God In The Fog

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02.03.08

Transfiguration of the Lord

GOD IN THE FOG

EXODUS 24:12-18; MATTHEW 17:1-9

Facing the Storms of Life

Temperature Inversion

I remember it well

It was early March in 1996, and we were living in Iowa
Winters in Iowa could be brutal
An arctic front dips down from Canada over the Midwest bringing with it frigid temperatures and heavy snow
Along with the cold and snow, there is wind
Temperatures could easily drop to fifteen below zero for a daytime high, with a wind chill of minus thirty, and that wind would blow the snow over the open plains and rolling hills, creating white-out conditions

During this particular March, such a storm had blown through

The snow had stopped and the winds died down, but it was still cold
Then, a warm front began to move over us in the upper atmosphere
Normally, that would be good news because it would bring warmer temperatures as it pushed the cold air to the east, but this year it wasn’t such good news

The warm air in the upper atmosphere came to a dead stop directly over the mass of cold air in the lower atmosphere, creating a weather phenomenon called a temperature inversion

The warm air mass formed a cap over the cold air, clouds and snow, locking them into place
And that warm air, cold air, clouds, and snow cover mixture created fog—a thick, dense, pea soup fog—which lasted for two solid weeks
It was foggy in the morning, foggy in the afternoon, and foggy at night—24 hours a day
And that fog was so thick you could barely see ten feet in front of you

The community we lived in was a tiny Midwestern town in the middle of nowhere

There was one church, a small post office, a local bank, a hardware store, one diner and one gas station in this little community of 400 people
For everything else, we had to travel, either twelve miles to the west to Dennison or ten miles to the east to Carroll, or two hours in either direction to Des Moines or Omaha
But during that two week period, travel anywhere was virtually impossible—it was just too dangerous to be out on the roads
Add to that the fact that the main highway through town, U.S. Route 30 was closed from Dennison to Carroll—a twenty-two mile stretch of highway—for a two-year reconstruction project
The only way to get anywhere was over back country dirt roads
The fog and the dirt roads made travel a nightmare

Near the end of that two week period, Janie and I ventured out to get some groceries

The fog seemed to be thinning a little, so we thought it would be safe to go
But while we were in the grocery store the fog thickened again, making the drive home treacherous
At one point, visibility was so poor that I had to stop the car
I got out of the car and Janie slid over into the driver’s seat
She drove very slowly behind me as Ii walked in front of the car to find the road we needed to turn onto to get back home
For those two solid weeks, we were living in the fog

The Storms We Face

For quite a number of people in our world today, living in the fog is a way of life for them

It’s not a weather-related fog like we experienced in Iowa; instead it’s a psychological or emotional fog
Their minds are clouded by worry, by grief, by depression
There are any number of things that can bring fog into our life—the sickness or death of a loved one, a wayward child, a broken relationship, the loss of a job, financial problems, drug, alcohol or gambling addiction, the loss of our own health, the loneliness and isolation that often comes with getting older, the fear of death
And this fog can often be crippling
With no clear sense of direction, the fear of failure, a low self-esteem, and the feeling that life has no purpose, such a fog can stop us dead in our tracks

At times like these, we often wonder where God is or even if there really is a God

Sadly, some reach the point of total desperation, believing the whole world is against them, that their loved ones have let them down, and even God has abandoned them, so they take their own life
Others manage to weather their way through the storm
The fog eventually lifts, the sun appears, and life is filled wit hope and promise once again
We have to wonder what makes the difference
Why do some people find the fog so frightening, so devastating, while others emerge from the fog with a sense of new life and new hope?

Truth is, a lot of us are afraid of storms—we don’t know what they will bring

We’ve seen the devastation caused by fierce winds, torrential rain, heavy snow and raging fire
We’ve experienced the results of the storm of hatred that moves some to commit acts of terrorism
As horrific as all this is, life goes on
Somehow, people are able to pick up the pieces, put their lives back together, and go on living
Life is different, for sure, but life does go on
If it’s possible for those who have experienced the devastating effects of nature an human wrath, it’s also possible for us to weather through the storms we face and find life and hope on the other side

Living in the Fog

Moses on the Mountain

Both of our Scripture lessons today are about people who were facing turbulent times

The lives of the Israelites were in upheaval
They escaped from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, following the promise of hope and new life in a new land, only to find themselves trapped in the wilderness
The journey took so much longer than they expected
Their desire for instant gratification was displaced by forty years of wandering

And on that journey, they faced one hardship after another—severe shortages of food and water, exposure to the elements, illness, suffering, and death

While Moses constantly held out before them the promise that God was with them, they repeatedly questioned God’s presence and repeatedly resisted God’s will
Time and time again, they wanted to return to their old life in Egypt
Life there was not good, but it was predictable—they knew what to expect
But in this wilderness, they couldn’t see where they were going, they couldn’t find their way through the fog
But Moses insisted they could not go back, that life can only be lived in a forward direction
On the other side of the wilderness, on the other side of the storm, there was indeed new life and new hope

Their journey brought them to this mountain, and at this mountain God appeared

A cloud covered the mountain, and to the Israelites, the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire—and the Israelites were afraid
Into this cloud, into what appeared to be a raging chaos, God called Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain.”
So Moses went and camped out in the fog for six days
After six days, God called to him again, so Moses went up higher
He climbed deeper into the cloud and the fog and was there for forty days

It was during those forty days that God gave Moses the law as a guide for the people of Israel

But this was much more than a long dictation session when God spoke and Moses chiseled God’s words into tablets of stone
This was a relationship-building experience, and the laws God gave to Moses were intended to guide the Israelites in their relationship with God and with each other
What Moses experienced was forty days of intimacy with God, and during that time, he got to know God personally
And this was a life-changing experience for Moses, for when he returned from the mountain, his face glowed with the radiance of God

In the midst of the fog, Moses encountered God

In the center of the storm, God was there
From Moses’ experience in the fog, the Israelites learned that God was indeed with them, even in the storms they were facing
Even though they couldn’t see where all of this was leading, they learned to believe that new life and new hope lay on the other side of the wilderness

The Transfiguration of Jesus

The disciples of Jesus were also facing turbulent times

Six days earlier, Jesus told them that he must go to Jerusalem where he would suffer and die
After devoting three years of their life to him, they couldn’t imagine how they could go on without him
All their hopes and dreams rested on him, and without him, life would not be worth living
How could God bring them into such a horrible ordeal?

After pondering this for six days, living in the fog of depression and impending grief, Jesus invites three of them—Peter, James, and John—to go with him to the mountain

On that mountain, Jesus is transfigured in front of them
His appearance became a dazzling white, his face glowing with the glory of God, and Moses and Elijah appeared to him
While they were yet speaking, a cloud encompassed all of them and the voice of God spoke, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
In the misty fog of that cloud, the disciples became like dead men, falling to the ground paralyzed with fear
And yet, in the midst of that fog, they encountered God
They witnessed the very nature of God shining in the face of Jesus, and they heard the voice of God speaking to them

Transfiguration—in the original Greek language, that word is metamorphosis

A metamorphosis is a radical transformation, like that of a butterfly emerging from the cocoon of a caterpillar
It’s the same life but in a radically different form
That’s what these disciples witnessed that day in the life of Jesus
They saw Jesus as he truly was—the very Son of God
But they also saw what life could be like for them—a life that is radically transformed and reflecting the glory of God in the world
In this experience, they saw what the resurrection Jesus talked about was really all about

It wasn’t just Jesus who was transfigured on that mountain that day

Those disciples were transfigured as well
In the face of Jesus, they saw what life could be like for them if they lived it trusting in the mercy and grace of God
And it was that experience that enabled them to survive the horrific ordeal of crucifixion that lay ahead
It’s an experience they would have missed had they not responded to Jesus’ invitation to come up to the mountain, to stand in the cloud and meet God in the fog

The Transforming Power of Suffering

Perhaps that’s the reason for the storms that come into our life, for the clouds that hinder our vision, and the fog that cause such confusion

In that fog, there’s something God wants to reveal to us, a lesson we need to learn
Those trials and troubles aren’t punishments God sends to afflict us
Instead, they’re intended to make us better and stronger, to bring us from where we are to where God wants us to be, to bring us to a deeper level of trust and faith
While we hope and pray that our life may be devoid of crisis, we know that’s not really possible

But whatever crisis we happen to face, we ought to know that no crisis is devoid of God

God is in the midst of the storm
Though the clouds may darken our way and fog may blur our vision so that we can’t see God, we can still know that God is there, and we can meet God in the fog
Because God is there, we need not be afraid

What got the people of Israel in trouble, and what gets us in trouble as well, is that far too often we make the faithless decision to stand at a distance from God

Scripture invites us to do the opposite
“Draw near to God and God will draw near to you,” says the writer of James
That’s not always easy because sometimes it requires that we step into the fog, just as Moses and the disciples had to do

When we’re going through a period of confusion and disorientation, it could be that we’re precisely where we need to be, and that we’re exactly where God is as well

So, as we begin the season of Lent this week, let us make an intentional and conscious effort to be closer to God
We each need an experience with God—an encounter with the God who’s alive and powerful, gracious and loving
We have to enter God’s presence and spend time with God, even if it’s in the fog
Closeness to God is always better than distance, and love is always a better motivator than fear
So let’s make an effort to move closer to God, discover how real God is, and let that reality begin to shape us and transfigure us