In today’s world, to whom shall we listen?

With the development of electronic communications, the number of voices we hear has increased exponentially. To which voice(s) will we listen? The number of voices has increased, but the basic problem is not new.

In ancient western mythologies such as Babylonian, Greek and Roman, the voices are multiple and they compete for the minds of people. The same phenomenon is present in the Far East with competition between Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism. History is full of competing traditions claiming to speak the truth.

This past Sunday, most Christians celebrated the transfiguration of Jesus on a mountaintop. According to the story, Jesus climbed a mountain, and there he met two of the great figures of Israelite history, Moses and Elijah. Moses was honored for being the God-chosen person who delivered the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. Elijah was a ninth century B.C.E. prophet who steadfastly defended Jehovah, the Israelite God. By tradition, Elijah did not die, but was carried off to heaven in a chariot. The tradition says that Elijah will return and bring Jehovah to his rightful possession of all creation.

This association with Moses and Elijah placed Jesus in very important company. But the story takes it further. Suddenly, Jesus was clothed in brilliant light. Moses and Elijah disappeared and Jesus stood alone. Then a voice from heaven identified Jesus as the Son of God and left instructions with Peter, James and John to listen to Jesus only. The story is reported in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Only Bible literalists read the story as history. Others read it, I believe correctly, as a story created at least two generations after the death of Jesus with a very clear message. In Jesus, God has spoken with finality. Listen to Jesus. The conversation is over.

Placing this important story far into the last half of the first century C.E. puts it into one of the great debates of Christian history. Followers of Jesus were involved in vigorous debate about their faith. Who was Jesus? Was he simply another mighty prophet or was he truly special? What was his relationship with Jehovah God? What was his relationship with Moses and the tradition of law? What was his relationship to Elijah and the tradition of the prophets? Was the voice of Jesus a voice that was to triumph over all other competing voices? The voice of late first century Christians was clear. The voice of Jesus was to be heard above all others. This became essential Christian teaching.

During the past 10 years a fascinating movement has developed among Christians. It mostly involves people in their 20s and 30s. Many have left traditional churches, but have not deserted the challenge of following Jesus. The emerging Church has been difficult to define. No one predicted the appearance of emergent Christians. The movement appears to be spontaneous and remains largely unorganized. There are leaders, spokespersons and writers, but there is no significant organization with structures that would look like a denomination. They have no interest in the issues defined in the Protestant Reformation. They have little interest in the historic creeds of the churches. The home church movement is full of emergent believers, but home churches represent only a small part of the movement. Emergents appear in traditional church settings from Pentecostal to Evangelical to traditional Protestant to Roman Catholic. They even show up in some of the mega-churches that have grown up in the past few years.

Among emergent Christians there are identifiable characteristics, even though none can be called universal. First, in general, the new emergent Christian is seriously religious. Secular interpretations of life have left them empty. Rigid religion has left them unsatisfied. They want something more out of life. They are finding like-minded people and together are starting on their own unique spiritual journeys.

Second, the emergent Christian is genuinely interested in studying the Bible. Many have been reared with rigid, literal interpretations of the Bible and are searching for new ways to read and understand the writings of the Bible. Bible reading and study is flourishing, but their forums are not lectures by someone from an older generation. They are more likely to be a shared reading with lively discussion.

A third theme of emergent Christians is their commitment to Jesus Christ as the authority for their lives. They have looked for authentic life and have found it in the man from Nazareth. This is how they tie in with the transfiguration story. Young American emergent Christians are seeing Jesus standing on the mountaintop all alone, shining in the light of truth. They are hearing a voice say, “Listen to him.” They are making their choices thoughtfully. They are more educated than any previous generation of believers. They are bringing critical thinking to their discussions and are asking tough questions. They have gone to the mountaintop with Jesus. They have thoughtfully embraced what they saw.

Rapid change is taking place everywhere. Opinions flourish. The 21st century mountaintop does not have only three possibilities. The mountaintop is crowded. I suspect that many churches do not “get it” and will simply stagnate and be without consequence in the world. But I am not discouraged. The new day is dawning and I strongly suspect that it has something to do with the emergents and the transfiguration on the mountaintop. Emergents seem to “get it.”

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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