This Reflection is taken from the Sunday Devotion written by this blogger for Christ Episcopal Church, Yankton, SD on February 14, 2021.
Mark 9:2-9
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, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
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.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
REFLECTION
In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make all free
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah his truth is marching on.
(Julia W. Howe 1819-1910)
In the Name of the one who transfigures you and me.
Amen.
+
The transfiguration of Jesus is one of the most fascinating stories in the New Testament because it is so much more than a tale of a mere, one-off, historical event. It is an experience. In particular, it is a mystical experience.
A few years ago, I wrote a series of post on the topic of transfiguration called, “Tales of the the Mystic Journey” in my blog, thefaithfulagnostic.blogspot.com. In that series, I explored a variety of transfiguring moments recorded in our scriptures, beginning with Abraham and tracing this mystical journey through the likes of Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Paul, and of course, Jesus. What is unique about Jesus’ transfiguration is that it is a shared experience, as indicated by the presence of Peter, James, and John. In Jesus’ transfiguration story is embedded our transfiguration stories.
Mystical experiences such as the transfiguration of Jesus have common elements: such as, a sense of disorientation. Time and place get lost and a sense of liminality, being at a threshold between the mundane and the sublime, can emerge. For instance, Abraham and Sarah experience three visitors who convey the presence of God and speak with one voice one. Jacob battles with God throughout the darkness of a night. Moses is literally transfigured from meeting God on Mt. Sinai. Elijah encounters God in the liminal sound of a still small voice. Paul has a vision of the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.
Another feature of transfiguration is that it is usually predicated by what I call “Pause.” Pause is a period of uncertainty that makes one stop and recalibrate one’s life. Pauses can be unpleasant moments, involve a long periods of time, or come as unexpected surprises that stop us in our tracks and make us take account of such experiences. Jesus had several experiences that gave him pause: his temptation in the wilderness, the thankfulness of a Samaritan leper, and encounter with a Roman centurion who requested healing for a sick slave. And there was that moment in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was at a crossroad between going his own way or going God’s way.
The greatest of all pauses for Jesus occurred on the cross itself where he felt totally abandoned by God, totally disorientated in his suffering, and wondering why. In that moment, Jesus’ vision of those standing around his cross mocking him was transfigured into a people and a world in need of love and forgiveness, which he gave and which resulted in his ultimate transfiguration as the risen Christ..
In the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, Peter, James, and John are placed on pause. The only reaction we witness is that of Peter’s who has lost all sense of time and place during that experience. Peter’s reaction is significant in that he intuits Moses and Elijah being present with Jesus.
Peter also sees their presence with Jesus as a sign of Sukkot (the Feast of the Tabernacles) when he asks if he should build a sukkha, a dwelling for each one of them. Sukkot is the ingathering (harvest) festival in Judaismt. In this case, Peter sees the transfiguration of Jesus as the moment in which God’s final ingathering has arrived.
Transfiguration is about seeing someone or oneself in a new light. Names are literally are changed in some cases, Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah, Jacob becomes Israel, Saul becomes Paul
In the story of Jesus’ transfiguration the three disciples encounter three presentations of the “beloved son,” Moses, Jesus, and Elijah who appear to be shining and conversing together as they are covered by a cloud. In that cloud, sight is suspended as the voice of God proclaims, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him. It is uncertain which personage God is referring to as his son. Is it Moses, Elijah, Jesus or all three? Perhaps the two are subsumed in the one because when the cloud lifts, Jesus is the only one present. In Jesus, we have the full meaning of the law and the prophets.
Listen to him! Listen to Jesus !
Listening to Jesus is what God wants us to take away from this transfiguration
experience. That message is particularly important for us followers of Jesus today because we have become more accustomed to listening to things about Jesus rather than listening to what Jesus actually said and taking what he said and taught to heart and applying what he said and taught in our daily lives..
What is noteworthy about Jesus’s Transfiguration is that it is only recorded in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, not in John. I point this out to underscore, once again, that John is a theological Gospel about Jesus; a Gospel that uses Jesus’ voice to give authority to what it is saying about Jesus. John is an important Gospel, primarily because it has shaped our thinking about who Jesus is and about our relationship with God through him. Nevertheless, if you want to know what Jesus actually said and taught, the Synoptic Gospels is where one needs to go. It is in these Gospels we hear God say, “Listen to him!”
Pay attention to the teachings Jesus gave on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew) and the Sermon on the Plain (Luke.). Take to heart the meaning of the parables found in the Synoptic Gospels because they have the power to help us mend what is broken in ourselves and in our world.
As we come to the end of the Epiphany season, I invite us to think about those transfigurative moments that have caused us to pause and see things differently; those experiences that have changed the way see ourselves and others in the light of the One who is the Light.
Amen
* * * * * * * * * *
Until next time. stay faithful.
Norm
No comments:
Post a Comment