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| Annie Watson, ARCWP |
Every once in a while I need to get my “fix.” Yes, I am
addicted to a few things in life, like popcorn. I really love popcorn. Recently
I have learned from a popcorn making connoisseur how to make really good
homemade popcorn.
I also have to get my family fix on a daily basis: my
husband, children, and grandchildren. There is my
talking-on-the-phone-to-my-friends fix that I need to do on a daily basis. And,
of course, I can’t lie to you: I have a Starbucks fix!
Getting a fix has a bad reputation because it suggests one
is addicted to something that is bad for you. For example, a heroin addict
needs to get his or her fix. We could, however, be addicted to things that are
less dangerous, like for example, good books or Chinese food.
We all have our addictions, good or bad. But I’m here today
to talk about our “Jesus fix.” This may be the one thing that brings all of us
together, the one thing we all have in common. Most of us have some form of an
addiction to Jesus.
The good thing about needing a Jesus fix is that we won’t
suffer from physical withdrawals if we have to go a few days without him.
Unlike some of our other habits, like surfing the internet or playing on our
cell phones, we don’t have to rely on fickle technology to keep in touch with
him.
So how do we get our Jesus fix? Some people get their Jesus
fix by praying to him. Some, who are of a more mystical nature, get their fix “abiding
in his presence.” Some simply get their fix by reading about him, either in the
pages of the Bible or in the pages of books written about him.
Can you imagine being one of Jesus’ first disciples, the men
and women who actually followed him around and got to hang out with him? How
about that for a Jesus fix? Furthermore, can you imagine being one of Jesus’ closest friends? How exciting,
interesting, and sometimes perplexing that must have been.
According to the Gospel writers, three of Jesus’ disciples
seem to have fit that bill: Peter, James, and John. We often call them “the
inner circle.” If the biblical writers had not been so patriarchal and enamored
with “male privilege,” they would have included women in Jesus’ inner circle
because we know they were there!
Nevertheless, we will stick with the way the story is told. Peter,
James, and John have the privilege of hiking with Jesus up a mountain. They go
there to pray—to get their God fix.
Mountains are important in the worldview of the biblical
writers because God was thought to be up
there. Therefore, a mountain got you as close to God as humanly possible.
In the modern world we have had to rethink our understanding of where God is
because we know “up there” is a lot of empty space, planets, stars, and
galaxies.
Still, I don’t think many modern people would argue that
there is not something about mountains—and nature in general—that make us feel
closer to God. If you want a God fix, a climbable mountain or hill is a good
place to go if for nothing more than the solitude it provides.
So Peter, James, and John accompany their friend and leader
up the mountainside to pray. While they are praying something extraordinary
occurs. Jesus’ face changes and his clothes become dazzling white.
Of course, in the ancient world, no one’s garment was ever “dazzling white.” They didn’t have
laundry detergent, bleach, or washing machines, and, more importantly, they
were always walking around in the dirt. In that place and time, nothing was
very clean by today’s standards.
Frankly, I don’t know why a Madison Avenue advertising
agency has not yet picked up on the idea of using this story to advertise their
client’s laundry detergent. (Don Draper of “Mad Men” fame would be all over
that!)
This story—what we call the “Transfiguration Story”—is like
a television commercial with the sole purpose of trying to sell Jesus. Like all good commercials, it employs a little
exaggeration while effectively communicating the central truth. And the central
truth of the Transfiguration Story is that Jesus is One. Very. Important.
Person.
Two of the most important historical figures in the Jewish
faith pop out of nowhere: Moses, who represents the Jewish law, and Elijah, who
represents the Jewish prophets. A cloud appears, reminding us of the pillar of
clouds that led Moses and the Israelites through the wilderness.
The voice of God speaks from the clouds, reminding us of
Jesus’ baptism. Not only does God repeat what was said at Jesus’ baptism that
he is God’s “beloved” or “chosen” Son, the voice demands, “Listen to him!”
Again: One. Very. Important. Person.
Moses and Elijah share something else in common with Jesus:
their deaths are shrouded in mystery. There are no bodies to be found. The book of Deuteronomy tells us that Moses
died and was buried in the land of Moab, with this added caveat: “but no one
knows the place of his burial to this day.” That’s the story-teller’s way of
asking, “Did he really die?”
Elijah, of course, didn’t really die, according to the book
of 2 Kings. As if he is hailing a cab, Elijah is picked up by a chariot and
horses of fire and lifted up in a whirlwind. What a way to go, right?
And then there’s Jesus, who dies, is placed in a borrowed
tomb, and is raised from the dead. All
three—Moses, Elijah, and Jesus—are biblical jabs at the power and finality of
death.
We get the point: the storyteller is trying to sell Jesus. To use the language of
television commercials, Jesus is a “new and improved” version of the Law and
the Prophets, the two pillars of Jewish religion. This is savvy, creative
story-telling, enough to make any Madison Avenue advertising agency envious.
The Transfiguration Story is just one of those stories that
are rich in imagery and meaning. For me, it is one of the best stories in the
Gospels to read when I need a Jesus fix. My face may not change and my clothes
may not become dazzling white when I read it, but I am reminded that there is
more to life than popcorn and Starbucks!
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