Come Monday
Luke 9:28-36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
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Here we are at the start of our summer series, "The Gospel According to Jimmy Buffett: Songs of the Sea, Sinners, and Saints." If you caught our kick-off live stream, you would have heard me talk about how I like music that is authentic, and in particular, I like songs that tell the story of the heart. It feels appropriate then that we are spending this first Sunday looking at one of Jimmy Buffett's top hit songs, "Come Monday." Buffett virtually had zero dollars to produce the music video that accompanied this well-known song, and in it, he features many of the things that were close to him. At first, "Come Monday" may not seem like it has much in common with a Scripture reading about a miraculous encounter on top of a mountain, but we'll discover that that asks the question, "What are the things in life that are most important to you?"
I've recently asked myself this question as my life begins to enter into a new phase of interacting with others as we continue to progress in addressing the public health crisis of last year. I find I'm asking the question of, "What is important to me?" with the reason being I do want to rush back to doing what I considered normal or part of my pre-pandemic routine. Instead, I want to do the things that make me a better person, so that in turn, I can love others more fully, enjoy life more fully, and follow the Spirit of God more fully. We should strive to answer this question of what we hold close to our heart because the truth is that there will be days when we arrive on Monday to find that things won't be alright. And as we stand in the shattered pieces of a Monday gone awry, where will our hearts turn?
We'll come back to Jimmy Buffett as we take a moment to answer this question through the lens of our scripture reading for today. The disciples find themselves in a situation where they witnessed an incredible sight. They followed Jesus up a mountain and saw a miraculous transfiguration that instilled a sense of awe and fear. It was profound enough where the disciples wanted to preserve this moment in time. Scrambling, the disciples racked their brains to figure out how they might maintain what they witnessed as an anchor point, a point in time they could travel back to find comfort. The disciples didn't know what lay ahead of them, yet they understood this was one such memory where they could draw strength and comfort. However, Jesus tells them they can't build a monument commemorating what they experienced. Instead, they would have to rely on the intangible gifts of love and teachings that Jesus passed on to them.
[Impact on Self] - Why it matters what we yearn for…
[Impact on Community] - Feeding our soul feeds others…
It all comes down to a matter of perspective. Of course, we can invest our time and energy into things that satisfy our hearts in the short term, but will they be substantial enough to carry us through the hard times? And, dare I ask, are they meaningful enough that they will transform us? Our hearts are searching for what will allow us to say, "Come Monday, it'll be alright!" Ideally, what our hearts cling to will not only let us say that things are okay, they will lead us somewhere new. Now I should mention that if we find what our heart needs for growth, it doesn't mean life skates on by carefree. There are still pitfalls and other hurdles that will catch us up now and then. Buffett knew this as he wrote, "Come Monday." His hope of writing music in Nashville wasn't panning out and with other parts of his life not taking shape the way he wanted to, he stepped back. [Some contextual background on Jimmy Buffet’s life.]
In the last verse of this song, Buffett includes this line, "I hope you're enjoying the scenery. I know that it's pretty up there. We can go hiking on Tuesday; with you, I'd walk anywhere." Perhaps that's the thought we need to bring back to the forefront. That in our lives we draw close to the elements that give us life and then take that energy to pass life along to those around us. It's what makes our lives a journey through the thick and thin, through the moments of hardship and the times of celebration. Most of us are yearning for something like that to be by our side. Jesus knew that his time with his disciples would be short and so encouraged them to cultivate the areas of their lives that would sustain them and remind them of his constant presence. Let us tune our hearts to the lifegiving things that flow from God and allow them to feed our hungry souls that are often weary and tired, and let us welcome them by our side. Amen.