I watched a little of the celebration in honor of Princess Diana last week. They gave story after story of how she had touched the lives of individuals and how they had been changed by their encounter with her. One story in particular caught my attention. It was a young woman who had met Diana three days after undergoing brain surgery. She said she was told that if she survived the surgery she could never walk or talk again. She then told how her encounter with Diana and the encouragement and hope she got from her had given her the strength and determination to walk and talk again. She gave the interview while walking down a path with the interviewer. Diana will forever have a place in her heart because of her encounter with the Princess. There were many others who shared how their encounter with the Princess had changed their lives. They affirmed Diana's role in encouraging, supporting and caring for those the world often forgets. As I was thinking ahead to the message for today I began to wonder: "If a mere human can encourage such changes in a person's life, what happens when they encounter the Living God?"
Today I want to look at two Biblical stories dealing with an encounter with God, beginning with Moses. Moses is alone in the mountains. Mountains are good places to be alone in. They are places where you can get away and hide. Most people do not go to the mountains to find crowds. Even today they go to get away from the crowds. Moses has fled from Egypt (he is an escaped murderer), married and settled down in Midian. He spends his days caring after the herds of his father-in-law in the solitude of the mountains. Egypt is now only a memory. Forty years have passed. Surely they have forgotten about him now.
He is alone with the herds minding his own business. He observes a bush burning. This may not be an unusual sight since lightning storms in the mountains may often cause small bush fires. But this bush is not consumed as it burns. We know that when something is burned whatever is burning is consumed in the fire. As he watches the bush is not consumed. This requires further investigation. He goes to see what is happening. From the bush his name is called. He responds, "Here I am." I am sure looking around trying to see who is speaking his name. Does Jethro want him? Then comes the voice, the command: "Take off your shoes for the ground on which you are standing is holy ground." Here from the bush Moses encounters the Living God. Here Moses is confronted with his past and his future. "I have a job for you."
Now Moses asks a strange question (we may think): "What is your name?" We need to remember this is an era when names have meaning. Moses wants to know who he is to say has sent him. We do not know how much Moses knew of his Hebrew faith. He grew up in the court of Pharaoh and he may know the names of all the Egyptian gods but Yahweh may not be known to him. Thus he asks, "What is your name?" The answer: "Tell them I AM has sent you." This is a name that is almost impossible to translate. It means I am that I am or I will be what I will be. It is a name that cannot be limited to any one particular meaning. Tell them "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent you." Tell them, "This is my name forever."
Let's move ahead to the mount of Transfiguration and our New Testament passage. Again we are heading for a mountaintop experience. Jesus has taken Peter, James and John with him (don't ask why only these three… we don't know – there are as many theories as commentaries but in reality we don't know!). They have been with Jesus for a while and are still trying to formulate who he is. Suddenly as they are there talking, Jesus is transformed to a glory that cannot be described. One translation says "a white whiter than any bleach can bleach." Jesus is there with Moses and Elijah and the Shekinah glory of God surrounds them. This is the same glory of God mentioned in Exodus 14. As Moses saw God's glory on the mountaintop now so do these three. They stand almost speechless—except Peter wants to build a memorial. Then from the glory the word of God… the voice of Yahweh, "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." No other directions than to listen to what Jesus has taught and what he will teach them. After these words they are alone with Jesus. No words can be said. They are told (v. 9) not to relate this experience to the others until after the "son of man is risen from the dead." They have encountered God on the mountain.
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God encounters leave us changed forever. What happens when we truly encounter God? Moses had every excuse he could think of not to go back to Egypt. His age, his speech, his reluctance to leave the flocks and family. But in essence God tells Moses that his excuses hold no water with God. God demonstrates that as he has called Moses he will equip Moses for the task before him. There is a task to be accomplished and God has called Moses. There are no acceptable excuses.
Peter wants to build a monument. He wants to remember this place and maybe bring the others there. Who knows? Maybe this will happen again. Others can experience the Shekinah glory of God in this place. Remember a few weeks ago someone thought they saw the face of Jesus on a tree and now people flock to see it. Or a few years ago an image of Mary appeared on a piece of toast or pancake (it was even up for sale on ebay!). We want to remember places like this. We make shrines so we can have pilgrimages hoping to experience what others have. But this is not to be. There is more to do than build shrines on mountaintops. There are lives to change and there are the teachings of Jesus to put into practice: To love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable, to care for those no one cares for…to be God's representative in this world. No one experiences God the same way, ever.
The encounter with God forever changed these ones. Oh yes, there were bumps along the way. Moses lost his temper, Peter denied him but these were only stumbles along the way to discipleship. They were never the same. Look at others in history:
- Saul was changed to Paul – from persecutor of the church to a defender of the faith.
- Adoniram Judson from the pulpit in New England to the unknown land of Burma.
- John Newton from a trader of slaves to a disciple of Christ. One who gave us the words, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see."
And the list goes on.
Diane and I are strong supporters of the Xtreme Team program of International Ministries. This program takes young people between the ages of 18-30 and immerses them in missions. They agree to be in the hands of IM for six weeks not knowing anything but the country they are going to. They do not know where they are going from day to day and neither do their parents. I remember one mom of a Philippine Team member asking if it were possible for her to get an itinerary. She was worried. NO! Parents sometimes slip. Those who go on Xtreme Teams do not come back the way they left. Somewhere along the way they discover God. It may be in the eyes of a child, the smile of an elder or some other experience. Lives are forever changed. Not because of American Baptists but because along the way they encounter God.
I remember one young woman who took part in the Philippine encounter. She was shy and not very vocal. However she had to raise funds for the trip and this forced her to speak to people and then she had to share her experiences when she got home. Diane and I have been privileged to see her grow into a young woman who can articulate her faith in a powerful way. An encounter with God forever changed her.
As you know, our daughter-in-law is in Africa. Her goal is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. However, over the days of her trip she has been within a foot or two of a male silver back gorilla, walked among giraffes and, better still, had the opportunity to meet people. She is encountering God (not sure if she knows it yet) but she will come back from Africa forever changed. Not because she climbed a mountain but because she met people, got to know them and experienced an encounter with God. Because she visited a genocide memorial and saw how horrible people can be and yet met people who lived through it and are still smiling, she will be forever changed.
Who will encounter God because they have met us?
I challenge us today to encounter God today.
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