Today is Transfiguration Sunday which means this week is the beginning of Lent already! I don’t know about you but we still have a few Christmas poinsettias living!
When I was growing up as a Presbyterian we didn’t pay much attention to Lent, at least not the way our Catholic brothers and sisters do. I could never figure out what was up with eating fish on Fridays. Of course nowadays I appreciate a good fish fry! And now I understand that if we give up eating meat (or anything else) for Lent we do it remembering all the things Jesus gave up for us. So giving up something for Lent is like an act of solidarity with Jesus.
But we’re not in Lent just yet. Today, being Transfiguration, is a day that prepares us – and a day on which Jesus was prepared – for what lies ahead: for the cross. Today is a day of strengthening and confirmation and encouragement.
There is a lead-up to the story of the Transfiguration. Our Gospel reading today starts out with Luke saying: “Now about eight days after these sayings…” – which means we need to look back and see which sayings he’s talking about.
Luke is talking about a conversation Jesus has with his disciples in which Jesus asks them, “who do people say I am?” The disciples answer, “some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets”.
There are two observations I make in hearing this. First, what the disciples are hearing from the crowd indicates their thinking centers on the past. The crowds are not looking to the future, nor are they thinking about the fulfillment of prophecy. In fact they’re not even thinking ‘hey, this is something new in the present’. Their focus is on the past. The other thing I notice is that members of the general public back then were firm believers in resurrection. This is interesting because resurrection was a very controversial issue back then. The Pharisees believed in resurrection but the Sadducees didn’t, and this was a very hot and divisive topic. It’s interesting the people agreed with the Pharisees on this.
Today, the subject of resurrection is a little less divisive but people still disagree about it. Some people say this life is all there is: you live once and then you die. Others believe in reincarnation. Some people believe when we die we all go to a place where our spirits become one with the universe as the universe gets to know itself. I think people in our time are less likely to believe in the kind of out-and-out resurrection that Jesus’ crowds are talking about – that is, people from the past literally coming back to life. For example, can you imagine what would happen if George Washington walked into the room right now? Or CS Lewis? Our minds don’t usually entertain thoughts like that in our age, at least not seriously.
So the question Jesus asks is still a relevant question today: “who do people say that I am?” People today would probably offer a variety of answers: some might say “he was a great man” or “a good teacher”. Some might call Jesus a prophet. Atheists might say Jesus was a deceiver, or that he was deluded. There are some who believe Jesus is just a myth. But all over the world, and all through history, there are people who would answer the way Peter did: “you are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus called Peter blessed, because “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven has.”
And Jesus’ saying is still true today. Anyone who knows that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, knows this because God has revealed it to them.
Being able to say (and believe) that Jesus is the Messiah is the definition of a Christian. Christian faith is not about where we stand on issues; it is not about how we vote; it is not about what school we went to or what we do for a living; it is not about our culture or our nationality or our family life or what church we go to – we may have all these things in our lives, and they are blessings from God, but they’re not what defines us as Christians. The definition of Christian is someone who believes Jesus is the Messiah and follows his lead.
And the word Messiah is not some religious, pie-in-the-sky concept. The word means “anointed one,” and anointing in Biblical times designated a king. Saul, the first king of Israel, was anointed before he was made king. David was anointed before he became king. And Jesus is the anointed one, the coming king.
Whenever Jesus preached, he always started off by saying “The kingdom of God is at hand! Change course and believe the good news!” The kingdoms of this world, the kingdoms that oppress people and give wealth to the 1% while the rest go without, these kingdoms will end soon – all of them. Because a new king is coming and is in fact here now and he will set up a kingdom of justice and righteousness.
This is what Transfiguration is all about. It’s a glimpse of the coming kingdom. It’s a sneak preview. We’re not there quite yet, but we can see it coming, and we’ll recognize it instantly when Jesus returns.
There’s one more conversation that takes place in Luke’s gospel before the disciples head up the mountain, and in this conversation Jesus tells the disciples he’s going to die. At this point in time, Jesus and the disciples are in the north of Israel, far from Jerusalem. But he tells the disciples he must go to Jerusalem, where he will be handed over to the religious authorities and be killed, and then three days later will return from the dead.
And hearing this, Peter says, “No Lord! God forbid! This must never happen to you!” And Jesus rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me Satan! Your mind is set on human things not divine things.”
It’s hard to hear Jesus talk like this. We don’t like to think of Jesus being angry, but he did get angry sometimes – usually when someone got in the way of people coming to know God. Remember what he said to the Pharisees: “You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” And without knowing it, Peter is getting in the way of people coming to God.
Why does Peter say what he says? He’s probably speaking out of affection for Jesus. I think our hearts at first tend to agree with what Peter is saying. We who love Jesus don’t want to see him die. We don’t want to see him suffer. Jesus is a friend, a teacher, someone we look up to, someone we want to be with.
And it’s possible Peter might have been thinking a few other things. He might have been thinking, “Jesus, you’re too good for those scribes and Pharisees – leave them alone, they’re not worth your time.” It’s possible he’s saying the disciples will defend Jesus and fight for him. Or maybe he’s saying he can’t imagine this world without Jesus in it. Any of these thoughts or feelings would do Peter credit.
But Jesus objects because, he says, Peter’s mind is “set on human things, not divine things.” God has something greater in mind than what Peter can see from a merely human perspective.
And this is true of all of us. What we see from our human point of view is always, at best, extremely limited compared to God’s understanding.
In my mind it’s like a caterpillar and a butterfly. Imagine seeing the world the way a caterpillar sees it: all of life is a tree branch. You’re born on the branch, you eat on the branch, you live on the branch. If you tried to talk to a caterpillar about the whole tree, or better yet the sky, the caterpillar would think you were nuts. There’s no such thing as tree or sky in his mind, there’s just this branch. Until one day the caterpillar makes a chrysalis and goes to sleep, and wakes up a butterfly and flies into the sky, or lands on the tree. Same creature, totally different perspective. That’s how we will be when Jesus comes in his glory.
What we know now is nothing compared to what we will know. And what we see now is nothing compared to what we will see. In Peter’s case, he did not yet know that when Jesus died he would take on himself the sins of every person who had ever lived and ever would live, and pay for those sins so we wouldn’t have to. Peter couldn’t yet see God’s plan. He didn’t yet understand that death could not conquer Jesus. Peter would understand all this someday, but not this day.
So Peter is called Satan by Jesus because he is tempting Jesus to abandon his role as Savior, and save himself. But Jesus understands and forgives even this. And he explains that anyone who wants to follow him must deny themselves, and take up their cross, and follow in his footsteps; that those who try to save their lives will lose them, but those who lose their lives for Jesus’ sake will find them. And that’s true of a lot of things in life: if we try to hold on to it we will lose it, but if we lose it for Jesus’ sake we will find it.
A few days later, Peter is among the handful of disciples Jesus invites to join him on a mountain-top. And there, the disciples see Jesus transfigured. Not just transformed – which would imply mere change – but transfigured, changed into something more beautiful, more glorious, than a mere human being. As one theologian puts it:
“Jesus’ change in appearance gives us a glimpse of not only who He truly is, but also what we have a share in as children of God.”
Change for the better – isn’t that what we all really want? Isn’t that what we’re longing for? Change for the better in our lives, in our home life, in our relationships, in our world? But the thing is, God’s plan for our lives and for this world can be difficult to grasp. And we are still in the caterpillar stage. Our main task is just to keep moving towards God. As Jesus would say, “change course and believe the good news.” Or as one Christian writer puts it:
“The more we unite ourselves with Christ in prayer, and in reading Scripture, and in acts of charity, the more we ourselves become transfigured by Jesus acting in us.”
So the transfiguration shows us both who Jesus really is, and something of what we will eventually become in God’s eternal kingdom.
So for today, there are three things I’d like to take with us.
First, we need (and all people need) to feel confirmed and encouraged. Even Jesus needed this. We need to approach this with some empathy. We, like Peter, can’t fully grasp what Jesus is planning. We can never fully understand how Jesus felt as he looked towards Jerusalem, and saw in his mind’s eye the coming confrontation with the political and religious powers of this world, and beyond that a cross with his name on it. Jesus was a man of incredible courage. Speaking as someone who gets nervous when I know I need to see a dentist, I can’t imagine what it would be like to know that in two weeks’ time I would be flogged and nailed to a piece of wood. I cannot imagine living with that knowledge.
For Jesus, the Transfiguration confirmed his calling, and all that was about to happen. If there were any doubts in his mind, and I don’t know that there were, but just in case he ever wondered “What if I’ve mis-interpreted the prophets?” – Jesus’ time with Moses and Elijah would have put any questions to rest. Luke tells us Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, “appeared in glory [like Jesus!] and were speaking of Jesus’ departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31) Moses and Elijah were able to say to Jesus, “yes, you read us right. This is what God the Father showed us. And yes you can do this – you’re the only one who can – and our words will back you up. And by the way we can’t wait to welcome you back home in heaven.”
Second, Transfiguration gives us a vision of what is to come for us. We will no longer be like caterpillars only knowing one branch of a tree. We will become like butterflies, soaring through God’s creation. In the Transfiguration, we have a glimpse of the beauty God created in each one of us, which will be revealed at Jesus’ coming. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky: the kingdom of God has already broken into our world. The revolution and the revelation have already begun.
Third, we need hear again God’s word to us who follow Jesus: “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” God makes the same point Jesus’ mother Mary makes at the wedding at Cana: “whatever he tells you, do it”. Jesus’ earthly ministry begins and ends with the same advice to us. When God says “listen to him” –we need to do it!
The disciples on the mountain-top, having seen and heard all these things, are about ready to set up tents and stay there, when all of a sudden everything returns to normal. The cloud is gone, the glory is gone, it’s just Jesus standing there, looking like he usually does; and it’s time to go back down the mountain and turn their faces toward Jerusalem. We now enter with the disciples into the dark days of Lent, and we listen as Jesus teaches about what’s coming: his betrayal, his trial, and his death, and beyond that his resurrection.
As we enter into Lent this week, and walk once more with our Lord through his suffering, may the memory of the Transfiguration stay with us to inspire us, and to encourage us with a vision of the kingdom to come. AMEN.
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Preached at Carnegie United Methodist Church, Hill Top United Methodist Church, and Incarnation Church (Anglican) in the Strip District, 3/3/19
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Exodus 34:29-35 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Luke 9:28-43 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.
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