Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. – 2 Kings 2:1-12
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The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him. 4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Psalm 50:1-6
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2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. – Mark 9:2-9
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As you all know, today is Transfiguration Sunday! Today we remember the day when Jesus took three disciples, went up a mountain, and his appearance changed right in front of them. They were joined by Moses and Elijah, and they heard God saying “This is my son, whom I love – listen to him.”
That’s the story – that’s what happened, according to the eyewitnesses who were there. It’s a very familiar vignette.
But this year, the events in the readings leading up to this Sunday – and also on this Sunday – give a different spin to the story than we usually hear. They detail for us:
- Many ways that Jesus was revealed and made known as the Messiah to the people of Israel;
- Some background on Elijah that helps explain why he was there on that mountain
- A possible motivation for Peter’s actions on the mountaintop
- A human face on all these events
- How we might respond in faith to the words and events God shares with us in these passages
…so I’ll need to back up and briefly tie in the past few weeks.
We have been in the season of Epiphany – a word that means “revealing” or “making known”. Our scriptures this past month have focused on ‘making Jesus known’: making it known that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Redeemer promised from the beginning of the human race.
Two weeks ago, in our gospel lesson, we saw Jesus preaching at Capernaum; and we saw him interrupted by a man possessed by a demon; and we saw Jesus cast out that demon and heal the man. Mark tells us the people were amazed and astonished at what they saw and heard; and they said to each other, “no one has ever taught like this before! He teaches with authority, and not like the scribes!” So two weeks ago Jesus’ authority was revealed. …
Last week, our gospel lesson talked about what happened in Capernaum later that day. Jesus went with the disciples to the home of Peter’s mother-in-law, and when they arrived they found the mother-in-law was ill. But Jesus healed her, and she got up, and everybody had lunch together. And she and the disciples and Jesus shared a relaxing Sabbath afternoon together.
The rest of the village of Capernaum was basically doing the same thing, because it was the Sabbath, and they were probably talking over dinner about what had happened at synagogue that morning. As soon as the Sabbath was over, the entire village showed up at the door of Peter’s mother-in-law’s house, bringing with them the sick people and anyone who had demons, and Jesus healed them all.
I have to add – the streets in Capernaum are extremely narrow, and the houses are very close together, so how the entire village managed to gather at the door of this house, I don’t know. But there they were. Mark says Jesus cared for every person and healed every person. Here we see being revealed Jesus’ compassion and his power to heal.
Streets of Capernaum
Then something unexpected happened. While the whole town was basically having a massive block party, Jesus slipped away in the wee hours of the morning. Mark doesn’t say why, other than to say Jesus went to pray. I imagine after a night like this, Jesus was probably very tired and needed to recharge his batteries. God was able – and God is still able, even when we’ve been up all night – to give us a second wind. So Jesus was probably recharging. I expect he was also rejoicing – with God, his Father, in the healing of God’s people. And it seems he was also renewing – a sense of his mission here on earth.
Jesus demonstrates for us the need to spend quality time with God. If Jesus, being the Son of God, needed to pray, then certainly we do too!
Meanwhile back at the house, the disciples notice Jesus is missing, and they go looking for him. And it takes a while, but they finally find him, and they say: “Jesus, everybody’s looking for you!” And Jesus answers, “we need to share the good news in other towns and synagogues.” In a way, the disciples were saying “let’s go back” – but Jesus is saying, “let’s go on”. And in saying this, Jesus’ mission is revealed.
So over the past couple of weeks, what has been revealed to us about Jesus is: his authority, his compassion, his power to heal, and his mission. That’s a quick bird’s-eye view of the past couple of weeks.
This week the story turns darker. This week we spend time with the living and the dying.
In our passage from II Kings today, we join the prophet Elijah on the last day of his life. How Elijah knew this was his last day we are not told; but he runs into groups of prophets throughout the day who all predict his demise.
Death is an extremely personal thing. It’s not something we often talk about; but none of us can avoid it. Being born, by definition, means someday death will come.
As a pastor, I’m often called to be present when someone is seriously ill or dying, or to be with a family when someone has died. What I’ve seen is that everyone approaches death differently, and everyone experiences it differently. Death is an epiphany in a sense; it’s a revealing of a different kind.
Some people who are dying want to be surrounded by people and activity – the more, the better –like one last party! Other people prefer to have only family with them. Still others prefer just one or two quiet people nearby, maybe with scripture being read or soft music being played. And more often than you might think, some people just want to be alone in their last moments. These are all normal reactions, very much rooted in who the person is.
Elijah spent his last day on earth doing God’s work. Elijah was fortunate to have the physical ability to do that – not all of us are that lucky when the end comes near. Elijah walks – I’m not sure how many miles – from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan River. At each stop along the way, Elijah does something for God, and then he turns to Elisha and says, “stay here, I’m going on to the next place.”
But Elisha refuses to leave him. Elisha says, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” Elisha doesn’t care what it costs or what he might need to endure – he is fiercely loyal to Elijah and will not leave him to face death alone. Elijah has been like a father to him. So Elisha is staying, no matter what.
I wonder how many of us have had mentors in our lives who taught us faithfully the way Elijah taught Elisha? How many of us have friends who stand with us through absolutely anything the way Elisha did? How many of us offer friendship like that to others? Friendships of this kind are very rare and more precious than diamonds. If we have just one friendship like this in our lives we can count ourselves blessed.
As Elijah and Elisha travel on, their first stop is at Bethel (a name that means “house of God”) and the prophets there tell Elisha, “you know, God’s going to take Elijah home today.” And Elisha says basically “yeah I know – shut up”. Actually his exact words were “Yes, I know; be silent” but I think ‘shut up’ is closer to the meaning because these prophets don’t care about Elijah the way Elisha does. These prophets are spectators in Elijah’s life – they are not emotionally involved, they’re basically being nebby in the worst possible way. (When someone you love is dying, you have every right to tell people like that to shut up!)
This pattern of Elijah saying “Elisha, stay put” and Elisha saying “no way” happens three times – a trinity of sorts. The third time, they’re at the Jordan River – and Elijah takes his cloak and parts the river, like Moses did! And the two men walk across to the other side on dry ground.
Why would Elijah want to cross the Jordan into another country right before he dies? No doubt this was God’s leading. Some say it’s also because it’s near the place where Moses died. Truth is, Moses’ grave has never been found; and Elijah was never buried. So this leaves two question marks in the history of Israel.
When they get to the other side, Elijah asks Elisha, “what can I do for you before I leave?” And Elisha steps into a role usually taken by the firstborn son. He says, “my father, let me inherit a double share of your spirit” – “in other words, twice the wisdom, twice the courage, and twice the love to carry on your work.”[1] Elijah answers, “you’ve asked for a difficult thing; but if you see me as I leave, your prayer will be granted.”
Elisha’s prayer is granted. He sees Elijah disappear in a chariot of fire – fire representing God’s presence. Psalm 50 says about God: “before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him” – which sounds a lot like what Elisha saw that day.
As the vision fades, and Elijah disappears, Elijah’s cloak lands on Elisha. His prayer has been granted; and Elisha tears his own clothes in grief at the loss of his mentor and friend.
In the Jewish faith, this event makes Elijah a sign of the end times. It means he will come back someday, and his “return would signal the end of the age.”[2] Elisha’s story also gives the assurance: “[this] journey through ashes and sorrow is never for its own sake. It’s for the sake of what comes next… a radiant new life and a dazzling new world.”[3]
Hold all of this in thought and mind now; hold in mind the depth and the passion of Elisha’s loyalty, and the promise of Elijah’s return at the end times; as we turn now to the New Testament and Mark’s gospel.
In our reading from Mark today we come to familiar territory: the Transfiguration of Jesus. Up to this point, Jesus has been traveling and teaching about the Kingdom of God, and healing people, and challenging the status quo; and recently Jesus has begun to predict his death, which the disciples don’t know how to react to.
Jesus is now turning towards Golgotha, descending into the valley of the shadow of death. The disciples who travel with Jesus are about to experience a mysterious and powerful mountain-top vision, that will be for them like a torch, lighting their way[4] into the dark days ahead.
Jesus chooses three disciples to go with him up the mountain: Peter, James, and John. The Bible doesn’t say why these three were chosen, but it might have to do with the ministries the three of them will have later on after Jesus’ ascension: Peter ministering to the Gentiles, James ministering in Jerusalem, and John as he writes the book of Revelation.
As the men arrive at the top of the mountain, Jesus is changed: his clothes become dazzling white, almost too bright to look at; and a cloud comes down on the mountain-top – not unlike the cloud that came down on Mt. Sinai when Moses received the Ten Commandments.
The four of them are now joined by Moses, along with Elijah, who we’ve just been reading about: the two Old Testament leaders, representing the Law and the Prophets, whose bodies and burial places were never found – and whose lives passed directly into the hand of God.
These two men now have a conversation with Jesus about his departure. Again here’s that theme of death – we really can’t escape it! What exactly the three of them said to each other was not written down, but there’s no doubt the two men were preparing Jesus for his end. (Preparing for death is a wise thing to do, no matter who we are. Jesus gives us an example to follow.)
Peter, meanwhile, suggests putting up three dwellings – one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Most of the sermons and writings I’ve seen on this subject poke fun at Peter for saying this. They accuse him of being… clueless? Not thinking clearly? But I read something this week that says otherwise – a connection only a Jewish person would see.
This author said Peter’s suggestion is related to the Jewish Festival of Booths. The Festival of Booths is a seven-day holiday, every year, that recalls Israel’s journey through the wilderness after they left Egypt. During the Festival of Booths, people live in booths outdoors for a week as a reminder of how they lived in the wilderness for forty years on the way to the Promised Land. The Festival of Booths is a joyful holiday – a celebration of God’s deliverance, that looks forward to the Promised Land. That’s exactly what Jesus has come for – to deliver us from sin and death, and to bring us into God’s Promised Land. Peter has it exactly right.
It’s just the time isn’t quite right yet. God’s voice is heard saying, “This is my beloved son; listen to him!” And the word “listen” – in the Jewish language, shema – means not just ‘hear’ but also ‘obey’. In Jewish understanding, if a person doesn’t act, then they haven’t really heard. Then all of a sudden the vision disappears, and Jesus is alone with the disciples once more.
Jesus tells the disciples, “say nothing about this until after I’ve been raised from the dead” – the meaning of which the disciples still aren’t quite grasping – but that’s OK because they will remember it, and speak about it again after the resurrection. We also see clearly that Jesus knows that his death won’t be the end. Jesus can see beyond his grave – but for now only Jesus can; the others cannot.
On this day, the disciples join Jesus on his final journey… and so do we.
We now stand, in respect to Jesus, where Elisha stood in respect to Elijah. Will we pick up the mantle? Will we carry on the work that Jesus started – speaking God’s word, pointing people to God’s Kingdom, and doing our part to bring healing into the world? Jesus is the one and only true beacon of hope in a world that is growing darker by the minute. It is an honor for us to stand where Elisha stood. Do we love our Lord Jesus as deeply as Elisha loved Elijah?
The message from God is: “this is my son… listen to him”. As we enter into Lent this year, may we listen… and follow. AMEN.
[1] Susan K. Bock, Liturgy for the Whole Church
[2] SALT
[3] SALT
[4] SALT
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