Thoughts going in, Sunday Mar 6th

Matthew 17: 1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." (NRSV)

This is obviously Matthew’s version of the event commonly known as the Transfiguration. In the Roman Catholic lectionary, the Transfiguration is celebrated in August. In the Revised Common Lectionary, however, it commemorates the last Sunday before Lent begins—therein forming a “bridge” or “transition” between the Sundays after Epiphany and the Sundays of Lent. I have always thought that Transfiguration is quite at home where the Revised Common Lectionary has put it.

As to the text itself...
Most commentators pull in more verses to help us understand what was going on in Matthew’s thinking. Those verses would be: Matthew 16: 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." 23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

In other words, the Transfiguration event is, for the Disciples, what teachers call a “visual aid.” Jesus in chapter 16 engaged in some information overload. He told the disciples that they were RIGHT....he is the Messiah....but then he told them that he’s going to do a whole bunch of stuff that they never equated as Messiah’s activity: He’s going to be BETRAYED; he’s going to SUFFER; he’s going to DIE. What’s more, he invites all of his followers to join him (take up your cross and follow me). Peter can’t have been the only one of the group who doubted that this was true Messiah stuff.

So in the end, whether they understood it fully or not, Jesus gives them a GLIMPSE on the mountain. He uses the “visual aid” of his Transfiguration to show that ALL of what he said is part of the plan; part of the true job of being Messiah; and that it’s all really going to work out ok. The bodily transfiguration of Jesus is a “visual aid” to teach the disciples that in a very short time, what LOOKS like failure; what LOOKS like disaster; what LOOKS like defeat is, in fact, all part of the plan.......part of God’s GLORIOUS PLAN OF VICTORY.

For us, this passage can have a very personal application. Very often it may feel as though following Christ is a matter of walking through all of life’s most painful places--as though it’s always and only about carrying our cross and walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But when we meditate on the Transfiguration story, we’re reminded that what LOOKS like failure; what LOOKS like disaster; and what LOOKS like defeat in our own lives WON’T BE THE LAST WORD. Those who follow Christ will one day shine as he shines.

I like how one commentator sums it up...
Transfiguration Sunday might best be seen as a moment of transition in the liturgical year as we begin to move from our reflection in Epiphany on Christ’s birth and early ministry to that precious season of Easter preparation, the season of Lent. This dramatic and unexpected moment in Christ’s earthly story is too, a turning point for the Savior as he reconciles himself to the coming turbulent journey to Calvary. Somehow he needs a renewing of strength, an experience of blessing from his Father just like his baptism before he turns His head towards the hour of destiny found on Calvary’s Hill. It is a reminder that the very human suffering servant that we will observe at close hand in coming weeks is also the majestic, divine Lord, that we look forward not just to humble sacrifice but also a glorious resurrection, that he is both Son of Man and Son of God.

Cheers,

TM