Luke 9:28-43a
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 as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke 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 set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying. 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.
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
Now that was fun! I’m talking about last night’s Mardi Gras party, of course. +Mark likes to say it’s about as much fun as you can have in church. I have to agree—and I’ll be honest, Cross of Grace, I had my doubts.
When I first got the paperwork to begin the call process, the description of the congregation caught my eye: Cross of Grace is a lively, growing, and fun family of faith. Now, I grew up Lutheran, and I wouldn’t call most of our congregations lively, so that seemed like a bold claim. Then growing—and I thought, That’s too good to be true. It’s 2022, we’re just coming out of a pandemic, nobody is growing. And then the kicker: fun family of faith. I thought, They know they’re supposed to be honest about this, right? How much fun can a Lutheran church in a town of less than 3,000 people be?
Well, come to a Mardi Gras party, and you’ll see! There’s music, laughter, food, drink, games, and feasting—all while raising money for a good cause. We really do let the good times roll! Some might ask, A Mardi Gras party at church? A pancake breakfast is one thing, but Mardi Gras? To which I say: Of course! We should have fun! We should feast! And what better time than Mardi Gras?
What many don’t realize is that Mardi Gras has deep Christian roots. Like many of our traditions, it began as pagan celebrations of spring and fertility thousands of years ago. But when Christianity arrived in Rome, they adapted the traditions instead of abolishing them, thank goodness! By the 1600s, Mardi Gras—or carnival—had become what we know today. And it’s not not just a day, but an entire season. It begins with Epiphany and ends on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French). And this season was preparation for Lent: 40 days of feasting, filling up on meat, eggs, butter, and a little fun too… before the 40 days of fasting and self-sacrifice.
That same spirit is still alive in New Orleans today. You might think Mardi Gras is all debauchery and drunkenness, but you’d be wrong. Nearly every part of it has rich Christian symbolism. The colors—purple, green, and gold—represent justice, faith, and the power of God. The food, from king cake to paczkis (poonch-keys), connects to traditions of feasting on the very things you soon fast during Lent. Even the bands and floats marching down the streets create more than just spectacle—they offer people a shared experience of joy and community before embarking on a time of penance and reflection.
I asked our own Angi Johnson, whose family goes to Mardi Gras nearly every year, what she loves most about it. She told me that when you watch the bands marching by and the krewes strutting around in their colorful costumes and masks, handing out handmade, one-of-a-kind treasures, something remarkable happens—the strangers beside you quickly become friends.
The energy, the generosity, the sheer joy of it all draws people together. It’s communal. It’s sacramental. It’s a party you never want to end. Maybe it was Mardi Gras up on the mountaintop that Peter, James, and John had followed Jesus onto. It certainly sounds like one heck of a party: dazzling clothes, changes in appearance, bright lights, surprise VIP guests, who knows, maybe there was a jazz band up there too.
And Peter was loving it. He didn’t want the party to end. Who could blame him? Who wouldn’t want to stay at that mountaintop Mardi Gras? Moses, Elijah, and Jesus—who else might show up? What else might happen? But Peter also remembered what Jesus had said just eight days ago: that he would suffer, be rejected, and be killed. If they stayed on the mountain, they could pretend Jesus never said that. If they stay on the mountain, they can continue to let the good times roll and he doesn’t have to go back down the mountain; back to the dark, cold, struggling world from whence they came.
So Peter says, let’s not leave. Let’s build tents and just stay on the mountaintop, far away from the valley below.
But, every Mardi Gras comes to an end, including this one. As Peter is laying out his plans to stay, a mysterious crowd engulfs them. They hear God speak to them and when the voice is gone, so too are Elijah and Moses. The party’s over. It's time to go back down the mountain and enter the valley.
Or perhaps more accurately, Jesus chooses to go back down the mountain, where he’s immediately met with another crowd and a father begging for his son to be healed. And you can almost hear Peter saying, that’s why I wanted to stay on the mountain: away from all the disease, from all the demons, from all the people in need of Jesus. If they had just stayed on that mountain, Peter wouldn’t have to go to this lowly place, filled with lowly people. Yet the first thing Jesus does upon entering the valley is heal the boy brought to him by the begging father.
And everyone who saw it was astounded at the greatness of God.
That’s the good news in this story. Jesus chooses to go back down the mountain, into the valley, where there is a crowd clamoring for his teaching, his healing, his mere presence; where there is disease and demons waiting for him, where there is suffering, and rejection, and pain, waiting for him.
And yet, he goes willingly, showing that the glory of God is not just revealed at Mountaintop Mardi Gras’s but also through humble service in the sin-filled, disease ridden, valley. Thanks be to God.
And what does all this mean for us today? It seems this country is having our own Mardi Gras atop the America First mountain, reveling not in God’s glory and power, but it’s own. On Wednesday, the State Department announced it would cut hundreds of USAID-funded programs—$60 billion in lifesaving aid to the world’s poorest communities, gone.
It’s just 1% of government spending, but it has an outsized impact on global health. HIV treatment for 350,000 people in Southern Africa, including 20,000 children and pregnant women, gone. The only water source for 250,000 displaced people in war torn areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, gone. Health clinics operating in the middle of Sudan’s civil war, gone. And that's just a few examples! Hundreds more, just like them, gone! All to save a back, to stay on the mountaintop of America First.
Meanwhile, children like the boy in the valley, will be mauled, not by demons, but by hunger, thirst, disease, and war. Does that sound like a Christian nation?
Not to me it doesn’t, because the Jesus I know can’t help but go down the mountain. Our Jesus chose to go into the valley because the sick boy needed him, because I needed him, because you needed him, because the world needed him! And when the time was right, Jesus went up another hill, this time on a cross, but he didn’t stay on that hill either.
We certainly know how to have fun, Cross of Grace, and God knows.. with all the grief we are holding from the deaths of beloved Partners in Mission and with the long, difficult, days of Lent ahead, we needed it.
But every mardi gras comes to an end and Ash Wednesday is right around the corner. So this Lent, let’s follow Christ into the valley and help the most vulnerable through our Lenten disciplines.
In your giving, support organizations that got their funding cut, like World Vision, International Justice Mission, Global Refuge, and Lutheran World Relief, all faith-based organizations, all had programs cut.
In your fasting, think of and pray for the children in Gaza, Syria, and Nigeria suffering from severe malnutrition.
In your praying, lift up our president and all elected officials, that they would leave the mountain of America first and follow Christ’s example, helping and serving those in the valley.
Lord have mercy. Amen.
