2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be before you always, O God.
Be changed into his likeness… from glory into glory. Our collect for today prays that we might be changed into Christ’s likeness. And Paul tells us in an earlier spot in the second letter to the Corinthians, that we are all being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Considering our Gospel reading and Christ’s transfiguring on the mountain before Peter, James, and John, that may be a particularly daunting ask or reception when we receive such a gift.
All three of our synoptic Gospels tell the story of the transfiguration so we get a fuller understanding if we look at all three versions together.
Jesus, Peter, John, and James, went up the mountain to pray, and that is the purpose of going up the mountain…to pray. Mark did not explicitly say that here, but Luke does in his Gospel. And while Jesus was praying, his physical appearance changed, not only his clothes but also his face. Matthew’s gospel tells us, “His face shone like the sun.”
And suddenly Moses and Elijah are present, talking with Jesus about his departure and journey toward Jerusalem where he will be crucified and resurrected and ascend into heaven. This word departure that Luke uses is the same word in Greek used for exodus, and like Matthew telling his audience of Jesus’s face shining, similarly to Moses when he experienced God on the mountaintop, this too is a reminder of Moses leading Israel out of Egypt and on the journey to the promised land.
Of course, the point of these mountaintop experiences is not that the people see these physical changes, but what has happened to Moses and now to Jesus while they have been present to and with the Most High God. Spending this time with God has so altered them on the inside that it has manifested on the outside and that then touches and transforms their communities of faith and ours as well.
For Moses and his community, he brought back from the mountain the instructions from God, the 10 commandments, that set up a covenantal relationship between God and the people and amongst the people. God was teaching them how to be in relationship with one another. For Jesus, not only is he being encouraged and glorified in radiance, but also something else happens on that mountaintop. God speaks out to the disciples from the cloud, “This is my Son, listen to him.” Like when the Holy Spirit alights upon Jesus during his baptism and a voice is heard from above, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased,” but here the message is more explicitly said for the disciples, “Listen to him.”
It is interesting that Mark relates this particular story of Jesus at this point in his Gospel, almost exactly halfway between the baptism and the crucifixion, because though story wise it is 6 days later, it was just a few verses back, 7 verses ago, that Peter was rebuking Jesus for the words he spoke regarding his being rejected and killed. And now here is God saying “Listen to him.” What Jesus tells you is to be believed.i
And they too, those who want to become Jesus’s followers, must “deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. For those who want to save their lives with lose them.” These are the words that Jesus had just spoken to them 6 days prior to this mountaintop experience. This is my Son…Listen to him.
Mark’s message is not a rebuke though but an assurance of God’s abiding presence to remain with them in the midst of their experiences. Because all such experiences on the mountaintop come to an end, they come back down the mountain to dwell in the midst of the people. No matter how much Peter suggests they build dwellings or tents or tabernacles for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus to immortalize them or to capture the moment- the glory of God comes down off the mountain to be amongst the people. The glory of God is not only on the mountaintop, but it lives among us bringing life to us here now.
And that brings us back to our collect for today, that we be changed into the likeness of Jesus, from glory to glory. Earlier I said, “that may be a particularly daunting ask or reception when we receive such a gift.” But this is an ongoing transformation, not one of magnificent glory in a moment that we are gifted with. It is a process.
Remember our story today of Elisha and Elijah. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. And Elijah was like, well “you have asked a hard thing.” It is not a magic pill and all is beautiful, there is still pain and suffering and confusion. Elisha was in quite a state as Elijah was taken from him, calling out “Father, Father” crying and tearing his clothes in the agony of loss.
We didn’t get to hear this, but in the next verses he picks up Elijah’s mantle, all kinds of symbolism there, and strikes the water of the Jordan, crying out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?!” He is clearly upset and grieving. But just as the waters parted when Elijah struck the water with his mantle, so do the waters part when Elisha strikes the water with the mantle. The prophets in the distance see this and recognize that the Spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha, but Elisha has to grow into what this means. It is a process.
And this prayer we prayed today is a process. As followers of Christ, we are growing and transforming, from glory to glory in our understanding of who God is, who Jesus is in our lives, how much we trust God, and this of course transforms how we follow Christ, which transforms our experience, and not just individually, but as a community. Every time we step out, we encourage one another, and we step out a little further, like Peter walking on the water, a little further, help! A little further, transforming from glory to glory. Amen.
©Feb 11, 2024 Darcey Mercier
i Rodney J Hunter. Feasting on the Word.
Filed under: Sermons - The Reverend Darcey Mercier | Tagged: 2 Corinthians, 2 Kings, Epiphany, Mark 9, Psalm 50 |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 