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

 

 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 wished, as it is written of him." 

 

- Mark 9:2-13 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.   And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  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?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He come sin the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And He said to them, "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.  After six days indicates that the events of the Transfiguration took place on the seventh day.  We recall that seven is the number of fullness, of perfection.  And what happened before those intervening six days?  Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus' revelation of the nature of His messiahship:  that He will suffer and go to the Cross.  (See yesterday's reading, above.)  Today's reading tells of of the events of Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in Greek).   The first indication of what is happening is light -- the fullness of the light spectrum in the exceedingly white, like snow brightness of Christ's clothing, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  There are other elements of light in today's reading, and all point to the revelation of Christ as God.  In some icons, this radiant light around Christ is shown as beyond white, a kind of blue-white, ineffable color, which is meant to indicate its spiritual origin.

 

And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.   Here in the appearance of Elijah with Moses, and in their talking with Jesus, are revealed a number of things.  First of all, they show the communion of saints (Hebrews 12:1), as they are recognizable to the disciples, and all converse together.  My study Bible comments that Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- since he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  It says that their presence show that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament. 

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.  In his astonishment, Peter responds with what he knows.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is the commemoration of the time Israel wandered toward the Promised Land, and dwelt in tents or tabernacles.  At the festival, they were built to symbolize God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  He grasps the presence of the Kingdom, and so suggests the tabernacles built at that Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  Note that Moses and Elijah are recognizable and known to all who witness.

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Here is a revelation of the Holy Trinity, and thus the Transfiguration is called a Theophany (a manifestation of God).   In the cloud which overshadows recalls the presence of the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness; as my study Bible puts it, "the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present."  The Father speaks from heaven, testifying to Jesus' divine identity as Son, adn the Spirit is present in the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person and overshadows the whole mountain.  

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 wished, as it is written of him."  Because they were able to recognize Elijah speaking with Christ, they now understand that Jesus is speaking of John the Baptist, who came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), as fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6.

Do you ever experience a kind of transfiguration in your life?  Sometimes we might suddenly feel we've been given a manifestation of God, a sudden recognition, a way of knowing that is not given to us through discursive reasoning or conventional sorts of proofs.  The Transfiguration is a manifestation of what is true, yet not obviously understood or known through conventional perception of the physical senses.  It is a revelation of the truth of the identity of Christ, and of various realities present to us through faith and the reality of the kingdom of God.  These things may be given to the disciples because of what they were going to experience, and through the terrible events of Christ's Passion, they would recall this experience and revelation they were given of His divine identity.  These elements of revelation or manifestation here are also gifts to us, so that we have this understanding of our faith and the Person of Christ.  But the power of transfiguration is also a part of our faith.  That is, through the divine action of grace, we are also given glimpses of what is possible for us, and the image in which we were created, which we also may manifest and fulfill through the providence of God and Christ's work in us.  We understand the notions of fulfillment and perfection inherent in the symbolism of seven days, and so we also understand our lives of faith as that which is meant to grow and evolve, as did the disciples, and also to heal, for all things must come to their fullness in Christ (Ephesians 1:10).  In this experience, Jesus reveals to the disciples not simply His own identity, but also the realities in which they will not only participate, but seek to bring into the world.  It is through these disciples that we have been brought the understanding of the Holy Trinity, and through this experience given to them by God that we can affirm Christ's divinity as well.  What we might take with us through their witness is the hope that there will be times when we are also taken to the high mountain, and to us is also revealed a sense of this great mystery in which we also participate through our faith.  Let us consider, in this context, the revelation of the communion of saints, the sense in which we are a part of a communion unbound by time or space, or even death itself.  We are a part of something which holds great mysteries,  and yet we can experience and be a part of it in very personal ways that can uplit and inspire and fill us with a sense of God's love and care.  For these gifts let us be grateful!