Luke
9:28-36
Transfigured
- Transformed
"Master...let us make three
dwellings.” I thought about the temptation to which Peter fell victim as I
said good-bye to Donna this week. It
would have been really nice to find a way to build a “dwelling” where she could
have just stayed, and been part of this faith community forever.
That got me to thinking about another
dwelling – one for me! The timeline for
my departure was of my own making, but there are days when the pain of leaving
this mountaintop is too profound. And I
am tempted to start building a dwelling; where I can stay and you can stay with
me, and nothing would ever need to change.
So it is with a great deal of understanding
that I approach Peter’s suggestion for building three dwelling places,
for we have come across items of great value and importance; items and moments
in time worthy of preserving.
But building three dwelling places
would be wrong - wrong for exactly the same reason it would have been wrong for
Peter, James and John to build dwelling places.
Building shelters leads to up-keep of shelters which eventually leads to
an inability (as well as an unwillingness) to move on. As much as Peter, James, John and even Jesus
would have like to have stayed on that mountain top with Elijah and Moses they
had to move on. They had other heritages
to build; other stories to tell.
Do you have your bibles with you this
morning? It would be helpful to find the
verses appointed for this day and note the central position of this story in
the whole of the gospel. What is true
for Luke is also true for Matthew and Mark - in each this story of the
Transfiguration occupies a central position.
The events on this mountain occupy a pivotal point in Jesus' ministry,
it is the point at which it becomes clear that he must go to Jerusalem where he
will be condemned and die a martyr's death.
If you flip through your bible, and
if you have those helpful little paragraph titles, you can see that up to this
point Jesus has been traveling around, performing a few miracles and teaching
those who would listen. He has had a few
run-ins with the Pharisees and scribes, but none thus far with the Roman
authorities.
The significant event which has
occurred is the confession of Peter. You
can see that up there in the 18th verse, begins the story of Jesus
asking the disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" After the disciples report that some think he
may be Elijah or John the Baptist, Jesus gets a little more direct and asks
them, "But who do you say that I am?" To this question, Peter responds, "The
Messiah of God."
For the first time in the gospel
story, Jesus allows someone to call him by this name. Up to now Jesus has demanded silence whenever
anyone hinted they might know who he really was. He still insists they not tell others, but he
allows Peter's confession to stand. He
builds upon that confession in verses 21ff where he begins to teach them, "The
Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief
priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
Something is changing in the nature
of Jesus' ministry. No longer will he
try to hide his real mission. From this
point onward, he begins to make his way to Jerusalem and the fate which awaits
him there.
It is about eight days later
that Jesus takes Peter, James and John and goes up on the mountain. It is on that mountain that the
transfiguration of Jesus occurs.
There are two sets of interactions
going on in this text. There is the
obvious interaction between Jesus and his disciples. It is this interaction which first catches
our eye and holds our attention. This
exchange between Jesus and his disciples certainly could be the main point to
the story. Seeing Jesus there, with
Moses and Elijah, could have the effect of teaching the disciples how important
Jesus really was. But if teaching the
disciples how important Jesus really is were the sole intention of the story,
wouldn't it make more sense for Peter's confession to follow this transfiguration? He would have seen Jesus' glory, therefore
justified in called him the Messiah of God.
In this story there is the
interaction between Jesus and his disciples.
But there is another exchange going on here. Before Peter blurts out his suggestion, there
had been a conversation going on between Jesus, Moses and Elijah. A conversation, within an event which occupies
a pivotal point in the gospel story.
Could it be that the events on that mountain had the end result of not
merely transfiguring but also transforming Jesus?
After he comes down from that
mountain, Jesus is a changed man. His
way of interacting with people is different.
Something has changed about him and the drive with which he carries out
his mission.
Could it be that this visit to the
top of the mountain was Jesus' mid-way check point? Perhaps what we see here are the events which
allow Jesus to understand that Israel will never listen, that his crucifixion
is the only course? Maybe Moses and
Elijah come so as to convince Jesus that this new course will indeed fulfill
the requirement of the law and the vision of the prophets.
Whatever happened on that mountain,
we know that Jesus came down a changed man.
If you look down, to the 51st verse of chapter 9, you will
see an interesting story. Jesus sends
disciples ahead of him, to a village of the Samaritans, but when he gets there,
they will not receive him. Image that,
the people did not open their arms to the one whom Peter called the Messiah
of God.
But Luke tells us why they did not
accept Jesus. They did not accept Jesus because
his face was set toward Jerusalem.
When he comes down off that mountain, Jesus is headstrong and
confident. Nothing is going to stand in
his way. He is determined to go to
Jerusalem and there to encounter those who would refuse to hear God's
Word. There is a resolve and purpose
that has been missing thus far. He knows
what he has to do and he is ready to do it.
Could it be that the conversation
with Moses and Elijah marks the point at which Jesus becomes convinced of what
he must do? Could it be that somehow
this encounter made it clear to Jesus what he must do and how? In speaking of the Transfiguration, me must
also talk about transformations - the transformations which occur in Jesus'
understanding of his life and ministry.
The conversation exposes a direction
which must be followed.
The direction which Jesus took is so
unbelievable. Who would have thought
that the Messiah of God would be rejected and executed? It took a mountain top experience to give
everyone the courage they needed to proceed.
"Master...let us make three
dwelling places," Peter is
looking for some handle on how to respond to all of this. He has come upon such a beautiful heritage, a
wealth of insight and teachings. He
wants to stay there - with Moses, Elijah and Jesus. He is tempted to forget about the mission which
lies ahead.
But Jesus wouldn't let Peter, James
and John do that; Jesus won't allow us to stay where we are, either.
I don't think Jerusalem and
crucifixion awaits us. But I do believe
God is calling upon us to live transfigured and transformed lives. Has our encounter with Messiah served to
convince us that a new direction is possible?
Perhaps what we have shared will cause our faces to be so set on the
future church that we will be renounced by those in the villages around us. Maybe we will so embrace Jesus’ mission of
caring for the outcast and befriending the lowly that our status quo neighbors
will no longer want to hear us speak of feeding the hungry, housing the homeless,
and welcoming the sojourner.
Jesus wouldn't allow Peter, James
and John to build dwelling places; Jesus won't allow us to do so. But the one who is the Messiah of God
will go with us as together we forge a new church for all God's children.
Amen.
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