Building Booths

I know what you're thinking - two posts in one day?  Get outta here! 

I know, I know.  I haven't been to regular lately, but I'm sermon prepping today and I've got alot to say.

This Sunday is, liturgically speaking, Transfiguration Sunday.  It's the day that Mark 9:2-9 falls on the lectionary schedule.  This is a challenging text that isn't like anything else that Mark writes about.  It's purely experiential - God transfigures Jesus, Elijah and Moses appear, Jesus doesn't say a word.  After writing it, Mark probably should have said, "Well, you just had to be there."  Sometimes words just don't do justice to the story.

I've been focused on what Peter said as he witnessed this event.  He wanted to build shelters (or booths according to some versions).  Huh?  I've witnessed some great things, but I don't recall the urge to spontaneously construct a shelter to commemorate the event.

After digging into the background of the text, I found a reference to the Feast of the Tabernacles from Leviticus, also known as the Festival of the Lord.  If you're from certain parts of the country, picture a traditional campmeeting.  The Hebrew community would gather once a year, in the seventh month, for one week.  They would construct booths/shelters/tabernacles and stay in them for  eight days.  This was after the harvest had come in and the week would be a community sabbath. 

On the mountain, Peter wanted to build shelters for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses to provide them a place to stay.  He wanted not only to commemorate the transfiguration, but prolong it.

We do the same.  This story is why we often refer to our holiest moments as "mountain top experiences."  We try to prolong the heightened experience and even try to artificially recreate it later on.  Unfortunately, those intentions are always futile.  Eventually we all must come down off the mountain.

This is where true disciples are separated from the rest though.  When we return to regular life, can we remember the divinity of Christ and what that means for our faith?  Can we continue to be obedient even when not in the midst of the transfiguration?  It's simply not enough for Jesus to be a friend to us, a teacher, or a historical figure except for when we're on the mountain.  Jesus is still the Christ, whether we're in an intense, spiritually overwhelming worship service or in the shade of the valley, facing the challenges of life.