Transfiguration

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

- Luke 9:28-36

In yesterday's reading, Jesus asked who the crowds think He is - there were several answers to this question. When He asked His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "The Christ of God." After Peter's confession, Jesus revealed to them for the first time what He will suffer and how He will die - and He prepares the disciples with the understanding that "Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. My study bible has a long note here which I will repeat: "The Transfiguration demonstrates Jesus is the Lord of glory, despite the fact that He will later suffer and die on the Cross. Jesus' humanity was filled with splendor, was made Godlike, deified. His Transfiguration is the most evident expression of our hope for glorification in God's eternal Kingdom. St. Paul writes, "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51). And St. John writes, "We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). For eternity, we shall be like Jesus as He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration." This is quite an amazing thought in the note in my study bible, that for eternity, we shall be like Jesus as He appears here in transfiguration. I have heard it said that an eternal life in the kingdom isn't the faint, "sheer" sort of picture we have of the ethereal, but quite the opposite -- something so multi-dimensional that, if we could comprehend it, we understand that we will be added to, life intensified, or to use Jesus' words, life abundantly. I think the Transfiguration demonstrates this addition, this energy, this abundance of life that changes all things.

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah... A note reads: "Christ's Transfiguration is witnessed to by Moses and Elijah, appearing in the glory (v. 31) which reveals the transfiguration of our humanity. Moses and Elijah, as representatives of the Law and the Prophets, appear to the apostles showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament." We also get a sense (in addition to my study bible's expression of Moses and Elijah as the Law and the Prophets) of the communion of saints. Jesus is a part of a heavenly kingdom which has no end, and stretches through all of the spiritual history we can understand. He is connected with all the saints, all the times that spiritual life has or will touch upon man (the note reads, "the transfiguration of our humanity"), in many forms.

...who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. A note says, "Decease in Greek is exodos. This term makes it clear that through His death Jesus will perform an exodus from Jerusalem, in which He will deliver mankind from the slavery of the evil one. It is revealed to the disciples at His Transfiguration that He will suffer, so when they see Him crucified, they will remember this day of glory and that His suffering is completely volitional." Exodos (the word translated here as decease) can also be translated as "departure." It is, in a sense, a heavenly perspective that gives us the idea that He will leave His human life in the world. His mission here as a human being is finite, with a beginning to His ministry (His baptism in the Jordan) and an end.

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. Peter's notion is not such a crazy one as we might think. To prepare a tabernacle or a booth is to symbolically prepare a dwelling. The Feast of Tabernacles (which figures prominently in John's Gospel as Jesus appears at festivities) was the feast of the coming Kingdom, in which God is to dwell among the just. In John 1:14 ("The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us"), the Greek word for to "dwell" is from same root word translated as "tabernacle" in today's reading; it can also be translated as "tent." We understand the reality of God dwelling amongst us and an eternal presence of the Kingdom - and Peter's thought at the vision of Jesus standing with Moses and Elijah.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" As Peter thinks of the Kingdom, with Its eternal presence arriving to dwell amongst us, a great vision takes place -- that of the Trinity. The cloud reminds us of the cloud that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness - a visible sign, as my study bible puts it, of God being extraordinarily present. The Father's voice (as at the Baptism), proclaiming Jesus as eternal Son, and the dazzling light of Spirit that transfigures everything, all combine to give us a more dimensional picture of the heavenly reality that is here than the expected Kingdom in Peter's understanding. It is what is called a Theophany, an appearance of God the Trinity.

When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. A note reads, "Peter, James and John kept quiet because the Lord commanded them not to speak of this experience in those days, meaning until after the Resurrection." This extraordinary, stupendous event, revealing tremendous mysteries, remains just that - a mystery, a secret. There are times when revelation is proclaimed to all, and times when it must remain private.

I'm always amazed at the flexibility we read of in Jesus' ministry, and indeed through the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles as well in the ministry that will follow among the disciples and apostles and the evangelism of St. Paul. I use the word flexibility because while we human beings tend to make hard and fast rules about how things should happen, how things should be done, those rules just don't apply to Scripture and to the choices we see Jesus making and asking others to make, and to the ministerial careers of His followers which will come after the Resurrection. In some sense, we might approach this as paradox: a stupendous, extraordinary event like the Transfiguration - which is revealed to a chosen three disciples alone, and they are forbidden to speak of it to others. A similar thing happened with the healing of Jairus' daughter. There are no "shoulds" here (just as Peter thinks they "should" build tabernacles for Moses, Elijah and Jesus). There is only the needs of the ministry, and what must be done to truly promote this Kingdom as it dwells and grows among us. Jesus is prepared to do whatever He needs to do, to teach whatever He needs to teach, at the moment, in order to ensure the promotion and protection of this Kingdom, to fulfill - to the best of His ability - His mission in the world in his finite human life. And the same is true of what will follow in the Acts of the Apostles and the extraordinary career of St. Paul, and through the Epistles we can read in the New Testament. Let us consider, then, our "shoulds" and "should nots." Today we know this event for the extraordinary and stupendous revelation it is in the life of the church, the understanding of the Trinity, the reality of God among us. But when it happened, the few who were witnesses were told to say nothing. We recall, also, Mary the Mother of God, when her Child was born and all that took place then. Luke tell us there, "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart (2:19)." There are times for revelation and times for the private. What do you need to do today for your own spiritual welfare? What is yours to keep with "your Father who is in the secret place" or perhaps to reveal to others? How does prayer lead you - and where do you find that guidance? Think about what is best for your spiritual well-being and ask for guidance in prayer and from spiritual guidance you trust, people in your life such as pastors or those others experienced in this journey who have your spiritual welfare at heart. The power of this kingdom, while extraordinary and colossal, is also in its tremendous flexibility, its willingness to go the whole way to insure the safety of its gifts and well-being. Think carefully about what is best, and use discernment about when and where to apply the "shoulds" just as those before us have done and shown us to do. Your own "transfiguration" - and how you shine that light - is precious to God.