“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, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then 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.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

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. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.” Mark 9:2-10

“Down. Down into the mundane nature of everyday life. Down into the nitty-gritty details of misunderstanding, squabbling, disbelieving disciples. Down into the religious and political quarrels of the day. Down into the jealousies and rivals both petty and gigantic that color our relationships. Down into the poverty and pain that are part and parcel of our life in this world. Down. Jesus came down. Why is this important? At least two reasons: First, because I think it gets at the heart of the gospel, Mark’s and, truth be told, that of the whole New Testament. As Paul sings, “though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness” (Phil. 2:6-7). Jesus’ downward movement from his rightful place in glory to embrace our lot and life out of love is, in a very real sense, the essence the gospel.

Second, and just as importantly, I also have a hunch that, deep down, most of us think Jesus is a little too good for us. That, truth be told, our job is to try our darnedest to become more like him. While that’s a good impulse on one level, on another it can prevent us from being honest. Because no matter how hard we try to be like Jesus — to be, that is, perfect — we know that we fall dreadfully short. As a consequence, we may feel that the most broken parts of our lives are the ones that keep us from being like Jesus and therefore are the farthest things from him. But this isn’t a story about our going up, it’s a story about Jesus coming down, all the way down into our brokenness, fear, disappointment, and loss. And, of course, it only gets more so, as we will soon watch our Lord travel to the cross, there embracing all that is hard, difficult, and even despicable in life in order to wrest victory from death itself that we might live in hope knowing that wherever we may go, Christ has already been and that where Christ is now we will one day be.” (David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, February 12, 2012, He Came Down)

Well, you just can’t sit there!

Jesus didn’t do much sitting around leading up the transfiguration. In fact, Just before this mysterious event, Jesus and his disciples were busy traveling – first in Bethsaida, and then in Caesarea Philippi. He healed a man who was blind, he questioned his disciples, and he taught them that he would be rejected by the religious elders, killed, but would rise again. And then the text says that there was a period of rest – some six days. Six days might not seem like a long time, unless you’re waiting for something. There are some theologians who have come up with some very plausible reasons for the six days. Some say that it has a connection to Exodus 24, where Moses is up on the mountain and the glory of the Lord settles on the mountain in the form of a cloud for six days. Others say that the Festival of Booths occurs six days after the Day of Atonement. Whatever the reason for the delay, Jesus and the disciples are inactive for six days – until finally Jesus says, “We just can’t sit here anymore – let’s go mountain climbing.”

I once belonged to a group of men who would go hiking on the Presidential ranges of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. On one of our trips, we decided to include climbing Mount Washington. The day started out just fine, but as we approached Mount Washington, the sky began to cloud over. Before we knew it, the entire mountain was enshrouded in fog and a blowing rain. The hike up to the top of Mount Washington was steep, foreboding and now a bit treacherous. Once we arrived at the summit, we took some time and rested at the visitor’s center before continuing on our hike. We then continued another mile or so to our hut, where we enjoyed a meal and the chance to dry off. As the day turned to evening, the clouds cleared and we had a beautiful view of the setting sun. It was a magnificent ending, a spectacular sight that made the climb worth it. But the next day, we had to get up and get on with the hike – we just couldn’t sit there – we had to get down from the mountain and those beautiful sights, and move on.

The disciples Peter, James and John, the inner three, also enjoyed a similar hike. They had no idea what was waiting for them at the top of that mountain. In fact, the event was so terrifying that they found themselves saying things they did not intend to say, and experiencing things that must have changed them forever. You just don’t go through an experience like that without being changed. But you just can’t sit and wallow in the experience or accomplishment for the rest of your life. It takes getting up and going – or getting on with things – you know, you just can’t sit there – that is not what Jesus wanted from Peter and the disciples, or they would have built those booths. 

I saw an interesting drawing, actually it was more like a cartoon, that tried to capture the event of the Transfiguration. It showed Jesus standing on the top of a mountain, his arms stretched out on either side – he was dressed in a completely white robe. Over his right arm, floating in the air was Moses struggling to hold on to the Ten Commandments, that’s how you knew it was Moses. Floating over his other arm was a portly man in a white robe – his hair and beard blowing backward, that’s how you knew he was Elijah since he was taken up in a whirlwind. And there, just below the summit of the mountain were the three disciples – all kneeling and hiding their faces with their hands. Now I know that the disciples were terrified, the text tells us that. But I have a hard time thinking that they hid their faces, for the text surely explains everything that they saw. They saw Jesus transformed in front of them. They saw how white his clothing turned. They saw the two figures who appeared on either side of Jesus. They saw them talking to Jesus.  And so in the midst of these miraculous events, Peter says: It is good that we are here, but we just can’t sit here –let’s do something. 

Oh we can sit and dwell in the accomplishments of the past, we can sit and worry about the future days to come, we can even sit and wallow in the success of the ministry that we are currently doing. But, when all is said and done, we cannot sit for long with our faces buried in our hands, worried about what might happen next, or basking in what we have already accomplished. Instead we need to be doing mission – we need to think about what is next, who is next, where G-d is calling us next. “What might that be?” you might catch yourself asking each other. That all depends where G-d is calling you and me – all of us, collectively. 

Pastor Dave