Mark 9:7-8
Clouds
are fascinating to me. They hold a beauty that is very difficult to capture
either in photographs, or on an artist’s canvas. Their shape, size, depth, and
color variation make for endless hours of wonder. The subtleties of color shade
are amazing. And of course there are many different types of clouds. All this
makes for interesting study.
Clouds
also signal coming weather, if you know how to read them. As the pressures
change, in indicator of weather changes, the clouds change as well. I
personally don’t know how to do this, but some people make it their job to
watch the weather, observing the clouds.
Our
story tells of a cloud that symbolizes God’s presence. Jesus and three of His
disciples have pulled aside for an advanced course in theology. But the
disciples are still in quite a fog. Even when Jesus speaks clearly, they can’t
seem to grasp the meaning of what He is plainly saying. Jesus told them He
would rise again after His suffering and death, but they can’t figure out what
He means by that.
And
now Jesus’ appearance changes and He is standing with Moses and Elijah, both of
whom have died centuries ago. The disciples still don’t get it. They want to
set up three tents and turn it into some type of shrine. But the LORD has other
plans.
A
cloud envelops the three obscuring the disciple’s ability to see them clearly.
The cloud obscures so that the LORD can bring clarity. And He does that with
His voice. He speaks from the cloud. He says three short things, and then the
cloud and Jesus’ two visitors are gone. So what did He say?
The
first is that Jesus is His Son. This is not a generic term meaning that Jesus
is under the providential care of God. This is more than owing our existence to
Him. This is the identification of lineage. Just like my earthly son and
daughter are both humans, having gotten that through the passing of DNA, so
Jesus is the LORD’s Son, possessing God’s unique DNA. Jesus possesses
everything that makes God unique from every created thing.
Jesus
is loved by the Father. This is more than “Jesus loves the little children, all
the children of the world.” This is the greatest love possible.
The
final and perhaps most important is the last thing spoken before things go back
to normal. The voice from the cloud tells the disciples to listen to Jesus. This
is what the disciples have been missing. They are hearing, but not really
listening. Jesus is telling them plainly, but they just aren’t paying attention
to what He is saying.
When
a small child is having trouble listening there are some things you can to do
to focus their attention and help them to listen. Get down to their level, your
face in line with their face. Then tell them to look you in the eye, and
continue to repeat this until they are looking at you. If they drift away, have
them look at your eyes again. Don’t go on with the message to be delivered until
they are looking eye to eye. Then tell them what you need them to know, keeping
it simple and age appropriate. Then have them repeat it back to you.
God
does this kind of thing for the disciples. They keep getting distracted by what
they see around them. So Jesus focuses their attention and then they can hear
the message. Listen!