Year A Transfiguration 2 Peter 1:16-21 Matthew 17:1-9

Every Sunday, we hear Bible lessons, but do we ever wonder who chooses them? Once upon a time they might have been chosen by the minister. This may still be the case in some denominations, but since 1983, several mainline denomination, including the Roman Catholics, Presbyterians., Lutherans, and us, Congregationalists, have been using a common Lectionary, a book that sets out the Bible lessons for each day of the year. The plan behind this Lectionary was, and is, for there to be an ecumenical sharing of the same texts across denominational lines, and for the Church to read its way through the Bible in that three year period.

This works fairly well, getting through the Bible, but, as we all know, there are some Bible readings that repeat, or come close to repeating, every year. Christmas is a good example, as we all eagerly await the story of Jesus’ birth as told by Luke. Easter, though the readings may vary a bit depending on the Gospel assigned for that year, is another holy day when we pretty much know what to expect.

But then there is today, the day we celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord. Like Christmas and Easter it appears every year on the Last Sunday of the Epiphany Season, the Sunday just before Lent begins (yes, this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday). We certainly understand why we celebrate Christmas and Easter, but why the Transfiguration? What is so special about today that it bears repeating every single year?

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.

There’s no doubt that this is a spectacular Gospel – the sort of scene that special effects experts love to beef up in movies. We can picture it – four seemingly ordinary men, three pupils and their teacher, walk up the mountain together. Jews of Jesus’ day would immediately understand that “going up the mountain” meant getting closer to God. Jesus often went up hills and mountain to teach or to pray, and it’s likely that Peter, James, and John expected they would join their friend and Rabbi for a lesson or in prayer that day. What we’re asked to keep in mind is that this is a totally normal activity, with not a hint of what is to come.

And then – bang – out of nowhere comes this incredible transformation. And not only does Jesus suddenly change, right in front of His friends’ eyes, but suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Moses and Elijah are the two great prophets of Jewish history. There are none greater – and here they are, and here Jesus is, the light is blinding, and the three are talking to each other. It’s difficult, just hearing the story, to get a handle on how terrifying this must have been to the disciples. Even if we stop for a moment and try putting ourselves in their place, it’s difficult to get an idea of the3 profound depth of what they were experiencing.

The situation totally throws Peter off kilter. He’s actually babbling when he says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter always tried to keep on top of things, so he had to say something, but it’s obvious he hasn’t a clue what’s happening. And then, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” We’ve made a full circle here, as the last time we heard words like that was on the first Sunday after the Epiphany, as Jesus stepped out of the Jordan after His baptism.

If they weren’t already terrified, the voice clinches it for the disciples. When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. It really is a fabulous reading, but what is it doing here, in the Lectionary, every year just before Lent?

The reading from 2 Peter, assigned in our Lectionary as the epistle for today, gives us the answer – sort of.

We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to Him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

To what cleverly devised myth does Peter refer? The answer is, the popular heresy known as Adoptionism. People like theories that seem to make things easier to understand, and if there is only one God, how can there be God in three Persons? The Holy Trinity was (and is) always difficult to grasp, and the early Church had problems with it.

Adoptionism is an early Christian, nontrinitarian theological doctrine, which holds that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God at his baptism, his resurrection, or his ascension. Or, to put it simply, he was not born both man and God – He is not the natural Son of God. Adoptionism asserts that Jesus was adopted by God, most likely after His, Jesus’, resurrection. And in case anyone wonders if Peter is just making this up this story about Jesus hearing the voice of God, Peter asserts, we had been eyewitnesses of His majesty. Peter wants everyone to know that this is true, and he can attest to it because he saw and heard it himself. He was there.

And thus – the Transfiguration is carefully recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, the Synoptic Gospels. (John may allude to it in 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.) The Transfiguration proclaims to all the Church and all who read the story, that Jesus was not adopted by God, but rather that He is God, was always God, was born both man and God.

Today we are only days away from Lent. How do we take this powerful news and use it in our daily lives?

We are obviously not going to have the exact same experience as the disciples, but transformation can still be part of our lives. We can look for and pray to be aware of Jesus in each and every situation, and in each and every person we meet. Instead of standing idle and waiting for God to be revealed to us in some extraordinary way, we are called to get up every day and look for Jesus’ presence in our ordinary lives. Admittedly, recognizing God in ordinary life can be difficult, especially when we face setbacks, sorrow, or general annoyance. But no matter what the situation, rest assured, God is there.

God is there with the widow whose Social Security check isn’t quite enough to keep her in her home of over 50 years. God is there with the night school student who is late to class because her teenager got detention again. God is there with the young mother of four whose youngest refuses to potty-train. And God is even there with us when the cable guy doesn’t show up between nine and noon.

And not only is God in these situations, He is present in each person involved in these situations. We might keep that in mind when we are tempted to become angry (a form of murder) with the cable guy who kept us waiting for hours, or with any number of people who annoy the life out of us in the checkout line, on the road, or in any of our day to day transactions.

When we look for Jesus in each other, the results can become revelation. Granted there are times when you will be talking to “some idiot” and it will be extremely difficult, if not next to impossible to see Jesus in them. But your approach to them will be coloured by the fact you are seeking the Lord, and at the end of whatever the transaction may be, you will walk away knowing you have acted out of compassion and love, as we are all commanded to do.

Then there are times when you will seek Jesus in another person, and you will feel His, Jesus, presence. The person doesn’t need to be a Christian, for there is the spark of the Divine Creator in every human being. Mother Teresa and the many who worked with her, were constantly encountering the Lord in their Hindu patients. One visitor, sent out to work with the sick in the House of the Dying, returned to Mother Teresa fairly glowing with Joy. “Mother,” she said, “I have been working with Jesus.”

During Lent folks are always looking for something to “give up”. This Lent, let us give up anger, impatience, and irritability, and instead look for the hidden glory of God in in all creation. Let us seek Jesus in each other. May our lives be transfigured as we strive to love and serve the Lord.

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus, please flood our souls with Your spirit and love. So fill us with Your grace, that our lives may be a radiance of Yours. Shine through us and be so in us that every person we meet may feel Your presence in us. And let us, through Your grace find You in them. We ask all this for Your love and mercy’s sake. Amen..