Transfiguration
Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 3:12-13 (14-18); 4:1-6
Mark 9:2-9
But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
Transfiguration Sunday means that Lent is right around the corner; next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday already. Where does the time go?
We have been in the season of Epiphany, the season of Light, for the past few weeks. Our texts have focused on the revelation of God in the life of Jesus Christ. We have been following Mark's telling of the story of Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. We saw Him call His first disciples, drive out an evil spirit, heal many people (including Simon’s mother-in-law), pray alone and move on to other towns to do the work He was sent to do: preach the Kingdom of God. We end this season with the brightest light of all, the transfiguration of Jesus. On this day we see Jesus literally glowing from within the radiant light of God's glory in the presence of the ones whom God sent to point His people toward the Messiah: Moses and Elijah.
There were many parallels between the life of Moses and the life of Jesus. Both Moses and Jesus had extraordinary infancy stories, with intrigues and danger. Both faced the possibility of death commanded by a king; both survived by being hidden. Elijah was a foreshadowing of Jesus; he did many of the same things and experienced many of the same sufferings. Jesus, Moses and Elijah all provided food for the hungry, water for the thirsty and hope for all God's people. They all spoke the promises of God to His people: Moses through the Law, Elijah through prophecy and Jesus through His life. That’s why it is so appropriate that Jesus met with Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop in this culmination of the Season of Epiphany.
As an artist I have often tried to imagine what this might have looked like. How would I paint it? Holiness is often indicated with a halo of gold around the head, but the light of the transfiguration is greater. That halo is painted to encompass the entire body of Jesus. Some make the light appear like the crepuscular rays of the sun shining through the clouds, stretching forth as if they are God reaching out to us from the heavens. That's probably the best we can do as human artists because the reality would be incredibly difficult to produce on canvas.
See, this glow was not something outside or behind Jesus; He was the Light, and the light that they saw was Jesus. He was transformed, transfigured, into something different, something beyond human experience. Even His clothes were transformed into something otherworldly more white than the whitest white. We represent this with a yellow, white or gold aura around Jesus, but it was probably more like He became a light bulb, shining brightly on that mountain top. It is no wonder that the disciples were afraid.
The Old Testament lesson connects this experience to one of Moses'. Moses had been on the mountain for forty days and forty nights to receive the tablets of the Law. This was the second set of tablets; the first tablets were destroyed when Moses delivered them and discovered the people turned to the false gods when they thought he was gone. Moses was transformed during this visit with God; Moses was radiant from speaking with God. He had seen God's glory (Exodus 33:12-23) and was changed, although he did not realize it at first. The people saw how he reflected God's glory and they were afraid, but he called them to come to him and listen. He gave them the commands the LORD had given him on Sinai.
When he was finished talking, Moses put a veil over his face. There are some who suggest that even looking at the reflected light of God's glory is too dangerous for ordinary people to look upon. Although the reason for the veil is uncertain, St. Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians that he put it on to hide the fact that the radiance passed away. We don't hear that in the passage from Exodus, but we do know that he stayed unveiled when he spoke to the people after hearing from God. Though they were afraid of him, the light reminded them that Moses was speaking to them on behalf of God Himself. It is likely, then, that Paul has it right. The glory fades. Would the people of Israel have continued to listen to Moses if they did not have that reminder? Perhaps Moses wore the veil because of his own fears.
Paul tells us that the veil that Moses wore continued for those who refused to see the passing of the old covenant which was temporary and inadequate. The Old Covenant, given to Moses on that mountain and established in the Law could never stand because no matter how hard we try we can never be good enough to deserve God's grace. The Old Covenant has been replaced with a new one, one that is revealed to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Moses, and Elijah, was never meant to be the ones whom Israel looked to for eternal life. They both pointed toward the One God would send to restore God's people to Him forever. That's why the radiance of Moses faded.
That's the difference between the radiance of Moses and that which the disciples witnessed on the mountain of Transfiguration. Moses reflected God's glory, but even the holiest human is imperfect. We fail. We cannot sustain the glory because we are stained by sin. Moses did not want the people to know the light faded, so he hid his face from the people. Jesus, on the other hand, does not reflect the light; He is the Light. The glory did not fade for Jesus; when the moment was over, Jesus let it go so that He could continue the work in the valley. He had to go back, to get His hands dirty, to face the humiliation of the Passion, to die. He refused to stay in that moment of glory because the real glory would come later; it would come on the cross.
When Jesus was transfigured, they did not want to leave. Peter even wanted to build shelters to make this a lasting moment. As quickly as the glory came upon Jesus, it left and Jesus told them not to tell anyone. The mountaintop experience was not the moment they had been preparing for; it was just a preview of what was to come. At this point in His ministry, Jesus set His feet toward Jerusalem, toward death and the grave. Peter, James and John did not quite understand what was to come, but they followed Him, always blessed with the brief shining moment when they saw Jesus as God intended Him to be, crowned in glory. They saw the hope of what was to come.
The transfiguration must have been a most incredible experience for Peter, James and John. Not only were they on the top of a mountain, but they were there with the Messiah. At that moment, they did hear the voice of God, not in the whisper of the quiet wind but in a voice coming out of the clouds. The words were repeated from Jesus' baptism, "This is my beloved Son." Whether anyone heard that voice at the Jordan we may never know for sure, but now it was heard by Jesus' inner circle of friends. It was a moment worth grasping forever. But Jesus hurried them off the mountain, back into the valley because He knows that it is in the valleys where life is truly lived. They could not stay on the top of the mountain; they had to get back to work. There were still people who needed healing. There were still demons to be cast out. There were still so many who needed to hear God's word and learn about God's kingdom so that they might be saved for eternity. It would not happen if they lingered on the mountain top. The real work was in the valley.
Peter, James and John witnessed God briefly breaking through to our world in a powerful tangible way. The Law (seen in Moses) and the Prophets (seen in Elijah) were brought together in Jesus Christ. They saw Jesus in a form that is beyond anything earthly. They heard the audible voice of God speak to them personally. This is something we can read and imagine, but we can't really know what it was like for those three men, we can't recreate it in paint. We are awed by this experience, but they were afraid. How would we have responded to this incredible moment?
The message God spoke to the disciples was simple but very powerful, "Listen to Him." In a world when we have so many voices screaming at us with opinions that are built on biases, it is hard to know to whom we should listen. Which one is right? Who is telling the truth? What is the truth? But God tells us what to do, "Listen to Jesus." I'm not sure it is that easy, because there are so many voices trying to tell us what Jesus meant, and they rarely agree. But we can listen. We can pray. We can do our best to live as God calls us to live, serving Him with our hearts and our hands and our voices, knowing that God is faithful and that He is more powerful than our failure.
We aren't much different than the characters in God's story. None of us want to be the prophet. None of us want to be the one to do the hard work with God. Even Peter, James and John were afraid when they were confronted by the reality of God's magnificence. We all want control. In fear we all try to make God fit into our comfort zone. Paul writes, "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish." Too many prefer to have God's word veiled. They prefer to believe what sounds good rather than hear what God really has to say.
Not everyone hears Jesus. Paul knew this. He recognized that there were those in opposition to his ministry. They accused him of manipulation and lies. They accused him because they were ministering out of self interest, commending themselves so that they might gain positions of status and influence. They refused to admit, or even see, that they were the ones playing games. They cared nothing for the Gospel or Christ, but only for themselves. To them, there was no glory on the cross. To them, the truth was veiled. They could not see because they were blinded by the god of this world. They were also blinded by their own fears and their own desires.
Paul writes, "Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." The transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ was a moment of glory, more magnificent than the whirlwind that took Elijah to heaven or the glory that shone from Moses’ face. It might have seemed like that was the culmination of Jesus' work. But it was merely the beginning of what was to come. Jesus was about to speak a strange and wonderful word into their lives, a frightening reality that included death.
The image of God as judge in Psalm 50 is not a comfortable image for us. He is described as preceded by a devouring fire and angry tempest. He calls forth the heavens and the earth to judge His people. Psalm 50 is a liturgical hymn probably used for the feast of Tabernacles. The words call the people to reaffirm their commitment to His covenant. It is divided into three parts. The first announces the coming of the Lord to call His people to account (today's passage). The second offers words of correction to those of honest intent. The third rebukes the wicked among them. We don't like to see God in judgment over His people. We'd rather see Him as we see Him on the mountain of Transfiguration, in glory.
We don't read the entire psalm in today's lectionary, but in it God calls His people to account for two things: their mindless rituals and the lip service they pay to God. They do not worship with heart, but do everything out of some sense of duty or some idea that God will repay their generosity with blessing. They can recite the laws, but they do not live according to the intent of God's Law. They’ve lost touch with the God whom they are called to worship and serve.
Unfortunately for us, mindless ritual and lip service is easy. It keeps us in a place where we are comfortable and happy. It helps us to mold the world around us, including the spiritual realm, into a form where we have control. In mindless ritual and lip service we have nothing to fear. We don't want to be judged by our failures, we want to believe that God will honor our self interested ministering because we mean well. We reject God as judge and embrace only that which we want to hear.
Jesus came to save, but what would He be saving us from if there were no judgment? He comes to call us to account. But here's the difference between the Old Covenant and the New: Jesus pays the price. He left the mountain to walk the path that was required: death on a cross for our sake. He is the Light, that's why the radiance is not reflected but illuminated from within Jesus. He has the Word we need to hear; He is the Word we need. God said, "Listen to Him." The veil is lifted for those who do hear. He calls us to follow, not to the top of the mountain, but down in the valley where we will get our hands dirty and where we will die to self.
Many refuse to hear, but that does not mean God is less powerful or Jesus any less authoritative. The god of this world continues to blind those who would prefer to keep the truth and glory veiled. Jesus Christ has called us into this relationship, invited us to experience His glory and then follow Him into the valley to do His work. It is frightening, but as we join Jesus on the journey to the cross, we need not live in fear. God goes with us, and He has assured us that He has the power to fulfill His promises. He transforms us, filling us with His Light and Spirit so that He will be revealed through our lives to the world.
A WORD FOR TODAY
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