The Transfiguration of our Lord --- 2 March 2014

{A word of explanation to those who might not be Lutheran: The ELCIC's calendar sets the last Sunday before the season of Lent as the festival of the Transfiguration. Other Church bodies celebrate the festival on other days.}

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 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." 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!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 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." 

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."

• The name of this festival – the Transfiguration – may be somewhat confusing for many and it is quite a mystery for all of us.
• We might say that this is a case of “Will the real Jesus please stand up?” We might ask ourselves what exactly is going on; whether Jesus is showing his real self on the mountaintop or is he showing his real self on the way up and down the mountain. Which one is the real Jesus?
• In our church calendar, the festival of the Transfiguration comes just before the season of Lent. A number of Scriptural scholars hold that the placement of the Transfiguration in the Gospels has to do with giving the disciples courage, a lift to get them through the tough times of the Passion and death of Jesus. It would seem that whoever made up the Church calendar felt the same way, using the festival of the Transfiguration as a way of boosting the faithful through the dry time of Lent. And for some Lent can be very dry... which is why in times past all the fat and sugar were eaten up on Shove Tuesday in the form of pancakes or doughnuts.
• The event on the mountaintop as it is found in Matthew's Gospel was only witnessed by three of the disciples, Jesus' closest friends, and then they were told to keep quiet about it! We can safely believe that Peter, James, and John told the other disciples after Jesus' ascension. Otherwise the incident would not have been recorded.
• No matter who was there, what went on had and has a meaning for all faithful Christians. It could be taken as a glimpse of what was to come, what was to be revealed fully in the Resurrection. It could be taken as a glimpse of what the Son was like before taking on human flesh, using the symbols and the narrative of the time Moses spent on the mountaintop with God as we heard in our reading from Exodus.
• The Exodus narrative is the model for what is reported as seen in what we know as the Transfiguration: The blinding light, the luminous cloud, the voice of the Father. The Law is not presented, although Moses, the keeper of the Law, and Elijah, the greatest prophet of God are present.
• If Mount Sinai is the model for what is proclaimed in the Gospel, what is going on?
• Some of our confusion has to do with the word, “Transfiguration.” In the original Greek, the word is “metamorphosis”, the sort of thing we encounter when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly or when an animal that is in one form takes on another form. However here in Matthew, Jesus does not remain in his transfigured form.
• If you'll permit me to turn to the German language for a moment. In Luther's Bible, the word used is verklärt, a word that means “Transfigured” or possibly “revealed.”
• If “transfigured” can mean “revealed”, then Jesus' divine nature is revealed on the mountaintop. And yet when the three terrified disciples look up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. What happened? Did Jesus not stay revealed?
• So, which is the real Jesus? The answer is both, both the man they spoke to and ate with and travelled with AND the man they saw speaking with Moses and Elijah with a face like the sun and clothes of dazzling white. I don't think the three disciples understood what had happened; Peter babbles something about three dwelling so this event can remain forever.
• It took another, greater event to bring the disciples – all the disciples – to an understanding of what Peter, James, and John experienced. Those who experienced the Resurrection of Jesus than began to grasp just who Jesus is. The mountaintop experience that the three were not to speak about only makes sense in the light of the Resurrection of Jesus.
• The role of the Transfiguration for us is both a revelation that we see in the light of the Resurrection and a special glimpse of the glory of Jesus.
• What often gets left behind in this story, with all it's glory and mystery, is the final act on the mountain.
• The disciples were stunned by the sight of Jesus transfigured and speaking with Moses and Elijah, but they were terrified at the voice from the bright cloud. When they looked up, they saw only Jesus. The two things they heard are of vital importance to all our lives as Christians. The Father's voice says “Listen to him!” and Jesus tells them “Get up and do not be afraid.” These words are for us as much as they were for Peter, James, and John. Our lives are to be lives of listening to Jesus and lives of following him without fear. As it wasn't easy for Jesus' friends, it will not always be easy for us. They made mistakes as we do, but their faith, upheld by grace and what they knew of Jesus, saw them through. Jesus is the Word of God and the Word has come to the people.
• So it will be for us. As we begin our season of Lent, we look to Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection as we do for the whole of our lives and what Jesus has revealed to us will sustain us forever.