spent too much time in the visitor’s center - he thinks he knows what the role of the Messiah is; in fact, he thinks he knows it better than Jesus does. And so he takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him - “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you!” Peter’s being invited up the mountain, he’s being let in with the rest of the disciples on the great Messianic secret, but all he sees are the warning signs at the trailhead, the things that he is afraid of and that don’t mesh with his own preconceived image of what and who the Messiah is supposed to be. And so he tries to bring Jesus back with him to the visitor center and re-educate him.
Moses had it happen to him when he was already on the mountain - he didn't see a warning sign to scare him away; just a burning bush. But as the voice of God called out of the bush and not only invited but commanded that Moses would go to Pharaoh and deliver his own people out of slavery... Moses wished there was a visitor center that he could go to, if not just to learn why it was him that God is calling out. But as Moses stands before God, backpedaling as best as he can, asking God for God's own credentials and trying to create a visitor's center in which he can take shelter of any kind, God speaks into his uncertainty and fear and gives Moses the promise that he will bring God's own people back to the mountain, where they will all worship God as one people again.
In both of these encounters, there’s a distinct and clear call - God invites Moses, Peter, and each and every one of us to the experience. Jesus’ statement, get behind me, is the exact same phrase in the Gospels that he uses when he calls the disciples to “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” When he calls Peter Satan, he recognizes the temptation - in fact, the tempter - that Peter represents in this moment, that desire to let his own fears of death and betrayal steer him away from the mountain and back to the visitor center. Peter wasn’t the only one who was afraid of what Jesus was saying, after all. And so even as Peter quite literally stands in front of Jesus, blocking the way, trying to change his mind and get him to take a different path, to come back to the visitor’s center… Jesus redirects him - he says “don’t stand in my way, but get on board with me… get behind me and come join me on the way.” Don’t settle for the visitor’s center alone when the experience itself still awaits you further down the path.
It’s the experience that has substance and that ultimately makes the difference in our lives. The visitor’s center can be a wonderful place to visit - they might have the most interactive, high tech exhibits imaginable, the best facilities and beautiful displays, great guides who can tell you everything you want to know, even restaurants and gift shops that help provide for your needs and help you find great ways to remember your visit… but the visitor’s center is only ever there to point toward the experience, to give it background and depth. Without the experience itself, there’s no visitor center in the first place. And it’s the experience that shapes us, that makes us who we are, and that allows us to ultimately invite others to come and see what we have seen, as well. We can impress someone with our knowledge of an eagle’s wingspan, but until and unless they’ve seen the eagle itself, seen those wings spread as it soars on the thermals, heard its cry piercing through the crisp mountain air… all the statistics lose their meaning.
And this is what we are called to in our own Christian lives - we are called to follow the great I AM, to go with confidence, knowing that the same God who has called us also goes with us, and to know that that same God also gives us strength to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him with boldness and joy. And as we follow, as we experience the life that God has called us to, and as we let that experience shape us, transform us, mold us and move us, it’s amazing who we find beside us on that journey - who we may have drawn to have the experience through our own tales. To God be the Glory. Amen.
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