From the Daily Lectionary Friday, Feb. 5, 2021; Mark 9: 2-13 The Transfiguration
Mark 9:2-13
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
The Coming of Elijah
9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. 11 Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”
Today we find the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus in the Daily Lectionary. The three authors of the Synoptic Gospels all present versions of this story (see also Matthew 17:1-13 and Luke 9:28-36). There is also reference to the Transfiguration in 2 Peter (1:16-18). The Transfiguration is one of the Holy Days of the church year celebrated as a Feast of our Lord on August 6th. The Transfiguration Gospel is read on the Last Sunday after the Epiphany in all three years of the Book of Common Prayer Eucharistic Lectionary. We will hear this version from Mark again on Sunday, February 14th. So, we encounter this story a lot. Why is it so significant for the Church, and perhaps more importantly, what does it mean for us in our lives today?
Remember that we are in the season after the Epiphany. This is an epiphany story, and I’d like to approach it from that perspective, that it is a revelation which reveals to the disciples Jesus’ divinity, in the words of God, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” This is an echo of the voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus by John, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Although Peter doesn’t quite understand what he sees, it attests to Peter’s own confession just a few verses earlier in Mark, when he responds to Jesus’ question about who Peter thinks Jesus is with “You are the Messiah.” This story provides the most dramatic evidence of Jesus’ relationship to God in any of the Epiphany scenes in the Gospel. It also prefigures the glorification of human nature in Christ, and anticipates his resurrection and ascension. There is a lot going on here, and thus the importance of this Gospel for the Church. You’ve heard the expressions “mountaintop experience” and “‘Aha’ moments.” That’s exactly what this Transfiguration narrative offers.
Perhaps the disciples needed to see this revelation of brilliance, this manifestation that their leader Jesus is indeed divine. Surely they were confused when Jesus had just recently told them that he would be betrayed, taken by human hands that would kill him, and perhaps most befuddling of all would rise again after three days. Imagine! These disciples were expecting a Messiah who would right the wrongs of those with oppressive power over the people. They were expecting a powerful warrior-like man in the mold of King David. And now Jesus starts talking about suffering, betrayal, and death! This is where the Cross enters the picture. It is their first exposure to what the true Messiah is all about, that he must suffer and die before the glorification they were all expecting. The revelation of Jesus as the Son of God, shining in glory alongside Elijah and Moses—reflecting recognition by the prophets and the law of Jesus’ divine nature—must have on some level comforted them, despite Peter’s reaction of fear at what he had just seen. Perhaps what this means is that the promising mountaintop experience of the Transfiguration does not negate the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and death, does not remove the necessity of descending from the mountain back into the reality of what he will face in Jerusalem, and perhaps what it means for us is that we, like Jesus, must also suffer and die. That mountaintop is surrounded by valleys. We walk through them to get to the top and we walk through them on the way down. The comfort is that Jesus has walked in those valleys too, and continues to walk in them with us. And yet, like the disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration, we too have seen the mountaintop, if like them only briefly. What a gift! It is the source of our hope. Let us remember those moments. Let us keep our eyes and hearts open to see them again. Where is it that we see Christ alive and shining brightly in our lives? When do we experience those “transfiguration moments” that affirm our faith in Christ?
I want to wade briefly into the resurrection. Some Biblical scholars have interpreted the Transfiguration story to have originally been a resurrection appearance of Jesus which was later relocated into the middle of the Gospel of Mark. While the author probably did not consider this to be misplaced, the story clearly has resurrection connotations. During a recent discussion about resurrection with an insightful friend, he said that to him resurrection is a never-ending reality. Christ is alive in the eyes and hearts and minds of people, and if we look for it and are sensitive to that Presence, then we will recognize it. These are the “transfiguration moments” that help to keep moving us forward into the world around us.
Rev. Bob Donnell
Collect for The Transfiguration (BCP p.243)
O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
