Exposed

Mark 9:2–9 NRSV

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.

It is common for folks who have come back from Montreat or another retreat center to be a bit…different for a while. They may seem bit more preoccupied with the eternal than the temporal. They may speak in terms that were not ones that they had used before, more mystical than practical. All too often after some time goes by, they return to “normal” and go about their daily lives. But sometimes, sometimes there is a permanent change in someone. They don’t really know how to explain what has happened. All that they know is that they have been somehow changed by their experience.

There is a term for the place where such things happen. It is a “thin place”, where the boundaries between the visible world and the invisible become soft and porous, when the veil lifts just a bit, a place where heaven and earth almost meet. A place where the heavenly glory shines down in the world. It is said that Montreat is that kind of place. And at Montreat there is a spot where one understands this more fully. It is called Lookout Mountain and it is about 623 feet high. From the top one can see all the surrounding area and marvel at creation. There one can fully understand that there is a “thin place” and that heaven is very near.

Our scripture today tells of a “thin place”. Prior to the reading for today, Jesus was teaching his disciples and asked who they believed him to be. Peter answers with the now well-known declaration that he is the Messiah. But there is a further teaching. That Jesus must suffer and die. This is a hard teaching and Peter feels the need to remind Jesus that this should never happen to him, that the Messiah is one who will not suffer, but will conquer. Jesus tells Peter that he is thinking as human beings think, not as God thinks, rebuking him for his concern that Jesus might be mistaken. Jesus then goes on to state that anyone who wishes to follow him must take up their cross and die to themselves. What a strange and powerful teaching this is.

After this teaching, six days to be precise, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain. Now, I want you to imagine walking to the top of Pilot Mountain. Imagine how you would feel reaching the top. Imagine what it would be like to not have a road to follow, just a path that someone had hacked out of the brush and trees. Now imagine that the hike is even further up than the top of Pilot Mountain and you get an idea of the high mountain about which Mark tells us. I get tired just thinking about it. But this is what Jesus and the disciples did. When they reached the top, I’m sure that the disciples sat down to have a rest and to recuperate from their journey. But they are in for a new experience.

While they are resting, they look and Jesus is transfigured or, more appropriately, transformed. His clothes are brighter and whiter than any bleach could make them and he is looking like what they believe divine beings should look like. This is a transformation from the human to what Jesus really is, the divine. And the disciples get a front row seat for this.

As they are watching this scene unfold, they are astounded as Elijah and Moses both join Jesus. How they know that this is Elijah and Moses we do not know. I personally like to think of Jesus making introductions all around so that those who are hearing about this later know who it is that Jesus was talking to.

But after they meet these two giants of the Jewish faith, Peter, always Peter, makes a new statement. He says that they should build three shelters or booths to commemorate the event that has just taken place there. This may have been the first thing that popped into his mind after realizing that he and the others were absolutely petrified with fear. This making of booths was probably to be in line with the festival of booths that celebrated the exodus of long ago. How better to commemorate the sight of Moses than to celebrate the exodus?

Suddenly a cloud covers them all. Imagine for a moment the clouds that cover the knob on Pilot Mountain. That would be what this was like. If they were not scared before I am sure that they are now. From the cloud comes a voice that says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” The first part of the statement is the same thing that was said at Jesus’ baptism. However, the disciples did not hear this as they were not present at the baptism. And if they had, the second part was a different message. It was an imperative to listen to what Jesus was to say to them, whether it be a teaching or telling them that he is to be crucified at the end of the journey to Jerusalem that is just now beginning. They are words that signify that Jesus is exposed for who he truly is.

When the cloud moves on, there is no one around but Jesus and the three. As they travel back down the mountain Jesus tells them to not tell anyone about what they had seen. This was not to be told until the Son of Man had been risen.

This is a story with much symbolism. Mark is harking back to many things in the history of Israel. The first is the two men who are with Jesus. Elijah was the prophet who was taken up into heaven on a chariot of fire, as was told in the first reading. He was also believed to the one who would come before the Messiah in the end times. Moses was, of course, Moses. The greatest of the prophets. The one who had led the children of Israel out from slavery in Egypt. There are few words that tell just how important that Moses is to the history of Israel. That they are both there shows the significance of the moment. But even more is their positions. They are to the right and left of Jesus who is at the center. This tells the disciples and us that Moses and Elijah are subordinate to the one in the center. The one in the center is the one for whom they have been waiting to arrive.

There are other symbolic moments here. Both Moses and Elijah had mountain top moments. For Moses, he took three persons with him when he went to the top of Mount Sinai. There was a cloud that covered the top of the mountain when Moses was on top and there God spoke to him. Do you see what is happening here? Mark is telling those listening to the story that they are to recall the stories of the greatest of Israel and realize that they pale in comparison to the one to whom the disciples are told to listen.

Jesus was exposed for who he really is. The man of mystery, the one who told demons to keep his identity a secret, is now known for who he is, the Beloved. He is shown to be greater than both Elijah and Moses. His secret is now out.

But he is not the only one who was exposed on the mountaintop. The disciples are also exposed, though not for good reasons. These are men who traveled with Jesus and listened to his teachings, watched him heal and heard him order demons to be silent. Yet, even with all of these things that they saw, they did not understand or know who Jesus was. They had to be told by the voice in the cloud who Jesus was and that they were to listen to him, something that they should have already known.

They are also exposed as not understanding what is going on. Peter’s suggestion of building three shelters was surely accepted by James and John. All three were terrified and could not think of anything else to say. But it shows that they were thinking of things with a human mindset. It is fitting that today the mountain where it is believed this meeting took place has nothing on top of it but a Franciscan house for those who take care of the site. Those who visit cannot stay there. There are no plaques or anything that says “This is the place where Jesus was transformed!” There are no campgrounds or anyplace where someone can come for a pilgrimage. And that is how the Franciscans want it to be. They believe that if Jesus did not wat booths set up there then there should not be anything today that takes away from the experience of the mountaintop. It exposes how the disciples looked upon this experience with only human eyes.

We are also exposed. We have the same inclinations as the disciples. Like them we miss the signs and wonders that we see and hear that tell us who Jesus is. Like them we want to have a mountaintop experience that will never end. And so, we are exposed for what we are and what we are not.

G. K. Chesterton said that “One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.” If you go to the top of Pilot Mountain, you can see a lot of area. But things are quite small. It is when you come down from the top that you realize that some of the tiny things are rather large and great. And that is what it is like when we are on the mission that God has set us on. We could stay on the mountain, come to church and be comfortable. But God has called us to go into the valley after seeing the glory of the transformed Jesus. We are called to take our place in the work of God and in the story of Jesus. Unlike the three disciples, we know who Jesus is and we know what we are called to do. We are called to be in the valley. While it may seem that we know what we are to do, we are exposed by what we do and do not do. Those who experience the thin places at Montreat know that they cannot stay there. If they did, the work of the kingdom would never get done.

But there is good news. Jesus did not turn away from the disciples for what they said and wanted to do. He continued to teach them, to go with them on the journey to Jerusalem and let them continue to see him in what he said and did. And they listened to him. Though they had a hard time with it, in the end they got the message that had been told them by the voice in the cloud, that he was the beloved and that they should listen to him. We have the same problems that the disciples have. But like them, if we listen, we will know what we have to do and where to go to tell the good news. We will be exposed for who we are, children of God. Are we ready? Amen.