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March 2, 2014 - Transfiguration Sunday

Exodus 24:12-18

The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them." Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

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What must it have been like for the Israelites, waiting at the foot of the mountain, as they had been instructed, while Moses went up there, and apparently disappeared into a cloud, which then became something like a devouring fire as the glory of the Lord appeared?

What do you do when it looks like your leader has been consumed by fire of some sort, and it has been more than a month since you’ve heard from him?

Our scripture says these descriptions of what the top of the mountain looked like – a cloud, followed by a devouring fire – could be seen by the people at the foot of the mountain. 

That is all they could see, and that is all they knew. And so what did they do? Well, they decided they needed to worship something they could see, could touch.  And so they threw all their gold together and made the golden calf idol. They needed a visible touchstone, something real to hold onto.

It was too hard for them to trust in a God they could not see,  a God who made them wait 40 days and nights – and ultimately 40 years – for the next steps to be revealed.

That need for something tangible is something we all can relate to, right? When something amazing or wonderful happens – whether it’s an incredible sunrise or sunset, or your extended family getting together for the first time in many years, or an ordination service, filled with old friends and new -  you want to capture the moment, don’t you?

But when miracles are extended over 40 days, or certainly over 40 years, it’s hard to tell at any given moment when something significant is happening.

Sometimes you can see it looking back. But often the best you can do is take in each moment, be present and aware of what is simply happening right now, and then practice being thankful for it, in all its ordinariness, or its uncertainties, or its possibilities. Because behind the scenes, we know that God is at work, but it’s often in ways that are just not very obvious to us.

I have a friend who is involved in a variety of forms

of youth ministry, and she refers to it as “slow-cooker ministry”, because she knows the process of creating meaning for young people (and really for all people) does not offer an instantaneous result. She knows she is providing foundational, structural things that will matter for them, in a big way, somewhere down the road.

Imagine, then, being Peter, up on the mountaintop with Jesus. He experiences firsthand this incredible vision of Jesus, shining like the sun, dazzling, standing there along with Moses and Elijah.

He doesn’t have to wait – there is something significant happening, breaking news, right in front of his eyes.

If there ever was a time to whip out the camera and capture the moment, this would be it. But with no such thing as a camera, Peter “helpfully” suggests to Jesus that he will build three booths, or tents, or tabernacles. Then they could perhaps stay up there a while, basking in the divine glow.

He can create a touchstone to hang onto, to make the moment last.

Because this divine Jesus is what Peter has just recently come to recognize and to understand. When our passage refers to “six days later”, what had happened six days ago, looking back to chapter 16 of Matthew, was that Jesus had asked the disciples “who do you say that I am?” And Peter was the one who said, “You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the Living God.” He proclaims the divinity of Christ, and is given the title of “The Rock on Which I Will Build My Church”.

But right after that experience, Jesus begins to lay out the details to his disciples of what is coming; that he will suffer and will die. Peter can’t handle that; Jesus’ humanity is showing a bit too much for him. So he blurts out, “God forbid, Lord! That must never happen!” And Jesus makes it clear that Peter must accept Jesus’ humanity as well as his divinity. “Get behind me, Satan,” he tells him.

So up on the mountaintop, Peter is glad to be clearly in the presence of the divine Jesus. He’d like to capture that moment, stay there a while. Put off what Jesus said would happen next. But while Peter is still speaking, God intervenes, affirming pleasure for this, God’s beloved Son, and declaring, “Listen to him!”

Don’t worry about building shrines.

Don’t talk so much!

Listen. Sssssshhhh. Listen.

He won’t be with you much longer.

He has things to tell you, things you must hear and understand. Listen.

When the disciples pick themselves up off the ground, at the touch of Jesus on their shoulder, they see only him. The photo opportunity is past; Jesus is alone, looking like their humble friend again, just as he did on the way up the mountain. And his first words are, “Don’t be afraid. Get up, let’s go.”

And off they go again, for this journey must continue, all the way to Jerusalem and to the cross.

Both Peter and the Israelites want to hang their hats on a tangible, singular experience – one that they can see, and capture, and hang onto. The Israelites didn’t get that, and not wanting to wait, they took matters into their own hands and created an idol instead. Peter did get the big event, but he, too, wanted to hang onto it. In both cases, what really mattered was the whole course of the journey. There was no hanging onto one significant touchstone. And nothing really made sense until all of it had come to pass, and they could look back and see God’s hand in every step of it.

How often do we try to hang the significance of our lives on one single moment or experience, one thing that seems to be the turning point upon which everything else, before and since, is based? 

The day we were married.

The moment I learned I had cancer.

When I became a parent.

When I lost my job.

When my spouse, or my child, or my parent, died.

It is human nature to see these moments as having milestone significance, and often they do.

Certainly Peter perceived the transfiguration as one of those milestone moments for Jesus, for himself. But in truth, it was one of many such moments, right along with all the miracles that happened in the midst of ordinary circumstances, and all the simple teachings that held within them such challenge, and power, and love.

Jesus didn’t take time to capture those moments. He never said to any of the disciples, “be sure you write this down”. In fact, he often said, as he did here, “don’t tell anyone about this until later, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” He knew they could not understand any of this until all of this had been revealed to them. And so they were called to follow, to listen, to recognize God walking among them, and what God was about to do, every day, every moment, all the way to the cross, to death, and then beyond, to the empty tomb, to the lakeshore, alive for all time.

And so it is that we are called, as we move into the Season of Lent, and then beyond. Follow the one who journeyed to the cross for our salvation. Listen to what Jesus tells us to do, the words of challenge and paradox and love, describing new life, good news.  Recognize how God has been revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Then trust, and as the church, the body of Christ, go tell the good news. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.