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The Last Sunday after the EpiphanyE. Bevan Stanley
February 26, 20197
Year A
Exodus 24:12-18
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9
From the Gospel: “Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.” In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
In every year of the three-year cycle of appointed readings in the Lectionary, on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, we hear the story of the Transfiguration. It is not hard to see why. On the one had the story summarizes the theme of Epiphany or manifestation in that this event manifests Jesus glory as the Messiah and son of God. On the First Sunday of Epiphany we hear the story of Jesus’ baptism by John when the voice from heaven declares, this is my Son, the beloved. Now on the mount of Transfiguration, that same heavenly voice repeats that declaration. Also, at this turning from Epiphany to Lent, we are about to start our journey with Jesus towards Jerusalem and the destiny that awaits him there. This experience of Jesus Glory and of God’s love will sustain us in the dark days to come.
All of this makes liturgical sense, but I invite you to join me in delving into the experience of this mountain top experience.
First, there are two mountain top experiences in our readings this morning: Moses on Mount Sinai and Jesus and the three closest disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. Why mountains? One might think that one climbs a mountain to get a better view of the terrain ahead. That we go up to see better. However, in both of these stories, on the top of the mountain we encounter clouds that obscure our view. In the case of Moses on Sinai, we are told, “Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.” And we are explicitly told that God tells Moses that God will give him stone tablets with the law written on them. Clearly this encounter is designed to authorize Moses to speak for God and transmit to the Israelites God’s instruction for them.
In Matthew, Jesus takes the initiative to invite the three disciples up on the mountain. There he is transfigured. The Greek is “metamorphosed.” His form is changed. The disciples get a glimpse of Jesus’ divine nature. Then Moses and Elijah appear. (We are not told how the disciples know they are Moses and Elijah.) These two represent the Law and the Prophets, respectively, the two divisions of Hebrew scriptures that were fully accepted as authoritative among Jews of that time. So Jesus is in conversation with the Law and the Prophets.
Then Peter blurts out the offer to make dwelling places for the three of them. It is not clear what Peter intends by this. Many commentators have taken this to mean that Peter wants to preserve this precious experience and hold onto it. However, the Greek for these structures the word for booths or tabernacles. It denotes a temporary dwelling, not a fixed one. It is the word used for the booths that are constructed in the fall harvest festival to remind the Israelites of their temporary camps in the dessert while they traveled toward the Promised Land. The booths remind God’s people that their true home is not here but elsewhere. In this earth, we are resident aliens on our way to a heavenly city.
Then they are covered in a bright cloud and their vision is obscured. They hear God declare again that Jesus is God’s son and beloved. They are overcome with fear, but Jesus touches them. At Jesus’ touch, their fear vanishes. They look up and see only Jesus alone. Jesus instructs them to tell no one about this experience, presumably because seeing Jesus is all we should need.
How do we enter into this story? How does it help us in our lives? The Collect for today offers some guidance here. It starts, “OGod, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain.” It presents the Transfiguration as a preparation for going with Jesus through his passion and death. Then comes the petition: “Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory.” There are two results for us from beholding the light of Jesus’ countenance. First we are strengthened to bear our own crosses, whatever they may be. Second, we are to be changed into the likeness of Jesus from glory to glory. Cross and glory.As is often the case, Jesus’ story is our story. Our lives as Christians are stories of transformation. Our lives are the way God is making us like Jesus. Our lives are how God is preparing us to bear the weight of glory that is awaiting us on the other side of the Jordan or in the new Jerusalem. Here is poem by Richard Wilbur called “A Measuring Worm.”
This yellow striped green
Caterpillar, climbing up
The steep window screen,
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back.
It’s as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last Things.
Although he doesn’t know it,
He will soon have wings,
And I, too, don’t know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go.
That is the Christian life.
Lent begins this Wednesday. We will be reminded on Ash Wednesday that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are mortal; we will die. We are given this experience of the Transfiguration to remind us that our mortality is not the end. Jesus has touched us and will carry us with him through death to glory. We will be transformed into the same divine being as he is himself. The Transfiguration is our sustenance and fuel to get us through Lent and Holy Week to Easter. And we will not need a consuming fire or a bright cloud or even a voice from heaven. All we need is to see Jesus by himself alone.