Last Sunday after Epiphany- Transfiguration - 14th February 2021

2 Kings 2: 1-12

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’ 

Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’ 

Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not. As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 

2 Corinthians 4: 3-12

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. 

Mark 9: 2-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ 6He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ 8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 

Reflection:

Let me take you on a journey.

In your minds eye, imagine that you are with Jesus on the day of his transfiguration, you are one of the disciples. You have had a busy few days and you are quite exhausted. 

Jesus is proving himself to be a teacher, who displays unusual authority and  miraculous power, 

You know there is something extraordinary, something special about him.

Jesus takes you up a mountain trail to a place where he can pray, it’s a long way and you are weary, not sure why you are there. Its been quite a day.

Suddenly you see a sight that is terrifying,… amazing… wonderful… confusing …something that you have never seen before and certainly didn’t expect to see. You don't completely understand it, you are trying to make sense of it…

You are a Jew so you have a good knowledge about Moses and Elijah;

You know that Moses is thought to have died but no-one ever found where he was buried and Elijah, well he was taken up to heaven in a whirl wind. …

They are two blessed and holy men of God,…. 

two blessed and holy men, who are now somehow here… here standing beside Jesus.

Moses and Elijah are both standing with Jesus who is radiant,… shining, …his clothes dazzling white ….

What would you think?  

How would you feel?

And then you hear a voice, a voice which you know must be God, speaking from a cloud saying: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’: -

Sometimes seeing people from a different perspective changes our entire understanding of them. What they are in one life situation is not necessarily how they are in others.

It’s like seeing someone out of context, perhaps they usually wear a uniform or work behind a desk- then you meet them in the supermarket or in the park- you know their face but initially you can’t exactly place them. I have a friend who is in the police force. Outside work, he usually demonstrates the gentlest, most considerate and compassionate nature. But I have seen him at work dealing with difficult people. My friend is at times no longer gentle but can become a strong and resilient person who is not about to take any nonsense from anyone. 

In today’s gospel, Peter, James and John were all given a vision, a new way of seeing Jesus, when Jesus is transfigured before them. This gives them a new understanding of who he is and his ministry. They hear Jesus affirmed as God’s own Son and God says ‘listen to him’. It is indeed a mountain top experience for them as they see their teacher transformed before their very eyes. At the same time, it is terrifying as they experience something that is not of this world- perhaps their reaction is one of panic- what can we do- what should we do? This might be why Peter suddenly wants to build a dwelling for the three as he feels a sense of helplessness- we don’t know.

What we do know is for those of you who have ever climbed to the top of a mountain or flown in an airplane we appreciate that the view “up above” is much different than “down below.” 

Dorrigo is known for its lookouts. I know whenever I’ve stood on top of the mountain on a clear day, I’ve marveled at how far I was able to see into the distance. 

Point Lookout is particularly breathtaking for the view from there.

Likewise looking up to the mountains, they change with the weather, the time of day and also our perspective changes as we travel closer to them. 

Over the years, I’ve also been fascinated when looking out an airplane window from 10,000+ meters. Watching the differing terrain below or perhaps an infinite number of clouds below me that appear like cotton wool; they look so soft and inviting. How marvelous God’s creation is. How remarkable it is when seen from a different perspective.

So too, Peter, James and John marveled at and were fascinated by the transfiguration of Jesus. Now I don’t know if you noticed it, but if you read carefully Mark’s description of the transfigured Jesus, it is quite similar to the description of the risen Christ in the New Testament resurrection accounts. Take into consideration verse 9 of today’s gospel where Jesus tells his disciples as they go back down the mountain not to tell anyone about the transfiguration until after he had risen from the dead; we are given the impression that the transfiguration event is preparing them for the future; preparing them for what is to come- for the cross and for the resurrection.

Sometimes it is not until much later in life and we reflect back over the years that we come to see the purpose of the events of our lives and how they all fit together. It is then that we realise how God works through such events to prepare us for the future. Our life’s journey but particularly mountain top experiences can prepare us and give us strength. When we like Jesus and his disciples face our hardships in life and our crosses, we can draw strength from the beauty and wonder of the mountain top perspective. The times in our life when we may have felt very close to God or seen him in a new light. Of course, God continues to reveal himself to us in many ways.

I suggest that all of us need transfiguration experiences, where our entire perspective is changed, the fog is gone, and we see more clearly, when we take more notice. All of us can benefit the vision of the mountaintop. 

If we pause and reflect upon our lives, it’s not only possible, but quite probable that we’ve had some sort of transfiguration experiences in a small way similar to that of Peter, James, and John, although nothing can surpass their experience of the glory of God. But, we all have had the possibility of an awakening when we realise that Jesus is with us, loves us, forgives us and claims us as his own.

We may be able to identify with Peter in today’s gospel, when he attempts to capture and prolong this transfiguration experience by attempting to make three dwellings for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. It seems that Peter thinks that this is something that will last- however like Peter, James and John we come to realise that we cannot live on the mountaintop forever. The valleys beckon us to come down and live our lives alongside other people—just as Jesus did.

Jesus and his disciples, like Moses of old, descended to the valleys of life to serve and give of themselves. The mountaintop had opened their eyes. 

As a teenager I went for a holiday to Lindeman Island in northern Queensland. I remember, one day we went out on a glass bottom boat so that we could look below the surface of the ocean and see a tropical reef. I was so amazed by the display of colours, the rainbow-like profusion of fish, the wondrous patterns of corals and sponges and anemones. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I could have stayed watching this beauty but of cause the trip came to an end.

When I climbed up out of the boat, I looked back to where I had just been. With the refraction of sun and sky on the waves, it only appeared to be a dark uninteresting rocky formation under the water. I had not known, what wonders lay just below the surface. The thought of this experience still delights me. 

There are moments in life when it seems the opaque lenses we look through, fall off, and we see deeper, below the surface of the ordinary, and we get a glimpse of an unseen beauty and wonder that seems to expand our consciousness. This can be daunting but can also be great blessing.

I used to walk regularly with a couple of friends in the National Park in Dorrigo, it was amazing what we would sometimes see. I remember one day we came upon a blue winged pitta. This bird had a yellow breast, red on its bottom, green, turquoise and blue on its wings. It was one of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. 

For a moment, everything stopped. It was as though the little bird had seized all of our attention. We saw the wonder of its tiny legs, its little beak and eyes as it fed on the forest floor, the rich variation of colours of its feather coat. It seemed like nearly every colour possible was present on this small bird. We stood still and silent, transfixed with what we were seeing…. And then, in a blink, it was over and the bird flew away. 

Have you ever you stood in awe of a sunrise or sunset. Or been amazed with wonder seeing whales or dolphins traveling past in the ocean. These precious moments can suddenly interrupt whatever is happening. In a way these moments seem to me glimpses of Transfiguration, when the veil is lifted, and for a moment we see below the ordinary surface into the wondrous depths of unseen realities around us. We see the gift of God.

It is said that Artists see deeply because they are looking. Poets hear deeply because they are listening. We typically see and hear whatever we expect to see and hear. But sometimes we can see what we do not expect, this is what happened to the disciples on that wondrous day.

Peter, James and John were with their friend Jesus on a mountain. Something unbelievable happened, and Jesus glowed with a dazzling light. What we know is that for a moment, these friends saw more deeply into the identity of Jesus than they had before. Also, they heard God actually affirm Jesus as they saw more clearly into Jesus’ deeper identity as God's Son. And then the moment passed ……

Among other things the Transfiguration was meant to be a glimpse into a deeper reality and an affirmation of Jesus and a life time point of reference for the disciples who having had this experience could never doubt who Jesus really was. It was also to prepare the disciples for what would come.

For just a moment, Peter, James and John hear God echo the words spoken at Jesus’ baptism. This time the voice addresses the disciples, rather than Jesus himself. 

“This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him”.