SEATTLE MENNONITE CHURCH
Transfiguration Sunday, March 2, 2003
Sermon: Weldon D. Nisly
TITLE: “It is good for us to be here”
THEME: Epiphany: revelation and transfiguration
TEXTS:
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9 Jesus’ transfiguration
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John,
and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.
And Jesus 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."
They 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 Beloved One; 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, Jesus ordered them to tell no one
about what they had seen,
until after the Human One had risen from the dead.
This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This gospel, the transfiguration of Jesus, is one of the more difficult gospel stories to hear.
Jesus’ call to come and follow as disciples calls the hearer beyond the current way of life.
Jesus’ teaching turns our world upside down. Jesus’ healing draws us beyond the conventions
of healing into the arena of faith. And now Jesus transfigured appearance opens our eyes to a
new world and points the way ahead to Christ risen form the dead.
It takes very good eyes of faith to see beyond what we appear to see to what we really see to see
Jesus transfigured or a Christ risen form the dead.
Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain appears to be a supernatural experience where Peter,
James, and John literally see Jesus in a new light.
Transfiguration means a metamorphoses or
“change in form or appearance…an exalting,
glorifying, or spiritual change” (Merriam Webster’s College Dictionary, Tenth Edition). The
dictionary references this gospel account of Jesus’ transfiguration to define transfiguration.
We hear this gospel on this climax of the Epiphany season as another revelation of Jesus.
It is a revelation of something already and something still to come in Jesus.
We hear this gospel on the threshold of the Lenten season which begins with Ash Wednesday
this week. It is a momentary mountaintop experience as a counterpart of Jesus’ 40 days of
temptation and fasting in the wilderness, which is the Gospel for next Sunday, the first
Sunday in the Lenten journey ahead.
This gospel is also a pointer ahead to the awesome surprise of Easter still to come. But
between the transfiguration and the resurrection stands another hill – Golgotha and a cross.
Immediately before the transfiguration story in Mark’s gospel, comes Jesus first foretelling of
the way of the cross ahead. Mark is telling the gospel in the same way that the church year
forces us to hear the gospel. Transfiguration and resurrection are peak experiences. But
between them stands a cross.
Jesus tells the disciples and the crowds, “If any want to be my disciples, let them deny
Themselves and take up their cross and follow me” 8:34).
We also hear this gospel begin and end with telling words. The first words of this
transfiguration story are: “Six days later, Jesus led Peter, James, and John up a high
mountain, apart, by themselves.”
Why would Mark place this story “six days later?” What does “six days later” sound like?
[Pause] The creation cycle and the sabbath rhythm! That this should happen “six days later”
sounds like it comes on the day of worship, the seventh day of the week.
That is a good metaphor for this transfiguration encounter. It is a metaphor for what happens
every Sunday as the church comes together to worship and to
“be made Church.” Worship
is a transfiguring event for the body of Christ
encountering God.
Our being transfigured with Jesus in worship here this morning is not dependent on how we
feel when we come to worship or when we leave. Our transfiguring is not determined by
what we liked or didn’t like in worship. Our transfiguration is not even effected by whether
we “got anything out of worship.”
When we gather for worship we are transfigured into the body of Christ. Here we are led by
Jesus up a high mountain apart together and are changed together into the Body of Christ. It
is a metamorphoses or “change in form or appearance…an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual
change.” In other words each time we worship we are transfigured with Jesus into Christ
whether we know it or not.
Our only question is the same one Peter, James, and John face: Will we see a transfigured
Jesus? And will we want to memorialize it with monuments or will we enter into the
transfiguration apart together for life?
Mark shows, of course, as a primary thread and theme of the gospel is that most of the time
they miss it. And yet …and yet they hang in there with Jesus. They hang in there because
while they often miss seeing the revelation of Jesus they know Jesus is going somewhere
and they are committed to following Jesus wherever it leads them. Here he leads them up
a high mountain apart by themselves. But the big journey is heading toward Jerusalem and
the cross….before there is a resurrection.
That brings us to the end of this gospel story. Jesus forbid them to tell anyone what they
have seen until after the resurrection.
Clearly it is a pointer ahead to Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ knows the disciples have the best
of intentions but often miss seeing Jesus. They aren’t ready to tell the story until they see
Jesus, see the big picture of God’s incarnate intervention introducing God’s reign on earth.
That is central to Mark’s gospel: the people who have the most commitment to follow Jesus
often are the ones who have the hardest time seeing Jesus.
There is much to hear and live in this gospel story of Jesus’ transfiguration. Our question, with
Peter, James, and John is “But do we see Jesus?” Seeing Jesus in this transfiguring gospel on
this final Sunday of the Epiphany season opens us to the Lenten journey ahead in prayer and
worship.
We are being transfigured with Jesus into the Body of Christ. In this there may be an occasional
spectacular event as for Peter, James, and John, on the mountaintop. But most of the time we
are being transfigured with Jesus in very unspectacular ways. We are not to shun the spectacular
moments and we are not to memorialize or monumentalize them for all worship times.
In the Church the biggest Sunday of the year is our Easter worship. But we do not have Easter
worship every Sunday. Nevertheless, each Sunday is a little Easter. Each Sunday we are being
transfigured into Christ’s body glorifying God.
A biblical storytelling friend often sums up worship in three phrases: Worship, says John Shea,
is to: Gather the people.
Tell the Story.
Break the Bread.
We are transfigured with Jesus into Christ in our worship however ordinary and however
grand as we are gathered for worship to tell The Story and break the Bread. In this way we
enjoy the already of the reign of God as well as pre-figuring God’s heavenly feast of the
not yet of the coming reign of God.
We sincerely echo with Peter, “It is good for us to be here.”