Transfiguration Sunday ----- 3 March 2019

(This past Sunday, I took a vacation day and this reflection was spoken by a member of the Church Council,)

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43)

28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" 36 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.

[37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 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. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." 41 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." 42 While he was coming, 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. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.]

And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

·        Through the history of the Church, two opposing viewpoints have constantly cropped up. One says Jesus is Divine only. The other says that Jesus is human only. Both are troubling. If Jesus is only divine, then what sort of understanding could he have of human life? If he is only human, then how is he different from other prophets or religious leaders?

·        The festival we celebrate today – the Transfiguration of Jesus – answers both of these viewpoints. First, Jesus is transfigured up on the mountain, showing himself in his glory with dazzling clothes and hold conversation with Moses and Elijah, the personifications of the Law and the prophets, in other words, the whole of Israel’s religious experience. The voice of the Father tells the three disciples what’s going on: "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

·        The next thing Peter, James, and John know (and that includes us, the readers, through them), Jesus is alone and just as he was before. They go down the mountain, into the everyday and to face the inability of the disciples to cast out a spirit.

·        So which is the “real” Jesus?

·        Both of them are and they cannot be separated. Jesus is the glorious, glowing figure, the Chosen of the Father, fulfilling the Law and the prophets. He is – at the same time – the Son of Man, keeping a few close friends, experiencing frustration over disciples who don’t really listen, knowing hunger and fatigue like any other human being.

·        For Jesus, it isn’t a matter of being “one or the other.” It is not “either/or”, but “both/and.” Unlike the three disciples who accompanied Jesus up the mountain, we have the advantage of years of teaching and interpretation of the Bible; we know the end of the story! As hard as it might be to accept, we see a Jesus who is both human and divine, all wrapped up in the one person. He is the place where earth and heaven meet, where the created and the Creator interact, where time and eternity are woven together.

·        Like the disciples, we need those “mountain-top moments” where the depth of who Jesus is can be perceived. Like everybody else, we live in the ordinary spaces off of the mountain-top where everyday life takes place.

·        We can remember this: it isn’t the mountain-top that makes Jesus special; it is he who makes the mountain-top special! In the same way, if we have him with us in the ordinary spaces… well, then that will be as good as the mountain-top. It is Jesus, the Son of the Father, the Chosen and one like us, who will make the difference for us.

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.