Rev. Dr. Bary R. Fleet - Pastor
February 3, 2008 – Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 24:12-18       
2nd Peter 1:16-21   
Matthew 17:1-9

Take Two Tablets

Today is a silver anniversary … and I’ve got $20 for anyone who knows what it is!  Something significant happened exactly 25 tears ago today.  A clue:  Ronald Regan was president, spearheading the fight against Communism.

He told a story about a collective farm in the Soviet Union.  A state commissar grabbed a farm worker and asked, “Comrade, how are the crops?” 

“Oh,” said the farm worker, “Comrade Commissar, if we could put the potatoes in one pile, they would reach the foot of God.”

The commissar corrected him, “This is the Soviet Union, comrade.  There is no God!”

“That’s all right,” said the farmer.  “There are no potatoes either!”

That was a joke that Regan liked to tell, but that isn’t what happened 25 years ago.  On Feb. 3, 1983 President Regan proclaimed 1983 to be the “Year of the Bible.”

OK … so we didn’t remember.  1983 … how could we forget?  The Year of the Bible.

1983 … It was a very good year.  That is the year that M*A*S*H had its final episode, after eleven years and 251 episodes.  It was the same year that Sally Ride became the first American woman in space.  It was the year that the Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Flight 007 and it was also the year that Microsoft Word was first released.

We remember all of those things … at least those of us who are old enough to remember 1983 … but “The Year of the Bible” … that got lost.

In his proclamation, Regan said, “Today our beloved America and, indeed, the world, is facing a decade of enormous challenge. As a people we may well be tested as we have seldom, if ever, been tested before.”

That was true then, and it’s true today, 25 years later.
He went on to say, “We will need resources of spirit even more than resources of technology, education and armaments. There could be no more fitting moment than now to reflect with gratitude, humility and urgency upon the wisdom revealed to us in the writing that Abraham Lincoln called ‘the best gift God has ever given to man … But for it, we could not know right from wrong.’”

The Year of the Bible came and went, and few people — if any — remember it. But we still need the “resources of spirit even more than resources of technology.” The Bible remains one of God’s greatest gifts to us, revealing the Lord’s will and showing us what is right and wrong. It’s a book that should be approached with gratitude, humility and urgency … not just one year, but every year.

In the passage from Exodus, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain and wait there and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandments…”

God said to Moses … “take two tablets.”  Not easy to swallow!  The Word of God:  the key to life.

The “Year of the Bible” has come and gone … but the importance of the Bible is eternal.

We need to do more than know the Bible, to know the tablets … we need to swallow them and make them a part of the fabric of our lives.

Perhaps this ancient story from China will help us understand:

There was once a young man who was the son of a veteran general in the army. The young man had never been in battle, but he had thoroughly studied lessons from both war and history. His father, the experienced general, agreed with his son's ideas about strategy most of time, but he never used his son in battle. He told his son: War is a serious business. One simply cannot learn strategy from books. One must have solid experience.

Later, the King gained confidence in his son and sent him to try out his strategies with the country's entire army. No one trusted this young man. Everybody tried to talk the king out of this action, but all failed. The son replaced the position of a very experienced old general. Within days, 400,000 of his army were slain or captured by the enemy. From then on the Chinese have had this saying: "Never trust a man who knows the war only from books."  (Taken from a sermon by King Duncan called “Another World”, found at www.esermons.com)

The Bible is worth knowing, but only if it helps us have a relationship with God.  It is great to know God’s words … but it is better still to know God. 

So … as we anticipate the beginning of Lent … a time for spiritual renewal, my challenge for all of us is to begin to think about how we can use Lent to build a better relationship with God … whether it be going to the mountaintop … or finding a quiet place in our lives …

Closeness to God is always better than distance, and the love of the Lord is always better than fear.  So, lets make an effort to move closer to God and find out how real God is … and allow this reality to shape us today, tomorrow and forever!

NOTE:  This sermon was taken in large measure from a sermon by the same title found in Homiletics / February 2008 Vol. 20, Number 1.

SERMON IN A SACK:  A board game.  Talk about how what makes the game fun is everybody playing by the rules.  God has given us the Bible – which contain the rules for the game of life … and life is more fun when we play by the rules!