Sermon - Transfiguration Sunday

2024-2-11 Transfiguration 

2 Kings 2:1-12              2 Corinthians 3:12-13, 4:1-6              Mark 9:2-9 

O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you my rock and redeemer. Amen. 

Peter, James, and John are selected by Jesus to go with him up the mountain. A question we might ask is “Why these three?” “Why are these three men chosen to accompany Jesus up the mountain?” As we read the Gospels, we note that Jesus does single them out to witness events that the others are not privileged to see. In Mark 5, Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter. The daughter was dead.  When Jesus went into the room where she was laid, he only allowed Peter, James, and John to join him and the girl’s parents. The other disciples had to stay behind. 

Again, after Jesus had instituted the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and the disciples went to Gethsemane. Jesus told the disciples to stay where they were while he went on a bit further to pray.  Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him as he prayed those most anxious of prayers because this was the night when his passion would begin. Peter, James, and John, before they fell asleep, witnessed Jesus offering prayers filled with profound human anxieties.  As Mark 14 reports , “And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  

Those two events, along with the Transfiguration, gave Peter, James, and John a deeper sense of who Jesus is and what his purpose is. 

Why were they selected?  It could be that they are especially spiritually responsive.  Peter did, after all, according to Mark 8, confess that Jesus is the Christ.  Or, it could be that these three had hardly distinguished themselves above the rest. For example, there are numerous examples that Peter speaks before thinking. And he did get into an argument with Jesus right after confessing him as the Christ when Jesus revealed that the Christ must suffer and die. And it is Peter that denies Jesus three times after his arrest. 

James and John aren’t exactly rising to the top either.  In Luke 9, the brothers engaged in some unholy wrath.  Jesus was just rejected by a Samaritan village. In verse 54, Luke reports that when James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them.” Us? Really? Give them a little power and it goes immediately to their heads. Luke also reports that Jesus turned and rebuked them.

Elsewhere, Matthew, Mark, and Luke report that an argument arose amongst the disciples about who was the greatest. You can bet that Peter, James, and John were in the thick of the one upmanship. 

My thought is that Jesus has already selected Peter, James, and John to be leaders in the church when the Day of Pentecost comes. But, they clearly needed to mature. By including them in these three events, they are getting a unique perspective. When they spiritually mature and reflect upon all that they have witnessed and experienced with Jesus, those three events are going to increase their faith. Someone I read this week wrote, “They were to witness his greatest glory on earth, but also his deepest degradation. Both required the fuller faith.” (Ylvisaker) The fuller faith will come with the Resurrection appearances, the Ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

The transfiguration of Jesus is a gift to the Apostles and to us. We see who and what exactly is going to take up the cross in our behalf. In the transfiguration, the divinity of Jesus shines forth. The Greek word that is used to describe the transfiguration is “metamorphow.” This is a combination of two words. “Morphe” is the root.  R. C. H. Lenski says that the Greek noun Morphe “always denotes the essential form, not a mask or transient appearance, but the form that goes with the nature.” 

As we confess in the creed, Jesus is both human and God.  He is born of the virgin Mary and at the same time he is God. Jesus was and ever is the eternal Son of God. The transfiguration illustrates this truth. The Apostles are blessed beyond words to receive this epiphany. It is no wonder that on the way down the mountain, Jesus forbids Peter, James, and John from talking about this with the others until after the resurrection.  They are going to need the perspective of Jesus’ passion, the resurrection, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit to get their minds around this holy mystery. 

Then, there is the added bonus of Elijah and Moses. Why Moses and Elijah?  Moses received the Law from God’s hand.  Moses represents the Law. Elijah serves to represent all the prophets. The Gospel of Mark does not say what Moses, Jesus, and Elijah are talking about, but Luke does.  Luke adds the detail “they spoke about his departure which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” The Law and the prophets agree with the plan that Jesus would go to His death in Jerusalem. 

I cannot imagine what I would have done if I experienced the transfiguration.  I would hope that I would be quiet, reverent, and watchful. But, Peter chose not to be.  He is compelled to speak. He interrupts Moses, Elijah, and Jesus talking.  

He says that he wants to build a memorial to all three. He wants to freeze the moment.  Some have suggested that what he really wanted to do was to stop all the talk about Jesus dying in Jerusalem.  Six days earlier, Peter had disagreed with Jesus when he said that he must suffer, die, and be raised on the third day. Perhaps he was trying to change the subject. We don’t know.  What we do know is what the gospels tell us.  A cloud suddenly enveloped them and our heavenly Father spoke.  He interrupted Peter.  Father God announced “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.” Yes. Listen. The way forward is Jerusalem and the cross. 

Many of us identify with the disciples and their various gaffs, stumbles, and falls. We see ourselves in them. Many of us come here today with an awareness that at certain points this week, we have not exactly risen to the top either. We struggle with our faith. We have fallen short of God’s demands. We did not share Christ through Word and Deed when we could have. We have thought only of ourselves. We have sinned by loving ourselves long before we had a concern for God and our neighbor. We might even have done a Peter like thing such as not listen to God or those around us when we should have. Despite our sins, God loves us anyways.  Jesus took on our human flesh so that God could show us mercy. Our Heavenly Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit desire to forgive us. God eagerly awaits our confession of sin. Christ Jesus died on the cross so that we can receive his forgiveness for our sins. We trust in His promises. 

In the liturgical life of the church, the Transfiguration concludes the Epiphany season. What have we learned in the Epiphany season?  Learning about Jesus informs and deepens our adoration and worship of the LORD. In the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, we learn anew how Gentiles will point to the Christ. The Magi who come to the infant Jesus are not Jewish, but Gentiles.  Jesus is born for the salvation of all peoples of the earth regardless of ethnicity or nation or language. In the Baptism of Jesus, we learn that our heavenly Father claims Jesus and proclaims his pleasure in the obedience of the Son. We see that the Holy Spirit is upon Jesus.  The second person of the holy Trinity has the support and encouragement of the Father and the Holy Spirit.  In fact, we are told that Jesus says and does nothing except what the Father has told him to do. 

In the readings for the Epiphany season we learn that Jesus has a unique authority.  He has the Authority to call the Apostles to follow Him.  He has the Authority to alter the trajectory of people’s lives.  Where a person might normally live the rest of his life with a disease or physical handicap, or suffer day and night with pain, or be inflicted by the horrors of a demon, Jesus has the Authority to heal the sick, restore people to good health, cast out demons, bring peace to people’s minds and hearts. Jesus has the authority even to forgive people of their sins. 

As we prepare for Lent, we call to mind what Epiphany teaches us.  The one who journeys to the cross, goes for us.  He has the authority to take our sins upon himself.  His death on the cross makes our salvation possible. He dies so that we might live with the freedom of forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life with our LORD in heaven. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.