Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9 Series: 2023
A Transfiguration Sunday sermon (Matthew 17:1-9) on the eve of Lent that presses the question ‘Who is Jesus?’ rather than ‘What does Jesus do for me?’ The Transfiguration reveals Christ as fully God and fully human; without that, salvation, the kingdom, and mercy are empty. Moses and Elijah appear so they too may see and worship the God-man. Peter wants to stay on the mountain, but Jesus leads them down into the valley toward the cross, the same identity holding from transfiguration to resurrection. The deepest Christian question is not what you believe but who you follow, warning against idolatry and false paths that climb a mountain but never lead back down. God still gives signs of presence, less brilliant but real; we must watch for a sign and listen for a voice. Closes with Sufjan Stevens’s song ‘The Transfiguration.’
Illustrations: sufjan-stevens-transfiguration, jesus-quid-pro-quo, augustine-holy-desire, combed-wool-whiteness, emmaus-midwinter-moment
February 19, 2023
The Transfiguration
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain. He was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll make three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!” Hearing this, the disciples fell on their faces, filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anybody about the vision until the Human One is raised from the dead.” - Matthew 17:1-19
Who is Jesus? This is always the question that comes to me when I read the story of the Transfiguration. This moment in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, was not very important to me or my faith for a long time. It really wasn’t until the Sufjan Stevens song, the Transfiguration, came out, that I started thinking about this moment in the life of Jesus. The early church spent a lot of time on the Transfiguration. Protestants, not as much. Not a huge emphasis. What is lost when we don’t pay attention to the transfiguration is this question of who was Jesus? Oftentimes, Jesus is instrumentalized into what he does for me. What does Jesus do for me? If you do this, Jesus will do that and you’re golden. Pray this way, you’ve got a friend in Jesus. Do these things, Jesus will do these other things for you.
The word made flesh does not offer us a quid pro quo. We see this with the transfiguration.
Lent starts this week. The last thing Jesus does before he turns his face to Jerusalem is to take some disciples up to the mountain to pray. Then the identity of Christ is revealed to them. This ‘who’ of Christ. That he is God and human. Fully, not partially. Now, there have been hints at this earlier, in the gospels, but the transfiguration lays it out in the open and this matters so deeply for our faith. If God did not become man in Jesus Christ, then none of it really matters. We can’t be saved. The kingdom of heaven isn’t here. Mercy is a waste of time. Let’s eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.
Jesus takes his disciples and goes up to a mountain and prays. During that time, a great brilliance shines over him. In Greek, it is a whiteness of a woolen cloth that has been combed thousands of times. A great brilliance. And there’s a vision of Moses and Elijah present, as well. Why were they there? It seems kind of excessive. We need to linger on this moment. We have this great revealing of God and Jesus Christ fully, not just the humble carpenter’s son, but a brilliant vision of the presence of God, and then Moses and Elijah are there also. I think Moses and Elijah are there not for the sake of Peter and John, but for their own sake. So that they too can see Jesus Christ, that this prophet is the God man. Maybe they also had to see him to believe him. So they, too, could worship him.
Peter then wants to build a house and stay up there. This is the preeminent mountaintop experience. It is transformational. They have encountered the living God and they want to stay in that moment. It is the walk to Emmaus moment. It is the midwinter moment. It is conversion at it’s fullest. They want to stay there. Peter wants to stay there, but Jesus rebukes him. They have to go down the mountain. They have to go into the valley of sorrow that leads to the cross. There’s a great distance between transfiguration and resurrection, but the identity of Jesus is the same. Christ is God for us. Do we live any differently knowing who Jesus really is,? That God in God’s fullness became flesh in Jesus Christ. Does that change anything?
Peter, the eager disciple wanted to build a house and yet, soon enough, he was denying Jesus three times. Does it change anything? The deepest question of the Christian faith is not what you believe, but who do you follow? Make sure you’re following the right person. This is where the great challenge of idolatry comes in. There’s lots of people who say they can save you. How do you know you’re following the right one? There’s lots of religions that say they can save you or say there is no salvation or say anything like that. There’s lots of people who say God is dead. Who say follow yourself. Some these paths lead up what feels like a mountain, but they do not lead back down. Christ reveals himself, offers a spiritual experience of overflowing praise, but then shows us a path to follow of humility, sacrifice, and service.
“The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied.” He comes like a brilliant, transformative light. He comes like the poor and broken of the earth. We must be ready for both visions.
The disciples followed Jesus up the mountain. They saw a great sight and they heard a great sound. The fact that Peter goes on to deny Jesus does not negate his experience of God. There, they have this experience that is overflowing, that cannot be contained. They see who they are following. They see God with us.
Jesus tells them not to share until after resurrection, which is how it comes to us. It shows us how Christ is revealed by a sign and by a voice. This sign, the lamb of God, offers us peace by showing us that God is here for us. It offers us encouragement as we go back down the mountain.
God shows us signs in our life of God’s presence. They may not be as brilliantly bright as the transfiguration, but they are there. In order to see them, we have to look for them. God is here for you. You are good enough. There is a valley still to cross, but God is here for you.
I’m gonna close with the song by Sufjan Stevens about the transfiguration. It’s called the transfiguration. It tells the story directly and then lets us participate in that chorus. We may not be on a mountain anymore. But we need to be ready to look for a sign. We need to be ready to listen for a voice.
When he took the three disciples To the mountainside to pray, His countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame. Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came; They were at his side. The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die.
Then there came a word Of what he should accomplish on the day. Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place. A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade. They fell on the ground. A voice arrived, the voice of God, The face of God, covered in a cloud.
What he said to them, The voice of God: the most beloved son. Consider what he says to you, consider what’s to come. The prophecy was put to death, Was put to death, and so will the Son. And keep your word, disguise the vision ‘till the time has come.
Lost in the cloud, a voice. Have no fear! We draw near! Lost in the cloud, a sign. Son of man! Turn your ear. Lost in the cloud, a voice. Lamb of God! We draw near! Lost in the cloud, a sign. Son of man! Son of God!