A Mountaintop Encounter and Divine Witness—Lectionary Reflection for Transfiguration Sunday, Year B (Mark 9)
Mark 9:2-9 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 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 bright, such as no one on earth could brighten 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 set up three tents: 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.
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.
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The
season that follows Epiphany begins with accounts of Jesus’ baptism, which
features the divine witness claiming Jesus to be the Son of God and God’s
beloved (Mark 1:9-11). We have spent the season after Epiphany in Mark 1 (plus
one story from John), considering stories of Jesus’ early ministry. Now we jump
forward to Mark 9, which gives Mark’s account of Jesus’ transfiguration. Once
again, we hear the divine witness to Jesus’ identity, together with a request
from the heavenly voice for those gathered with Jesus on the mountaintop to
listen to Jesus.
Transfiguration
Sunday invites us to consider anew the question of Jesus’ identity. It is set
in an apocalyptic moment when the boundary of heaven and earth appears to be
broached. It’s not surprising that this apocalyptic moment occurs on a
mountaintop since divine encounters often happen in these spaces. What happens
here is a form of transformation when Jesus’ appearance changes dramatically.
As is true with Mark, the details are sparse. Nevertheless, Mark invites us to
peer behind the veil that essentially hides from view something rather mystical
about Jesus’ identity. As we once again learn, news of this experience on the
mountain must remain a secret, at least for now. Peter, James, and John are let
in on the secret, but they must keep their lips sealed. Of course, they are not
exactly sure what they have witnessed.
The
text for the day notes that what happens on the Mount of Transfiguration takes
place six days after Jesus had a conversation in the region around Caesarea
Philippi in the north of Galilee about what will happen to the Son of Man who
will be rejected by the leaders of the community and suffer greatly. Peter, who
not long before had declared Jesus to be the Messiah, now rebukes Jesus for
entertaining such thoughts (Mk 8:27-33). On the day of his transfiguration,
according to Mark, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him up a high
mountain. There he was transfigured. That is, his appearance was transformed, and
his clothes turned a dazzling white. As is true of Mark, he doesn’t give us
many details. What changed about his appearance, besides the clothing, is not
recorded.
While
this transformation was taking place Elijah the Prophet and Moses the Lawgiver
appeared with Jesus and the three are said to have talked. About what is not
recorded. You can use your imagination, of course, to fill in the details. I’m
assuming they were talking about more than the weather. It was at that moment
that Peter, the ever-bold disciple, approached Jesus and offered to make three
dwellings for the three figures. What the purpose of these dwellings might be
is not revealed. It could be that Peter assumed that they would be staying for a
while, and thus shelters of a sort might be needed. Of course, Peter might have
been thinking more spiritually, offering to build shrines for the three figures.
Whatever Peter intended, Mark reveals that Peter said this because he and the
others didn’t know what to say, since the three disciples were terrified. While
they had seen some amazing things happen, this was something beyond their
comprehension. While Mark is short on details when it comes to the transformation
of Jesus, whatever it involved was seemingly unearthly. Matthew tells us that
Jesus’ “face shone like the sun” (Mt.
17:1-2). Then the appearance of Moses and Elijah made this event more incomprehensible.
That is, Peter, James, and John find themselves wondering who this person is
whom they are following. Remember that this event followed Peter’s rebuke of
Jesus which reflected his lack of understanding of how Jesus understood his
mission.
The
moment that Peter asked Jesus about the shelters, a cloud enveloped them and a
voice from the cloud declared: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to
him!” As took place at his baptism, the voice of heaven embraced him. This
time, however, the voice was directed not at Jesus but at the three disciples.
While Elijah and Moses had their role to play, now the disciples needed to pay
attention first and foremost to Jesus, who is God’s Son. It is worth noting the
contrast between the three disciples and Elisha in the reading from 2 Kings12:1-12. While the disciples are left wondering what is going on with Jesus,
Elisha keeps his eyes focused on his master and then picks up the mantle. Peter
and his companions aren’t quite ready to take that step even though they’ve witnessed
the transfiguration of Jesus.
So,
what might we take from this story? What does it say to us as followers of
Jesus? Does the transfiguration reveal something about Jesus’ identity as in
some way reflecting or making present the divine? John doesn’t have a
transfiguration story, but he is clear right up front that Jesus is the Word of
God made flesh (John 1:14). How we read this may depend on our Christologies.
Whatever our starting point, this event invites us to consider the question
that Jesus posed to his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”
This
moment has been seen as a sign of Jesus’ divine origin. We might all be children
of God, but he is the child of God in a very different way than you or me. He
is the “Son of God, the Beloved.” Could it be that in that moment, Peter,
James, and John, were invited to see and experience the divine presence that
was embodied by Jesus? Consider this word from the medieval Orthodox theologian
Gregory Palamas in a Transfiguration sermon:
The light of the Lord’s transfiguration does not come into being or cease to be, nor is it circumscribed or perceptible to the senses, even though for a short time on the narrow mountain top it was seen by human eyes. Rather, at that moment the initiated disciples of the Lord “passed”, as we have been taught, “from flesh to spirit” by the transformation of their senses, which the Spirit wrought in them, and so they saw that ineffable light, when and as much as the Holy Spirit’s power granted them to do so. [Palamas, St. Gregory. The Saving Workof Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (p. 43). Mount Thabor Publishing. Kindle Edition].
Gregory Palamas notes that Moses also was transfigured because
of his encounter with God on the mountaintop, such that his countenance
radiated such bright light that the people asked that he cover his face (Ex.
34:29). About Jesus, Palamas writes:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, however, possessed that radiance in His own right. He did not need prayer to illuminate His body with divine light, but He showed how God’s splendour would come to the saints and how they would appear. For the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43), and when they have all become divine light, they will behold, as children of that light, Christ’s indescribable divine radiance. The glory that proceeds naturally from His divinity was shown on Tabor to be shared by His body as well, because of the unity of His person. Thus His face shone as the sun on account of this light. [Palamas, The Saving Work of Christ, (pp. 44-45). Kindle Edition].
Gregory
Palamas answers the question “Who is Jesus?” with a resounding declaration that
he is the divine Son of God, who radiates God’s presence, even if we do not
have the eyes to perceive that radiance.
The
reading ends with Jesus telling the trio of disciples not to tell anyone what
they had seen and experienced on the mountaintop until after the Son of Man has
risen from the dead. While the reading ends with that request on Jesus’ part,
it would behoove us to consider the message of verse 10, where the disciples
not only kept this experience to themselves but wondered what Jesus meant by this
word about rising from the dead. In other words, they were still struggling to
come to grips with Jesus’ mission. It’s not that they had no inkling about
resurrection, that was a concept that was present in their context. But remember
that Peter had rebuked Jesus for telling them that he would suffer, die, and
then rise three days later (Mark 8:31-33).
The
reading begins with verse 2, but verse 1 of Mark 9 offers this intriguing word:
“And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will
not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
It is six days later when Jesus is transfigured. Could this be a sign that the
realm of God is already present even if not fully revealed? Karl Barth offered
this intriguing word about the connection between the Transfiguration as a pre-Easter
story that points to a post-Easter reality.
This would seem to imply that the miracles of Jesus are to be taken as “signs” in the sense that they point to what he already was, to the hidden presence of the kingdom of God which would later be unveiled during the forty days in an abiding manifestation, in a σκηνουν (to dwell) of the Lord in the midst of his disciples—a disclosure which will become definitive and universal at the end of all time in his coming again. That there are such signs, and that in the transfiguration, as in no other miracle, this sign is performed on Himself, shows that the mystery of His being revealed at the resurrection has not been acquired in the meantime but had been present all along and was in fact revealed at this later point” [Barth, Preaching Through the Christian Year, p. 140].
So, the question has been posed: “Who
do you say Jesus is?” Depending on our answer, how might that influence the way
we live now post-Easter? Do we see ourselves living within the realm of God,
even if not fully revealed? If so, how might that influence our actions? I ask
this at a time of deep concern in our world. Recently I sat with my son and two
friends to discuss the state of the world, more specifically the Israeli-Hamas
war. One friend is Jewish, and the other is Muslim. The question is how do we
respond? As my Jewish friend offered, the fact that people coming in and out of
the coffee house saw and heard four people of differing faith traditions in
deep discussion might bear witness to the cause of peace in the world. As a
Christian who participates in this conversation, I must ask is this not a reflection
of what it means to embrace Jesus and the realm of God?
The story of the Transfiguration suggests
that the realm of God is in close proximity to us, but perhaps we’re not ready
to receive its full revealing. Like Peter we might want to stay a bit longer on
the mountain with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but these mountaintop experiences,
as important as they are give way to the reality of the world below, where
suffering does take place, and Jesus, the embodiment of God’s presence experiences
that suffering with us, and as such empowers us to live into the realm in all
its fullness. Perhaps it is worth
bringing into the conversation at this point, Paul’s word to the Corinthians: “For
now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to
face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been
fully known” (1
Corinthians 13:12). But even if we
can see God’s presence in Jesus as through a mirror dimly, is there not enough
that has been unveiled that we might come and sing songs of praise to the glory
of the one who comes to us in Jesus and reveals the full nature of God’s realm?
From there we can move out into the world and live out the true meaning of God’s
realm.
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