“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” -Psalm 121:1-2
On Wednesday, March 17, the 2020 state championship Bomber football team met in the chapel to celebrate a tremendously trying season that ended with a memorable state championship…memorable for so many reasons. The pandemic has taught us many things, one of which is the power of dealing with adversity in a positive way, that the indomitable will of the human spirit is capable of all things through hard work, belief in oneself and the love of God. At the ceremony, the team received their state championship rings. On many occasions during the season, Coach Specht reminded the team that we don’t do this for plastic trophies or metal rings. Bomber team chaplain, Paul Rieselman echoed this poetically as he delivered a powerful message referencing The Transfiguration from the Gospel of Luke 9:28-36. He reminded us that this game is much bigger than all of us.
The following is a transcript of his talk:
The Transfiguration
28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And, while he was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him. 33 And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” – not realizing what he was saying. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
This passage is so cool because it shows so clearly how well Jesus knows us. We are, more or less constantly waging a pitched battle within ourselves. At times we have great moments of clarity in making personal choices that bring us to a greater self-love, a deeper inner peace.
“In this story Peter, John and James go to the mountaintop where they are given a glimpse of the victorious Jesus…it was as if they knew that day on the mountain, they found themselves right in the middle of all their hearts had longed for. They felt more fully at home than they had ever felt before. They wanted to stay there. They wanted to build tabernacles or tents for cover and just stay put.
It reminds me of a true story from just a few years back. The night of our football state championship in 2007, several boys from the team made their way back to darkened, empty Fawcett stadium where just hours before they had beaten Mentor. I totally get that. What they had so longed for, worked for and dreamed of became real on the turf of that field. They did not want to leave!
We all have mountaintop moments, glimpses of God’s face…of what the fullness of our lives may look like…a heightened moment of oneness with our family…a father as he holds his child for the first time…the comforting embrace of a friend in a time of great sorrow or joy…the feeling of awe as you stand before the ocean…a night sky…the serenity of a morning walk…the delight of infectious laughter…and for the victory or two that makes you believe more in yourself and your brothers than you ever dared to believe.
We are not only given mountaintop experiences, glimpses of fulfilled lives…we NEED mountaintop experiences of our lives fulfilled…we need glimpses of God’s face…they encourage, they inspire, they motivate…but we cannot remain on the mountain.
The desire to rest in accomplishment is an understandable one, but there is a problem with that. It’s just not how we are made. By our nature we are restless. We seek the magis, we long for more, we just cannot stay on the mountain. And, as men of magis, we long to do again what got us there in the first place, to embrace and to serve a noble cause that is bigger than me with others who seek the same.