Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

A Good News

Transfiguration - Mark 9: 2-9

February 26, 2006

A Good News

It is called the transfiguration. The gospel writers Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe Jesus transfigured in the very presence of Peter, James, and John. That means that his appearance changed and the Jesus who looked like any other man suddenly, for a moment, took on the appearance of God. In Matthews words, "And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white."

It seems that this event was met with some ambivalence by the disciples. You know what ambivalence is, don’t you? Ambivalence is the feeling you get when you see your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your brand new BMW. Ambivalence is characterized as having a mixture of opposing, or at least varying, feelings. That seems to me a good description of how Peter, James, and John experienced what happened on the top of that mountain this morning's reading.

It must have begun with a sense of pride. The story begins "Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves." It was not the first time that Jesus had honored these three with a special invitation, drawing them away from the rest of the disciples. But my guess is that the sense of pride of being separated out that way was felt each time it happened. Does one ever tire of being treated special? It was an honor over which I suspect the rest of the disciples were jealous.

But that feeling "Look at me" changed quickly to "Oh Lord, why me?" when they got to the top of the mountain. Honor and privilege quickly changed to fear and confusion. The story continues, "And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 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."

>That fear became greater with what happened next: "Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!'" When Matthew relates this part of the story, he adds, "When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear."

And yet it all ended in disappointment and even puzzlement as Jesus led them back into the valley with a strange warning. "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."

Why is it that the Transfiguration carries none of that baggage for you and me? Why is it that we are not frightened at the picture of a glorified and radiant Christ? Why are we not confused about how we ought to respond to a transfigured Jesus? Why are we not disappointed when we are led from the mountain top of the divine appearance into the valley of hard living? How can the transfiguration be for us unqualified good news?

The transfiguration can mean something different for you and me because we know something that the disciples did not know. Verse 10, not included in the reading this morning but is the last verse of this account reads, "So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean." The disciples couldn’t understand what the transfiguration was because they didn’t know what the resurrection was to be. When we look back through the lens of the resurrection, we can see better the good news of the transfiguration.

First, the good news of the transfiguration is that I don't have to be afraid when I am in the presence of God. Nikita Panin wrote: "The world we inhabit must have had an origin; that origin must have consisted in a cause; that cause must have been intelligent; that intelligence must have been supreme; and that supreme, which always was and is supreme, we know by the name of God." Cicero echoes that thought with these words: "The celestial order and the beauty of the universe compel me to admit that there is some excellent and eternal Being, who deserves the respect and homage of men."

The universe invites us to know a God that demands respect, homage, and even fear. But what allows us, and even compels us, to move beyond respect and homage to love and thanksgiving of God is the resurrected Jesus. This Jesus, of whom this great and awesome God said on the mount of transfiguration, "This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him", is the Jesus that very same God sent to take my sins and yours to the cross so that we might share in his kingdom. The Jesus, whom we see in his glorified state in the transfiguration, is the same Jesus who loved us enough to die for us. We can stand fearless in God's presence because we have been invited there by his very own son.

Second, the good news of the transfiguration means that I need not fear the valleys of life. It is important to remember that, after the transfiguration, Jesus didn't just send his disciples down the mountain into the valley. Jesus walked down the mountain side into the valley with them. Jesus chooses to be with us every step of life's way. There is no path that you walk that Jesus does not walk with you. There is no work that you do that Jesus does not work side by side with you. There is no suffering that you experience that Jesus does not share with you. There is no evil that you face that Jesus does not face with you. You and I never walk alone. And the only time that Jesus ever walked alone was when he walked to the cross. And he took that walk alone so that you and I wouldn't have to.

Which finally means that the good news of the transfiguration is that no matter what happens to me in the valley, I know that my home is on the mountain top. When Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, when his appearance took on divine glory, the disciples got a glimpse of eternity. They would return to the valley for a time, but the promise was that eternity would be spent in the presence of a glorified Christ.

So, too, it is for you and me. No matter how long or hard our toil in the vale, no matter what hurt and suffering we will have to endure, the glimpse of the glorified, transfigured Christ is our assured hope for the future. That vision of an eternal home in the presence of a glorified Jesus gives new meaning to those words from me 23rd Psalm: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me...You prepare a table before me... my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

You really have to feel sorry for Peter, James, and John. They just couldn't understand what was happening to them on that mountain top. They didn’t know if they were to be afraid and run from this encounter with God, or to pitch a tent and stay there the rest of their lives. The truth is that it would be neither. We, living on this side of the resurrection, are better informed.

This appearance of Jesus in glory is our guarantee that we can stand in the presence of the all-powerful, all-wise, all righteous God without any fear. We can come into that holy presence with more than a groveling respect and homage. We can come in love and thanksgiving because we have been invited there by God's very own son.

The sight of that for-a-moment glorified Jesus walking down the mountain side with his disciples into the valley is a vivid reminder that, daily, Jesus puts aside his glory to walk with us in our every-day experiences. It is a reminder that Jesus is our constant companion.

And the vision of the glorified Jesus is our confidence that the valley is not our home. The valley is where we will spend our lives. But it is on the mountain top in the presence of the risen and glorified Jesus that we will spend eternity. Amen.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.