Luke 9:28-36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
As always, context is important. Prior to these words these things happened:
• Jesus invited the 12 to come away with him and he gave them authority over demons and the power to heal disease;
• Jesus took the disciples away with him to Bethsaida, but the crowds heard about it, converged on them and Jesus got to feed the 5000;
• Again Jesus went away with the disciples and questioned them asking, “Who do you say that I am?”
And then comes this story…
All chapter Jesus had been trying to get away to pray…to reflect…to plan his trip into Jerusalem – there to die a horrible death.
We aren’t told why only Peter, James and John got the invitation to, “come away with me,” …perhaps it was because he saw in them a certain boldness…loyalty…and their commitment to the cause. Sort of makes me wonder if I would have been chosen for my boldness, loyalty and commitment…hmmm. And you?
Then a strange thing happened, as Jesus was praying he was changed from the paleness of the world to the dazzling white of glorious heaven AND they saw Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. Whoa…
And, it seems that those OT giants were counseling him on how to accomplish the mission into Jerusalem with its rejection,
its unjust trial and conviction, and its suffering and death.
And Peter, James and John didn’t want to leave—they loved it there on the mountain top with Jesus, and who wouldn’t love that?!
“Let’s just stay here!” they said…we’ll build some shelters to protect everyone from the sun and we’ll just stay here.
And then there was this unmistakable voice rolling out from a cloud— “This is my son, my Chosen; believe in him!” Another, Whoa!
The context of this chapter continues—they went back to the world and saw Jesus heal a man’s only son.
And, in the face of suffering and dying, they being true to their humanness, argued among themselves about which of them was the greatest, so Jesus taught them about hospitality…about suffering…about following him to and through the coming events in Jerusalem, and told them to go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Voices from the past…a Transfiguration…the voice of God and a kingdom lesson—some retreat with Jesus.
And so I have to ask, “So what?” What in the world does the story of the Transfiguration and surrounding events have to do with us in 2022?
What does it have to do with us as a people and church and country as we watch a terrible war unfold before our eyes?
Have to do with us, who are staggering out of a pandemic?
With us, who continue to deal with the cancers, the violence and all of the injustice of our time?
There are at least three times in this chapter that Jesus goes off to pray and invited his disciples to, “come away with me”.
You and I are invited to come away with Jesus each week to this place where we hear the voices of Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, the Psalmist, Paul, James and the rest whose words echo through the readings, the liturgy and the hymns. And of course we hear the Gospel--words of Jesus himself. All of it trying to prepare us for the joys and troubles of today and the joys and troubles still to come.
We come away with Jesus to this place and we are encouraged to follow him into the world. We can’t stay here in the blessed comfort of our music, our soft chairs, our sacred fellowship. No, like Peter, James and John we have to leave this retreat—this weekly mountain top experience—and go with Jesus back to the world and prepare it for what is to come. Suffering and death yes, but joy and resurrection too.
I once preached a funeral sermon with the title, “How do you look in white?” You see, each of us has the promise that in heaven we will have a change of wardrobe—a new white, dazzling robe like Jesus had on that mountain top so long ago. The dirt of the world with its disease, its warring madness, its injustice will be washed away by the blood of the sacrificial Lamb of God.
And, that voice which Jesus and the others heard on the mountain? —we still hear it today. It is in the invitation to come to the Table where we hear the words, “This is my body…this is my blood… given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
Each time we are here, God pulls back the veil so that we have a glimpse of the future which is in God’s hand. A vision that,
• After brokenness, wholeness will come;
• After suffering, healing will come;
• After worldly injustice, a holy justice will prevail;
• After ugliness, purity will shine;
• After a short time in the grave, new life will spring forth.
After our time here each week, we follow Jesus back into the world with the holy words of hospitality and welcome;
With the holy words of grace and healing;
And sharing our faith that God walks with us in the darkness/in the valley of the shadow of death and into the glorious company of the saints in light.
I don’t know who said it, but I hold it close for these troublesome days—
“Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.”
• It means that this war will not be the last thing;
• It means that our cancers will not be the last thing;
• It means that the injustices will not be the last thing.
Come away with me, he invites, and we are oh so glad to go….
Amen.
