February 23, 2020 – Awestruck Catonsville United Methodist Church

A sermon on Matthew 17:1-9 by Pastor David Jacobson



Over the years, we’ve enjoyed reading the stories of Beatrix Potter with our kids. She’s the author and illustrator of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” and many other children’s stories. All of her tales take place in the Lake District in the northwest of England, which is somewhere that Katie and I happened to have traveled a few years back when she could catch a break from residency. 



You’ve probably heard of Peter Rabbit, but I’m guessing not as many of you have heard of the “Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.” They just don’t make names like that anymore, do they? It’s about a girl named Lucie who lives in a farmhouse. Lucie loses her handkerchief and goes searching for it. She sees some white on the mountains in the distance, and she decides that it must be her handkerchief. The mountain she went to was named Cat Bells.



The first time I read this story with Caleb, I read that, and I was immediately transported back to a moment in my life when I was absolutely awestruck. I was taken in my mind’s eye back to a reall glory sighting.  



When we’d visited the lake district, Katie and I had hiked to the top of Cat Bells. It was a rather nasty day– windy and rainy– but I didn’t mind because we were on an adventure. The hike took us up a ridge with a Lake on our left and a sheep-filled valley with our Farmhouse B&B on our right. After a relatively steady climb, mixed with periods of getting to scramble up a few rocky parts, we were rewarded the most satisfying summit I’ve experienced, despite the weather. Other summits that I’ve experienced have had things preventing a panoramic view. But on this summit (thanks to deforestation!) there were no trees or other obstructions. The summit itself was even small enough that you could look in any direction and see the ground at the foot of the mountain.) But even better than that, in the distance there was a break in the clouds. And these fantastic rays of sun shone down into the valley. I was in awe. The scene in itself was incredible, but it also pointed to the fact that the time was coming soon that the wind and the rain would stop, and bright sun would soon cover the whole landscape. 



Have you ever had a moment like that– a moment where you’re just full of awe and wonder? Words always fail to describe the experience of it. In fact, these moments can simply leave you speechless. It is as if reality– true reality– has burst into the mundane and the uncomfortable. We might even say that it’s as if the veil between heaven and earth has become thin, and we’re able to see what is usually hidden from us.



But here’s the thing, the sense of the glory of God that I got several years ago from the view on the top of a storybook mountain is dwarfed by the awe-inspiring sight of what the disciples saw on the mountain of transfiguration. On that day, in a story that shows up in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus’ appearance is changed. The word in the original greek that means “transfigured” is the same word that we get our word “metamorphosis” from. This is more than a few rays of sunlight falling on Jesus’ white clothes. Something incredible happened. And in the words of second Peter, this is not a cleverly devised myth. Rather, it is was a historical event that Peter, James, and John got to witness. 



The experience of Jesus’ face shining like the sun is impossible to capture fully in words. But the scene really just begins there. Beside Jesus, Moses and Elijah appear– two great heroes of the faith who had profound experiences of God’s glory on mount Sinai. And Peter… Peter just can’t help himself. He tries to put his feelings into words– “This is great! Let’s pitch some tents for the three of you!” Whenever I think of Peter saying that, I picture the Donkey from Shrek, played by Eddie Murphy, saying, “We can stay up late swapping manly stories, and in the