February 11, 2024 Transfiguration of Our Lord The text is Mark 9:2-9.
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2Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
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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.
In preparing my sermon for this morning I was tempted to approach the event that Mark describes from a first-person point-of-view. I thought it might be impactful to speak as though I were one of the three disciples who accompanied Jesus to the mountaintop. But try as I might, I was completely unable to put into words what I might have experienced had I been there. Even now, I’m still at a loss as to how to relate what it must have been like to be standing there, witnessing Jesus’ transfiguration. So, instead I’m going to ask all of you to consider what you would have felt had it been you there on the high mountain observing the radiant glow that emanated from Jesus. How would you have responded to what you would had witnessed? With fear? Excitement? Disbelief? Would you, like Peter have offered to build huts there on the mountain so you could stay there forever with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus?
I truly have no idea of how I might have reacted had I been witness to this event; if any of you do, please seek me out and let me know what you think you would have felt and what you might have done. I’m keenly interested to learn how other people might have reacted to this wondrous, yet frightening experience with the divine. It’s certain that the three disciples who accompanied Jesus to the mountaintop were changed in some way by what they had seen and heard; let’s remember that, in addition to seeing Jesus’ radiant glow, they also heard the voice of God coming from the cloud that overshadowed them.
Yet their change was decidedly different from the one that Jesus underwent. We celebrate this day in the church calendar as Jesus’ Transfiguration, and this is true, Jesus changed in some way. The Greek word Mark uses to describe this change differs only slightly from the English translation to “metamorphosis”. And this term may be used in slightly differing ways. It may refer to a change in outward appearance or to an internal adjustment of one’s thinking or understanding; a change if one’s inner being. Jesus underwent an outward “transfiguration”, the observance of which resulted in the disciples’ “transformation”. One was external, in the case of Jesus; the other internal, as in what happened to the disciples.
Our theology teaches that Jesus’ nature is one of duality; he is fully human, while also fully divine. His disciples, those whom he healed, the religious authorities; everyone was witness to the signs he performed, but most people accepted that Jesus was able to accomplish these healings and miracles through the power that God the Father had bestowed upon him. It wasn’t until his transfiguration that the three who were there with him recognized the divine nature that was within Jesus himself. That, coupled with the mandate from God within the cloud, acknowledging Jesus as God’s Son, and the command to “listen to him”, was when Jesus’ divine nature became evident. Up until this very moment Jesus has been seen as a worker of signs, a prophet, a rabbi of great knowledge of the Law, and someone with the ability to persuade others to follow him. Note that all these descriptions relate to a human being. But there on the mountaintop as Jesus’ outward appearance changed and he showed a glowing, radiant form, this was when he was revealed as truly a divine being, no less than God himself.
Which brings us back again to the distinction between transformation and transfiguration; Jesus’ appearance expressed something new and different to those who observed it, but Jesus himself did not change. He remained as he always was, he was always divine. It’s just that now others were able to see this for themselves. And once Peter, James, and John were exposed to this outward transfiguration, they would now be ever transformed. They know now that they were following not just an extraordinary rabbi who might just be the Messiah, but the radiant glow and the voice of God has changed their perception of Jesus. They now know that they are disciples of God’s own Son and that the One they follow has come down from heaven to save the world.
And with this knowledge Peter responds in a way that, while we can hardly blame him, nonetheless is totally opposite of what Jesus plans to do, now that his divine nature has been revealed. Peter suggests that they build dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah there on the mountain, presumably so that they may all remain there basking in Jesus’ radiance. And we can understand why Peter might feel compelled to remain there with these figures, considering their importance in Jewish scripture. The long-dead Moses represents the Law, while Elijah, who centuries earlier was lifted heavenward is symbolic of the Hebrew prophets; these two exemplify the totality of the entire structure of the Jewish faith. And on top of this, it has now become obvious that Jesus has shown himself to be the Son of God and Peter and the others have assumed him to be the long-prophesied Messiah. Peter likely felt that there was no better place on earth to be, surrounded by these great figures representing the faith of his people.
And, as is often the case with Peter, he gets it completely wrong. God’s voice issues a command from the cloud telling the gathered disciples to do what Jesus instructs them to do. Immediately after God speaks Jesus leads the three of them down from the mountain and back into the reality of what lies below it. Transfiguration of Jesus: complete. Transformation of Peter and the others: also complete. It’s time to be about the business of spreading the gospel, made even more imperative now that Jesus’ true nature has been revealed. Peter would have preferred to remain in the clean, clear, rarified air of the mountaintop, in the presence of the sacred and the holy.
Jesus was having none of that; it’s back down from the mountain and into the dust, the uncleanness, the uncertainty, and the sinfulness in the valleys below.
Prior to this morning’s events Jesus has been fully engaged in preaching, teaching, and healing. He has fed the 5,000 and walked on water. The transfiguration, as monumental as this event was, simply served as evidence of Jesus’ identity as divine. Now that this has happened, Jesus reminds the others that the mission and ministry must continue. There is much to be done and little time in which to do it, for the cross looms large in Jesus’ future. The important part is that Peter and the others have undergone their transformation, they have been changed after witnessing the events on the mountain. With their new knowledge of Jesus’ true nature, there is nothing to stop them from continuing their calling; they are to imitate Jesus’ words and actions; reaching out to, and caring for others.
And for the rest of us, and the wider church, as witnesses of the resurrection, we too have been transformed, for we acknowledge Jesus’ divinity, just as Peter and the others did. And God’s command to “listen to” Jesus is directed at the church and to each of us. We must not linger high on the mountain either, surrounded by the prophets, lawgivers, and well-intentioned hut-builders. The Word of God as found in the Scriptures remains our rule and guide, just as it was for Peter and the others, up there on the mountain, separated and apart from the work that Jesus reminded them was to be done, down in the valleys.
But we have what they didn’t; we know and follow the resurrected Jesus and God speaks clearly and specifically to each of us, and the wider church when he issues the command to listen to Jesus. And what it is that Jesus commands us is that our mission and ministry are to be carried out not apart from, but in the midst of God’s people. Specifically the ones we encounter here, in our valleys, where we meet our neighbors in their need; not up on the pristine mountain where Peter thought it would be the perfect place to remain. When God told him and the others to listen to Jesus and Jesus brought them down from the peak to serve those below, they did so, willingly. As Christians we have no choice but to do the same.
Will you pray with me? Good, and gracious, and holy God, you command us to listen to Jesus and act as he teaches. Give us the strength and will to not only listen, but to hear his voice. And we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the One who leads us from mountaintop to valley and beyond.
God is Good, all the time. All the time, God is Good. Amen.