Mark Trotter - "A Student's Guide to Mountain Climbing" (February 25, 1990)

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-	Good morning and welcome to the service	0:06
	of worship here at Duke University chapel,	0:08
	on this Transfiguration Sunday.	0:11
	We're delighted to be able to worship with each of you	0:13
	as well as those of you in our radio	0:16
	and television audiences.	0:18
	We welcome as our guest preacher this morning,	0:20
	the Reverend Dr. Mark Trotter,	0:23
	senior minister of the First United Methodist Church	0:25
	in San Diego, California.	0:28
-	Dr. Trotter is known throughout the country	0:30
	for his outstanding preaching ability.	0:32
	He last visited this chapel in 1986	0:35
	when he preached at the alumni convocation	0:38
	of the Duke Divinity School.	0:40
	We are pleased to welcome him back to our pulpit.	0:42
	I'd also like to thank our elector, Mr. Eric Dozier,	0:46
	who is president of the Black Student Alliance.	0:49
	This afternoon at five o'clock p.m.,	0:52
	an organ recital will be presented here at the chapel	0:54
	by Dr. Peter Williams, university organist.	0:57
	Admission is free.	1:00
	Please note the remaining announcements	1:02
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	1:04
	And now let us continue our worship.	1:06
	♪ Sent from heaven ♪	1:11
	♪ Thy rays were given ♪	1:18
	♪ On great and small to shine. ♪	1:23
	♪ O light divine ♪	1:28
	♪ May each soul in sorrow's night ♪	1:34
	♪ See the heavenly light ♪	1:41
	♪ Thou blessing to all creation ♪	1:46
	♪ Lead us to our salvation ♪	1:53
	♪ All those whose feet may falter ♪	2:01
	♪ Lead unto the sacred altar ♪	2:10
	♪ Oh shine from above ♪	2:18
	♪ Divine light of love ♪	2:22
	♪ Show us the way ♪	2:27
	♪ Unto our God, we pray ♪	2:32
	♪ Thou our beacon and guide shalt be ♪	2:39
	♪ Light divine, we praise Thee ♪	2:50
	(organ music)	3:06
	(muffled choral music)	3:38
-	Oh God who before the passion of your only begotten Son,	7:28
	revealed his glory upon the holy mountain,	7:32
	grant to us that we beholding by faith the light	7:36
	of his countenance may be strengthened to bear our cross	7:40
	and be changed into His likeness from glory unto glory	7:44
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives	7:49
	and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.	7:52
	One God, forever and ever.	7:54
	Amen.	7:57
-	Please join with me this morning	8:09
	in our prayer for illumination.	8:12
	Open our hearts and minds O God, by the power	8:16
	of your Holy Spirit, so that as the word is read	8:20
	and proclaimed we might hear with joy	8:23
	what you say to us this day.	8:27
	Amen.	8:29
	Our first lesson this morning comes from Exodus 24:12-18.	8:34
	The Lord said to Moses,	8:45
	come up to me on the mountain and wait there,	8:47
	and I will give you the tables of stone with the law	8:50
	and commandments which I have written	8:53
	for their instruction..	8:55
	So Moses rose with his servant, Joshua,	8:57
	and went up on the mountain of God.	9:00
	Moses said to the elders,	9:03
	wait here for us until we come to you again.	9:05
	And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you,	9:08
	whoever has a call should go to them.	9:12
	Then Moses went up on the mountain,	9:15
	and the cloud covered the mountain.	9:18
	The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.	9:20
	And the cloud covered it six days, and on the seventh day	9:23
	the Lord called to Moses out of the mist of the cloud.	9:26
	Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord	9:30
	was like a devouring fire on top of the mountain	9:32
	in the sight of the people of Israel.	9:35
	And Moses entered the cloud and went on up the mountain.	9:41
	And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.	9:44
	May the Lord have a blessing on the reading of His word.	9:48
-	Please stand as we join together in singing responsively	9:56
	Psalm 2:7-12,	9:59
	found on page 739 in your hymnal.	10:04
	(gentle organ music)	10:08
	♪ I will tell of the decree of the Lord. ♪	10:14
	♪ Who said to me, you are my son. ♪	10:18
	♪ Today I have begotten you. ♪	10:22
	♪ Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance ♪	10:26
	♪ And the ends of the earth your possession. ♪	10:33
	♪ You shall break them with a rod of iron ♪	10:37
	♪ And dash them in pieces like a potter's missile. ♪	10:42
	♪ Now, therefore, oh kings be wise. ♪	10:48
	♪ Be warned all rulers of the Earth. ♪	10:53
	♪ Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate ♪	10:57
	♪ Humble yourselves before the Lord ♪	11:02
	♪ Lest God be angry and you perish in the way ♪	11:06
	♪ For God's wrath is quickly kindled ♪	11:12
	♪ Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord ♪	11:16
	(gentle organ music)	11:25
	♪ Glory be to our creator ♪	11:34
	♪ Praise to our redeemer Lord ♪	11:41
	♪ Glory be to our son savior ♪	11:49
	♪ Ever free and ever one ♪	11:56
	♪ As it was in the beginning now ♪	12:04
	♪ And evermore shall be ♪	12:13
-	Our second lesson comes from second Peter 1:16-21.	12:34
	For we did not follow cleverly devised myths	12:43
	when we made known to you the power and coming	12:49
	of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses	12:52
	of the Lord's majesty.	12:55
	For when Christ Jesus received honor and glory	12:57
	from God the Father, and the voice was born to Christ	13:00
	by the Majestic Glory,	13:03
	this is my beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.	13:05
	We heard this voice born from heaven	13:09
	for we were with Christ on the holy mountain	13:11
	and we have the prophetic word made more sure.	13:15
	You would do well to pay attention this	13:18
	as to a lamp shining in a dark place	13:21
	until the day dawns and the morning star arises	13:24
	in your hearts.	13:26
	First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy	13:28
	of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation	13:31
	because no prophecy ever came by human impulse,	13:35
	but people moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.	13:38
	(soft organ music)	13:48
	(ethereal choral music)	14:15
	♪ Holy light ♪	14:33
	♪ Holy light ♪	14:36
	♪ Holy light ♪	14:41
	♪ Holy light ♪	14:46
	♪ And let the voice of God come ♪	14:51
	(muffled choral singing)	15:00
	♪ Holy light ♪	15:57
	♪ Holy light ♪	16:04
	(muffled choral singing)	16:12
	♪ Holy ♪	16:42
	♪ Light ♪	16:50
-	Our gospel this morning is found	17:23
	in the book of Matthew 17:1-9.	17:26
	And after six day Jesus took Peter and James	17:33
	and John, his brother, and led them up	17:36
	a high mountain apart.	17:38
	And Jesus was transfigured before them,	17:41
	and His face shone like the sun, and His garments	17:43
	became brilliant as light.	17:46
	And there appeared to them Moses	17:49
	and Elijah talking with Jesus.	17:50
	Peter said to Jesus,	17:53
	Lord, it is well that we are here,	17:55
	If You wish, I will make three booths here.	17:58
	One for you and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.	18:01
	Peter was still speaking	18:05
	when a bright cloud overshadowed them	18:06
	and a voice from the cloud said,	18:09
	this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.	18:12
	To this one, you shall listen.	18:15
	When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces	18:18
	and were filled with awe.	18:21
	But Jesus came and touched them saying,	18:23
	rise and have no fear.	18:25
	When they lifted up their eyes,	18:28
	they saw no one, but Jesus only.	18:29
	As they were coming down the mountain,	18:32
	Jesus commanded them, tell no-one the vision until the son	18:33
	of man is raised from the dead.	18:38
-	It's my great pleasure to be with you	18:54
	on this morning worship this morning	18:56
	in this historic and beautiful church	19:02
	and among those who I recognize as friends from years past	19:07
	and new friends.	19:12
	I'm quite honored also to be in this pulpit,	19:15
	distinguished pulpit.	19:18
	When I was much younger I was inspired by	19:20
	the preaching of James Cleland, Dean of the Chapel	19:22
	in those days, and now in these latter days	19:25
	Will Williamson has stimulated not only me,	19:28
	but the thinking and the conscience of the whole church.	19:31
	I am most grateful for his invitation	19:34
	to be with you this morning.	19:37
	As Nancy mentioned, I was here three years ago preaching,	19:40
	but that was to preachers and this is to real people.	19:42
	(audience chuckling)	19:46
	So it is a much greater thrill to be with you this morning.	19:47
	If you keep track of such things, this is the last Sunday	19:52
	in Epiphany, Transfiguration Sunday.	19:55
	Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday,	19:57
	the beginning of the season of Lent.	20:00
	The season of Epiphany comes to a proper climax	20:03
	this Sunday with the reading of the gospel lesson	20:07
	of the Story of the Transfiguration.	20:10
	Epiphany is a wonderful season.	20:14
	What a beautiful word, epiphany.	20:15
	It means manifestation or revelation,	20:17
	used mostly nowadays by poets and literary critics	20:20
	outside of the church, but the word belongs to us	20:25
	and we had better use it or lose it.	20:29
	If advertising ever gets ahold of it, it's gone.	20:32
	It's like charisma.	20:35
	Another beautiful word that also used to belong to us.	20:37
	It's in our heritage, but that's gone now.	20:39
	We left it lying around carelessly, unattended, unused,	20:42
	so Madison Avenue picked it up and it appeared	20:47
	in some ad before that we noticed that it was even gone.	20:50
	I hope we are more careful with epiphany.	20:54
	Beautiful word.	20:57
	The season celebrates the many ways it was manifested	21:00
	who Jesus really is.	21:03
	The season begins on January 6th.	21:06
	The gospel lesson then is the story of the visitation	21:09
	of the wise men to the Christ child,	21:12
	and the Sunday immediately after the Epiphany	21:13
	we read the story of the baptism of Jesus by John	21:18
	in the River Jordan when the heavens are opened,	21:21
	the Spirit descends on Jesus gently	21:23
	as a dove alights to Earth, and God's voice said,	21:26
	this is my Son with whom I am well pleased.	21:30
	Now that's an epiphany, that's a revelation	21:34
	of who Jesus really is.	21:36
	Now on the last Sunday of the season like a reprise	21:39
	of a showstopper in the last scene of the first act	21:43
	just before the curtain comes down, once again,	21:46
	the heavens open and God sings, this is my Son	21:48
	with whom I am well pleased and with these added words,	21:52
	"Listen to Him," which sound like the words of frustration	21:57
	as in how many times do I have to tell you	22:01
	or how many epiphanies do I have to give you?	22:04
	This is my Son, dummy, listen to Him.	22:07
	The words are addressed to all of us,	22:11
	but originally to Peter.	22:14
	I would suggest that, for this reason,	22:16
	that the scene immediately preceding the Transfiguration	22:18
	in all the gospels is the so-called confession of Peter.	22:22
	It takes place at Caesarea Philippi.	22:26
	It comes at the end of a whole series of epiphanies.	22:28
	The healing and the exorcisms and all the miracles	22:31
	that took place during the Galilean ministry.	22:34
	The halcyon days when the living was easy.	22:37
	When it was easy to be a disciple.	22:40
	Next comes the march to Jerusalem and the cross,	22:44
	that's what comes next in the second act of the gospel.	22:47
	The confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi	22:51
	and the transfiguration scene form the literary hinge	22:53
	on which the plot of the gospel turns.	22:58
	At Caesarea Philippi as if giving a midterm quiz,	23:02
	Jesus asked the disciples, who do people say that I am?	23:06
	They reply with what they have seen and heard,	23:10
	some say that you're Elijah, some John the Baptist	23:12
	and some Jeremiah and all the other prophets.	23:15
	Then Jesus asked, and who do you say that I am?	23:18
	Peter eagerly raises his hand and says, you are the Christ,	23:21
	the Son of the living God.	23:25
	Jesus says, nice work Peter, you got it right.	23:26
	Here are the keys to the Kingdom, which is like receiving	23:30
	an A on the midterm exam.	23:33
	But the first part of the course is always easiest.	23:36
	In the first part of the course	23:39
	you just get the introduction, you learn the language,	23:41
	you memorize the formulas and the terms.	23:44
	The second half of the course,	23:47
	you have to put it into practice.	23:50
	The second half is in the lab, and for disciples	23:52
	the lab is in the world.	23:56
	The second term begins immediately	23:59
	after the Transfiguration.	24:01
	Jesus announces I am going to Jerusalem to die	24:03
	and on the third day be raised.	24:06
	Peter jumps up again, filled with confidence now	24:07
	having gotten the first question correct.	24:10
	He says, God forbid it can't happen.	24:12
	You are mistaken, nothing like that could possibly happen,	24:15
	thus revealing that confessing one's faith is one thing.	24:18
	Understanding the full radical implication of faith	24:21
	for life in this world is quite another thing.	24:25
	Oh it must have been an ugly scene.	24:29
	The verb used to describe the dialogue is rebuke,	24:32
	which is the verb Jesus uses to condemn the demons.	24:36
	It's as if Jesus and Peter were	24:42
	in a contest of name-calling.	24:45
	Peter rebukes Jesus.	24:47
	Jesus turns around and says get behind me Satan.	24:48
	That's heavy stuff.	24:54
	Have you ever let your emotions take over	24:56
	and cause you to say something that you wish	24:59
	that you hadn't said?	25:01
	It's happened to me and I can still dwell	25:04
	on those moments when it's happened.	25:06
	I apologized to the person.	25:08
	It makes no difference, it still haunts me.	25:09
	I wish that I had never said it.	25:12
	It must have been something like that, an ugly scene.	25:15
	The meeting of the disciples quickly adjourns.	25:18
	They file out quietly, heads down, no one speaking	25:20
	to anybody else.	25:23
	That's what happened at Caesarea Philippi	25:26
	and the very next verse, our text for this morning,	25:29
	begins like this: After six days Jesus took with him	25:32
	Peter, James and John.	25:37
	That's like the executive committee,	25:38
	but it's Peter's presence there that is important.	25:40
	He led them up to a high mountain apart.	25:44
	He was transfigured before them.	25:48
	His garments white as light.	25:49
	That means he was surrounded as glory,	25:52
	which is what he will be at the end-time	25:54
	when all nations recognize Him as Lord.	25:57
	There appeared beside Him on one side Moses	26:01
	and on the other side Elijah, and if you're Jewish	26:04
	you knew immediately what that meant.	26:07
	Moses represents the law, Elijah represents the prophets,	26:09
	the two source of authority in Jewish life.	26:12
	It's as if two former presidents come onto the platform	26:16
	at the convention, one on each side of the candidate.	26:20
	Each one raises one hand of the candidate	26:24
	and with the other hand they give the victory sign,	26:27
	flashbulbs popping, crowd cheering, band playing	26:30
	Happy Days Are Here Again.	26:33
	It's Peter who wants to preserve this incident.	26:36
	It must have been Peter's recollection	26:38
	that's the reason we have this scene.	26:41
	For what follows is Peter's infallible signature.	26:43
	He gets it wrong again.	26:47
	He messes up the situation, misreads the occasion,	26:49
	does the inappropriate thing.	26:53
	He asks the three of them if they would like to have a chair	26:54
	or something to sit on.	26:57
	Maybe he could build tents for them	26:58
	so they could settle down here.	27:00
	You see, when he sees those three together,	27:02
	he thinks the Kingdom has come.	27:05
	That's why Moses and Elijah are here.	27:08
	It's all over.	27:10
	The Kingdom is here	27:11
	and without a shot being fired or anything.	27:12
	It was so simple.	27:15
	It was a piece of cake.	27:16
	Just like Peter knew it would be,	27:18
	without any pain, without any suffering,	27:20
	without any cross.	27:23
	See Jesus, he says, I was right.	27:25
	It's the way I knew it would be.	27:29
	The three just stare at Peter, don't say anything,	27:31
	they don't need to.	27:34
	Peter says, I've done it again.	27:36
	This is an epiphany Peter.	27:40
	This is so you will finally get it.	27:43
	This is so you'll understand.	27:46
	That's why they brought in the heavy-hitters, Moses	27:48
	and Elijah, so that finally Peter you'd get it.	27:50
	Then to make sure, all subtlety is abandoned.	27:56
	The baptism is reprised once again, the heavens open,	27:58
	a voice proclaims this is my Son, listen to Him.	28:02
	That last sentence bounces off	28:06
	all of the surrounding mountains.	28:08
	Listen to Him, listen to Him, listen to Him.	28:09
	Then the vision dissipates like a morning mist	28:14
	and Jesus is there alone with Peter, James and John	28:18
	kneeling at his feet.	28:22
	They start down the mountain, and Jesus says to the three	28:24
	you better not tell anyone what happened up here.	28:29
	You ever had an epiphany?	28:34
	If so, you probably know the wisdom of Jesus' advice.	28:37
	Don't tell anybody.	28:41
	It's probably good advice for several reasons,	28:43
	not the least of which is our society	28:46
	no longer expects epiphanies.	28:48
	In our time an epiphany is a literary device.	28:50
	In other times, an epiphany was a life-fulfilling,	28:53
	life-confirming, life-directing moment in a person's life.	28:57
	George Leonard, a psychologist, tours around the country	29:04
	making speeches and when he does, he asks his audiences	29:07
	how many of you have had a mystical experience?	29:12
	And he says about 10% raise their hands.	29:15
	Then he asks, how many have never had a mystical experience?	29:18
	And about another 10% raise their hands.	29:22
	He says that means that 80% don't know if they've had	29:25
	a mystical experience or not, or if they've had one	29:29
	they've resolved never to tell anyone about it.	29:33
	Then he tells about a woman from Monterrey, California.	29:37
	She was washing dishes in her kitchen and all of a sudden	29:41
	she was overwhelmed with an awesome feeling of bliss,	29:45
	accompanied with a conviction, we are all one.	29:49
	He said she was overwhelmed,	29:54
	it was such an incredibly beautiful experience for her.	29:56
	She rushed out of the kitchen, called her family together,	29:58
	told her family what had just happened to her.	30:01
	They put her in a car, took her to the hospital.	30:05
	The psychiatrist heard her story, he agreed, she's nuts.	30:09
	I mean how many people have the conviction	30:14
	that we are all one while washing the dishes?	30:16
	So the psychiatrist committed her.	30:20
	In the hospital, she kept insisting we are all one.	30:22
	What's more, she felt good about it.	30:26
	She felt wonderful as a matter of fact.	30:28
	Physically, she said, she never felt better	30:31
	in all of her life.	30:33
	She felt like she was young again.	30:33
	She felt like she was reborn.	30:36
	Every day they would bring her out of her room	30:40
	and ask her, what in your opinion is the state of humankind?	30:42
	She would say, we're all one.	30:46
	They would ask then, how do you feel?	30:49
	She'd say, I feel wonderful, I feel like dancing.	30:51
	Back you go, they lock her up again.	30:53
	She was not obnoxious about it.	30:56
	She did not bore people with it.	30:58
	I've heard testimonies that are literally boring.	30:59
	They oughta lock those people up.	31:02
	But hers was not that way.	31:04
	(audience laughing)	31:05
	She didn't frighten anybody with a confrontation.	31:07
	She wasn't aggressive in any way.	31:10
	She simply told people what happened to her	31:11
	when people would ask.	31:14
	One day she wised up.	31:17
	They threatened to do things to her	31:19
	that she didn't want done to her.	31:21
	So she decided she'd had enough.	31:24
	She stopped saying we're all one,	31:25
	and when people asked how are you feeling today,	31:28
	she said I feel terrible.	31:32
	They said, you're cured.	31:34
	(audience laughing)	31:36
	They released her.	31:38
	She told Dr. Leonard I still have the conviction	31:40
	we are all one, I just don't tell anybody about it anymore.	31:44
	Our society no longer expects epiphanies,	31:50
	but does not the church set aside a season	31:53
	to announce expect an epiphany.	31:56
	Doesn't the church have a season	32:00
	to say expect something to happen, to see something,	32:03
	hear something, sense something	32:07
	that makes what God revealed to all real to you.	32:10
	The Transfiguration is most often interpreted theologically	32:17
	as the evidence for the establishment	32:21
	of the theological claims about who Jesus is.	32:23
	He is the Son of God.	32:25
	It's an unequivocal statement in the Transfiguration	32:26
	from an unimpeachable source with three witnesses.	32:30
	Some say it's simply a misplaced resurrection appearance,	32:36
	which I always thought odd.	32:41
	It seems to me that a confrontation	32:42
	with a resurrected Christ	32:45
	is something that you would hardly misplace.	32:47
	I think you would probably remember it,	32:50
	like Pascal remembered his epiphany.	32:52
	He wrote it down.	32:54
	The year of grace 1654, Monday 23 November,	32:56
	Feast of Saint Clement from about half-past 10	33:00
	to half-past midnight.	33:04
	Fire.	33:06
	You're not likely to forget that kind of thing	33:09
	and so to make sure he would never forget it,	33:11
	he wrote it down as a memo to himself and he put it	33:13
	in the tunic, sewed it into the tunic, his garment,	33:16
	into the hem, so that he would always remember it.	33:20
	I would imagine it would be something that like	33:24
	and that's why I think Peter remembered this incident	33:26
	and contrary to Jesus's instruction,	33:30
	he told other people about it, though much later	33:33
	while he was visiting the churches as the head of the church	33:36
	the first among the disciples, the one chosen by our Lord,	33:38
	the one venerated in the church.	33:42
	I can imagine that after the preaching and after the meal,	33:45
	they ask Peter wherever he went, they asked Peter,	33:49
	tell us about Jesus.	33:54
	What was it like with Jesus.	33:57
	He would have occasion to tell them the stories	33:59
	that are now contained in the gospels,	34:01
	but particularly he would tell them about Caesarea Philippi.	34:04
	How he got it all wrong,	34:08
	burst out the most insensitive remarks	34:09
	and how Jesus rebuked him and Peter spoke harshly in return.	34:11
	It was just terrible and after a few days,	34:15
	the text says six days, but that's to line up this story	34:18
	with the story of Moses going up to the mountain,	34:21
	Mount Sinai, I imagine it was sooner.	34:24
	I would guess it was the next day.	34:27
	Jesus said we better have an executive committee retreat,	34:30
	and so up the mountain they go.	34:35
	Jesus reiterates His mission, how He has to go to Jerusalem,	34:38
	how he has to confront the authorities,	34:41
	how he's going to be crucified and on the third day	34:43
	be raised from the dead and was up there with Peter	34:45
	trying to understand all this, trying to reconcile	34:48
	all this with what he had been taught	34:51
	ever since he was a boy, everything he believed	34:53
	about Messiah and about Kingdom of God had been challenged	34:55
	during these last few days.	34:59
	Therefore, what he was going to do in his life	35:01
	had also been put up for challenge	35:05
	and questioning his loyalty to himself, his loyalty	35:08
	to other people, his loyalty to Jesus,	35:10
	the promises that he had made, all this had been questioned.	35:12
	It's all there, and that's when the heavens were opened	35:16
	and this vision came, and the voice said,	35:21
	this is my Son, listen to Him.	35:24
	And Peter would tell the church, I knew then	35:30
	what I had to do.	35:34
	I knew then that though the way would be hard,	35:35
	that I would stay with it.	35:38
	I knew then that I would follow him, no matter what.	35:39
	When I erred and strayed and stumbled and forgot Him,	35:43
	but I have always followed Him.	35:49
	It must have been that way.	35:52
	It happened to me, something like that.	35:54
	I didn't tell anyone about it either, not many anyway,	35:56
	not until recently.	35:59
	I was in college, torn over vocation and love	36:01
	and lackluster grades, stumbling along like Peter.	36:05
	I went up to a mountain, to a hill really,	36:10
	it was called College Hill.	36:12
	It was the eastern perimeter of the campus.	36:14
	I went up there every evening to watch the sunset.	36:17
	I resolved that I was going to do that	36:19
	as a spiritual discipline.	36:21
	I had to do something I concluded or end up a bum.	36:23
	I sat there every night after supper for about six weeks.	36:27
	I sat there in prayer, meditation, some Bible reading	36:32
	and the longer I was there, the less my prayer was verbal	36:36
	and the more it was listening.	36:40
	Toward the end I got real good at it,	36:42
	blocking out all else, focusing on a question,	36:44
	like a mantra.	36:48
	I didn't know what a mantra was in those days,	36:49
	but it was like a mantra,	36:51
	the question what would you have me do?	36:53
	I didn't see a vision,	36:57
	although I would later on on another mountain,	36:58
	at a similar critical juncture in my life,	37:00
	but I did hear a voice.	37:03
	An inner voice.	37:05
	My own voice I suspect.	37:07
	But not my own.	37:10
	That said something	37:12
	that probably means little to anyone else,	37:13
	which is the best reason for not telling someone,	37:15
	for such experiences are always ineffable.	37:18
	But what it said to me was,	37:22
	be yourself, it's okay.	37:24
	Be yourself.	37:29
	Which I later came to understand is the experience	37:31
	of justification by faith in God's grace alone	37:34
	and not in your own works.	37:40
	It was the same experience that Luther had	37:44
	and Saint Paul had before Luther and millions and millions	37:46
	of other type A, uptight, compulsive other-directed people.	37:49
	Even later, I came to see that baptism	37:54
	is announcing the same thing.	37:58
	This came after I began baptizing babies	38:00
	and preaching baptism sermons, especially on the Sunday	38:03
	of the baptism of our Lord, and I finally got it.	38:08
	What happens in our baptism is a type	38:11
	of what happened at Jesus's baptism.	38:15
	God says to each one of us, this is my daughter,	38:18
	this is my son.	38:23
	Then some day you and I sooner or later	38:25
	will find that moment, or that moment will find us,	38:29
	when on a mountain alone or in our room after a bad day	38:32
	or traveling down the Interstate toward home	38:35
	or maybe even in church, it can even happen in church,	38:38
	but it will happen if we expect an epiphany.	38:43
	What happens is a confirmation	38:48
	of what you've probably already known	38:50
	and what you've already confessed, but need to know now	38:54
	in your heart as well as in your mind	38:58
	and the heavens will open	39:02
	or something like that will happen.	39:03
	No one can predict how or when it will happen,	39:06
	but what needs to be said is that it will happen.	39:10
	It needs to be said, especially in an age	39:15
	that has reduced all experience to dimensions	39:18
	the dullest of minds can understand, it needs to be said,	39:21
	especially in an age which tries to stuff all experience	39:25
	into narrow categories that reason is able to grasp.	39:29
	It needs to be said there are epiphanies.	39:33
	To this kind of age we should say that God can still speak	39:38
	to us through all of our faculties	39:41
	and the enlightened person is not the one	39:45
	who exclusively has an open mind,	39:48
	although that's a good place to start,	39:52
	but true enlightenment comes when all the portals	39:53
	of our life are open and God's light can illumine	39:57
	the whole of us.	40:01
	I think we're moving toward that in our time.	40:04
	There's evidence that the frozenness of the enlightenment	40:07
	is cracking up.	40:10
	When Einstein can say there is no logical way	40:12
	to the discovery of these elemental laws	40:15
	except through intuition.	40:18
	Imagine that.	40:20
	And the German scientist Kekule	40:22
	who discovered the benzene ring in a dream,	40:25
	said to his fellow scientists,	40:28
	gentlemen let us learn to dream.	40:30
	Or the artist who said, I look upon my mind as a tenement.	40:34
	My job is to keep it prepared for a visitation.	40:37
	Maybe that's why the Transfiguration Story is there,	40:43
	to get us to prepare our lives for a visitation.	40:45
	It can still happen.	40:49
	It may happen like this.	40:52
	When you aren't sure about who you are,	40:54
	or what you're supposed to do,	40:56
	when what you have been taught since you were a child	40:58
	seems to be challenged, you aren't sure	41:01
	what God wants you to do in your life.	41:04
	You aren't even sure about God anymore.	41:06
	Get ye to a mountain.	41:09
	That's what this is saying.	41:13
	Expect an epiphany.	41:16
	A man named Anthony Brant, scientist, a man of reason,	41:20
	child of the enlightenment, went up into the Catskills	41:23
	with a group of people for the weekend.	41:27
	He said he spent most of the time up there by himself	41:31
	which surprised him, it even surprised him more	41:33
	than he spent the time in silence and almost in meditation.	41:37
	The time came to leave, he said it was a cold,	41:42
	rainy day in November, about five o'clock in the afternoon.	41:46
	We left the cabins and were walking towards the cars	41:50
	and before getting to the car he said,	41:54
	I took one last look around the surroundings	41:57
	and all of a sudden the hills looked like waves.	42:00
	They hung there as it were on the rim of the world	42:04
	and I had the feeling that these waves	42:08
	were carrying us, all of us, everything, all together	42:10
	in one harmony,	42:14
	and then it ended.	42:17
	It lasted just a brief moment.	42:19
	But listen to what he said about it.	42:22
	It was the first time that I've ever really know who I am.	42:25
	It's an epiphany.	42:32
	Something like that ever happen to you?	42:35
	I didn't notice.	42:40
	I got here so late last night, I didn't have a chance	42:41
	to notice, are there any mountains here	42:44
	on the Duke campus?	42:48
	Let us pray.	42:51
	We take our lips and speak to through them,	42:54
	take our minds and think through them,	42:56
	take our hearts, set them on fire,	42:57
	help us to be the masters of ourselves	43:00
	so that we might be the servants of others.	43:04
	Through Christ our Lord, amen.	43:07
	(gentle organ music)	43:12
	♪ Christ, whose glory fills the skies ♪	43:46
	♪ Christ, the true, the only light ♪	43:51
	♪ Sun of righteousness arise ♪	43:57
	♪ Triumph o'er the shades of night ♪	44:02
	♪ Dayspring from on high be near ♪	44:08
	♪ Daystar in my heart appear. ♪	44:14
	♪ Dark and cheerless is the morn ♪	44:21
	♪ Unaccompanied by Thee ♪	44:27
	♪ Joyless is the day's return ♪	44:33
	♪ Till Thy mercy's beams I see ♪	44:39
	♪ Till Thou inward light impart ♪	44:45
	♪ Cheer my eyes, and warm my heart. ♪	44:50
	♪ Visit then this soul of mine ♪	44:58
	♪ Pierce the gloom of sin and grief ♪	45:04
	♪ Fill me, Radiancy divine ♪	45:10
	♪ Scatter all my unbelief ♪	45:15
	♪ More and more Thyself display ♪	45:22
	♪ Shining to the perfect day. ♪	45:27
Nancy	The Lord be with you.	45:37
Congregation	And also with you.	45:39
-	Let us pray.	45:41
	Oh eternal Spirit, from whom we come	45:53
	to whom we belong and in whose service is our peace.	45:57
	We worship thee.	46:02
	Mysterious indeed is this vast universe	46:04
	into which without our asking it, Thou has ushered us.	46:08
	We stand in awe before Thy power, which is beyond	46:13
	our ability to measure.	46:18
	Yet, even as we fail to comprehend a magnitude	46:21
	of Thy glory, Thou has known us and loved us	46:24
	since we were knit together in our mother's wombs.	46:29
	Therefore, we lift these prayers unto Thee,	46:33
	beseeching Thee to hear us and to answer.	46:36
	Almighty God hear us as we pray for all who are hindered	46:41
	in the race of life through no fault of their own,	46:45
	for the disabled, the handicapped and the weak.	46:48
	Let us pray for all whose livelihood is insecure,	46:54
	for the hungry, the homeless and the destitute,	46:58
	for those who are overworked, downtrodden	47:02
	and disappointed in life.	47:05
	For little children whose surroundings hide from them	47:08
	your love and beauty, for the fatherless, the motherless,	47:12
	and the unwanted.	47:17
	Let us pray for prisoners and captives	47:19
	and for all who live within war-torn countries,	47:22
	for all who are suffering because of their faithfulness	47:26
	to truth, and for those who have	47:29
	to bear their burdens alone.	47:31
	Let us pray for those who are in doubt	47:35
	and must endure the dark night of the soul.	47:38
	For those who are mistrustful and cynical,	47:42
	for those who suffer through their own wrongdoing	47:45
	or self-pity.	47:48
	Let us pray for all who do not pray for themselves,	47:51
	for all who do not have the consolation	47:55
	of the prayers of others and for all whose anguish	47:57
	is unrelieved by the knowledge of Thy love.	48:01
	Let us pray for the infirm and aged,	48:05
	for all who are growing weary with the journey of life,	48:08
	for all who are passing through the valley of death	48:12
	and for those who walk with them.	48:15
	Let us pray for those burdened with the weight of malice	48:19
	and ill-will, for those harboring deep resentments,	48:22
	who know not the grace of forgiveness.	48:27
	Let us pray for the unspoken needs of this congregation	48:31
	and for all who are forgotten by us, but dear to Thee.	48:35
	Our kind and gracious God, Thou has revealed	48:40
	Thy passion for us and Thy glory through Thy coming	48:44
	and in Thy going.	48:48
	Trusting in Thy eternal power to save us,	48:51
	we beseech Thee to pray for us	48:55
	when we cannot pray for ourselves.	48:58
	In the holy name of Christ, we pray.	49:01
	Amen.	49:04
	As a forgiven and reconcile people,	49:08
	let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	49:11
	(soft orchestral music)	49:15
	♪ O be joyful and seek unto the Lord all ye lands ♪	50:18
	♪ Seek Him, Seek Him and praise His name ♪	50:29
	♪ All ye nations give praise ♪	50:40
	♪ All ye nations give praise ♪	50:45
	♪ Praise Him, rejoice ♪	50:54
	♪ Praise Him with songs of peace ♪	50:58
	(muffled choral singing)	51:05
	♪ Of the Lamb of God ♪	51:11
	♪ For He has mighty (mumbles) of glory ♪	51:14
	(muffled choral singing)	51:23
	♪ Into all the world the Thy likings have gone forth ♪	51:38
	(muffled choral singing)	51:47
	♪ Into all Thy lands Thy likings have gone forth ♪	51:54
	♪ All nations have seen (mumbles) ♪	52:01
	♪ Almighty God ♪	52:11
	♪ Holy and mighty of our God glory ♪	52:37
	♪ Our God ♪	52:45
	♪ That you as one must be ♪	52:49
	(organ music)	53:02
	♪ Praise God for whom all blessings flow ♪	53:48
	♪ Praise Him all creatures here blow ♪	53:55
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:01
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:04
	♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly host ♪	54:09
	♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪	54:16
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:22
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:29
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:32
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:36
-	Gracious God whose love is unfailing	54:48
	and whose mercies are new every day, diverse though we are	54:51
	in age and outlook, we are one in our desire	54:55
	to voice our gratitude unto Thee.	54:59
	We thank Thee for everything that speaks to us of Thee,	55:02
	for this splendor of this house of worship,	55:06
	for the affection and constancy of our friends,	55:08
	for the inspiration of great art and natural beauty	55:12
	and most especially, for the revelation of Thyself	55:15
	in Jesus Christ and for the sending of His spirit	55:18
	into our hearts.	55:21
	Give us such an awareness of this all-encompassing love	55:23
	that in all times and in all places we may sing joyfully	55:27
	Thy praise forevermore.	55:32
	This we pray in the name of the one who taught us	55:34
	to pray with confidence.	55:36
	Our father who art in heaven.	55:38
	Hallowed be Thy name.	55:41
	Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done	55:43
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	55:46
	Give us this day our daily bread	55:48
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	55:51
	who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation,	55:54
	but deliver us from evil for Thine is the kingdom	55:59
	and the power and the glory forever.	56:02
	Amen.	56:05
	And now may the Lord bless you and keep you.	56:08
	May the Lord make His face to shine upon you	56:11
	and be gracious unto you.	56:13
	May the Lord lift up his continence upon you	56:15
	and give you peace.	56:18
	♪ Amen ♪	56:25
	♪ Amen ♪	56:29
	♪ Amen ♪	56:33
	♪ Amen ♪	56:36
	♪ Amen ♪	56:47
	♪ Amen ♪	56:51
	♪ Amen ♪	56:58
	(uplifting organ music)	57:12
	(muffled choral singing)	58:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	58:59
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	59:02
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	59:07
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	59:12
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	59:18
	(muffled choral singing)	59:23
	♪ Let us go forth in the name of Christ ♪	1:02:44
	♪ Thanks be to God ♪	1:02:49
	(loud organ music)	1:02:56

Item Info

Title:

Mark Trotter - "A Student's Guide to Mountain Climbing" (February 25, 1990)

Description:

Sermon start time: 18:54. Sermon end time: 43:10.
The story of the Transfiguration, occuring on the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany, is a reminder to us to prepare ourselves for a visitation from the Lord, so that we might receive from such an epiphany a true understanding of ourselves. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “True enlightenment comes when all the portals of our life are open and God’s light can illumine the whole of us.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4h708f84

Date:

February 25, 1990

Speaker:

Trotter, Mark

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0169
ref8743_l3n
uachapelsermaud
duke:321553
dcrmv001164
ark:/87924/r4h708f84
d2eaa518-3f63-4ebb-9e0a-50b31b3b2074

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

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