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Sunday 6th March, 2011 Transfiguration - Ninth Sunday after Epiphany

Sentence
Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them and from the cloud a voice said, “This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” Matthew 17: 8

Collect
Almighty God, You have given Your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and also an example of godly life; give us grace that we may always thankfully receive the benefits of His sacrifice and also daily endeavour ourselves to follow in the blessed steps of His most holy life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen

Old Testament Lesson Exodus 24: 13 – 18

The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them."
Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now 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.

Psalm 2

Why are the nations in tumult: and why do the peoples cherish a vain dream?
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers conspire together: against the Lord and against His anointed, saying
‘Let us break their bonds asunder: let us throw off their chains from us’
He that dwells in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: the Lord will hold then in derision
Then will He speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury: “I the Lord, have set my king on Zion my holy hill.’
I will announce the Lord’s decree, that which He has spoken: “You are my son, this day have I begotten you.
Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance: the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession
‘You may break them with a rod of iron: and shatter them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
Now therefore be wise, O kings: be advised, you that are judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with awe, and govern yourselves in fear and trembling: lest he be angry, and you perish in your course.
For His wrath is quickly kindled: blessed are those who turn to Him for refuge.

Epistle 2 Peter 1: 16 – 21

We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.
So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

GOSPEL Matthew 17: 1 – 9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
© New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
Copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission. All rights reserved

NOTES ON THE READINGS

Old Testament
As time goes by and people are less familiar with the Old Testament stories and accounts, much of the impact of the Gospel stories is reduced. On top of that a lack of familiarity with old Hebrew story-telling and the point and purpose of the imagery fails to produce the old result. That is rather sad, and I venture to suggest that moderns spend more time reading the Old Testament, particularly the more significant areas.
Here is part of the tale of the giving of the Decalogue, and the cloud imagery has always been seen as portraying the power and majesty of God. It is quite important that this passage is read in conjunction with the story of the Transfiguration, for there, too, clouds, mountains, and even Moses and Elijah rate significant mentions. Stop and ponder why if you would!

Psalm
A little matter of trivia might be interesting: that John’s Revelation includes quite a commentary on this Psalm. (Read my notes on Revelation for more info, or get GB Caird’s Black and Black series Commentary. His was a far wiser head than mine.) This is a fascinating insight into what must have been remarkably early theology; Psalm 2 must date from around 1000BC or even earlier. It is a study of the relative values of human kingdoms and their power, and that of JHWH, Predictably, it is human power that gets a hammering, but the grounds of that perception are both valid and real - as is John’s commentary!

Epistle
The Apostle is here combatting the idea that the Faith was based on fable and fiction. In response he pointed to the incarnational verities of both Judaism and Christianity. Whilst some of the stories may be told in what may be described as mythical terms which is only a means to express the significance of those realities. So Peter was at pains to attest to fact that he and others were present at real events in real time and in real places. In fact one of the fascinating things about the Judaic/Christian Faith is the importance that is seen in the historical realities. The Word became flesh -- and the Faith continues to be spread by ordinary humans in the real world, There is no room for fairies.

GOSPEL
It is helpful to remember that the Evangelists are careful to report that the Transfiguration occurred a week after Peter’s so-called confession of Jesus as Christ. While some people are convinced that this was a great step forward for Peter, I suspect that the reality was that he saw part of the story but still had a long way to go. Today’s incident underlines that fact, does it not!
This event has often been portrayed as some sort of reassurance for Jesus Himself, but I have long doubted that such was the case. The reassurance, or underlining if you like, was for Peter, James and John, the sort of leadership group of the Twelve. And the nature of this reassurance lay in the fact that Moses (Law) and Elijah (prophets) showed up as someone subservient to the Christ. On the other hand there is the clear statement that Jesus is in the line of both those particularly Hebrew Faith icons. This Christ was the final development of this faith once delivered.
Notice, in the light of today’s first lesson, of the connection with Moses, mountain, smoke and thunder. This imagery is for ever embedded in Biblical perception and expression as the power and glory of JHWH. You will note the repetition in other situations as well, so no not miss seeing it as pointing to those factors of the Creator.
Transfiguration is nothing less than seeing with fresh eyes what has always been there but now it is seen to be a flowing out of what was already apparent ….. but not recognized.

NOTES FOR A SERMON

I continue to find it a sad situation when quite a few people in quite a few congregations seem to know little in the way of Biblical matters. There was a time when Anglicans were regarded as ‘people of the book,’ but that, sadly seems rather less the case. Small wonder then that there is either great confusion as to what we are meant to believe, and smaller wonder still that the faith seems to ring less and less bells for people. I hope you don’t think me patronising or some-such; that is a long way from the truth. In a way, today’s Gospel may offer something of a reason why. Although this may look like a great Sunday School lesson, it seems to offer little in the way of information, direction or even theology for many adults. This, pardon me, is not the fault of the story: that lies in the way it is understood. Hopefully what follows may be of some use in helping people move forward.

First comment I would offer, is that it must have been just as difficult for our Lord to have tried to get that very slow-moving Twelve to catch sight of what He was on about. As the reading (and my notes above) indicate, He was attempting to get the disciples past the ooh and aah situation – a sort of warm contentment about being disciples to a fascinating and attractive personality. The Faith Jesus came to offer has never been some sort of cosy sinecure, but rather a life-changing, even world-changing faith. If and when people really take hold of this following of Christ, it is designed to provide a far more significant world-view and world action to resolve the most intransigent of human problems.

For Jewish people, then (and I understand, now) was the validity or otherwise of Jesus’ ministry. If there was one thing that Jews were strong and hot about, it was the basis and validity of their Faith. When Jesus was being seen as a heretic of the heretics, there was no need to take any notice. (Anyone watching the present-day battle between the Federal Government and the mining lobby over the proposed super-tax, the battle for the minds of people becomes both clear and parallel. The absolute need for the absolute truth is utterly essential, but do not expect to receive it, as the real issues are covered up by fear tactics. Truth is the last resort in such conflicts, as in most others.)
So what was happening on the Mount of Transfiguration was that provision of the truth to oppose the prevalence of bias and even outright falsehood. Here was no reassurance for Jesus, but a huge and steep learning curve for the disciples of our Lord.
Peter has just begun, a short week before, to begin to understand both the evidence and the outcome of that, concerning the role of Jesus in the Divine scheme of things. ‘Who do people say that I am?’ was no egoistic demand on the part of Jesus, but rather the call to the Twelve to do little more than to stop, and think, and see where life and reality was taking them. And it was not to some pious, safe outcome. One can almost sense Jesus’ despair at the slowness of uptake of those men, and feel the pressure from Jesus to move to maturity and adulthood.
‘You are the Christ,’ hit Peter between the eyes, so to speak, though one has to add that such a discovery would take a lot longer to sink into that rather dense skull. It was a beginning, but not the most effective one.
So, the ‘leadership group’ was taken off on their own to reach a further stage. The imagery offered as this tale unfolds is helped – for our understanding – to have that OT reading from many centuries before. (around 14 centuries in fact.) There, involving another and earlier iconic person of Hebrew Faith was involved with what was then an earlier and fresh beginning. For Jews, the Law was and remains crucial and vital. This was God’s revelation and still is. Pivotal, inviolate, eternal. And notice the presence of mountain, cloud, and voices from the deep. This is not necessarily actual, but is part of the Jewish understanding of the significance of the event. God’s power, God’s authority is echoed in that imagery.
And so it was in the event we are looking at. The presence of Moses and Elijah on that mountain is similar imagery to convey not only the authority of God, but also that Jesus stands in clear and certain line of authority of Law and the Prophets. Here is no heretic; here is the One Who not only stands in the same line, but is Heir and Successor to all that has gone before. Here is the Son of the Father, do you see.
Small wonder that Peter wanted to stay on this high, this remarkable yet steep learning curve. Anyone who has experienced anything similar to this transfiguration, is also aware of unwillingness to retreat back to the real world. Often it is something that so warms the cockles of the heart or meets one at their deepest, that they do not wish to move on from there. Sadly for suck folk, either reality kicks in, or perhaps it is kicked out – with less than helpful outcomes.

It would seem to me, dare I admit it, that this – and what followed the next day – was a highly impactful ‘kick in the duds’ of first the Three and then the other Nine, ensuring that no one would ever inhabit those tents that Peter looked for. If you are put off by Jesus requiring the silence of the Three, then stop and realize that this was to ensure that the others grew in understanding at their own pace. My development must occur at my pace, for force-feeding in any shape or form is an unnecessary and/or evil invasion of a person.

So Peter, James and John needed to absorb this rush of information which must have required a re-think of very great proportion. Our Lord was lifting their horizons way beyond usual ‘religious’ feel-good levels, to a far more demanding one. They were being required to embrace something of far more universal impact and import. And they were just at the foot of a very long ladder, so to speak.

It may be anticipating a little, but you may recall that, the next day, when reaching the others at the foot of the mountain, they encountered that rather sad incident where there was a young lad whose parent requested healing and the disciples were unable. Not surprisingly this raised the ire of our Lord, who declaimed their lack of faith. Perhaps we may find that more understandable if we ‘translate’ faith into ‘understanding. The point is that even this miracle is part of the attempt on Jesus’ part to get everyone to see past their respective noses.

A final parting shot – this time from me. The moment we focus our attention on ‘miracle’ we limit our perception of Jesus, of the faith and of our own part in it, to something mostly beyond our capacity. (I have great difficulty with the Roman Catholic perception of sainthood, and Mary McKillop. I suspect that the poor lady is turning in her grave at the attempts to find and justify the two miracles.) First of all, if miracle is there, it is not she who accomplished it. Secondly, if miracle is needed, then it saves me from being committed, because I am only a simple person and not like one of such an elite. So Mary, Mother of our Lord, is far beyond my capacity, for I am not nor anywhere near semi-divine. And I suspect I would be of little or no use to you if I was, do you see. The real and powerful point about Mary is (a) that God works through ordinary, un-notable ‘little’ people, and (b) that there was a most remarkable young woman who was prepared to go wherever it was that God was seeming to lead her. And that means that God may well tap me on the shoulder for something significant for Him and you; and you may well feel a tap, too.

And that will take a little coping with, if you have not had anyone point you in any similar direction. God bless you in it.