Across the Pastor’s Desk

By Ken Jensen, Retired ELCA pastor, of Albert Lea

“From the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’” — Mark 9:7 (NRSV).

 

As the temperature of political rhetoric rises and fall elections draw near, two things seem certain.

1. Candidates will regress into the jargon of their stump speeches avoiding direct answers to direct questions asked of them.

2. People with strong political loyalties will tune out anything the “other side” might have to say. Whether candidate or voter, either reaction is symptomatic of one’s inability to listen.

In many of our congregations this Sunday, we will hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration. The Greek word translated “transfigure” is the same word from which we get “metamorphosis,” a description of what takes place in a cocoon as a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Jesus is changed in his outward appearance before the eyes of his disciples Peter, James and John.

The story confirms Jesus as the “anointed one” who embodies the very person of God. Now, what are they to do? Their first inclination is to erect three dwellings — houses of worship which, like historical markers along a highway, keep alive a memorable watershed event. Then the voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, listen to him!”

At this point I can almost hear Jesus say, “Come on, guys! It’s time to come down from the mountain. There’s much to be done on the flatlands below.”

Many of us attend worship with a need to be “lifted up,” to be comforted and reassured, to feel warm and good inside. If we could only remain on the mountain isolated from the pressures of everyday life; but, Jesus says, “It’s not just about you and me. We’re needed in the valley below!”

Jesus calls us to the flatlands to be agents of healing to those who suffer, to be advocates for those who have no voice in society, and to walk along side those in need of redemption. In this political year when self-interests are at the forefront, is anyone listening?