Park Avenue Presbyterian Church; Des Moines, Iowa
Texts: Exodus 34: 29-35
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9: 28-36 (37-43) *
“Jesus: Transfigured…for us”
--} “Transfiguration Sunday” is probably not one of the better-known liturgical holidays. Despite our celebrating it every year, I’m guessing it doesn’t have deep-rooted meaning—let’s face it, it isn’t Christmas! Like Easter, it’s “date” on the calendar moves around; and while Jesus takes three disciples up on the mountain and appears “transfigured” there, Luke’s story demonstrates little that changes—either for Jesus or the disciples. Jesus will come back down the mountain to resume his ministry—as if nothing happened. And the disciples, well not only did they not catch on, they still act rather clueless. What gives?
So really, how can WE who sit here centuries later, WE who hear the story in the 3rd person, really understand that something really awesome happens in today’s gospel lesson? I think like the disciples, we don’t quite seem to get it, much less feel any real change. So what does it mean for us to say, Jesus was transfigured?
The story of Jesus’ mountaintop “transfiguration” in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke appears at a critical point in each gospel’s story. Jesus is moving between his “ministry phase” and his journey to Jerusalem where he will suffer and die. Today’s gospel reading is sandwiched between 2 moments where Jesus is foretelling his death and resurrection. So that his “transfiguration” stands at the “transition” between Jesus revealed as preacher, teacher, miracle worker, and Leader; and Jesus—the one who endures temptation, is challenged, brings challenge to the status-quo, but ultimately walks for us the way of suffering servant, beckoning us to follow him. God’s voice issuing forth from that cloud is striking, especially since Jesus has just indicated to us his fate. “Listen to him,” takes on a new meaning in this context, doesn’t it? And what should that mean for us?
In today’s gospel story, Jesus is transfigured—but the disciples are not. In the story, the nature of Jesus’ transfiguration is his appearance—his face shines and his clothes are suddenly dazzling white. {Feel free to imagine your own special effects here!} The $64 question is really, what does Jesus’ “transfiguration” look like to all of us? {No special effects; what should Jesus’ transfiguration really “look like” for you and me?}
Though the story would tell us it’s all about a shining face and dazzling clothes, when the gospel teaches us that Jesus is “transfigured,” isn’t it meant to reveal him to us in a whole new way? The disciples hardly seem to notice, though; and even we who know the “rest of the story,” are tempted to see this as only a foreshadowing of what we “think” Jesus’ resurrection appearances will “look like.” But Jesus’ transfiguration should mark a change that is both real and palpable—beyond just his appearance.
For me, Jesus being “transfigured” moves beyond Peter, James, and John seeing Jesus “changed.” For you and I, rather than just being about an event centuries ago, “transfiguration” should point us to the ways we see and know Jesus being among us. And I believe there are two places where we see a transfigured Jesus today. We see a transfigured Jesus in the bread and cup of the Lord’s Supper; and we see a transfigured Jesus in the waters of baptism. And I’m not just talking about the elements themselves, but the promise that Jesus is both revealed and present in our celebrations of the Kingdom.
Both places, Jesus becomes God’s forgiveness, poured out, poured over us, and poured into us. Both places we see Jesus revealed to us, not as flesh and blood—human forms—but as spiritual forms. This “transfiguration” means that we have two tangible places to see and experience the living Christ—with both font and table becoming the locations of OUR mountaintop experiences. And if we learn to thrive on such associations, I believe we can be transfigured ourselves!
The Lord’s Supper is Jesus “transfigured” for us. He no longer remains just a character in the Bible, he is made visible and touchable—for us. The Lord’s Supper is our participation with Jesus—not because the elements of bread and cup actually BECOME the essence or nature of Jesus’ flesh and blood, but because we are together with Christ and are in touch with his ministry.
That Jesus takes the elements of bread and cup from a celebratory meal should push us to remember the nature of our celebration should be one of joy and festivity. That Jesus gives us “eating and drinking” to remember him, should point us not just to the feast we celebrate “at church” but to the feasts we celebrate in the world. That Jesus invites us “remember him” as we share food and drink should serve as invitation to “remember” every time we eat and drink. What might happen to us if every time we eat or drink, we are inviting ourselves to be in the presence of Christ and his ministry?
What happens when “food”—basic daily sustenance—can be the reminder of Christ’s indwelling with us? When “food and drink” can be our calling to service and mission? When “daily bread” is the indicator of God’s blessing? Can mealtime be “transfigured” from simply consuming to being the reminder of God’s constancy in our lives?
When someone asks, where can you “see” Jesus?, should we not be saying, “In the FEASTING of the Kingdom of God?
The other place where we “see” Jesus transfigured is in baptism. Often, when we hear people declare that Jesus dies for our sins, they are speaking of redemption; but forgiveness, freedom, new life, and resurrection are all baptism themes, too. When we pour the water, it’s a sign for us of God’s claim on our lives—no matter who we are or what we’ve done! Baptism is the sign of our being included in God’s goodness. It’s is God’s promise that we belong to God now and forever.
We forget—all water is a reminder of our baptism. Whether it’s a cool drink accompanying our meal, or the dishwater for cleaning up afterwards; a running stream, a running faucet, a shower, a summer thunderstorm. And perhaps, if we recognize that “SNOW” is simply frozen water, might we conclude that God wants to include us so much in being reminded of our baptism, that God has let it snow and snow and snow and snow! So that now, our world has been “transfigured” by the piles and mounds of white—water!
Water signifies a cleansing, renewal, and new life—as does baptism. House plants grow when they are watered; the lawn thrives after a spring rain; rivers flow with force and power to reshape the landscape. “Water” is all around us, and how seldom are we reminded that we have passed through the waters WITH CHRIST? Water is all over us, and how seldom do we see it as the reminder that our lives are being changed by our being buried in the waters with Jesus? Water is everywhere in our midst—in our daily living—and yet how seldom do we experience it as the source of our own transfiguration?
So what does it mean for us to believe and say that Jesus was transfigured? As followers of Christ, we believe that our lives are changed by his—that our very selves are “transfigured”—not because our faces suddenly glow or our clothes are dazzling, like his, but because in our lives we not only learn to emulate his, we are being made to live according to the Kingdom’s ways.
As followers of Christ, we believe Jesus beckons us to endure temptation, proclaim the gospel, teach, lead, challenge the status quo, even to walk the way of self-sacrifice—as he does. As followers of Christ, we not only find Jesus’ way intriguing, we seek to live it! As followers of Christ, while we hope that our end isn’t in crucifixion and death—how significant is that voice of God in the cloud, reminding us again, “this is my son, my Chosen, listen to him.”
So, at this crossroads between his ministry and his mission, Jesus is transfigured for us. On the mountain, Peter, James, and John see Jesus’ face and clothes changed. But in Des Moines, at Park Avenue, what do we “see”? Now think of the water and bread and wine being the signs of God’s promises for Jesus and for us!
Remember, too, that what happens AFTER the transfiguration is just as important as the transfiguration itself. It seems to me that while Peter and the other disciples would have been content staying on the mountain, the course of the journey takes them down the mountain back into the valleys of need. The next day, having come down from the mountain, Jesus and the disciples are confronted by a man who’s boy was convulsed by a spirit. As Luke tells the story, the disciples were unable to cast the demon out, and the man has sought Jesus. Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit, heals the boy and returns him to his father. Doing so, he continues to point to a different way of being-ness, again inviting us to see his historical-ministry not as the end-all, be-all, but the model—not only for our faith, but also our service, mission, and living.
Last week our gospel lesson ended with disciples “leaving everything” and “following Jesus.” Discipleship doesn’t require our faces shining and our clothes dazzling; but a transfiguration that invites us to “follow.” “Following Jesus” is—after all—all that the disciples do. “Following Jesus” truly offers a different possibility. To “follow Jesus” in today’s story is to be with him on the mountaintop, but to return from the mountain, entering or re-entering ministry and mission. Any takers?
Are we willing to listen to Jesus, to follow as he shows us—even his suffering and death? Are we ready for a new way of life—one that defies our own sensibilities? Are we willing, not just to be with Jesus, but to follow; not just to follow, but to be transfigured?
Because if we dare to “come along,” we’re bound to meet Jesus in water, bread, and cup. If we dare to “follow,” we’ll be invited more and more to look like Jesus. If we look more like Jesus, won’t we be transfigured?
--+ AMEN.
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