Introduction
The passage we heard this afternoon is one in which we can use our senses to become involved.
In your minds climb the mountain with Jesus and his three closest disciples, Peter, James and John. Stand on the mountain top and watch as the sun rises and shines on Jesus face and clothes and as they begin to shine with their own brightness. You need to shield your eyes from the brightness. You hear again the words that Jesus spoke just six days ago: "They will see the Son of Humanity coming in his Kingdom." It is true. All that Jesus said is blinding you with its reality. He really is God's son.
Stand on the mountain top and watch as Peter and Jesus talk. Six days ago you heard Peter acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, then you heard Jesus accuse Peter of being a stumbling block. Listen now to their words of reconciliation. Note that Peter wants to hold on to this experience of glory, this vision of Heaven. He wants to stay here with these spiritual giants of the past and of the future.
Stand on the mountain and watch the misty clouds roll in. Caught by the Sun and by the light coming from Jesus himself, these clouds seem to reflect the glory of God again. Hear the voice from the cloud re-affirm what was said when Jesus was baptised: "This is my Son, the beloved". You too are convinced about Jesus.
Drop to your knees on this mountain top. The implications of what you have experienced are terrifying. The divine has touched the human. The Messiah is the Suffering Servant. God's glory is revealed. It is all too much to grasp in a flash.
Hear Jesus' comforting voice, "Get up. Do not be afraid." Feel the strength return to your body as you determine to follow this man, down from this mountain and into the struggle with violence, evil and destruction. Sense your heart racing. This truth is so obvious. Peter was right this is the Messiah. Jesus was right; the Messiah must suffer. Jesus was right; God's kingdom will come.
So What's Going On Then?
So we have set the scene. What is going on here in this reading?
In the gospels of Matthew, Luke and Mark this episode is a turning point in the life and ministry of Jesus. The work in Galilee is finished and he has received God's affirmation for this. Now Jesus must turn towards Jerusalem and all that awaits him there. His passion and death approaches.
The transfiguration is the twin of the crucifixion. Today we see Jesus raised on a mountain, robed in shining clothes, flanked by religious giants from Israel's past. Elijah and Moses conversed with God on Mount Sinai, but never saw God. Now, standing with Jesus on a mountain they see the glory of God revealed in Jesus. All is light.
In three weeks time, on Palm Sunday, we will see Jesus at Golgotha. Again Jesus will be raised, but this time raised on a cross, stripped of his clothes and flanked by two criminals. No great spiritual giants here. All is darkness.
The onlookers are named in both occasions. People were afraid in both places. Today Elijah is present, at the Cross Elijah fails to appear. As God's Son, Jesus participates in the whole gamut of human possibilities; the prophecies of doom and vindication play themselves out in his life. Jesus is both humiliated and exalted, surrounded by saints and ringed by sinners, clothed with light and wrapped in a mantle of darkness.
There are only
two occasions in the gospels where the glory of God is fully revealed in Jesus.
Here, at the transfiguration and later on in the Resurrected Jesus. This looks
forward to when the whole earth shall see his glory on his return at the end
of time.
Peter and the other disciples saw Jesus' glory on the mountain outshining the
brightness of the sun. They were judged worthy to see this foretaste of both
His resurrection and his return to earth. Jesus is seen in glory in spite of
the coming suffering and death. One day it would be known that the glory is
not in spite of the suffering and death, but in its very midst. But that had
not yet come.
So What Can We Learn From This Then?
The passage teaches us a lot about discipleship. Our reading started off with Jesus' words about the true cost of following him and continues into this marvellous vision of his glory. The two passages are as linked as is the relationship between the cost of discipleship and the promise of glory. The passage teaches us four things about discipleship: firstly the true nature of the call to follow Jesus, secondly the experience of being high on the mountain and low in the valley, thirdly the importance of joy and gladness in our faith and finally the need to listen to Jesus.
True Discipleship
The transfiguration teaches us about the true nature of discipleship.
The disciples had obeyed Jesus' call to "follow me" but had found that the following was not easy. They were told to travel light, to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom, to be hospitable and never to forget who they represented. They had been taught by Jesus how to pray and to be examples of Jesus to other. For the disciples the transfiguration was the climax of their training. It became an illustration about the nature of discipleship as it offers basic clues about what it means to follow Jesus - sharing in eternal glory only comes through earthly suffering. Each of the disciples who was with Jesus on that mountain suffered a terrible martyrs death; Peter even suffering crucifixion like Jesus.
In our world we want instant results, instant gratification. In many ways modern churches try to offer this to people. Large churches seek to give wonderful, mountain-top worship experiences with lots of emphasis on glory - and this is a good thing. However, we often forget that discipleship is about taking up our cross and following Jesus - the cross is the thing to which we will be nailed. Jesus does not promise us that life will be easy, just that it will be rewarding and fulfilling. If we are to enjoy the vision on the Mount of Transfiguration we also need to endure the vision on the Hill of Calvary.
Mountain and Valley
God is revealed to us in many ways - often in groups, in worship, in times of praise. But often we have to get away to be alone with God - to a place of quiet and solitude. For Jesus this place was always the mountain.
Most of our life is routine, everyday, and ordinary. It has a certain natural rhythm - and God is there in that natural everyday life - but the things which stick out for us are the extra-ordinary - the mountain top experiences.
In the same way, in church, we experience a certain rhythm - the structure is more or less the same each week. We may experience God in a new way in a song, a reading, a sermon, in the realisation that God is near enough to touch and hold us as we receive communion.
But every so often we have a religious experience which captures us, which transforms us and which means we can never be the same again. However, we know that we cannot keep that experience for ever, life must go on, we return from the mountain to the valley - to the ordinariness of our everyday lives.
Our journey in the valley is strengthened because of the "mountain top" experience. The experience enhances our discipleship and encourages us to become more like Jesus in what we think and say and do. The experience on the mountain top speaks to us today but we are not allowed to linger there. We are bidden to journey on to Calvary and there learn of the darkness and desolation which are the cost of the glory.
Mountain tops are not meant to be places where people live - they are places to visit, vantage points from which to enjoy the scenery, but then we must come back down the valley.
Gladness
On the mountain, in the middle of this wonderful experience St Peter said, "It is good, Lord, to be here." Sometimes when I preach in other churches or visit other denominations I look at those around me and I don't see "it is good to be here" written on their faces. Often I say "good Lord, why am I here?"
All of us need to recover the joy of being a Christian and the joy of worship. The new songs we have been learning since Neil has been leading our musical ministry have really helped us get a sense of joy, and hopefully, rhythm back into our faith. Now I don't want us to become the type of church where smiling is compulsory at the door as you come in; as that would be false. But I do want us to continue to be a place where laughter is one of our hallmarks.
Our faith is about an understanding of the love of Jesus which surrounds us and gives us joy. St Anastasius said of Peter's comment "it is good to here Lord" "Yes, Peter, it is good for us to be here with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What could be more blessed, what could be more sublime, what could be more exalted that to be with God, to be shaped into God's likeness, to dwell in the light?"
Listening To God
In the passage God said to the disciples, as God says to us, "this is my beloved Son, Listen to him." When the Bible says "listen" it means to "listen and to obey"!
How do we make time in the business of our lives to listen to Jesus? When do we give ourselves time to pray, to get away from it all - sometimes even to get up a mountain, and enjoy the quiet and stillness. Our culture, it seems, is fixated by going to the gym - by spending time working out and improving our bodies. A friend of mine, an MCC minister in America, is so faithful at going to the gym. It is amazing to seem him drive the mile there from his home, and pay a fortune to work out - oddly he could save a lot of money, and stay fit, by getting out of his car and walking a bit more!!
We need to be as enthusiastic about spending time in prayer, listening to Jesus, studying the Bible, and working out what Jesus call to us is about, as some of us are about going and working out in the gym. God says "this is my son, listen to him."
My Life Will Be Different because of this passage
The glory of God made manifest at the transfiguration gave confidence and delight to those who witnessed it. But the glorious scene was a temporary one and the road to suffering and had to be travelled first. The can be no glory without suffering for Jesus and for his disciples.
Anyone can admit to being a disciple of Jesus when all is going well - it is when we suffer, when the world stinks, when we face problems, doubts, uncertainties, when we feel unsettled that we really know if we are true disciples of Jesus or just fair-weather friends. St Paul tells us that we can share in the transfiguration glory if we are prepared to be changed and to transform our own lives (2 Cor 3:18). This transformation, this transfiguration, will be painful as our rough edges are knocked of. If we are prepared to take up our cross and follow Jesus on the path of discipleship, we will be able to understand and share more fully in the divine glory.
Amen.
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.