Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

May I share with you a pet peeve of mine? It’s gift boxes. Not just any gift box, but the kind of gift box that comes wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons and bows and is given to you as a gift. You’re so excited to receive that gift. You tear off the bows, untie the ribbons, rip into the paper and finally you arrive at the box itself. You’re finally ready to see what someone has gotten for you, but you go to lift off the top cover of the gift box only to find it taped shut. Sometimes it’s only with two little pieces of tape. Other times it appears that Fort Knox must certainly be hidden inside the box. Sometimes it’s like an entire roll of the heavy duty, industrial class strapping tape has been used to secure that top cover. All that tape just simply prolongs getting into that box. That whole routine of trying to get into that box personally frustrates me. You either need to run for a knife or scissors to cut open the tape. Or, you cut your finger trying to slip your finger into the narrow space and rip the tape. Or you end up ripping the box cover around the tape.

I must confess, if you couldn’t tell by now, that I am a non-taper. But those who are box tapers tell me that they tape the boxes in order to keep the box lid tight, that not all times does the item inside the box fit properly inside the box so the tape is necessary to keep the box cover on while they are wrapping the gift. My solution, I think, is easier: get a bigger box or use a gift bag.

My pet peeve is the oxymoron behind taped gift boxes. On the one hand, someone wants you to have something. They’ve gone to great lengths to purchase something for you and festively wrap it. On the other hand, it at least appears that someone wants to keep you from getting what they want you to have. Either give me the gift or don’t give me the gift, but don’t give me the gift and make it nearly impossible to get it.

The account of Jesus’ transfiguration appears to put us into a similar oxymoronic situation.

Mirroring a situation about 1500 years earlier, when Moses climbed Mount Sinai with Aaron and Hur and the leaders of Israel, Jesus one day invited Peter, James and John – His “inner circle” – up a mountain with Him. There He was transfigured before their eyes. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became as bright as the light. Moses and Elijah, the two messengers of old, representing the Law and the Prophets, stood there with Him.

Peter, James and John knew that none of this was usual. They saw the real meaning behind the event: this Jesus Who had called them to leave their fishing boats and follow Him, Who taught such great stories, Who performed such amazing miracles, Who captivated huge crowds, this Jesus was no ordinary man. The Voice from the cloud betrayed Jesus’ true identity. He was the Son of God Himself, in Whom God was well-pleased.

We have long laughed at Peter’s impulsiveness, wanting to build those three shelters there on that mountain, but who could really blame him? Don’t we all wish we could push the pause button during those exciting times of life? But we can’t stay in those moments in life and neither could Peter. Instead, Jesus led them back down that mountain. Peter, James and John could hardly wait to brag about what they had seen, but then came the instruction that seems oxymoronic, the “tape” on the cover of the box: “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen.”

That instruction from Jesus seems as strange as giving someone a gift but making it difficult for them to open the gift. Didn’t Jesus know human nature? The best kept secret is the secret never told. If He didn’t want Peter, James and John to tell anyone about what they had seen, why did He even show them? Why torture them with such an excellent scoop of insiders information only to tell them they couldn’t use the information?

Could it be that Jesus wanted them to have that information in their hearts in order to carry them through what was ahead for them?

You see, it wouldn’t be long before Jesus would walk a dark and stormy road in life. He had already been preparing His disciples for that journey with Him, but they really wanted to hear nothing of it. They swore to Him over and over again that they would never allow anything to happen to Him and, if it did, it would be over their own dead bodies. They swore they would die fighting for Him.

Yet on that Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus knew what lay ahead – His dark and stormy walk to Jerusalem, where He would be arrested, illegally tried, handed an immediate death sentence and be crucified on a Cross to forgive the sins of the entire world, largely alone, largely abandoned one by one by those who swore to never leave Him. In that moment on the Cross, when Jesus would yell, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” He also knew each of the disciples – including Peter, James and John – would be dealing with their own abandonment issues, along with issues of self-disappointment and depression and anger and loneliness and fear. Could it be that Jesus wanted Peter, James and John to have that information conveyed to them on the Mount of Transfiguration to carry them through the Mount of Calvary? Could it be that Jesus does the same for us?

This Mardi Gras Sunday is intentionally designed to give us one last great celebration before we enter the somber season of Lent. For the next 48 days we will intentionally and intimately focus upon all that Jesus suffered so that we might enjoy the forgiveness of sins and the sure and certain hope of everlasting life. Some of our journey during Lent will be extremely sad, as we come face-to-face with our role in all that Jesus suffered, yet we will carry in our hearts this joyful celebration, allowing it to point us forward to the great feast of Easter to be festively celebrated here 49 days from today.

When you think about it, that’s how Jesus operates throughout our entire lives. He gives us great moments of joy to carry us through those moments of sadness and pain. He gives us great mountaintop experiences with Him, those times we know without any doubt that He is so close to us, to carry us through the valley experiences, those times we look around and wonder where He is.

Again today, Jesus comes to us because He knows the strength we need to walk through life. As Jesus comes to us in His Body and Blood, He comes as an untaped gift box. We are allowed immediate access to the greatest gift ever given us. We are completely unhindered from getting to Jesus and receiving that which He intends to give us.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Pastor Christopher Schaar
Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena