Shut Up and Listen

Jon Carl Lewis

LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Quote

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

-Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV)

Devotion

When Peter, James, and John found themselves on a mountain with their teacher, a man who was definitely remarkable to them in many respects, they still seemed taken aback when their companion began shining like the sun and the ancient prophets Moses and Elijah showed up for a chat. They didn’t know what to do with themselves.

One could say, they lost it.

Peter, never at a loss for something to blurt out before really understanding the situation, asked if they should build three dwellings, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. The first, best thing he could think of to do was make the moment concrete, establish a structure, freeze the moment in time.

If Peter had witnessed this today, he would first have asked Jesus and the two most important figures in his cultural-religious tradition if they could all pose for a selfie.

Usually, the task fell to Jesus to rebuke Peter.

Before he got a chance, while Peter was still speaking, Dad stepped in from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Did God just tell Peter to shut up with his foolishness?

Did God tell Peter to stop for a moment and first pay attention to what was happening before setting out on some grand (and expensive, and unfeasible, and probably unnecessary) plan? That would have been completely beside the point.

The rebuke was far gentler than one I might have given (thanks be to God I’m not God). Yet it sent them diving to the ground, quivering in fear.

Note: God did not tell them to fall to the ground and quiver in fear. God only told them, “Yeah, this guy’s pretty special; you should listen to what he has to say.”

There are many lessons one could derive from this (quite frankly) moment of holy comedy, but what I see in the scrambling of the disciples to do anything but stand there and listen is my own impulse to completely ignore what God is presenting to me, to fill the space in which I could be learning something with very concrete plans and actions, and (worse) to lead my companions in the completely wrong direction thinking I knew the best course of action to take.

And what does Jesus say (when he gets a word in edgewise)?

He tells them to get up.

He tells them to not be afraid.

And then he leads them back into the real world, fortified with a glimpse of the Divine we’ve been pretending to understand for over two thousand years.

And he tells them not to tell anyone what they experienced until after he was raised from the dead. Because what happened on the mountain wasn’t the main point.

Jesus was the main point, and he had many things they needed to hear.

If they could shut up and listen.

If I can shut up and listen.

Reflection

1. When have I been so star struck by a religious experience, or a religious leader, or a concept that I want to rush out before I have had time to adequately understand what happened?

2. When have I been so busy babbling in front of a wise figure I did not stop to hear what wisdom they had to offer?

Action

The next time you have an experience of the divine (an insight, a vision of beauty, your heart strangely warmed, an injustice that you think calls for the wrath of God), see if you can pause, keep your eyes open to see what is really going on, and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to discern the next right step.

Oh, and give thanks.