¹ Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³ Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. ⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

-oOo-

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Epiphanies abound!  Over the last six weeks we have heard the stories of those who came to know Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God who came to save the world.  The very first were the Three Wise Men who brought their gifts to honor the infant Jesus.  John the Baptist witnessed the Holy Dove descend upon Jesus as he baptized him in the Jordan River, and he heard the voice of God as Jesus was proclaimed as God’s Son.  A few weeks ago, Jesus called his first disciples, and it is obvious that they were aware of Jesus’ divine nature, since they dropped their nets and abandoned their fishing boats to follow him.

We experienced more epiphanies as we joined with the disciples and the crowds at Jesus’ feet, listening to his Sermon on the Mount.  Who else but God’s Son would teach with such authority, turning suffering into the blessings of the “beatitudes”?  Who else but the promised Messiah would proclaim that God’s children are the “light of the world”?  Who but the Anointed One could so eloquently express the true nature of the Law of the Torah, so that wholeness might be fostered in the community of believers? 

This morning Jesus once again ascends a mountain and it is there that the climax of all these epiphanies occurs.  Jesus is transformed before the eyes of Peter, James, and John, and in the most direct epiphany yet, God’s voice is heard, once again booming from the cloud.  God again declares Jesus as his Son and quite forcefully commands the observers to listen to him.  “Pay attention to what my Son has to say to you”, the voice of God demands.  It seems to me that all these previous epiphanies, all the earlier realizations regarding Jesus’ nature have culminated in this one episode; Jesus glowed a dazzling white and Moses and Elijah stood beside him.  The one who brought God’s commandments down from a similar mountain and the great Hebrew prophet, along with Peter, James, and John were the ones to undergo this mountaintop experience.  They witnessed this ultimate epiphany, this acknowledgement of the nature of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

But it’s over all too quickly; for as soon as Jesus is proclaimed as God’s Beloved, he descends from the mountaintop, to carry on with his mission and ministry.  The crowds clamor for him to heal their loved ones; it seems that Jesus has come down from the mountain and now meets the people where they are, in the valley.  Enough of this holy, divine, “let’s build huts and live up here on the mountain” stuff; Jesus has work to do.  And his ministry won’t happen in the clear, clean, rarified air of the mountainside, but down in the muck and mire of the valley.  Jesus’ mission is to serve the people who suffer; the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the widow, and the orphan.

The ones who feel alone, those who struggle to find meaning in their lives, the people who were not witnesses to Moses and Elijah standing beside a glowing Jesus up there on the peak.  The ones who didn’t hear God’s voice booming from the cloud.  The broken sinners in need of the grace and mercy of God, as expressed through this Jesus who has come down from the high mountain to be their Savior.  Those kinds of people; you know…us!

And just as quickly as Jesus’ mission changed from mountaintop glory to valley-based servanthood, the church’s calendar undergoes an unimaginably rapid transformation.  In three short days we will wear ashes on our foreheads as we enter into Lent, and we will accompany Jesus to Jerusalem, where he will be betrayed and put to death.  Quite a different situation from this morning, there on the mountaintop.  And that’s the thing about transformations, once they happen it’s impossible to go back to the way things were before.  Once we are blessed with faith by the Holy Spirit, we too are transformed; the old Adam and Eve in us are no longer, we become new creations.  We have been transfigured.  Perhaps we’ll never glow and it’s a sure bet that we’ll never stand with Moses and Elijah, and Peter won’t offer to build us a hut to live in there on the mountain.  But one thing is certain, we also have work to do, down here in the valley, in the muck and the mire.  For the suffering remain with us; the sick, the homeless, the anxious, the lonely, the forgotten.

Up on the mountain God said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”  These words weren’t meant only for the three disciples Jesus brought to the mountaintop with him; they are intended for us to follow as well.  God makes three distinct statements regarding Jesus as his voice emanates from the cloud, and the third is directed squarely at us.  God proclaims that Jesus is his Son and that he is pleased with his actions.  The first two are God’s proclamations regarding his love for Christ and they are to be taken at face value.  The final part is a non-too-subtle commandment to not only hear Jesus’ words, but to act on them.  “Listen to him!”, God commands.  You will notice in your bulletin that this statement is punctuated with an exclamation point; God is not making a mere suggestion here.  This is a command. 

Listen to him doesn’t simply mean that we are to hear what Jesus has to say, it is intended in no uncertain terms to demand us to do what he tells us.  “Listen to him!” is said; what remains unspoken, but understood is “do as he does”.

Our understanding of this directive from God to imitate Jesus’ life is a perfect starting point for our Lenten journey.  Lent is a time of self-reflection, discipline, and renewal.  A time when we are called to recommit ourselves to live according to God’s commands and with renewed intent to act as Christ’s hands and feet in the world.  A time to prayerfully consider what it means to “listen” to Jesus, to do as he does.  During the five Wednesdays in Lent a number of the churches in our neighborhood will host worship services preceded by a simple soup supper.  A clergy person from another parish will preach at the host church, and there will be opportunities to hear the different ways that other Christian traditions have “listened” to Jesus.  The theme this year is “Living Our Discipleship”, and this is exactly what we do when we “listen” to Jesus.  For he has come down from the mountain and he calls us to walk with him in service to God’s people, here in the valley.      

Will you pray with me?  Good, and gracious, and holy God, we seek to hear Jesus’ words as we serve your people alongside him.  Help us to transform the lives of others as we have been transformed through faith.  And we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the One who descends the mountain to bless us in the valley.        

God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.  Amen.