February 11, 2024 Sermon
Sermon title: “The Transfiguration”
Scripture: Mark 9:2-9
(Other lectionary suggestions include II Kings 2:1-12, Psalm 50:1-6, and II Corinthians 4:3-6.)
Mark 9:2-9
The Transfiguration
2Six 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, 3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then 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.” 6He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9As 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.
No matter what your view is on religious things, I 'll bet none of us here thinks that the Bible is a comedy! There is humor in our Holy Book (if you know where to look!), but I'm sure we'd all agree that Holy Scripture is a serious writing (or writings), and the point is not to make us laugh but to make us think, or to fall on our knees in reverence. But look at today's Scripture lesson: Peter's behavior is almost comical, and we are even told that he didn't know what to say! The reason I point this out is that SOMETHING happened up there on the mountain top, and the fact that Peter behaved the way he did almost PROVES something special happened up there. If you were going to INVENT such a story, you wouldn't show the Great Fisherman acting so weird! No, something happened on that mountain top - but the question is WHAT.
If we re-trace our steps, let's figure what has happened so far. We are in Chapter 9 of Mark. A chapter earlier Jesus has told his disciples that he must be betrayed into the hands of sinners and be killed. When Peter tries to dissuade him, Jesus tells him, “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus goes on to say that anyone who wants to follow him must pick up his cross daily. All of this had to be hard for the disciples to hear. Perhaps they did not yet understand what they had signed on for. So perhaps this story of the Transfiguration happens to show his three main disciples exactly who he is and perhaps give them a boost in morale. Also, maybe Jesus takes them up to a high mountain top so that they will REMEMBER this experience once the going gets rough.
Have you needed and received a little spiritual boost in your own life? I hope so. Some people go through life never seeing or feeling the hand of God. Some of us live such tough lives that we almost BEG God to show us a sign in order to get us through the next day. Harlane has a sign in her office that says, “A bad day lasts only 24 hours.” I like that, because it's a little reminder that whatever awful thing we're dealing with now is not going to last forever. Maybe that was what Jesus was doing with Peter, James, and John: hoping that they'd remember this day when things got rough later.
Something else: as wonderful as this moment on the mountain top was, it did not last forever. Peter maybe was TRYING to lengthen its time by offering to build booths or tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. But we are told that that wonderful moment disappeared almost as fast as it had come upon them. And that reminds me of something else: we can't limit God and demand that He stay with us longer. Jesus says something like that in another context when he says the Spirit moves where it wills, almost like the wind. You and I aren't running things - GOD is! And God moves when and where He wills! To me, it's like having a wonderful dream: it ends too soon, and no matter how hard we try to reconstruct that dream, we can't do it. I am reminded of that song about Maria in “The Sound of Music.” “How do you explain a person like Maria? How do you......?” And there's the phrase, “a will-o'-the wisp”, (something). And the song ends with these words, “How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?” Indeed, how do you? You can't! And you can't command God to do something, either! He's there, and then He's not. We yearn for God's presence....but just because we yearn for it doesn't mean we're going to get it when we want it! We have lots of musical entreaties, such as “Come Thou Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Come”, a Russian number which I sang in a college group. But just because you beg the Holy Spirit to come to you is NO guarantee that He'll be there when we want or need Him. That may also be a point in today's Scripture reading.
The way I write my sermons is like this: I usually like to write a page or so, and then think about things for a few hours. This past Friday, as I thought about this sermon, it occurred to me that not only did the disciples need some reassuring -- so too did JESUS! Before today's story of the Transfiguration, Jesus had to have been frustrated with his followers JUST NOT GETTING WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. So, he may have wondered if HE had chosen the right people, and this meeting with God, Moses, and Elijah on the mountain top was for JESUS'S benefit, too, not only the disciples. One of the other accounts of the Transfiguration mentions Jesus's “departure” from Jerusalem, meaning, of course, his death and resurrection. In that account, Jesus wanted to be sure he was doing the right thing, and apparently he felt that he was after his encounter with God, Moses, and Elijah. To me it is interesting that Jesus needed encouragement, too, right up until the end. Let us not forget that: our Lord had his doubts, too, right up until the end.
You may have heard me say this before, but the fact that Moses and Elijah were on that mountain top means something: Moses represents the Law, which he received from God on Mt. Sinai, and Elijah represents the prophets. And do you recall the statement by Jesus in another context? Somebody asked him what was the Greatest Commandment, and he said there were TWO: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and the Second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus says, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.” Well, look who's here in today's Scripture reading: Moses and Elijah, who represent all the Law and the prophets!
Now here is something which I have NOT said before, and that is that Moses and Elijah somehow ended their lives on earth in an Unconventional way! Neither died in the “proper” way, if there IS a proper way to die! Both of them had sort of disappeared from view rather than dying in the traditional way, surrounded by loving family and friends. Guess what: Jesus had a “strange” death, too! I mean, he suffered crucifixion and died.....but he didn't stay dead, did he? And now look: in the Transfiguration he appears with these other two guys who died in a “different” way! Mark isn't trying to say that Moses and Elijah are divine - but those two share something with Jesus, and it's a special relationship with God! And not only that, but the association of Jesus with those two Old Testament greats means (in Mark's mind, at least) that Jesus is the Messiah, the one true prophet, the one who is doing and speaking the truth.
I'll close with a quote from N. T. Wright: “(E)ach of us is called to do what the heavenly voice said: Listen to Jesus, because he is God's beloved son. And as we learn to listen, even if sometimes we get scared and say all the wrong things, we may find that glory creeps up on us unawares, strengthening us, as it did the disciples, for the road ahead.” Amen.
Pastor Skip
