The Transfiguration

Transfiguration - Theophanes the Greek c. 1340-1410

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wishes, as it is written of him."

- Mark 9:2-13

Yesterday, Mark's gospel told us that Jesus has begun to prepare His disciples for what will happen to Him. After Peter's confession of faith that He is the Christ, Jesus teaches them what is to come, of His rejection, death and Resurrection. But it is not only for Himself that He speaks, but He also teaches that those who wish to be His disciples will follow Him in taking up their own cross. He said, " For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" He added, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Mark's gospel has just taught us both the confession of Peter (speaking for all of the disciples) that Jesus is Christ, or the Messiah, the "Anointed One." Immediately He taught them what is to happen to Him, confounding all popular notions of what the Messiah will do. He will suffer and die, and rise from the dead. But, as indicated above, He also teaches that those who wish to be His disciples must also follow Him, in self-denial for the sake of the gospel. These will enter His kingdom, "saving their own souls." But some will taste of the heavenly kingdom, "present with power." In today's scene, it is not yet a week, and Jesus takes His inner circle with Him to the mountaintop for this experience of His glory. He is between Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets. The whiter-than-white radiance is an image of transfiguration; as my study bible puts it, it is "His uncreated glory, a saving revelation at the heart of the Christian experience. The Transfiguration assures the disciples that the Messiah, who is to suffer, is also the Lord of Glory. Only His third-day resurrection is a greater sign of His divinity than is His Transfiguration." What we have, then, is an image, a taste of the kingdom, with its power of Life itself, of Resurrection, and it is a glimpse of true identity that teaches that, despite His worldly suffering, and the image of vulnerability that creates, His is truly the kingdom of God. It is a revelatory experience, a divine gift to those who have the experience -- and to us.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. To build a tabernacle (or booth, or tent) is in a sense here to build an earthly dwelling, albeit temporary, for these great pillars of a spiritual kingdom. The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles would commemorate Israel wandering in the desert, the gift of liberation and the Ark of the Covenant that held the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The tabernacles then suggest the dwelling place of God in the world -- of Yahweh and the Kingdom. But Jesus' kingdom will not be one that exists only in a tabernacle or special place, and this mountaintop experience is a revelation that will come to all. My study bible notes the immediate recognition by Peter of Moses and Elijah: "This is a glimpse of the glory that is to be revealed (Rom. 8:18), where introductions will not be needed."

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. And this is the true mountaintop experience, such as Moses on the mountain, with the cloud a sign of theophany; as my study bible puts it, "the presence of God the Father." It adds, "This revelation is for the benefit of the disciples, that their faith should be firm. For they are called to believe not only in Christ but in what is to come, the eternal Kingdom. The Greek verb for hear is in the present imperative form, meaning 'listen always.'" And just as suddenly as this sign of the Presence of God has happened, it is gone.

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wishes, as it is written of him." And here we have a full picture of the reality of this Life of Christ, lived in our world as a manifestation of God in human form. He will fulfill the prophecies about Him. He will suffer, and He will also rise from the dead, a thing incomprehensible to them at this time. The return of Elijah is also fulfilled, in the person of John the Baptist, who has also suffered and died a gruesome death, in horrible circumstances at the hands of the power of this world.

The fullness of this picture, of radiant glory beyond our understanding, the revelation of God, the experience of the power of the Kingdom -- together with the prophecies of suffering, death and Resurrection -- teaches us the full story of Christ in our midst, His saving mission in our world. It is connected with all appearance of God in the Scriptures, with Moses on Mt. Sinai and with the Prophets and all manner of God at work in the world through the Holy Spirit. It is also, as theophany, an invocation of the Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit. And yet, the full story isn't complete without the suffering of both Elijah who has returned and also Christ who will be rejected and killed. None of this story is possible without all of the elements present, the full experience of these men and the mission entrusted to them of the kingdom and of this gospel. We have, with us, a God of full glory and power, who yet shares life with us, and the persecution and oppressions of the "ruler of this world." But life itself, and our lives in this world, are fully transfigured here in this expression of God's love and revelation of the divine, because here, God gives us fully a sense of the true kingdom. This is more than a sign in a healing, a merciful saving. It is, in fact, a revelation of glory and power, a real "breaking through" of the full energies of God for our experience. It takes us beyond what has already happened to something new: a sign of the coming of the kingdom, and of our full participation in it as those who will help in this mission to bring the kingdom into our world. Not only does Christ share our lives in the world, but He also shares His very Life with us. And so, this Messiah is not to establish a kingdom of conquerors who rule, of immediate justice and perfect life, but one that is brought in for those who truly want it and will share in its saving mission of grace. He is fully human and fully divine, and we in our humanity also share in His kingdom and manifest it in the world through faith, through following Him and taking up His cross. Can we deal with this paradox and embrace it, and find it for ourselves? Can we accept it all, the full story? How does it break through into your life today, and each moment, as the full, whole life of faith we share with Him, and He with us? In His transfiguration, Christ gives us all meanings and values and witnessing, even in our very lives in this world -- and offers us the same transfiguration for ourselves and our full experience of life, even our experiences of suffering. Can we take up His cross?