(For those reading this elsewhere in the world, today was icey cold but with bright sunshine. The temperature was about -25ºC and in the sanctuary, it was 17ºC. Dare I say our numbers were down.)
2
Six 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, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one
on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with
Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then 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." 6 He
did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This
is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when they
looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9
As 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.
And
there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with
Jesus. Then 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."
- Today is the Sunday of the Transfiguration, the last Sunday of the season after Epiphany, the Sunday before the beginning of the season of Lent. The event narrated by Mark is a rather mysterious one. You've all heard it and you've heard it every year, so there's no sense in me going over it bit by bit. There are some things that are worth looking at more closely.
- As Jesus is transfigured, he is joined by Moses and Elijah there on the mountain. Peter, James, and John are present and are understandibly terrified by all that goes on.
- Many commentators take the presence of Moses and Elijah on the mountain to be an affirmation of Jesus' life and ministry. All he says and does is in line with the history of the people of God, in line with the revelation of the Law of God and of the ministry of the prophets. Moses of course represents the Law while Elijah, the greatest of all the prophets, represents all of the prophets of Israel.
- There is also the long history of both Moses and Elijah being part of the promise of the Messiah. God had promised to send a prophet “like you” - that is, like Moses – as the final revelation of God's plan. Of course, the coming of the Messiah would be heralded by the return of Elijah. This is why both Jesus and John the Baptizer were questioned as to their prophetic identity, even to the point where they were asked if they were Elijah. Even today, the Jewish people set a chair for Elijah at the ceremony of circumcision and set out a cup of wine for Elijah at the Passover meal.
- Both of these ideas with regard to the presence of Moses and Elijah on the mountain of the Tranfiguration are valuable and cannot be laid aside. Still there are other ideas.
- Both Moses and Elijah were quite familiar and intimate in their communication with God. Moses was always the only one who could enter the Tent of Meeting while the Israelites wandered. He was the one who faced the burning bush and received the mission to “set my people free.” Moses even asked that God kill him rather than have him continue to serve as God's intermediary with such a “stiff-necked people”, but of course, God did not do that. In fact, God told Moses that he would raise up a new people of God from Moses when the Israelites got extreamly self-willed and hard to deal with. Moses refused. It sounds to me like God and Moses were friends considering they could talk like that together.
- For Elijah's part, we read about his many deeds in the Old Testament. One of the most important and mysterious is Elijah's encounter with God in the first book of Kings:
- He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for theLord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
- Both Moses and Elijah have a very familiar and intimate relationship with God, so it makes sense that they would be present when Jesus allows a glimpse of his divine nature to his disciples. These three had a very close relationship with Jesus in his earthly ministry.
- The fact that this almost secret event is written down for all Christians to read and take to heart means that what happened on the mountain was not for those three disciples only. Yes, Jesus told them to keep it quiet: As 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. Maybe they did and maybe they didn't; we'll never know since our time is after the Resurrection. The fact that it is told and retold in the Gospels and read and re-read every year in our churches means that that went on there is for us as well.
- We catch a glimpse of the Jesus who is both human and divine. We get a hint of the glory that is his and the humanity he lived out every day. We receive the exhortation from the Father to listen to him. For each of us also is the invitation to enter into a very familiar and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is what we believe God wants with us and one of the reasons why Jesus came to live among us as one of us.
- If a further invitation is needed, we need go no further than Jesus own lesson on how to pray. When his disciples asked him how to pray, he gave them simple, powerful words – words that show a great familiarity and a deep intimacy. Words that can be said from the heart and words that carry with them a tremendous understanding of our relationship with God – of trust, of love, and of closeness. Those words permit us to be, in a particular way, like Jesus before God in prayer.
- Those words are words we will say shortly. Those are words we know quite well. Those words are “Our Father.”
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