Jo, are you the same person you were 28 years ago? 14 years ago? 7 Years ago? How about you Char? Or you, Charlie?
No, you are not. None of us are. Researchers at Stanford tell us that “every one of us completely regenerates our own skin every 7 days. A cut heals itself and disappears in a week or two. Every single cell in our skeleton is replaced every 7 years.” And, that’s just the physical transformation that we all undergo. We also know that we change emotionally, we mature, we fall in love, we suffer great losses. We change spiritually, as time goes by we understand more clearly the need we have to walk through this life in the company of Jesus. So for us, transfiguration, transformation is a constant, sometimes un-noticed, sometimes fearful process. We are all about change, every day, every way, even though we are not always aware of it.
Today is Transfiguration Sunday. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to the mountain top with him where they are joined by Moses and Elijah. When Jesus is transfigured, it is spectacular, sudden and dramatic; it is definitely not a 7 day or 7 year process. Poor Peter, he is, as he frequently is, unable to find the right words for the event. Just before today’s Gospel Jesus tries to tell his disciples that he must suffer many things, be rejected and then be killed. Peter begins to correct him and Jesus utters those famous words: Get behind me Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts. Here on the mountain Peter once again misses the point; he wants the moment to last, wants this special, mystical, supernatural event to be somehow contained and made familiar, so he offers to make three shrines for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Peter is thinking human thoughts. This time Peter is not rebuked, he is ignored, no one responds to him. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be rebuked than ignored. The message here is that Peter is so far from the mark that no response can be made. The point of the Transfiguration is that Jesus is human AND divine; Peter, James and John are being given a glimpse of Christ’s mystical body, a body that most certainly does not belong in a Shrine. They have been given a view of transcendence, and it cannot, will not be made ordinary.
Every year, on the last Sunday of the Epiphany we get the Transfiguration story. It is the hinge between the end of Epiphany and Lent. The first 8 chapters of Mark are chock full of events, everything in Mark moves at a rapid pace. It is one miracle, one healing, one exorcism, one exchange with temple leaders, one teaching moment after the next. The whole season of Epiphany, the season of ‘showing’, of ‘manifestation’ is meant to show us the light of God through the face and works of Jesus. It culminates today, as Jesus becomes transformed and dazzling. And, as spectacular as this is, we need to remember that on the mountain top Jesus did not become something new, something different, something he was not already. “Peter, James and John are given a chance to see Jesus as he already is, as he really is. They see the light of his divinity shining through his humanity, the same humanity he shares with all of us.”
The three disciples are rescued from all of the brightness when they are overshadowed by a cloud. But, don’t be fooled, the strangeness continues. They hear a voice from the cloud saying “this is my Son, whom I dearly love, listen to him. By now, Peter, James and John have seen and experienced enough of Jesus to believe that he is the Son of God. After all, who else could have done all of the things they have witnessed: calming the sea, walking on water, feeding thousands from a handful of fish and a few loaves, and even raising the dead. They have been privileged to hear Jesus speak to crowds and also to have been taught by Him in small groups. But….they are being told that now it is time to really listen.
God knows that when Jesus told the disciples in chapter 8 of Mark that in order to truly be his disciples they must pick up the cross and follow, they didn’t really listen. Really listening is not passive, really listening requires action. Listening to Jesus means that what Jesus said and did makes a difference in our lives and that we are making a difference in the lives of others. It means “hear, see and act”.
As we near Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, let us reflect often on how we can listen, how we can hear, see and act so that others can come to know Jesus through us. Following Jesus is not about being stronger, wiser, better than, more powerful than; it is about service. We are not transformed physically, emotionally or spiritually so that we can be bright shiny beings high upon some mountain top. We are transformed by the love of God so that we can come down from the mountain and feed the hungry, visit the lonely, and clothe the poor. We have the food pantry, we have the pet food pantry, we are really good at collections and donations. How else can we transform the lives of others?
The season of Epiphany is over, we have been shown the light of Christ being made manifest in the world. The season of Lent is upon us, we will walk with Jesus the way of the cross. If we give them the chance, Epiphany and Lent will transform us and our transformation will make a difference in the world. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment