NOTE: This is the second week I am putting my weekly sermons on the church website. It will be on for two weeks (usually posted on Friday) and then placed in the Archives area by date. You can download in a matter of seconds.
Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766
February 17, 2002
"Five Golden Rings"
Matthew 17:1-9
Reverend Larry M.Gerber
We may not witness Jesus transfigured on the mountaintop, or receive new tables of God's holy law, yet we can enthusiastically embrace the five intertwined rings that stand as an emblem of our faith and practice.
Three heroes. They stood tall on the mountain at St. Anton, Austria. One dominated
as The Legend. The Herminator. The reigning Olympic gold medalist. Another was
a past World Champion. The third sparkled like a new star. The long-awaited
hope. The reluctant hero.
Just a year ago, at the Men's Giant Slalom World Championships, Hermann Maier was favored to capture the gold as he had so many times before. Fellow Austrian Stefan Eberharter, who won the event 10 years before, promised to deliver a competitive race. But Daron Rahlves of Truckee, California, surprised them both by finishing first, covering the treacherous, icy course in a breathtaking one minute, 21.46 seconds. Eberharter took second place, and Maier settled for the bronze.
Ever since the closing ceremonies four years ago at Nagano, Japan, these same three champions have had their hearts set on the gold at the 19th Olympiad that opened last night in Salt Lake City. Whereas the ancient Olympic games served as part of a religious festival glorifying Zeus and named for the home of the greatest Greek gods and goddesses, today's games bring glory to the world-class athletes who make extraordinary personal sacrifices in order to be Olympic champions who exemplify the Olympic motto: Swifter, Higher, Stronger.
But the road to victory is often as treacherous as the Super-G run. Last August, Hermann Maier suffered such extensive injuries in a motorcycle crash that doctors considered amputating his right leg. The athletes who converged upon Salt Lake City this past week realize that the possibility of career-ending injuries always looms. The journey to the top is not for the fainthearted.
When Peter, James and John climbed the snow-capped Mount Hermon with Jesus so many years ago, skiing was not on the agenda. And yet Jesus in his glory, along with Moses and Elijah, would stand tall together on the heroes' dais.
Moses, of course, had stood high upon a holy mountain before. The venue was Mount Sinai, and it was a 40-day event, not the 21-day telethon of the modern Olympics, and the outcome - complete with sapphire-paved trails, fireworks, an appearance from God himself and a new training handbook including the well known 10 Rules for Spiritual Fitness - forever linked him to the first Olympic-sized event in history. He represented law.
Elijah, too, enjoyed iconic status. Contests on Mt. Carmel with 400 contestants and a (w)itchy queen. Confrontations with kings, appointments with angels, mountain-meetings with God featuring earthquakes, wind and fire. And then there's that turbo-charged, upward ride to glory in chariots of fire that left onlookers open-mouthed and shocked. He represented the prophets.
Now they're standing together on another mountain with Jesus, an Olympic triad if there ever was one. Jesus was still something of a mystery at this point in time. There were some staggering moments: miraculous victories over hunger, blindness, bleeding, seizures. Those events alone brought him widespread attention. But he was a quirky hero, telling parables that jarred the crowds, making comments that would make a public relations team squirm, offending those in power.
This trio - Jesus, Moses and Elijah - stood on the mountain in the presence of Olympic wannabees Peter, James and John, who were stunned to see that it was their Jesus who stood tallest, transfigured before them, taking the gold and gleaming like a star. Who knew? Sure, their leader impressed the crowds, but who could have known that gospel would outshine the law and the prophets?
Of course, Peter himself attempted to bolt out of the starting gate like a champion, but his strategy to build "three dwelling places" for the triumvirate was an embarrassment. It was only when The Voice From Heaven spoke that Peter stopped in his tracks for a little divine coaching.
No national anthem resounded from the clouds. Instead the voice of God spoke to all people of all nations with this grand pronouncement: "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!"
This account of the transfiguration outshines the most poignant, overcoming story we will hear out of Salt Lake City over the next several days. Jesus asked his small band of followers not to spread the news of his mountaintop glory to anyone. The scene caused more than an adrenaline rush; they were knocked silly with fear. But Jesus calmed them and ordered them to keep this, the ultimate of up-close-and-personal experiences, a secret.
But they were never told not to carry the flag of the gospel. We may never know what transpired in the conversation that day between Moses, Elijah and Jesus, but the effect on the disciples was the authentication of the messiahship of Jesus, and that day would make such an indelible impression on them that Matthew, Mark and Luke record it in their gospels. They would from that day forward carry the flag and not lay it down until death called them home.
They say that Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, created the Olympic flag at the cusp of the 20th century after he saw the design of five, intertwined rings on an ancient Greek artifact. Although most people think the five rings symbolize the different continents, Pierre de Courbertin intended the rings to represent the five general regions of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Every national flag in the world includes at least one of the five Olympic ring colors: blue, yellow, black, green and red.
The Olympic flag was first unfurled at the Antwerp games in 1920. And today we see the rings everywhere, from Coca-Cola bottles to M&M wrappers to cans of Campbell's Soup. The rings, representing five general regions of the world; five rings in harmony, representing the hunger for the gold, and world-wide competition.
Like Peter, James and John, we have been handed the transfiguration flag and asked to carry it, display it wherever we go marking us as spiritual champions. The rings are emblematic of the core doctrines of the faith. There are five "rings" that harmonize with "Moses as Law, Elijah as Prophet, and Jesus as Gospel": justice, mercy faithfulness, truth, and love. We might call them the five golden rings of Christianity.
The ring of justice. Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai and Elijah declared the prophecies that spelled out what champions of justice look like. Those who treat God and each other with honor shine as spiritual leaders.
The ring of mercy. Compassion lies at the root of Jesus' parables and healing moments. Showing mercy dominates both the Hebrew and Greek scriptures and stands as the hallmark of spiritual giants.
The ring of faithfulness. Olympic Christians know how to persevere with hope in spite of the prevailing evidence that all is hopeless.
The ring of truth. The foundation of our relationships crumbles without honesty and integrity.
The ring of love. Without love, the other rings collapse in a heap of mangled, tangled confusion. Our love for one another is the mark of the Christian.
Winning Olympic gold occurs for only a select few. We may not witness Jesus transfigured on the mountaintop or receive an invitation to join God to receive new tablets of the law. And yet, we stand as Olympic Christians when we can bear these 5 rings as the emblem of our faith and practice.
Daron Rahlves is one of six U.S. skiers and snowboarders featured in a red, white, and blue advertising campaign called "Home of the Brave." He was featured shirtless in Rolling Stone magazine last year alongside Andre Agassi and Jason Giambi. As the blond, photogenic Super-G world champion, Rahlves had become one of the dazzling hopes for bringing home the gold in the men's super giant slalom.
He's self-effacing. He's photogenic. He's charismatic. But, he is human. He never dreamed of being in the Olympics. He was qoted as saying that he "just wanted to have fun."
Too many Christians feel the same way. "Yes, I am a Christian, but I'm only in it for the fun. I never really felt like I was in it to be an Olympic Christian, to go all the way to the cross or anything."
When the transfigured Jesus calls us to be his disciple, he calls us to be a "swifter, higher, stronger" disciple, witnessing to the law and the prophets, but carrying the flag of the gospel into whatever venue the Lord leads us.
Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net,
Phone: 480.895.8766