the holy gospel according to mark (9:2-9)
2Six
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.
9As
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.
the gospel of the lord.
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today’s gospel is, as they say, a spoiler. about halfway through the gospel of
mark, as jesus turns toward jerusalem, he pauses to go for a hike—reconnect
with nature and with god. so, up
the mountain they go, into the blinding light of the transfiguration.
jesus doesn’t take everyone with him. he takes only a small, yet interesting
group. peter has just proclaimed
jesus the messiah in one breath and rebuked jesus for teaching them “that the
son of man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the
chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again”
in the next breath. jesus responds
to this rebuke by the one who has little to no filter, for better and for
worse, with his own rebuke. jesus
rebukes peter, calling him satan and then affirming that following jesus does
indeed means taking up the cross, because that is what is to come.
so jesus invites this peter and james and john, brothers
who, with all the disciples later in this same chapter, argue about who is the
greatest. then, in the next
chapter of mark, having not learned the lesson, james and john ask jesus if
they can “sit, one at his right hand and one at his left, in his glory”
(10:37), totally missing that jesus’ glory—the ultimate display of god’s power—is
the cross, not a throne of gold, might, or majesty.
peter, james, and john are the epitome of the disciples’
lack of understanding of what jesus is about. and so, perhaps they’re the perfect choice for jesus on this
mountain top experience, and up they go.
when they get to the top, jesus is transfigured “and there
appear to them elijah with moses.”
elijah was a prophet well-known for his commitment to god and prophetic
ministry to the israelites, and moses was the leader whose commitment to following
god’s call led god’s people out of the land of egypt, out of the land of
slavery.
together these two give context for jesus’ ministry and
mission. jesus fulfills what they
have begun—rescuing those trapped in the economic system of the day and proclaiming
boldly the good news of god’s grace—love and forgiveness—in the face of a
community that wants to keep the rules in place that guard their power.
elijah and moses give jesus’ history as the transfiguration
itself gives his future—pointing to the resurrection to come. and into the midst of it, we hear god’s
voice, echoing back to jesus’ baptism and the tearing of the heavens. god’s voice says, “this is my son, the
beloved; listen to him!” listen to
him as he begins to foretell his torture and death on the cross. listen to him, peter, as he shows you
what lies ahead. listen to him,
james and john, as he teaches you what power means: giving your life for
another.
peter, james and john still don’t get it, even with god’s
voice echoing in their ears. yet,
if they don’t get it at all, then maybe it’s ok when we don’t either. maybe it’s ok when we cannot see to
understand for the brightness that is blinding us. maybe it’s ok when we mess up our hospitality, offering to
build tents for moses and elijah, and totally missing the point of jesus’
connection to the prophets and leaders of the past.
and so, just as we echo back to the prophets of old and to
the tearing open of the heavens at jesus’ baptism, we also flash ahead to good
friday and the tearing of the temple curtain, that there is no longer a barrier
between humanity and our god.
jesus comes to us and is with us.
death does not win!
this week in confirmation we talked about communion. there are many ways that communion can
be understood and misunderstood, but one of the things we talked about was that
the important things we trust and have some grasp on when we come to receive
communion are jesus’ words “for you” and “for the forgiveness of sin.” that’s what communion is all about. it is a sacrament—a means of grace—a
way god expresses love to us and forgives our sins. and it is for you.
for me. for each of us—the body
and blood of christ for us.
jesus comes to us here on sunday mornings—a space and time
apart from the busy-ness of our lives—feeding us with his body and blood. but, like peter, james, and john,
however beautiful, safe, and yes, even occasionally terrifying, it can be here,
we are not meant to stay here. we
are not meant to live our lives within the confines of these walls. in lutheranism 101, our last session
is: vocation. here’s your spoiler:
everybody’s got at least one! and
for most people, their vocations are things they do out in the world, informed
by what we participate in here in this place, but ultimately outside the confines
of this place.
peter, james, and john go down the mountain, continuing to
misunderstand jesus, and yet jesus sticks with them. jesus continues to assure them that following him is not
easy, that jesus is stirring up the way things are and people are getting
nervous and angry. jesus doesn’t
shy away from the truth that he’s headed to the cross and even as the disciples
continue to misunderstand, he sticks with them.
jesus never gives up on his disciples, even to the end and
beyond. he is faithful to god and
loyal to his disciples, calling them back to god’s purpose for them. jesus assures them of the crucifixion and of the true spoiler: the
resurrection. jesus gives away the
ending for the confused disciples and for us.
it’ll get tough, he tells us, but i’m still with you. when it gets tough, that means it’s not
over yet. when it gets to the
point where it’s the worst, that’s when the resurrection comes. no matter how tough it gets, jesus
always comes to us, in bread and wine, in water, and in our lives. and jesus brings the ultimate spoiler:
resurrection. new life for you,
for me, for everyone.
thanks be to god.
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