The Transfiguration of Our Lord – 1-year Series (February 2, 2020)
“The Big Picture” (Matthew 17:1-9)
We need a fresh perspective. A new way of looking at things. Because, so often, we can’t see the forest for the trees. We see all the distressing things going on around us and within us that we can’t see the big picture.
So, perhaps a retreat is in order. Head off to a quiet location to clear your head. Hike to the top of a mountain peak where no one else is around for miles. Just you. Maybe invite a small group of friends or family along.
As you look out from that high vista, away from the hustle and bustle, above the tree line, what do you see? Depending on where you are, you can see for miles as you view the tops of more forests, the bottoms of river valleys, more mountain ridges in the distance. If you are in just the right spot, perhaps you can even see beyond to the ocean. If you are near a city, even the biggest buildings look like tiny little models. The cars that drive by on the highway look like ants following each other as they forage for food. Everything looks so small. Insignificant. And maybe even some of your problems look a bit smaller as you peer down from your mountain perch. They don’t look so daunting after all.
On the other hand, a perspective from the mountain top could be a problem. It could cause vertigo. Maybe you have a fear of heights. Your head spins and you get weak in the knees as you look down. Your head spins and you get weak in the knees because you are afraid to return home, because you know that your problems will still be there when you get back. It was nice to get away for a while, but whatever has been upsetting you will still be around. And sometimes, when you’re all alone, your sins stare you more intently in the face. There are no distractions around to take your attention away from the ways in which you have drifted away from God, the ways in which you have disobeyed his Law, the things you have done that are displeasing to him. And now your fear is not what awaits you when you return to your home below. Your fear is about what comes from above, what comes from heaven. How will God deal with you and your sin? What might you hear if God’s voice called out to you from heaven? What would he say about you? This might give you a case of, to coin a phrase, “divine vertigo.” Your head spins. You get weak in the knees not as you look down, but as you look up, because you know you should get down on your knees and confess your wrongdoing to God.
This is where the perspective we get from the mountain in today’s Gospel reading comes into play for us. These events on the mountain give us the big picture.
Jesus went up to a high mountain. This was something he did quite often. He needed to get away from the crowds that were pressing in on him, wanting the bread or the healings or the exorcisms that he was known to provide. He needed to rest. He needed to pray to his Father. But this trip was unique. He took a few friends along with him to witness what was about to happen.
And what did they see there? They saw the big picture of who Jesus really is. They had seen glimpses of this before. They saw him heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, calm a raging storm, feed the multitudes with meager provision, and walk on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. But now, they see something different. Now, they have a different perspective. Before, all they saw was a man doing some remarkable things, things only God could do. But now, he was changed. Transfigured. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became white as light. The big picture of his divine glory was shining through his human nature. This is no mere man. This is God in the flesh.
They also saw a preview of what’s to come. Standing there with Jesus were two departed saints, Moses and Elijah. Why these two in particular? It could have been anyone. Abraham. David. Why not Adam and Eve? It seems as though Moses and Elijah were there to represent the Law and the Prophets. Long ago, both of these men had encountered God at another high mountain, Mt. Sinai. Moses received the Law there from the Lord. Elijah the prophet was encouraged there by the Lord when so many of the people of Israel had rejected the Lord, yet the Lord tells him that there was still a faithful remnant that he had preserved. These two men appear here with Jesus because Jesus is the one who came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, that is to say, the entire witness of the Old Testament to the coming of the Messiah and his saving work. And notice, too, that they did not appear as disembodied spirits, but with bodies. Peter recognized who they were, as we know, because he named them when he suggested building tents for these visitors from heaven. How did he know who they were? We don’t know. It’s not like he had ever seen a photograph of them. Maybe he overheard the conversation that these heavenly men were having with Jesus and it became apparent who they were. Also, the final resurrection hadn’t occurred yet, so why were these men appearing as if it had? Again, don’t know. Doesn’t really matter. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with these mysteries. What we do know is that this is a preview of what is to come, the saints in heaven in the presence of Jesus, conversing with him, just as all of God’s departed forgiven believers will one day be in his eternal glorious presence.
And in this “big picture” moment, we hear the voice of the Father, telling us who this bright, shining Man is. A cloud envelops him, reminding us of the cloud of Yahweh’s glorious presence at the tabernacle. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” the Father says. Immediately, we should be reminded of Jesus’ baptism, where he began his public ministry as Messiah. Now, Jesus hears these encouraging words again as the end of his public ministry approaches. And you and I can be reminded here of our baptism, and know that we are God’s sons by baptism and faith in Christ Jesus. When you are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, it’s as if a voice from heaven says to you, “You are my beloved Son. You are my beloved daughter. Although you have done things that have displeased me, I forgive you because of my sinless Son Jesus. All your sins have been placed upon him. He has paid the price in full. Now, through faith in my Son and being baptized into his death and resurrection, I can truly say of you, ‘In you I am well pleased.”
When the disciples heard the voice from heaven, they were terrified. They fell on their faces. That is the appropriate response to witnessing the glory of God. Yet Jesus touches them and says, “Rise and have no fear.” When Jesus is present, the glory of God is present in him, too. And yet, he says, “Rise. Stand up. You don’t need to grovel. I love you. I forgive you. Have no fear. Your sins are taken away. You are at peace with God.”
When you take a “time out” up on a mountain, away from all the pain of the world below, you can’t stay up there forever. You eventually have to go back down. Back to the real world. Back to whatever you must face. That was the same for Jesus and Peter, James, and John. They can’t stay there forever. Building tents to stay there and bask in the glory was not the right thing to do. All these events occurred in the face of imminent suffering. Jesus must face the events on another mountain … Mt. Calvary … certainly not as high as this one. Calvary was more like a hill. A rocky outcropping outside the walls of Jerusalem. But that’s where his journey down the mount of Transfiguration ended where he would face suffering and death to earn for you forgiveness and eternal life. And you know, too, that his journey did not really end at the cross. His journey continued at the empty tomb and his exaltation at the right hand of the Father, where he fills all things for the good of the Church, and he continues to say to us, “Rise, and have no fear.”
That’s the big picture. That’s a heavenly perspective. That’s a Jesus perspective. A Jesus perspective is what the disciples were given after this glorious vision on the mountain. They looked up and “saw no one but Jesus only.” We don’t look to divine glory or to departed saints to give us assurance of God’s love in the midst of our suffering and sin. We are not to wait for voices from heaven to tell us how God really feels about us. We look to Jesus only. We listen to his Word in the Scriptures. Through his death and resurrection and ascension, we get the big picture. Although you have sinned against God’s holy Law, although you suffer the consequences of living in a broken world, although things look bleak at times in your life, in your family, in the news you hear around the world, the big picture is that God loves you, he forgives you, he is with you always, and he has gone ahead to prepare a place for you with Moses and Elijah and the apostles and all the saints who have gone before us. So “Rise, and have no fear.” Don’t be afraid to go down the mountain. Although a cross may be before you, an empty tomb awaits at the end of your journey.
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
INI
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