Year A

Matthew 17:1-9

The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn

Strength For the Journey

Today we have come to the last Sunday in the Season of Epiphany with Lent beginning this coming Wednesday, on Ash Wednesday. During this season of Epiphany, which began with the Wise Men’s visit to the baby Jesus and now culminates in the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain top, our focus has been on the “good news of great joy” that has come to the world in the birth of Jesus. He is the light, the transfiguring light that “shines in the darkness,” drawing all nations to see the light of the love and truth of God, a true Epiphany. All our lessons today focus on these images of light that will be needed as the people of God begin their 40 day journey into the wilderness with God.     

As Moses and the people of Israel face their forty-year journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land, this meeting today with God on Mount Sinai is essential to the people. Likewise, the transfiguration in Matthew is essential to the disciples as they head into the terrifying time of the passion. Both of these texts are important to us, as we head into our own forty day observance of Lent; for they are meant to strengthen our faith for the journey ahead. Like in Exodus, God’s purpose on Mount Sinai is to let the people know beyond all doubt that God will be with them and will speak to them through Moses. The parallel to this can be heard today in both the text from 2 Peter and Matthew when God speaks from the cloud to the disciples: “This is my son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.” God reveals God glory to allow humanity to experience glimpses of the divine. 

Moses’ encounter with God’s glory today on Mount Sinai is at the center of the entire book of Exodus and the story of the people of Israel. At its peak is Moses, who receives both the law and the vision of God. This combination of law and vision of God show that this is no human law and Israel is no voluntary group of people. The people and the rules that hold them together are the direct doing of God and the people are a priestly kingdom, set apart to reveal God’s glory to the world, with Moses assigned as the point man to God’s purposes. These mountaintop experiences with God were not meant for Moses alone. He has been in continuing conversations with God since the moment of his call. They are for the people of Israel. God’s loving communication with the people assures them that God is with them and will be with them in the journey ahead. 

Like Moses, Jesus does not “need” his encounter with God on the mountain top to know God is with him. He has been constantly in conversation with God as we have read in the gospels. The transfiguration of Jesus is meant for the benefit of Peter, James and John, so that they might receive strength for their journey ahead and begin to understand the relationship of Jesus to God.  While the purpose and mission of God may not have changed from the time of the exodus to the time of Jesus, the presence of God in Jesus is the epiphany of all epiphanies. God is no longer hidden in a cloud but now we see God’s glory face to face in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the new Moses and the parallels today between the story of Moses and the Transfiguration story are striking and worth noting: the mountain as the place of encountering God, the timing of six days, the prophet going up the mountain with only trusted companions, the reference to the Law of Moses, and the exhortation to listen. The appearance of Moses on the mountain top himself seals the deal along with Elijah as they represent the entirety of the prophetic tradition, embodying both law and prophets. Their appearance affirms the significance of Jesus. Jesus is the new Moses and yet, something greater than Moses is here.

The vision leaves the disciples dazed and confused. Yet, one day, after Easter, these three disciples will become the bearers of Jesus’ message about suffering and glory. They will bear the difficult message to understand that the Messiah’s glory is to be found in his suffering and by following him they too will experience suffering and one day, like Jesus, will be raised from the dead. They, too, will see the light of the glory of the Lord. The truth is revealed on that mountain about who God is in the shinning face of Jesus Christ. His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension represent the reign of God through the Son.   

This moment of transfiguration not only affirms Jesus’ divinity, it begins to give the disciples eyes to see God’s light in the chaos to come: death, loss, fear and resurrection. God’s presence could not have been more obvious. Isn’t it reassuring to know that God is willing to come among us to reach out, touch us and still our fears? For the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is God-with-us. But, for many God’s presence in their lives is anything but obvious. Yet, the texts today reassure us that God is with us and for those who are “moved by the Spirit of God’ as 2 Peter says today, God’s presence is obvious in their lives. 2 Peter wants his readers to remember who they are and what they have been called to be; lights of God’s glory shinning out into the world and this is what makes Jesus real in the everyday.

God did something very special through Jesus and it is not enough to remember that Jesus lived. We need to remember the story, what he did, what he said, what happened concerning him so we can carry on the story. Lent is a good time to revisit the story in one of the gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read the story again and remember what God was doing through Jesus to help us know God. Knowing God won’t make all of our problems go away but it will strengthen our faith and through our gift of faith, God prepares us in the transcendent encounters of our lives to endure the world below, the world of the cross.  Faith can help us through the hard moments and difficulties; this is the promise of the gospels.

Through this season of Epiphany we have been on the upward climb with Jesus to the mountain top. We have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus. We don’t want to leave and yet, we experience the mountaintop each week at the Lord’s Table-in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we feed on the divine life, where we are transformed to help us cope with the demands of living and for the journey ahead. The transfiguration gives us a final, blinding bit of epiphany light, before the ashes are marked on our foreheads.

Soon like the disciples, we begin the descent toward Jesus’ death. The 40 days we will travel in the wilderness of Lent are to prepare us for those momentous events through which we struggle in Holy Week. Were Christ not willing to suffer, we would not be able to make this journey with him. In his suffering, we see the glory of God. In his suffering, we see God face to face. In his suffering we find strength for the journey. May his glory and light shine in our hearts as we make this 40 journey together and beyond. Let us go out into the world and be the transfiguration for others.