03 Epiphany 7 Transfiguration

My friends, I greet you this morning in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Our lesson comes to us from the 9th chapter of St. Mark’s gospel, which was just read. 

Fear is an interesting thing, isn’t it?  I mean talk about a motivator.  Fear will either make us do something or will prevent us from doing something.  Very few things influence people like fear.  Now I can’t prove this, but I’m convinced that fear is what brought about superstitions.  I would have never thought of this before I had kids, but now I understand.  I can hear some poor mother, a long long time ago, who has spent all day trying desperately to get her kid away from the big expensive mirror.  Finally she says, “If you break that you will have seven years of bad luck you know.” Fear motivates.

Our first house in Evansville, IN had my bedroom kitty-corner from my sister’s.  We shared a hallway and the light from that hallway was just outside my door.  Now, I wasn’t more than nine or ten years old.  But I was at that awkward moment in life when you want to have a darker room to sleep in, but you are still too afraid of the dark to close the door.  Because the hallway light was right outside my door sleep did not come as easily as I would have liked it to.  The solution was simple.  Turn off the hall light.  There was enough light from other rooms in the house that would dance into the room, so it wouldn’t be totally dark.  But there would also be enough darkness as to allow sleep to show up quicker. 

There was just one problem.  My sister, two years younger than me, did not share my excitement about less light.  She had not yet reached that awkward moment of wanting less light in her room.  Her philosophy was the more the better.  So I got out of bed and went into her room to reason with her.  “Melissa,” I said.  “Let’s turn off the hall light.”  She gave that thought all the consideration it deserved and a half second latter she said, “No way!”  So I tried another approach.  “Please!”  “No.” came back just as fast.  This discussion went on like this for several minutes.  And finally I came up with a fabulous idea.  I mean this argument that I had come up with was genius if I do say so myself.  This is the kind of rhetorical greatness that, once the high school debate teams got word of what had happened, they would be lining up outside begging me to come and join their team. 

Now before I can share with you this brilliant argument, there is something that you need to know about by sister’s room.  She had an interesting organizational system.  It isn’t that she didn’t have drawers and a closet to put all her stuff in.  She figured that it was better left out all over her floor.  That way she could always see where everything was and would never have to waste time looking for something.  This turned the floor of her room into a minefield where, if you weren’t watching where you were going, you could easily hurt yourself.  Can you picture this in your mind?

So in my rhetorical genius I said to my sister, “Melissa, why do you want to have the lights on?”  She answered that she wanted to keep the monsters away.  I said. “Melissa look at your room.  Your toys are everywhere.  If you turned out the lights, I promise any monster that would try to get you would probably trip, fall and break his neck.”  I should have stopped there.  “However,”  I continued, “If you leave the lights on, the monsters will be able to see where to walk and it will be easier to get you.” 

Now Melissa’s reaction was not the same one that I had pictured in my head.  She was supposed to say, “My dear brother you are brilliant.  Thank you for such a wonderful ideas.  Please turn off the lights and rest well.  I am sure that you will have a big day tomorrow when the debate teams begin to show up.”  But that is now what happened. 

Instead she screamed, “Mmmmooooommmmm!”  I’ll spare you the rest.  Needless to say I went back to my room.  The lights were still on.  And now I had the promise of spending the next several days, right there in my room. 

Fear motivates us.  And sometimes it motivates us to say and do some stupid things.  Peter was there to witness firsthand the events that took place on that mountain.  He saw how Jesus was changed, how was transfigured before his very eyes.  He saw how Moses and Elijah showed up and they were speaking with Jesus.  And Peter says, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here.  Let’s put up three tents – one for you, on for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  Peter didn’t know what he was saying basically he was scared stupid.  His suggestion made as much sense as mine.  But both of the suggestions came out of fear. 

I mean can you blame Peter?  How would you have reacted after seeing Jesus changed the way he had been.  There really aren’t even words to describe it.  And so we are given the image that his clothes became brilliantly white.  Whiter than any bleach could whiten them.  And Moses and Elijah show up?  How did they get here?  And wait a minute, we know Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, but isn’t Moses dead?  What is going on here?

I see a few things happening here.  Perhaps this will, shed some light on the subject.  In the transfiguration we see that Jesus is God.  He is revealing his glory.  Our text begins with the words, “After six days.”  This asks the question, “six days after what?”  Now with Mark’s timing you can never be too sure.  But here is what happens in the previous 13 verses.  Jesus asks the disciples who he is.  And Peter says, “You are the Messiah!”  After this Jesus tells the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, that he would be rejected by the leaders, that he would be killed and after three days he would come back to life.  Peter objects and Jesus says, “Get out of my way, Satan!” The next verses tell of Jesus teaching that, “Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses and follow me.”  Now we don’t know if these events all take place on the same day or if they happened over a series of days.  That doesn’t really matter, but six days later here we are on the mountain and Jesus is revealing his glory to Peter, James and John. 

You see, even though the disciples don’t understand that Jesus must suffer and die, so that my sins and your sins and the sins of the world could be forgiven, Jesus knew that.  He knew that they would see him die.  He knew that they didn’t understand what had to happen to him.  And so in the transfiguration they see Jesus’ glory.  It’s as if to say, “Don’t worry.  I’ve got it all under control.” 

Now the disciples won’t put two and two together until after the resurrection.  But that is ok.  Because once they understand what had taken place on this mountain they will be facing a new challenge and that is to continue to the mission of Jesus in this world.  To shine his light in this dark dark place. 

You see, as important as the events that took place on the mountain are.  And believe me, we could spends hours talking about Moses and Elijah and the cloud and all the connections to the Old Testament and fulfillment and all that good stuff and what it means.  As import as the events that took place on the mountain are, what is also very important are the events that take place after the mountain. 

You see, the disciples who saw Jesus transformed.  The disciples who were so terrified that they didn’t know how to respond to what they were witnessing.  These disciples would face fear again.  And this fear would be transformed by the transfigured Jesus is to confidence, and boldness and peace.  Not confidence and boldness and peace in themselves, that is not in the disciples.  But in the one whose clothes shined whiter than any bleach could bleach them.

And now this is where you and I come into the picture.  For we have things that we are afraid of in our own lives.  Perhaps you feel guilty about something that you are doing, or have done in your past.  You know that what you did was wrong, but no matter how hard you try you just can’t shake the guilt.  Take that guilt to Jesus.  Because the one who was transfigured on that mountain also went to the cross.  There he paid the price for ALL of your sins, and also for all of mine.  So we go to him.  We ask forgiveness.  We repent, that is change the way we think and act.  And Jesus forgives.  The transfigured, risen Lord transforms our fear into peace.  Knowing that in God’s eyes that something from our past has been removed from us as far as the east is from the west.  This is good news.  This is great news.  This is awesome news.  This is the news that we are called to share with the world.

But then again that has a whole fear of its own.  We know that we are to love and serve the people in our lives.  We know that this is what God asks us to do.  We know that doing it does not earn us favor with him.  But we know that doing it is why we are here.  And yet palms sweat, and stomachs get tied in knots.  The tongue dries out and the brain freezes up.  But do not be afraid.  Jesus, the one who was transfigured, the one who rose, the one who was and is and is to come.  Promises to be with you always.  This is especially true as we carry out the mission of serving and loving the world and sharing with that world the good news of God’s love in Jesus.  We take our fear to him, and he transforms our fear into love, peace, hope, confidence, boldness.  Not in ourselves.  But in him.  In Jesus.  He will give us the words, he will guide us.  He will be with us always. 

Before Jesus ascended into heaven he was on another mountain.  And he said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations:  Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.  And remember I am always with you until the end of time.” 

Fear is an interesting thing isn’t it?  Very few things motivate like fear.  But nothing motivates like love, peace, hope, confidence, and boldness.  And may our Transfigured Lord transform our fears as we go out into this world to love, serve and share the good news.  Amen.