March 6th, 2011
Epiphany Last - Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-9
2nd Peter 1:16-21
(prayer)
Today is the final Sunday in the season of Epiphany. The root meaning of the word ‘epiphany’ is an appearing or a manifestation. We use that name because this season after Christmas begins with the story of the magi observing the appearance of a star in the sky signifying to them that a new king was born in Judea.
Throughout these past nine Sundays, we have been reading scriptures that focus on new things that happened around Jesus during his ministry: baptism, calling disciples and the hope preached during the Sermon on the Mount. In a symbolic way, we can say the star light got our attention and then Jesus continued to shine light on a path for people to follow.
The season of Lent begins this coming Wednesday. Each year, Lent is the forty days (plus Sundays) that lead up to Easter. Lent gets its name from the Olde English word for ‘lengthen’. Even though the exact dates of Lent vary from year to year, in the northern hemisphere (where Christianity developed), Lent always falls during the lengthening days of spring – the time when, in our part of the world, light makes a comeback – days begin earlier and end later: a bit more each day. Okay, it may not feel like spring yet, but you have to admit that the days are getting longer.
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‘Light’ is a dominate image within our scriptural tradition. It is the first concept of the first book in the Bible. The ancient storytellers imagined that existence begins with a word: light. Into the chaotic, dark, churning, formless void, God said, ‘let there be light’. And in a word, creation is brought into perspective, as light and shadow interact.
From our oldest stories, light is a powerful metaphor for God’s interaction with us and our world.
A psalmist compared the Word of God to a light, saying ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path’ (Ps 119:105). This picks up on light’s ability to guide and show a way. We know what a candle or a flashlight can do to a dark, uncertain place. Light give ‘certainty’ a chance.
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Light-imagery is powerful because the wonder of light is basically a universal experience for all surface-dwelling creatures. From before history, we have known the wonder of light.
The sun warms and aids in growth. The visible moon and planets and stars have observable patterns that help predict seasons.
The mastery of fire, brought humanity the ability to continue conscious life into the night time: the light of campfires, candles, lanterns, and eventually electric lights allow us to see beyond what was naturally possible.
Light metaphors are prominent in our everyday language: to shed light on a subject means to be shown something new; to see the light is to discover something new (often used to describe ‘finding faith’); illumination is synonymous with understanding.
Light > guide and knowledge; path and understanding.
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Light (in all its metaphoric glory) is central in today’s Biblical passages.
From Matthew:
1Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.
The first question we might ask is what happed six days earlier? Chapter 16 in Matthew includes a section often called Peter’s Confession. Jesus had asked his disciples ‘who do you say that I am?’ It was Simon Peter who blurted out: ‘you are the Messiah!’ Then Matthew records:
21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ 23But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
24Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
It was six days after shedding light on the life and death challenges that Jesus and his followers were facing that John, James and Peter envisioned Jesus’ face shining like the sun and his clothes appearing dazzling white.
The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is filled with marvellous imagery and meaning beyond whatever experience these four men had on that mountain top.
The presence of Moses and Elijah on the mountain with Jesus is a strong symbol in and of itself. Both Moses and Elijah were key leaders from the faithful history who had endured rejection by the people, but had been met with wonderful support by God. Together they are symbolic of the whole of the Hebrew tradition: Moses the giver of the law and Elijah the first great prophet.
To be in their company elevated Jesus to a level of leadership that must have astounded the disciples. For Peter, maybe he began to imagine the depth of what was meant by his saying ‘you are the Messiah!’ Here before them was Jesus standing head and shoulders with the pillars of tradition (the Law and the Prophets) and Jesus shining so bright among them that it almost defies description.
I find it interesting that the word used in this passage for transfigured (metamorpho’o) is used here quite literally: Jesus appears physically changed before the disciples’ eyes. Elsewhere in the New Testament, this same Greek verb is often translated, in a more-than-literal way as, transformed – indicating a deep change within a person (i.e. Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. )
For that (I believe) may be the most significant aspect of the story – not that Jesus was transfigured, but that his disciples were transformed.
Ever the pragmatist, Peter was prepared let the moment last as long as possible – “Let me put up three tents”. Peter’s plan was interrupted by a mysterious voice from the cloud (a deliberate echo to Jesus’ Baptism [Mt 3:17): ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ This display of Glory was too much for Peter, James and John, they hit the ground in fear and awe: hiding their face from the Glory of God (not unlike Moses had done in the cleft of the rock 1300 years earlier). The next voice they heard was familiar: ‘Do not be afraid, you can get up’ Jesus told them. Then 8when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
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The transfiguration was destined to be just a glimpse of Glory for as soon as the scene was set, it was gone.
The transfiguration was over, the transformation was just beginning.
The transfiguration was a moment in time – transformation became a way of life.
It is interesting to see that this transformation among John, Peter and James was not instant. That’s good news for us when we struggle with our faith. If we find things hard from time to time, we are in good company – even Jesus’ inner-circle had their ups and downs.
Later in the gospel narrative, these same three disciples are invited deep into the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus as he prays. Although he asks them stay awake with him, they fall asleep ... not once, but twice (Jesus didn’t even bother to wake them up the second time he found them sleeping):
Transformation-In-Progress.
What began when they were called away from their fishing boats, continued in the dazzling light on the mountain top and in the darkness of the Garden for Peter, James and John.
Most biblical scholars date the two New Testament letters of Peter from the late first century, likely after the death of Peter. Although it may seem deceitful for us in the 21st century, it would not have been the case in the late first century to have Peter’s successors to continue to write in his name and share the stories and lessons he had taught them. I like to assume that we are hearing the sentiments of those first disciples in our second reading for today:
16...we had been eyewitnesses of [our Lord Jesus Christ’s] majesty... 19...You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Notice: more light imagery!
Being transformed was a lifelong experience for Simon Peter and the sons of Zebedee.
And so it is for us!
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Along the path of our life, we may catch glimpses beyond ‘what we know’:
A moment of clarity;
A light bulb over the head experience;
A revelation;
The view from the mountain top;
Snippets of the possibility that we are not alone, that we live in God’s world.
We may see it in nature; or having read words of wisdom; we may find it through meditation or dreams; we may see it in others; it may hit us unexpected as we work or play, perhaps we have been inspired by scripture; or in countless other ways – obvious and subtle.
For most of us, these are (at best) ... glimpses. After the fact, we may not even be sure what to make of it.
My hope (for me and for all of us) is that we let our hearts and minds wonder if we have brushed up against the boundary between the human and the divine. Peter must have been there when he couldn’t contain his confession that ‘[Jesus] is the Messiah’.
Six days later, he hoped to make that glimpse last longer – I’ll set up tents – stay on the mountain where things start to make sense. But no – he (and we) are called to live in the valley, where the memory and the instilled-hope of the mountain top experience is still active within us, changing us – slowly sometimes, but surely.
Maybe this naturally slow flow of faith is behind what scholars call ‘The Messianic Secret’. We see it here in Matthew 17 and elsewhere in the gospels, where the disciples are told not to talk about their glory-glimpsing experience. Perhaps Jesus knew that it would be a good thing to let what had happened percolate within John, James and Peter for a while.
Faith for many of us is a complex mix of small experiences that mean more together than they can individually.
Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
Faith is a progressive thing; a journey, a path endeavour. From time to time, the light shines consistently enough that we feel very comfortable and connected. Other times, we are may have to be guided by the memory or the promise of light. Sometimes things are so overwhelmingly bright that all we can do is fall down and hide our face.
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There are many glimpsing experiences: having the common theme that we are loved and cared for beyond ourselves.
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I am sure that for many of you (if not most of you) it was these kind of glimpses that sparked your interest in your spirituality: a spirituality you seek to grow and nurture by coming to church; and it is in this same hope that (when leaving this shared space) you are enlivened/enlightened in some way to bring hope and beauty into your life and into the lives of others.
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So here we are, having come down the mountain, with the transfiguration of Jesus as just a story to tell, but with the transformation of our own hearts to experience daily and to make manifest in the world.
Thanks be to God.
Let us pray:
Holy God, when we seek you, meet us. Help us to notice the glimpses of glory all around us. Amen
**Offering**
