The Transfiguration of Our Lord

We often use the phrase “mountaintop experience” to describe some sort of spiritual encounter, a time of awakening and clarity, a moment of epiphany. So it is fitting that the final Sunday in the season of Epiphany is the greatest mountaintop experience of all time. Of course, we know that climbing to the top of a mountain won’t bring us any closer to God. He’s already everywhere. And yet, if you’ve ever done any climbing or hiking, there is a sense in which we do feel closer to heaven when we stand at the summit of a mountain.

There’s a reason for this. In the Old Testament, the greatest encounters with God occurred on mountaintops. Think of Moses, the great Lawgiver. He received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, where he went for forty days and nights without food or drink. And then there’s Elijah, the great prophet, who also traveled forty days without food or drink to climb the same mountain and speak with God.

What was it like to be on that mountain with God? Awesome, in the proper sense of the word, and terrible. The people of Israel stood at the bottom and waited for Moses. They saw the great cloud of glory filled with thunder and lightning, but they dared not approach. God had warned them, “Do not come near. Do not even touch the mountain lest you die.” That’s the trouble with encountering the raw glory of God. He is so extremely holy, so intensely pure, that sinful man cannot see his face and live. Not even Moses could look upon God’s glory. Likewise, Elijah, experience a great whirlwind, a devouring fire, and an earthquake. In a word, these encounters with God and his glory were terrifying.

And yet, God wants to be among men. Before the fall, God would come to the Garden of Eden to walk with Adam every evening. This is the relationship God wanted to have with us, but it was utterly destroyed by sin. And yet, God’s purpose would be accomplished. In the fullness of time, God came among men once more: Immanuel, God with us. From the moment of his conception, all the terrible majesty and bright glory of God belonged to Jesus. But he hid his glory as a baby, as a child, and then as a man. If you had seen Jesus as he walked the earth, nothing would have stood out about his physical appearance. The Bible says, “He had no form or beauty that we would desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). And yet, all the radiant glory of God was there in Jesus, only it was hidden. This is what the theologians call the humiliation of Christ. He didn’t humble himself to be born a man. We know this because he is now seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, and yet is still man. He humbled himself when as a man he hid his glory.

But there were moments when Jesus briefly revealed himself. Every time Jesus performed a miracle, healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, he revealed a small part of his power. And then—once again on a mountain—Jesus gave his three closest disciples a glimpse of the glory that was his from eternity. For just a moment they saw him as he truly is, more radiant than the sun, with even his clothes shining bright as light. Moses and Elijah, who had encountered the glory of God were there too. And then, the bright cloud, the very presence of God the Father, the thunderous voice from heaven, and it was simply too much for the disciples to handle. They fell on their faces in sheer terror. Too much power. Too much holiness. Too much glory.

Now what does all this mean? Certainly, these events are literal, historical fact. This happened. But why? Why did Jesus reveal his glory to the disciples? And why is this written for us? First, the Transfiguration shows us what we have lost. It is a sad thing that we cannot be in the presence of God’s glory without terror. This was never God’s intention. He created us to be his companions, to share in perfect communion with him forever. Yet, sin destroyed this relationship and separated us from God. If the two holiest men in the Bible, Moses and Elijah, could barely encounter God and had to be shielded from his glory, if the apostles Peter, James, and John fell on their faces in terror, what hope is there for sinful old you and me?

But second, and more importantly, the Transfiguration shows us God’s plan of redemption. The key to understanding this is found in Luke’s account. He tells us that Jesus was talking with Moses and Elijah about his upcoming exodus. We all know about Moses and his great Exodus. He led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. But have you ever heard of Jesus and his even greater Exodus? You have, even if you don’t know it. What could be worse than slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt? Slavery to sin, death, and the devil. This is the exodus that Jesus was about to lead. He had come to earth as a man, hidden his power and glory, for one purpose: to hang upon his cross as the scapegoat for the whole world, and in his death to defeat death forever. Jesus had come to lead his people out of bondage and open the way to the true Promised Land, heaven. Moses’ Exodus was simply the dress rehearsal, the practice run for the real Exodus. For centuries upon centuries, God had been putting all the pieces in place, setting the stage for the Redemption of the world, and the final act was about to start. Jesus was talking with Moses and Elijah about his upcoming Exodus.

Right at this moment, Peter, who generally never understood what Jesus was doing, decided to pipe up, “Lord! This is great on this mountain. What an amazing experience! True, we’re going to need wear welding glasses because your glory is so bright. And we’ll probably be fainting from fear every five minutes, because we’re sinful and terribly frightened of all this holiness, but let’s stay up here forever. I’ll pitch the tents.” But while Peter was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Mt 17:5).

Peter, Jesus is talking about the Exodus, listen to him. Listen to God’s plan to deliver you from sin and every evil forever. Listen to the words of Jesus, which alone can comfort the terrified conscience and remove guilt. Listen to Jesus, who has come to restore the broken relationship between God and man, so that we may once again be in his presence, as Adam was, without fear. From the beginning God’s desired for man to share in his glory and holiness. We were created in his image. But once we fell into sin, the only way to restore what was lost was for God to share in our suffering, to descend his holy mountain into our broken world, to take our sin into his own body, and to die the death that every sinner deserved.

Peter didn’t know that his idea to stay on the mountain forever would have doomed the human race. Thanks be to God that Jesus didn’t listen to him. Instead, the Father said to Peter, “This is my Son. Listen to him.” Follow him back down the mountain, into Jerusalem, to the mountain of Calvary. See him suffer and die in your place. Listen to him say, “It is finished.” And then be a witness of our risen Savior three days later. God’s plan to restore fallen man was accomplished in Jesus’ great Exodus. He was not content to remain in glory high upon the heavenly mountain. Instead, he descended to us, in order to raise us up to glory with him. And we have his promise that one day we too will share in the glory that Peter, James, and John witnessed upon the mountain. St. Paul writes, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body” (Phil 3:21). And when that day comes, we won’t need tents. No, we will dwell in heavenly mansions in the presence of God forever. Amen.