Shining Like the Sun – February 11, 2024, The Transfiguration

Exodus 19:16-25, Matthew 17:1-8
February 11, 2024

So, here we have this story we call “The Transfiguration.”  It’s the story of the time Jesus took his closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, and went to the mountaintop, and showed them some amazing things!  There they saw Jesus “Shining like the Sun.”  And yes, I borrowed that phrase from the song “Days of Elijah.”

As we think about this, I want to say first what I’ve said many times.  I believe the disciples needed this!  Yes, they had seen some amazing things over the past three years.  They knew this guy Jesus was very special.  They knew things that were happening in those days were very important!

But at the same time, I always remind you to try to understand what it was like for the people in these stories, without knowing what we already know.  So take these guys down off of the pedestals they’ve been placed on for the last 20 centuries, and see them as human beings.  They had flaws.  They had doubts.  And they needed assurance of their faith in Jesus, just like we need it.

Think about it.  They had seen a lot over the past three years!  They were excited to be with Jesus.  But they were worried.  They saw the growing opposition to Jesus.  They saw the tension rising between him and the religious authorities of the day, men who held a great deal of power in that society.  They wondered if he was making all the best choices in dealing with them.  And all the while, they were still hoping that Jesus would be the political “deliverer” that everybody hoped he would be!

That hope is very important to remember as we look at their story!  Even at Jesus’ ascension, even after he was raised from the dead, following a brutal execution, still they asked him. “Now, Lord?  Will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?”  They were still hoping for that!

Contrast that to this story!  Think of this scene, with Jesus changed into a heavenly being, and then being joined by him Moses and Elijah.  Think of the cloud that overshadowed them.  Then think of them hearing the very voice of God himself!

This was a “Theophany.”  That’s a word I’ve used before.  It means “an appearance of God.”  And this Theophany is reminiscent of the scene from Exodus 19, where God appeared on the mountaintop.  That’s a story these disciples would have known.  So all of a sudden, this Jesus is much bigger than just the leader of an earthly kingdom, is he not? 

Don’t we need to see that, too?  Don’t we sometimes relegate Jesus to being simply an important historical figure, a great teacher, or even just the sacrificial lamb who paid the price for our salvation – which he did, of course!  And yes, he was those things!  But there on the mountain, shining like the sun, appearing with the great patriarchs, acknowledged by the voice of God, is he not so much more?!

And when we think of this phrase, “Shining like the sun,” think about how bright the sun is!  We can’t look at it very long, or it will damage our eyes!  But we also can’t look at it because it hurts!  That’s why an eclipse is so dangerous.  Because we can look at it without hurting.  But it’s still able to damage our eyes.  Ordinarily, the sun is blinding!  And yet we can’t live without it!  Jesus is comparable with that not just in appearance, but in power.  And we can’t live without him!

I’ve been thinking a lot about Peter’s role in this.  He’s the only one of the disciples who actually speaks in this story, and what he said has always seemed a little odd.  Maybe you’ve thought the same thing.  As he witnessed Jesus, shining like the sun, and standing there with Moses and Elijah, he said, “Lord, it is well that we are here!  If you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

That sounds odd, doesn’t it?  Making three “booths?”  Jesus doesn’t even respond to the statement.  He doesn’t even acknowledge that Peter said it!  And that makes it seem even more odd!  It’s been suggested that Peter was so overwhelmed by what was happening that he just “blurting something out.”  After all Peter was known for being “impetuous.”  He was the one who would leap before he looked, and speak before he thought things through.

But the more I think about this, the more I’ve thought better of old Peter.  I’m now seeing him as being sincere in this.  For one thing, he knew his history!  He knew that memorializing important events by building “shrines” was something they did!  It’s what Moses did!  The very Moses who was standing before him!  After his victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17, Moses built an alter to the Lord.  And he named it, “The Lord is my banner.”  Maybe you remember that story.  It’s the one where, if Moses held up his hands, the Israelites prevailed, and if he lowered them, the Amalekites prevailed.  So he had Aaron and Hur hold his hands up for him.  It’s a great story.  And it ended with Moses building a shrine!

So I think Peter was sincere.  And he knew his history!  And he certainly knew how important the moment was!  He knew the story (we read) of God meeting the people on the mountain in Exodus 19.  So, in suggesting that they memorialize this moment, he was acknowledging its importance.  There he was in the presence of the heavenly Jesus, of Moses (the shrine builder), and of Elijah.

I hope we, too, see the importance of this.  This is a true “Theophany.”  It’s the second of two we read about in the ministry of Jesus.  (The first was at his baptism.)  It was a powerful event.  It’s reminiscent of the Exodus story, where God told Moses not to let the people come near the mountain when he appeared, lest they die!

So what does this mean to us today?  For one thing it reminds us of who Jesus truly is.  The disciples needed that.  And again, they didn’t know what we know about Jesus.  But sometimes, even knowing what we know about him, we forget his power.  Sometimes we forget that he is God, and without even realizing it, we relegate him to a lesser role in our lives.

The disciples needed to see Jesus transfigured.  They needed to hear the voice of God.  They needed a spiritual “shot in the arm” at a crucial time!  We need that, too, especially going into Lent.  We need to know, is the Jesus we hope to get closer to this Lenten season, really who he said he is?  That’s the question we all need to ask ourselves.  And the second question is, if he is who he said he is, if he is who he showed that he is, do we need to draw closer to him, and acknowledge our own discipleship.

That’s what I want us to be thinking about as Lent begins.  May we remember this story.  May we remember who Jesus truly is.  And may our minds be filled with images of him on the mountaintop, “Shining like the Sun.”

Prayer

Eternal God, we thank you for the stories of Jesus, stories like the one we have today, where you acknowledge him as your own Son.  Help us to know him better, to follow him more closely, and to exalt him as he deserves.  Help us even to be more like him, and to be the light of the world as he called us to be.  For we pray in his name, Amen.