"The Transfiguration"
Matthew 17:1-9
February 3, 2008
- Rev. Bob Thomas
Senior Pastor
By the time we get to the 17th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, the clouds of opposition to Jesus’ ministry were getting stronger. So Jesus prepared the leaders of his band of disciples for the hard days to come. There would be times in the next few months when they would doubt and be afraid. But the experience on the high mountain describes a mystical encounter when those very human followers were given, like Moses before them, a moment to bask in the glory of GOD. It was midpoint in Jesus’ journey between his baptism and the cross. The Pharisees and Saducees were making it increasingly difficult for him. His disciples were bickering. Jesus began to talk to them about suffering, Jerusalem, and the cross. He talked about saving ones’ life by losing it. And then Jesus took Peter, James, and John away from the others. He led them up the winding path to the top of Mount Hermon, and there on the mountaintop something very special happened. We’re not exactly sure what occurred, but they called it transfiguration, which means “change” or “metamorphosis.” We do know Moses and Elijah appeared. Jesus’ face shone in a way they had never seen before. His garments glistened and it hurt their eyes. And a bright cloud came upon them and God spoke, saying, as he did at Jesus’ baptism: “this is my beloved son…Listen to him.” This encounter turned them inside out. It changed their lives and they were never quite the same ever again. Simon Peter wanted to stay there forever. But Jesus shook his head. The vision faded. Moses and Elijah left as quickly as they came. And Jesus and the three disciples make the winding trip back down the mountain.
Jesus himself called this experience a vision in verse 9. Scholars would later describe this occasion as a theophany—a visitation from God. And after Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples would tell over and over again about that day, that special day when God came down and they beheld his GLORY. They remembered that God had said, “This is my beloved. Listen to him.” Even if Jesus suffered—they would later understand that God was in it. Even if things did not work out the way they thought it should—God was in it. Very slowly the disciples began to see that they were a part of something very big—this Jesus, his calling of disciples, this gathering of believers called the church—a very big and power expression of God’s plan.
Now it is clear that the transfiguration is focused primarily upon Jesus. But the experience is also extended to Peter, James and John. They hear the message clearly—God loved and approves of the Son. Yet for them hearing the thundering voice and seeing the blinding light leaves them trembling. So Jesus takes a moment to extend the Father’s love to his closest friends. So Jesus takes a moment to extend the Father’s love to his closest friends.
Verse 7 says, “Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” It won’t be long before Jesus has to leave his earthly ministry behind, and he uses this other-worldly encounter to begin to pass the mantle of the kingdom on to his disciples. What better way to commission them to love the world than by demonstrating that being Beloved means extending love to others? One of my favorite modern theological writers, Henri Nouwen captures the essence of this idea when he writes: “The basis of all ministry is the experience of God’s unlimited and unlimiting acceptance of us as beloved children, and acceptance so full, so total and all-embracing that it sets us free from our compulsion to be seen, praised and admired, and free for Christ [to be revealed through us as he] leads us on the road of service.”
I don’t want you to miss important message. On the mount of transfiguration the Beloved extends love to those he is sending out to love the world. These three and all who follow them are men and women on a love mission from God himself. Living lives of greatness for the purpose of loving others, not for the sake of being loved and adored by the masses of the world.
The way the story unfolds reminds the church that we cannot hold onto or stay on the mountain top forever. Reality intrudes. Visions, unfortunately, do not last. There are just enough mountain top experiences to get us through the lonesome valleys. We can’t stay on an emotional high forever.
As quickly as it came, the vision faded. Moses and Elijah disappeared. Jesus’ face did not glisten now. He looked just like them. They heard nothing but the wind blowing on the mountain height. And it was time to go back down the mountain. Reality time. If you read a little further you’ll see that at the bottom of the mountain trail a child convulsed and the disciples stood by helpless. They had no unearthly idea what to do.
Peter, James and John and even Jesus could not stay in that place of splendor indefinitely. Neither can we. Reality still intrudes. We lose a job. We get depressed. We have a wreck with our car. We wish we didn’t have to get out of bed. Life can be tough and crowded and difficult. But the test of any vision is what we do when we get back down to the bottom of the mountain. This is life. We are called to make this a better place. We are called to make Epworth a better church. We are called to let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
“Get up and do not be afraid.” That’s what the mightiest power in the universe says to us when we feel frustrated by failure, ransacked by bad relationships, battered by betrayal, soiled by sin, and depressed by mental, physical or spiritual deterioration. “Get up,” says Jesus. “I am offering you light and new life.” The marvelous promise of the resurrection is that the is always new life to be found on the other side of suffering and death. “Do not be afraid,” counsels Jesus. “I m going to walk with you and assure you of the presence of God in your life.” The greatest guarantee of Christ’s companionship is that nothing in all creation—no pain or crying, suffering or dying—NOTHING can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Two powerful biblical words frame the transfiguration experience: Look and Listen. The early church saw that these two words addressed not only to Jesus’ three disciples, but to believers of every age. Look and Listen. Look to Jesus…he and he alone is our light and salvation. He is the “bright morning star.” The one that can lead us and guide us on our life journey and on into eternity. And Listen. Listen to the voice of God: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” For Peter, James and John, once they hear the voice of Jesus offering them comfort when he says: “Fear not,” the disciples look up and see only Jesus…as if all the prior channels of revelation through the law and the prophets had finally flowed together into the one Lord. Jesus is identified as the source of both divine wisdom and divine comfort. The transfigured Christ is the salvation of the world. Look and Listen.
Let us pray: We confess, Lord, that often the events of our lives and the world around us make us wonder if we are alone on this spinning globe. Often, like those early disciples, we grow fearful and forget our faith. Call us back to those Transfiguration moments in our own lives so that we remember that we are not alone. You are Emmanuel, God with us. Thanks be to God! Help us to look for your face and listen to your voice in the those we are called to serve and love in the name of the Beloved. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen and Amen.
