The Glory of God’s Son Revealed—Lectionary Reflection for Transfiguration Sunday, Year C (Luke 9:28-36)

Luke 9:28-36 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁸ Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. ³¹ They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

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                Our journey through the season after Epiphany, a season in which we ponder the ways that God’s presence is manifested in the world, concludes as we join Jesus on the mountaintop. Just as at his baptism, Jesus receives a word of affirmation from God, that he is God’s son. As we join him on the mountain of Transfiguration, we see his glory, the glory of God’s son, revealed. The reading from Luke 9 is accompanied by readings from Exodus 34, where Moses is described as reflecting in his countenance God’s glory. While Moses’ glow is the result of his being in the presence of God, the way Luke describes Jesus’ countenance, is that it is a reflection of Jesus’ inner being. In other words, Luke is letting us know that Jesus is the one who reveals God’s glory to the world.

                To put our reading in context, earlier in Luke 9, Jesus had sent the twelve out on a mission journey, Herod Antipas was concerned about reports about Jesus, whether he might be John the Baptist returned from the dead, Jesus fed 5000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, and then asked the disciples who they said he was. Peter being the bold one, declared that Jesus was “The Messiah of God.” In Matthew 16, Peter adds his confession that Jesus is the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). After that, Jesus told the disciples that he would die and then be resurrected. Now, it’s eight days later, and Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to the mountaintop so he can pray. In biblical stories, mountaintops function as thin places, places where the distance between heaven and earth becomes thin enough for communication to take place. Luke doesn’t tell us the location of the mountain, only that they ascend to a mountaintop.

                When they reach the top of the mountain, Jesus begins to pray. As he prays, his appearance changes, with his clothes becoming dazzling white. Then Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus and begin talking with Jesus about his exodus or departure (death and resurrection). The presence of these two figures is intriguing for several reasons. First of all, Moses and Elijah represent the Law (Torah) and the Prophets. Secondly, their own departures are shrouded in mystery. According to Deuteronomy, when Moses died, he was buried in Moab, and no one knew the location (Deut. 34:1-8). As for Elijah, he ascended to the heavens in a whirlwind, having given his mantle to Elisha (2 Kings 2:1-12). Their presence links Jesus to the entire history of God’s calling of the people of Israel to reflect God’s mission of blessing.

                One of the questions that we face as we ponder this story concerns the effect on the three disciples. What did they see and experience? Might this be a mystical experience that opened their eyes to who Jesus was in his essence? For those who affirm the full divinity as well as full humanity of Jesus, might the disciples have perceived here a sense of that divine presence in Jesus? The late Eastern Orthodox theologian, Vladimir Lossky, writes that "to see the divine light with bodily sight, as the disciples saw it on Mount Tabor, we must participate in and be transformed by it, according to our capacity. Mystical experience implies this change in our nature, its transformation by grace" [Mystical Theology of Eastern Christianity, p. 224].

When it comes to the presence of Moses and Elijah, what we see here should not be understood in terms of supersessionism. This is not an event where Jesus replaces them in God’s work. Rather he joins them, extending their work in the world as God’s representatives. Their presence at this moment of unveiling serves as a sign of continuity. This is an eschatological moment, where we get to see, if only for a moment, the ongoing work of God that leads to the revelation of God’s reign.

Peter is often described in Scripture as being impulsive. He often speaks first and later either regrets his statements or finds himself in a difficult position because he didn’t clearly understand what he had said previously. In this case, when Peter sees Jesus’ two conversation partners, he interrupts the conversation, apparently as the two biblical figures are about to depart, and offers his assistance to them. More specifically, he tells Jesus that it is a good thing they are there because they could put up tents or booths for each of the three figures. Luke reports that Peter didn’t know what he was saying. In recognizing the presence of Moses and Elijah with Jesus surely alerted the disciples that their appearance, along with the transformation of Jesus’ appearance, suggested there must be something rather special about Jesus. This recognition came after Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. Before long, they were to learn more about Jesus’ identity. Peter’s intervention might have had several inspirations, but Karl Barth might be correct in saying that Peter might have wished to extend the vision, such that by building tents he could extend that glorious moment. After all, it’s not every day that one encounters Moses and Elijah!  According to Barth, “The vision did not stay, as Peter hoped it would. It vanished as quickly as it had come. Jesus is again seen alone, and no longer transfigured before them ” [Preaching through the Christian Year, p. 139].

At the moment Peter finished his offer, a cloud enveloped them, casting a shadow over the gathering on the mountaintop, which terrified Peter, John, and James. As I picture this scene, I have in mind what’s called a lenticular cloud. It’s the kind of cloud that often enshrouds mountains. These clouds do have a mysterious element to them, which can enhance our sense that God might speak from a cloud such as this.

As the cloud enveloped Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and his disciples, a voice spoke from the cloud, letting the three disciples know, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” At that moment the two heroes of the Old Testament vanished, leaving Jesus alone with the disciples. The message of the heavenly voice paralleled that at Jesus’ baptism, though Luke doesn’t mention a cloud in his brief baptismal story (Luke 3:21-22). In each of these stories, God claims Jesus as the son of God. In the baptismal scene, the message appears to be directed at Jesus: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Here, the message is directed at Peter, John, and James, letting them know more fully who this is they are following.

Fred Craddock provides a helpful summary of what has transpired on the Mount of Transfiguration:

For Jesus, the transfiguration confirmed who he was and assured that the announced path before him was not only according to the law and the prophets but was the will of God for him., For the apostles, the experience told them that Jesus was God’s Son and to be obeyed as he instructed them on the way to Jerusalem and death. For all of Luke’s insistence on the continuity of Judaism and the Christian community, Jesus is not just another in a line of prophets; he is preeminent. He is to be heard, not over against Moses and the prophets, but as the proper interpreter and fulfillment of what had been preserved in the Scriptures.  [Craddock, Luke, Interpretation, p. 134].

It's not clear whether the three disciples still understood what Jesus or even the voice from heaven had shared, but they had more information to wrestle with (even if their terror/awe may have gotten in the way of fully comprehending the message).

                After the voice spoke and Moses and Elijah had vanished, Jesus stood alone among them, his countenance having returned to normal. However, the disciples had been given an assignment. Listen to Jesus. He is the one who will interpret the things of God to them. Nevertheless, the three disciples remained silent, telling no one what they had seen and experienced. It’s not surprising. You would have to be there to fully understand the magnitude of what had taken place. Even then, they might have had a difficult time understanding what had taken place, and they had been there to witness the event. Turning again to Karl Barth, he writes that the transfiguration “is the supreme prefigurement of the resurrection and that its real meaning will not be perceived until the resurrection has taken place” [Preaching through the Christian Year, p. 139]. Jesus had spoken of his death and resurrection just before this event (Luke 9:21-27) and would do so soon after (Luke 9:44-45). Nevertheless, even after sharing this message twice, the disciples (even Peter, James, and John) still didn’t fully understand what Jesus was up to.

In the Nicene Creed, it is declared of Jesus: that the  Lord Jesus Christ is:

the only-begotten Son of God,

begotten of his Father before all worlds,

God of God, Light of Light,

very God of very God,

begotten, not made,

being of one substance with the Father;

By whom all things were made; . . ..

In the transfiguration and then in the resurrection, that light the creed confesses breaks through so that the followers of Jesus might know that to be in Christ is to know the light of God. With that in mind, as we consider the message of Jesus’ transfiguration from this side of the resurrection, this word from the medieval Eastern Orthodox theologian St. Gregory Palamas might offer us a fitting way to conclude the conversation:

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. [The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (p. 43).  Kindle Edition].