Feast of the Transfiguration
August 6, 2000
by Joe Parrish
The Gospel: Luke 9:28-36
Now about eight days after Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection, 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.
Lord, may we too be transformed as you were changed into something more glorious. Let our lives reflect your presence as you shine on us and through us. Amen.
One minister said he was coached by a sermon preparation publication to dramatize his presentation of the Transfiguration. He was to rent a dry ice fog machine, a big sheet, some spot lights, a portable sound system, and then reenact the events of the Transfiguration. He was cautioned to be sure to turn off the fog machine when it was all over. That is a must, to turn off the fog machine, the instructions said [Terry Swicegood in "SermonMall" for February 14, 1999].
It is the excess cloud or fog that is generated by this gospel lesson that causes many difficulties. Debates rage over what is real and what isn't. Walter Lowrie ["The Short Story of Jesus," 1943, Pages 115-116] says, This is[quote], "an unreal event" [unquote], but it is [quote] "as real as the vision of St. Paul at Damascus" [unquote]. Lowrie thinks the vision was due to hypoglycemia of the disciples. They had participated in the token anchovies and bread scraps dinner for five thousand shortly before, making them [quote], "well prepared for seeing ghosts and visions" [unquote].
Richard McBrein, editor of "The Harper Collins Encyclopedia of Catholicism," 1995, Page 1264, notes other explanations have been advanced as well. These are that this is a misplaced account of a resurrection appearance. Or perhaps it is a mystical experience, or a symbolic account devised by the writer of the gospel or from the tradition on which the gospel was based. And McBrein notes that it is a [quote] "literary device" [to identify Jesus as] "the authentic source of divine truth for those would listen to him" [unquote].
One writer [SEA in "Synthesis," August 6, 2000] simply says the Transfiguration is "an event in the life of Jesus in which he was transfigured." Another notes that "Peter says something even when he has nothing to say,"..."which makes sense to preachers, if to no one else" [Philip A. Apol in "Synthesis"].
From about somewhere between the fourth and seventh centuries AD, shrines and churches were built on one mountain, Mount Tabor, in Israel to commemorate this astounding transfigurational event. Subsequent analysis reveals that the Hebrew consonants in the root of the name of the highest mountain in Israel may instead point to Mount Hermon as the site of this event. The Hebrew root "hrm" of "Hermon" means something like "consecrated" or "taboo." Mount Hermon is nearest the previous location of the disciples prior to the Transfiguration. The ruins of at least twenty ancient shrines have been found on Mount Hermon. One archeologist found in one shrine an inscription on behalf of [quote] "the greatest and holiest God" [unquote].
Whether one can geographically locate the site of the Transfiguration, or whether it even is an actual event, has not been solved conclusively one way or the other. We must make up our own minds. But indeed it does mark Jesus as God's Son, God's Chosen.
The Transfiguration story is useful in revealing the Arians living among us. I said, "Arians" A-R-I-A-N-S, not "aliens". The original Arians were followers of a priest in the southeastern part of the Roman Empire whose name was Arius. Arius developed a theology that said Jesus was subordinate to God the Father and had the distinction of being God's Son because of his righteous deeds. We might say Arianism teaches that Jesus was not born God and does not have divinity in his nature. This teaching quickly spread through the Empire, causing considerable upset and controversy in the Church. The Roman Emporer Constantine tried to broker an agreement but to no avail. Finally Constantine essentially ordered the Bishops of the Church to hold a "world wide" conference in 325 AD in Nicaea, a town in what we now call the country of Turkey. In Nicaea the bishops were to talk out their differences and come to an agreement as to what is to be "orthodox" or "right teaching" for the whole Church. The result was the Nicene Creed, which we will say together to affirm our faith in a few moments, just after the end of the sermon. The Nicene Creed states the coequality of the three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Nicene settlement led to the expulsion from the Church of Arias and of bishops and others who espoused the Arian position.
However, what the Transfiguration is saying is that, as Jesus glows with the light of his heavenly Father, he is being shown indeed to be a divine entity. Jesus is fully divine. But Jesus is also fully human. Jesus was not adopted as God's Son because of his wonderful deeds. But Jesus is God's Son because Jesus was with God in the beginning.
Just to fill in the other blank, there were and are people who say Jesus was only a divine spirit, that Jesus did not even leave footprints, that his body was not real. This heresy is called "docetism" that is in a way much the opposite of Arianism that said Jesus had no divinity about himself.
If you feel Jesus was only a very nice human being, you are probably an Arian. And the Transfiguration would seem to you to be complete fabrication since Jesus could not possibly have the features of divinity. But for the rest of us, the Transfiguration shows how Jesus has both natures, human and divine, within himself at one and the same time.
The Transfiguration is sometimes called the "hinge event" of Jesus' life. Before this Jesus was gaining fame and popularity with little resistance. After this event the religious authorities begin plotting his death. At the Transfiguration two famous people from the Old Testament appear, Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah, the paramount prophet. These two engage Jesus in conversation. They discuss Jesus' "departure" that he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem, meaning his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus would soon depart the realm of the living and descend to the dead, as our Creed says, before ascending to heaven where he sits on the right hand of God the Father. One writer noted that it was comforting to see the Messiah talking with those who had either died or who had been translated into heaven, Moses and Elijah. This image of having a ministry of consultation with one as great as Jesus the Messiah gives breadth to how one can envision the life after death.
But if Jesus was transformed, how about us? Moses' face glowed from his encounters with God, as we heard in our Old Testament lesson for today. But what about us?
So far there are no confirmed reports that others can contract this "glowing skin". What we do obtain from our Messiah is the divine being living within us, whom we refer to as the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit we are able to live and move and have our very being transformed by Jesus Christ.
One former Mrs. California has a new calling--pastor of a "New Age" church. The Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker, fifty-plus-years-old, preaches every Sunday in front of a thousand people. She holds services at a convention center in San Diego, and speaks to thousands more on television stations across the nation. I haven't seen her on any New Jersey or New York channels. She has written a best-selling book entitled, "How to Have More in a Have-Not World." She teaches, "You can have exactly what you want when you want it, all the time. Affluence is your right." For a donation of twenty-five dollars, or more, Rev. Cole-Whittaker will send you a "prosperity kit" consisting of a cassette tape, a booklet, and a bumper sticker. These items are all designed to enhance your awareness of your abundance. Rev. Cole-Whittaker said, "I consider myself a spokesman for the spirituality of the New Age." "Heaven is a cinch," she says. And she sums up her message with the slogan, "You can have it all--now." [Source: Pastor Steve MacArthur of Lyons College, Batesville, Arkansas, as quoted in "SermonMall" for March 5, 2000] Rev. Cole-Whittaker has completely removed the divine from her religion and could qualify as an Arian if she ever thinks of Jesus. The apostle Peter may also think he has it all, and he prepares to capture his rare find by proposing to undertake a construction project at the top of the mountain. Peter apparently sees 'booth building' as a way to enshrine this marvelous yet frightening event he and the others have witnessed. Once completed he will be able to control the coming and going of not only Jesus, but also Moses and Elijah. Can you imagine the misconception he is having in thinking he can contain a divine experience inside a small hut, so confined, so convenient!
Many think God is contained in the church building, but indeed God is working through you wherever you are. Ministry begins as you leave this place. Here you find enlightenment and comfort to be able to do the ministry to which we all are called to do. We are to go out to the highways and byways and bring people into God's kingdom. How well we do that is a measure of how well we are using the God-given talents and spiritual gifts we have. Are we bringing in new people into the kingdom of God every week, or are we avoiding them or ignoring them? If we are not making connection with others who need to hear the word of God, then we ourselves have built little kiosks around our faith to keep it pristine and unused. We are to go out from here each Sunday and begin our outreach to the last, the least, the lonely, and the lost, and bring them in. We each should have at least one specific person in mind to whom we will be going to give the good new of Jesus Christ this week. And as we serve the Lord with gladness we will let the light of Christ shine through us to others who are hungry for a word from the Lord.
The fearsome thing about the "departure" of Jesus Christ that he discusses with Moses and Elijah, is that all the disciples are just that much closer to their own "departure." But whether that departure will be without fruit is what we need to pray about and remediate before it is too late.
May we lose our religious inhibitions and experience the transfiguring power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. We are the hands, heart, minds, and feet of Jesus Christ now. And as we build up our own part of God's kingdom, we will find we too will glow with light divine.
Father George Malone in his book, "Why Not Become Totally Fire?" tells a modern parable. A monastic student came to Father (Abba) Joseph. The student said, "Father, according to my rule of life I sing a few psalms. I pray and fast a little. I meditate, and as well as I can I cleanse my thoughts. Now what more can I do? Abba (Father) Joseph stood up and spread his hands toward heaven, and his fingers were like ten lamps of fire. He said, "If you want, why not become totally fire?" [from Stephen Muse in "SermonMall" for February 22, 1998] Why do we not become totally fire, totally on fire for the Lord? Surely the Lord has done far more for us than we can ever accomplish for him. May we all become totally fire, and serve the Lord with renewed life and vigor. The world is dying for our words of hope, forgiveness, and love.
Amen.