Transfiguration
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So what really happened on that mountain: a space where Jesus starts glowing and dead people start talking? It’s a strange scene. Almost like the setup for a Steven Spielberg film.
Transfiguration. Come again? Transfigure-what? It’s a strange word. The term itself comes from the Greek word metamorpho (think of metamorphosis) and is used to describe the visible change in Christ on top of the mountain. Although this Sunday is not as well-known perhaps, it stands on its own between the church season of Epiphany (which we just ended) and Lent and Jesus’s journey towards the cross (which we will begin this Wednesday).
While it is unknown when Transfiguration was first celebrated, it was possibly observed in Jerusalem as early as the 7th century. In 2002, Pope John Paul II included the Transfiguration as one of five of what he called “luminous mysteries.”
But before we go further, let’s take a couple of steps back so that you have a better sense of the context in which the Transfiguration of Jesus occurs. Back in chapter 8:27, Jesus asks the disciples “who do people say that I am?” The disciples had different answers of course. Some said John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say one of the prophets. But then Jesus reframes the question and asks, “But who do you say that I am?”
It is Peter who responds and says “You are the Messiah.” But after this Jesus begins to tell them that he must undergo great suffering, be rejected and killed and after three days rise again. Peter couldn’t believe it or make sense of it and Jesus rebukes him.
Fast forward to six days later and Jesus is leading Peter, James, and John up a mountain by themselves. It says Jesus is transfigured or changed before them. His clothes become dazzling white. I love how Mark describes it as “such as no one on earth could bleach them.” In other words, this isn’t Oxiclean.
Don’t miss this, the hallmark of Jesus’ change here is in and through light. What kind of light? This isn’t electrical light or manufactured light or firelight. You may recall the beginning of Johns’ gospel in saying Jesus is the life and light of all people. This is the light of God’s glory within Jesus. Leonard Sweet calls this “the utility of heaven.”
In this change, this transfiguration, Christ did not receive something he didn’t have before or change into something different but rather revealed what he already and always was, the Son of God, the light of the world.
You may notice the piece of art on the front of your bulletin and how you can’t really make Jesus out in the center. It is too blinding. We see the outline of Peter, James, and John, one of them even lifting his hand in front of his face because it is so blinding. Like staring at the sun without sunshades.
Here on this mountain, the true identity of Christ is being revealed. Christ who was born fully human with flesh and bone and hangnails and acne and lungs, was also born as the fullness of the God of the universe. Here the divinity, he holiness, and the glory of Christ shine through his very human skin.
As if this isn’t enough to blow your mind, all of a sudden two historical figures, Moses and Elijah, appear on the scene and are talking with Jesus. Why Moses and Elijah? Why not Abraham or Adam or Isaiah? Well there’s a lot of thoughts on this. It is often thought that Moses represents the law of God while Elijah represents the prophets and Jesus fulfills both. Both Moses and Elijah also had mysterious deaths. We don’t know where Moses is actually buried and Elijah was carried away in a chariot of fire. And yet. Both prophets also faced rejection, which Jesus will also face.
And yet, here they are with Jesus on this mountain. Jesus is shining. Dead people are talking. And notice when the transfiguration happened. Before the cross. Before the resurrection. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Before all of this, there is this glimpse of resurrection glory. The tangible, visible, redeeming presence of God. In this moment, the disciples saw resurrection bodies and breathed resurrection air. I love how Peter recounts in in 2 Peter 1:16-21 as he says we were “eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Like the Pope said, it is a luminous mystery.
I love how Derek Weber says “The Transfiguration has always been a puzzle to the church, raising more questions than answers. At its heart, the event presents the “otherness” of Jesus, even as it celebrates his oneness with his followers. There is always more to Jesus than we can know or figure out. And that’s a good thing. We worship one who can still take our breath away in wonder and awe.”
Well, then Peter starts talking about building tents and shrines on top of the mountain and that actually would have been an appropriate thing to do. But I think the most honest response is verse 6 which says, “He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.” Some say this is the kind of terror we imagine in horror movies, where you fear for your life. Others say this kind of fear is more akin to awe and wonder. Maybe it is both. How would you react?
In the midst of Peter’s plans and fear, a cloud overshadows these men and God’s voice comes from within the cloud, this time speaking directly to the disciples saying “This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to Him.” It is as if God is coming on scene to answer Jesus’s question to the disciples from just a few days before.
“Who do you say that I am?”
Similar to Jesus’ baptism, the voice of God in the cloud is saying “This is my Son, the Beloved. But this time God says, “listen to Him.”
Listen to him. Not what other people are saying. Not what the modern-day influencers tell you. Listen to Him. Leonard Sweet talks about how in tune we are with the Holy Spirit today and refers to the counsel of the Holy Spirit as Godfluence.
What on earth happens after this baffling, mountain-top experience? Just as Jesus was propelled into the wilderness after his baptism, the descent down the mountain leads them all back into the reality of a world in need of healing. Towards Jerusalem. Towards Roman rule. Towards betrayal. Towards a road that would wind its way to the cross.
Back to reality. Martha Simmons says it is where “the sweet by and by meets the nasty here and now.” Who would want to leave the shining light of Christ to return to the wasteland of sickness, weariness, war, addiction, grief, broken relationships, and mental exhaustion. I would have wanted to hang out for a while too.
But Jesus was showing a different way of discipleship. A way of descent. A way of sacrificial love. Chris Green in his book “Being Transfigured,” says maybe Lent is more than a season of discipline but also a season of transfiguration. Maybe instead of giving up a bunch of junk, we ask God to transfigure us. Transfigure our doubt, our fears, our sickness, our violence, our bitterness, our snap judgments, and our suffering. That the glory of God would begin to overshadow it all and shine brightly within.
We are to do more than behold glory. We are to bear it within ourselves so that our own transfigured lives become markers of glory and light. It used to be that each time I would attend a clergy gathering, we would all have to go around and share what we called glory sightings. Someone would get up and share where they saw the light of God and the rest of us would shout out “Glory.” Come to find out, the glory of God showed up in all kinds of places.
Jan Richardson says “the story of the Transfiguration is not simply about learning to leave the mountaintop, or about releasing what we have grown attached to. It’s not just about resisting our desire to turn moments of transcendence into monuments. The story of the Transfiguration is about opening our eyes to glory, allowing that glory to alter us, and becoming willing to walk where it leads us. The story urges us to trust what we have seen, what we have known, will go with us. It assures us that the gifts received on the mountaintop will continue to illuminate us not only on level ground but even when we walk in the valley of the shadow.”
Receive this blessing of hers for Transfiguration Sunday.
“ That when glory comes,
we will open our eyes to see it.
That when glory shows up, we will let ourselves be overcome not by fear but by the love it bears.
That when glory shines, we will bring it back with us
all the way
all the way
all the way down.