A Moment of Revelation - A Sermon on the Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Exodus 24)

Matthew 17:1-9, Exodus 24:12-18

This morning we return to the Mount of Transfiguration. We looked at Luke’s version back in February, and now we turn to Matthew’s version of the story. This version, like Luke’s, invites us to experience a moment of revelation as Jesus is transfigured and transformed. 

Matthew invites us to ponder Jesus’ identity. He invites us to ask: Who is this Jesus we claim to follow? And, how is God present in and with him?

The story of the Transfiguration takes us to one of those “thin places” where the metaphorical membrane separating heaven and earth becomes transparent and we can see the things of God more fully and clearly. We get to see Jesus unveiled, with his full identity shining through, even if only for a moment.  

Matthew tells us that the Transfiguration event takes place six days after the conversation recorded in Matthew 16. In that chapter, Jesus asks the disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded to that question with what we call the Good Confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Of course, we quickly learn that Peter doesn’t fully understand the meaning of his words.   

So now it’s six days later and Jesus decides to climb a mountain. He takes Peter, James, and John with him. What happens on the mountain raises the question once again as to Jesus’ identity. If we’re going to understand the meaning of this mountaintop event, we’ll need to open ourselves up to the possibility that there is more to our reality than meets the eye. Then we can comprehend the glory and majesty of the God who is present to us in Jesus.

Writer Madeleine L'Engle, offers this poetic vision of the Transfiguration:    

Suddenly they saw him the way he was,

the way he really was all the time,

although they had never seen it before, 

the glory which blinds the everyday eye

and so becomes invisible. This is how 

he was, radiant, brilliant, carrying joy

like a flaming sun in his hands.  

This is the way he was—is—from the beginning, and we cannot bear it.

So he manned himself, came manifest to us; and there on the mountain they saw him, really saw him, saw his light.

We all know that if we really see him we die. 

But isn't that what is required of us?

Then Perhaps, we will see each other, too.

[Madeleine L'Engle, Glimpses of Grace, (San Francisco:  Harper-Collins, 1996), 64.

As we try to imagine the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration, it might be helpful to consider a parallel scene in the Exodus story. In that story, God invites Moses to come up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone on which the commandments are inscribed. When Moses reached the top of the mountain the “glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai,” and a cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day, God called to Moses from the cloud, and the “appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights” (Ex. 24:12-18). 

When Moses returned from the mountain with the Tablets of the Law, his face radiated from being in God’s presence. Because the Israelites were afraid to look at him, Moses veiled himself so that he could reenter the community (Ex. 34:29-35).        

As I read these two stories together, what seems apparent is that Moses’ radiance is a reflection of his encounter with God in the cloud, while Jesus’ radiance reflects his true identity. That is, what the disciples see is God’s presence in Jesus fully unveiled. To use an analogy. Moses is like the moon that reflects the light from the sun, while Jesus is the Sun.  

It’s at this point that Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. Representing the Law and the Prophets, they serve as a witness to God’s revelation embodied by Jesus.    

As is often the case in the Gospels, Peter doesn’t know what to make of this experience. He reacts like many of us do when we’re around famous people.  Although he’d spent quite a bit of time with Jesus, he’s overwhelmed by the appearance of Moses and Elijah. After all, these are two of the most significant figures in Judaism and here they are talking with Jesus. That must mean Jesus is someone really important. So, Peter responds to this sight by blurting out: "Lord this is wonderful!  If you want me to, I'll make three shrines, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah  (Matt. 17:4 NLT 1996).  I quoted from the New Living Translation, which uses the word shrine. That’s a perfectly legitimate translation of a Greek word that can mean shrine or tent. While we can’t be sure what Peter has in mind here, Moses and Elijah surely would be worthy of a shrine, but might Jesus also be worthy of a shrine? I think Peter is beginning to put two and two together. 

It’s also possible that Peter wanted to prolong the experience by offering to put up shelters for the three figures. That way they could stay a bit longer on the mountain and take in this glorious sight. Thomas Keating, who was, prior to his death, a Cistercian monk who writes about contemplative prayer, writes this about the Transfiguration:  

If we perceive the divine presence in some facsimile of this clarity, we are fascinated, absorbed, and delighted. Peter's response was to want to stay there forever. The more profound the experience of union, the more one cannot help but wish to prolong it.  [Reawakenings, (NY:  Crossroads, 1992), 117.]

When you have a profound mountaintop encounter with God it’s easy to lose interest in the world below. That seems to have happened to Peter who wants to stay put and take in the glory that surrounds him. I think we can understand how he felt at that moment. It’s difficult to descend from the mountain after you have an experience like this.

Although Peter got caught up in Jesus’ transfiguration and conversation with Moses and Elijah, what happened next was even more mind-blowing. Even as Peter made his offer to build the shrines, a cloud descended on the mountain just like in the Exodus story. Then a voice spoke from the cloud the same words first heard at Jesus’  baptism: "This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.  Listen to him" (vs. 5 NLT 1996). Even as they heard God’s voice speaking from the cloud, they notice that Moses and Elijah have departed from the mountain. Now that they’re alone with Jesus, they hear the divine voice demand that they listen to Jesus. That’s because Jesus is the one who will speak for God in this new age. He is the new law giver and the new prophet. 

As we ponder this scene, Thomas Keating again offers a helpful interpretation:  

Listen not just to his words to which they had been listening when they were on the plain, but "listen to him," the divine person who is speaking to you.  Listen to the divine presence that is incarnate in this human being. Listen to the infinite Silence out of which the incarnate Word emerges and to which it returns. (Reawakenings, p. 118)    

Having heard the voice of God,  they fall on their faces in fear. While that is an understandable pose, Jesus responds by gently touching them and inviting them to get up. There’s no reason to be afraid. 

Now that this divine encounter is over, the three disciples follow Jesus down the mountain in silence. They’ve experienced something too profound for words, something they couldn’t really understand until after the resurrection. With that in mind, Jesus tells them not to talk about their experiences until after the resurrection. That’s because until that moment no one will understand what they had experienced.

As we hear Matthew’s story of the transfiguration, we receive our own invitation to climb the mountain where we can be transformed by our encounter with God. If we’re going to understand what happened on the mountain we’ll have to set loose our imaginations and embrace the mystical. That can be difficult for many of us who embrace a more rational view of the things of God. Both Presbyterians and Disciples, my denomination, value our rational view of spiritual things. That’s a good thing, but sometimes we need to step beyond the limits of our minds, so we can fully experience God’s presence in our midst. Then we can join Peter, James, and John in encountering the fulness of God’s splendor revealed in the person of Jesus. When we encounter God’s glory shining forth from Jesus we too can be transformed so that we might discern the will and purpose of God for our lives and our world.   

Preached By:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pulpit Supply

First Presbyterian Church 

Troy, Michigan

July 10, 2022