The Feast of the Transfiguration
Last Sunday of Epiphany
March 3, 2019
Readings Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a
This past Wednesday, my daughter Elizabeth and I went to Providence, Rhode Island, to see one of my family’s favorite bands, Mumford and Sons. It is actually the second time we have seen Mumford and Sons in a little over 2 months. We had a fabulous time. At one point in the concert the four main members of the band ascended the stairs to the second tier of seating in the Dunkin Donuts center and sang an intimate rendition of their song Timshel. It was this special moment. As I looked around I noticed that it seemed like everyone was recording it on their cell phones – and I have this little problem with recording things like this – I get a little curmudgeonly and snooty about this sort of thing – in my mind – as I see it – this amazing thing is happening right before us and people are viewing it through a 3 1/2 x 5 ½ inch screen. And instead you could have a full view just by opening your eyes and taking it in – in the present moment. And then I shifted my gaze, and standing immediately to my right, were two sets of adorable young couples – maybe 20 or so years old, hugging their sweeties and lost in the music and in each other. And I thought to myself, ”Yup. You’ve got that right”. Savor the moment. Savor the moment.
And this savor the moment feeling is why standing on a concrete floor for over 5 hours to get in the front row, in the pit, with my daughter is so completely worth it. When else am I blessed enough to have that kind of non-interrupted time with her during the regular course of the week?
And believe it or not – savoring the moment, being awake to the moment, paying attention, is the whole point of the Gospel lesson for today. We often think of today’s world as being uniquely full of distractions, but that is just not so – we just have much more expensive ways of being distracted now – and now we can carry that distraction in our pockets. Let me tell you how the disciples are distracted. In our lesson for today, they go up the mountain to pray, and then they see Jesus, and he becomes bright white – suddenly – and this is what I think happens: Because they want to make sense of this all they think to themselves, “think, where have we seen this before, where have we seen this before?” And they remember – “Moses! Moses got a shiny face when he met the Lord face to face.” And shortly after that thought appeared in their minds, Moses and Elijah appear.
And then they start think about this, seeing Jesus is standing there with these two Hebrew heavy weights – Moses representing the law, Elijah representing the prophets – so this must mean that Jesus is the fulfilment of all the law and prophets! And of course, that is what we are meant to think too.
So what is the mistake the disciples, or more particularly Peter makes? Well, Biblical scholars tells us that the disciples probably think that this amazing manifestation of Elijah and Moses is on account of the Festival of Booths, Sukkot, which would have probably been happening around this time of year in this gospel story. Sukkot is an agricultural festival, a harvest festival, and it occurs much like our Thanksgiving, at the end of the growing season. It was also a symbolic festival giving thanks for their ancestors’ safe passage from Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. One of the ways that was prescribed by the Book of Leviticus to observe Sukkot was for a family to build a booth out of branches outside their home and to eat and sleep in it for the weeklong festival. So the response to build booths, by Peter, may have been an indication that he was just trying to do what is fitting, and best, and prescribed by the law. As it says in Leviticus 23:42-43:
“You shall dwell in booths for seven days … that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (vv. 42–43).
But the problem is, and we the audience have the privilege of knowing, that Peter is not awake to what is really going on. In modern times, he’d be whipping out his cell phone, turning his back on Jesus, Elijah and Moses, and getting a selfie, totally missing the point of this story – which is that Jesus is now setting his face toward Jerusalem, where he will suffer, die, and be resurrected. We the audience know this because we have just heard in our gospel lesson for this morning – “they [Moses and Elijah] appeared in glory and were speaking [with Jesus about] his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
And you can tell how mad Jesus is at this misunderstanding of the disciples – because in the very next part of the Gospel lesson for today he chastises them saying, “you perverse and faithless generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?” He says this right after the disciples fail to cure the boy – and why Jesus is particularly upset is that he had just given them the authority and ability to cast out demons just a few verses before – literally in chapter 9 verse 1&2 it says:
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
The disciples fail to truly comprehend that Jesus has made them full and complete instruments of grace and healing.
So what is the lesson for us? I think the clue is in our Epistle Lesson for today. Paul tells the Corinthians:
And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3. 18
But despite the veil being lifted between God and ourselves through Jesus Christ, it does not necessarily mean that we will automatically behold the glory of the Lord. We need to be awake. We need to be open. We need to be still in body, mind and spirit.
Lent, which will be upon us in three days, is an opportunity to find that inner stillness. To take a little time out of each day to behold the Lord in study of scripture, by prayer, and by being mindful.
Yesterday at our Vestry Retreat, the Reverend Susan Morrison helped us think about our spirituality and prayer life – and shared with us a recommendation that was given her – she was told to place her hand on her heart 3 or 4 times a day and check in with how she felt – being awake to what is going on in her heart. In the same way, each day during Lent, perhaps take a single moment, or a minute, intermittently throughout each day and see how you feel, ask yourself what is the veil over your eyes that keeps you from beholding the presence of God in your life at any given moment. And in that moment, allow that veil to be drawn back, and to take a glimpse of God, in the beauty of the world around us, in the kindness of others, in the stillness of the night, or in the warmth of your heart – wherever you find God’s presence around, among, and in you.
I pray you have a Holy, Life-giving and Spirit filled Lent – where you may find yourself more present and more alive in the Lord.
Amen
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