Seeing the Divine

Exodus 24:12-18; Psalm 2; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9

 

I want to include a prelude of sorts to the sermon.

Transfiguration Sunday is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany. It is a Sunday when we can focus on the light that shines on Jesus, and on others through us. The transfiguration of Jesus can linger and remind us of who Jesus truly is, even as we wander faithfully through the shadows and sadness of Lent.

Our Sending hymn today is Alleluia, Song of Gladness. We sing Alleluia for the last time today until we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday. As you sing this song today, remember how joyful the word alleluia feels in your heart.

 

… By now in Matthew’s story of Jesus, chapter 17, the end is near. In just a couple chapters, Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. They have been together for about 3 years, so they know each other well. Jesus has taught the disciples as much as he can. Now it’s time to prepare them for what happens next – the crucifixion and resurrection, and the growth of the realm of God. Six days before our story, Jesus spoke of this impending future. He told them that in Jerusalem, he would suffer at the hands of the leaders, be killed, and be raised on the third day.

It’s possible Jesus took the disciples to Mount Tabor, a 2,000-foot-high mountain east of Nazareth, in southern Galilee. Up on the mountain, with the three disciples Peter, James, and John, Jesus shines with what can only be divine light. With Jesus appear Moses – who represents the Torah and the history of God’s on-going relationship with the Jews – and Elijah – the first prophet sent by God to help the people remain faithful.

Can you imagine what Peter is thinking and feeling in this moment? He is so excited, he must be bouncing off the trail, jumping for joy. “Let’s make booths for the three of you and figure out what to do next. How can I help?” But the vision of Jesus with Moses and Elijah quickly fades, and it’s just “regular Jesus” with them again. They can’t stay on the mountain very long. There is work to do on the plain!

… Humans speaking with God on a mountain is an obvious parallel with Moses going up Mount Sinai to be with God. While we Christians may not immediately make the connection, the disciples definitely would have. Peter also makes a connection with one of the major festivals of Judaism called the Feast of Booths.

This festival is also called the Feast of Tabernacles, and Sukkot. The Feast is a week-long celebration observed by building and living in temporary shelters that remind Jews of the 40-year journey through the wilderness. It is expected that the Day of the Lord will occur during the Feast of Booths, with God coming to make everything right in the world once more.

It is this that Peter is recalling when he offers to make three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He believes the Day of the Lord is imminent, when Jesus will assume his role as the new King of Israel and gather an army and get rid of the Romans once and for all.

… We know, of course, that what really happened was much different. What really happened is what Jesus spoke about six days before. He was arrested, suffered, was killed, and then raised on the third day. Before that happens, Jesus needs to walk with the disciples to get them ready for the future without him.

For now, Jesus says to keep this moment on the mountain a secret, to tell no one about it until after the resurrection. Many pastors joke that we are still keeping it a secret, 2,000 years later!

We don’t know for sure if the three disciples with Jesus that day talked about this moment before the resurrection happens, but I suspect they did, at least with the Twelve and maybe a few of the women. I think they had to, in order to make sense of it.

… It has been my experience that people think about the triune God with a focus on one persona more than the others. Some people pray to and talk about God the Father, the Creator, the powerful aspect of the Divine. Some people pray to and talk about Spirit, who speaks for God into our hearts and minds. Some people pray to and talk about Jesus, the Human One, God-with-Skin-on. Here, Jesus can be the rabbi in scruffy clothes and sandals, the suffering man on the cross, or the powerful and glorious Christ.

I always praise God for the beauty of nature, the blessing of rain (when it is not too much at once), and the glory of sunsets. And I have known moments when I knew that Spirit was a very real presence, like the still small voice Elisha heard in the cave.

But, I confess that for me, the scruffy Jesus is the most real presence of God. He wears blue jeans and t-shirts, walks with me on my daily adventures, laughs at my puns, sits with me as I pray, and holds my hand when I am hurting. I wish I had been one of the disciples, walking with Jesus then. I need readings like this Gospel text today to remind me that Jesus is also the glorious risen Christ.

I invite you this week to ponder the ways in which you think about the Divine One. Which persona of God is most real for you? When have you been on the mountaintop with the disciples, amazed at God’s glory and love? When has Spirit whispered messages to you?

How real is Jesus for you? When and where do you see him? Maybe you see Jesus when you look at the cross, or when you take the bread and wine of communion, or when you hear a child laugh. Maybe you see Jesus in the faces of those who suffer: immigrants and refugees, or the weeping people in Turkey and Syria, or the Black people mourning yet another child killed by law enforcement. Or is Jesus the risen Christ, shining with divine glory?

How do you see and experience God today? Amen