The Transfiguration of Our Lord: February 26, 2006.

2 Kings 2:1-12

Psalm 50:1-6

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Mark 9:2-9

First Reading

Psalm 50 is appropriate on this last Sunday of Epiphany, a season focusing on the manifestation of God's presence in the world, as the psalmist announces the revelation of God's word and purpose in the motif of light. The psalmist's declaration "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth" (v. 2) focuses us to seek God in our midst as God comes with the light of fire and mighty tempest. God desires to renew the covenant with God's faithful people in the presence of heaven and earth. That covenant is fulfilled through the incarnation of God in Jesus. As we hear of Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain, it seems only right to hear the story from 2 Kings of Elijah being taken up into heaven as Elisha watches.

In Elijah and Elisha's travels, Elijah's action of parting the Jordan with his mantle so that he and Elisha can pass through evokes the memory of Moses parting the Red Sea in the wilderness (v. 8). Thus, both Elijah and Moses are recalled in the first reading in preparation for the reading of the transfiguration in Mark. 2 Kings tells the story of how God provided Israel with prophets who had power and authority and how, just as Elijah passes on that mantle to Elisha, the spirit of God moved through the prophets throughout the generations.

In Mark's telling of Jesus' transfiguration, Jesus and his followers are leaving their ministry in Galilee and are headed for Jerusalem. During this time, Jesus will redefine his glory through three predictions of his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection, but each time the disciples seem to misunderstand. However, in the midst of this redefinition and confusion, Jesus is transfigured in front of Peter, James, and John. Through the dazzling brightness and the appearance with Moses and Elijah, God reveals Jesus' authority and Jesus' place in God's plan for salvation history.

Peter does not know what to do with this kind of revelation. In his confusion, he offers to build dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Was Peter trying to show honor to these great prophets? to preserve the moment into the future? to gain some control over a situation that felt completely out of control by putting God in a box? to find something to say to calm the terror of the situation? It may have been a little bit of all of these, which shows that the disciples did not really understand what God was up to.

So, in an attempt to clarify, God's own voice enters the scene declaring "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" (v. 7). The declaration makes clear to all present what God made clear to Jesus in his baptism and what the centurion will make clear after Jesus' crucifixion, when the centurion announces, "Truly this man was God's Son!" (Mark 15:39). But even now, the disciples have trouble understanding what this is all about.

But then it is time to come down the mountain and reenter the reality of everyday life. Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anyone about what they had seen until "the Son of Man had risen from the dead" (v. 9). Although they did not understand what Jesus meant by this, in the midst of all of this confusion, we find the promise of Christ's resurrection.

Paul reminds the Corinthians that God has called light out of the darkness through Jesus. Unlike when Moses had to veil his face when speaking to the people of Israel, we who are in Christ can approach without a veil. God has "shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (v. 6). This is indeed good news!

Pastoral Reflection

What I appreciate most about Transfiguration Sunday is the bridge that it builds from the season of Epiphany, the season of light and God made manifest in the world, to the season of Lent, the season of penitence and the journey with Jesus through suffering, crucifixion, and death. In one story of Jesus with Peter, James, and John on a mountain, we see the highest of highs, God's declaration of Jesus' glory and authority, and we begin the journey to the lowest of lows as we join them on their walk back down the mountain on the way to Jerusalem.

When I was in high school, the youth from my congregation went to church camp at Quaker Ridge Bible Camp outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The camp itself was on one peak of a mountain, facing Pike's Peak, and on the grounds was a yet higher peak known as Soldier Mountain. One morning, a group of us decided to hike up to that peak before dawn to watch the sun rise. Although it was a dark, wet, and difficult climb, with flashlights and singing, and some complaining about the terribly early hour of the morning, we made the ascent.

When we reached the top, we spread out blankets and sat to watch the sunrise. I had never seen anything so beautiful. As the sun began to rise, the sky turned the brightest blue, and along the horizon was a blanket of pink and red wrapping itself around the peaks of the surrounding mountains. As the sun continued to rise, the pinks became deeper, the reds became richer, and brilliant oranges and yellows joined in the dance, until finally, there it was--the most amazingly bright orangy-yellow ball of fire rising above the horizon. As I looked at the sun coming up, I realized that the cross that marked the top of the peak stood right there in the middle of the sun as if the sun were acting as a spotlight. The waves of pink and orange and yellow and red seemed to flow from the cross and envelop the group of us sitting there. At that moment, I felt the presence of God through Jesus. I experienced the unveiled perfection and beauty of God on that mountaintop that morning.

But just as Elisha had to leave his mourning to carry on God's call as prophet, just as Jesus, Peter, James, and John had to go down the mountain to face what was to come in Jerusalem, just as Paul had to face the realities of opposition to his ministry after the high of beginning the Corinthian church, I, too, had to come down off Soldier Mountain and face the realities of life--life not on the mountaintop but down on the plain and even in the valley.

Jesus walks with us whether we are on the mountaintop or on the plain or in the valley. As we enter the season of Lent we are reminded that Jesus knows our suffering, and we have the promise that Jesus will walk with us through it all. And because of our intimate experiences of God on the mountaintop, our epiphanies, we know that God will be with us on the plain and in the valley.