Last Sunday after Epiphany
Readings – Exodus 34: 29-35; Psalm 99; II Corinthians 3: 12-4: 2; Luke 9: 38-34a
From the Gospel according to St. Luke:
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased”. (3:21-22)
Please note – as Jesus was praying, the heaven opened, and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased”.
In today’s reading, from the same Gospel, we again find “while [Jesus] was praying”, and we again find from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him”.
Scholars note that the words at baptism were directed to only Jesus, while the words at the Transfiguration were directed to Peter, James and John. However, both were framed in the context of prayer. For St. Luke prayer connects directly with God; prayer enables the word of God to be heard. So, as we enter the Lenten season, times of prayer are essential for people of faith. Times of deep prayer begin with setting aside a place and a time. Times of deep prayer continue with our words from prayerbook, from devotional material, from memory. Yet, times of deep prayer also include moments when our tongues, our minds and our hearts are stilled, so that we may hear words from God. Our setting a time, a place and our prayers prepare us for God’s words to us.
As Jesus prayed on the mountain top, much like Moses in the Old Testament reading, Jesus glowed, even his clothes became dazzling white. Yet, unlike Moses, Jesus did not hide his face with a veil. Instead, Jesus went down the mountain and waded into ministry among the people. He continued ministry, curing a young man who suffered from convulsions. There were no tablets of stone, like Moses. Rather, there was the healing touch of Jesus.
For Jesus, prayer led to engagement in ministry, in wading into the crowds again, and again, and again. His glowing face engaged the people.
Often lost in the story of the Transfiguration is the three disciples, Peter, James, and John, and their response. They were moved by the experience, moved to propose building “three dwellings”, perhaps better rendered as “three monuments” or “three memorials”. Peter was probably thinking about something permanent, like the stone tablets of Moses. The correction came immediately, not monuments, not memorials, not dwellings.
This is my Son, my beloved; listen to him.
To this day we have no idea where the Transfiguration took place, no markers were ever placed.
Also, on that mountain top Jesus was at first speaking with Moses and Elijah, the primaries of the Old Testament. When the voice of God declared, “Listen to him”, they disappeared. In St. Luke’s understanding, listening to Jesus superseded Moses and Elijah, superseded the Old Testament law and the prophets.
Peter, James, and John, they listened to Jesus, they followed him down the mountain, back to the awaiting crowds. They eventually followed him to Gethsemane, to Calvary. It was not until the first Easter dawn, not until the stone was rolled away, not until the empty tomb, not until the gathering in the upper room, that Peter, James and John truly understood the words spoken on that mountain top –
This is my Son, my beloved; listen to him.
In our reading from II Corinthians, St. Paul followed up on the Transfiguration story, calling upon the congregation to “act with great boldness” because “the veil is removed”.
St. Paul declared that there is now, through Jesus no veil, no separation between God and the people of God. By inference, as the people of God connect with God in prayer, their faces would glow.
T.V., internet and print media are filled with advertisements for products to make our faces glow as well as to decrease the wrinkles of time. Rather, I suggest that even wrinkled and worn faces can glow when infused with the energy of God, with the purpose of God, with the mission of God. Old man Moses glowed with energy, with purpose, with mission. Jesus glowed with energy, with purpose, with mission. And so do we, so do we as we reside in deep prayer with our God, and are infused with energy, with purpose, with mission.
One final thought on this Transfiguration Sunday, how did God address Jesus by the waters of baptism and on the mountain top? As the beloved, as the cherished. As we are the current Body of Jesus, the current day Body of Christ, we are also God’s beloved, God’s cherished! As we enter into deep prayer, and as we enter into sacred times with our God, we are indeed God’s beloved. As we reach out our arms to receive blessed bread and blessed wine, we are indeed God’s beloved; we are indeed God’s cherished.
Know this deeply. Live this fully, today, tomorrow, and for eternity.
We are the beloved of God. Glow with God, infused with energy, with purpose, and with mission.
Cherished of God, glow, and light up your neighborhood. Light up your world.
Amen
