LET’S STAY HERE!Reading: Mark 9: 2-10
It seems that the disciples of Jesus are not allowed to remain too long in any one place either internally or externally. They are continually being challenged out of their comfort zone. Jesus has such a short time, only three years, to teach, train and nurture them so that they will be equipped to take the Good News to the ‘ends of the earth.’ At this particular point they are really being stretched. A short time before Peter had made his declaration that Jesus was the Messiah. He could be forgiven for thinking that after such a moment of recognition and having had the courage to speak it out when the others didn’t that he could ‘rest on his laurels.’ But less than a week later he and two others are taken on another journey that widens their horizons even further and takes them deeper into mystery.
On this occasion it’s time to climb a mountain, away from every one else. Peter, James and John keep watch while Jesus moves apart a little to pray. As they watch it’s as if they are on the threshold of an unseen world that, for a short time, becomes visible to them. Jesus’ appearance changes and his clothes become dazzling white. It seems as if he is taking on his heavenly appearance and raiment. And then, as if this wasn’t enough to totally overwhelm the stunned onlookers, Moses, the greatest lawgiver, and Elijah, the greatest prophet, appear and begin a deep conversation with Jesus. The three disciples are terribly frightened. They don’t know what’s going on. It is no surprise that it is Peter who breaks into this mystery, perhaps trying to fill the gap with something because it’s all too much for him. “Lord, this is absolutely amazing! Let’s just stay here and we’ll build three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Wouldn’t that be good, Lord – just to stay on this mountain top and not have to face the valley and all the things that lie ahead.” He didn’t really know what he was saying for he had never experienced anything like this before. Somewhere he knew that he and his two companions were being let in on something very special and that it was good for them to be there. He wants to capture the moment, remain on a high, but that’s not what this encounter is all about. In Luke’s account we are told that Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus of how he was about to fulfil God’s plan by dying in Jerusalem. Perhaps in these moments Jesus was being given fresh courage and strength for what he knew was up ahead.
But it’s not over yet. The next thing that happens is that a cloud comes over them and a voice speaks from the cloud. It is the voice of God himself, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Peter’s declaration of a few days before is totally confirmed for him in this moment, but it’s going to take quite some time for that knowledge and that recognition to so invade his entire being that he is ready to surrender his all to it. Moses and Elijah disappear and, as the disciples dare to uncover their faces and look, only Jesus is there with them. Only Jesus – more than enough for a lifetime and beyond; only Jesus, the transfigured one, the beloved Son, the Messiah, and the command to listen to him.
The gospel writers call this event the Transfiguration. The literal meaning of that word is a change in appearance. This change was revelation for the disciples. It revealed beyond the shadow of a doubt who Jesus really was. A few minutes later, after the cloud had passed over, there was Jesus also, but the Jesus they knew, Jesus the man. What they had experienced was to be their secret until after the resurrection, but I am sure they were confused, wondering, questioning as they went back down the mountain.
We will all have experienced times that are special, when we feel as if we are on holy ground, when we are on a spiritual high. The temptation is then to react as Peter reacted, to want to stay there. It’s an understandable reaction, especially if the rest of our life is often hard and difficult. Yet the mountain top experience is always given in order to sustain us at the foot of the mountain, when the going is tough, when we lose our way, when hope is at a low ebb, when pain threatens to crush us completely. The two experiences are part of the one reality of our journey of faith as Peter discovered.
Transfiguration for us comes out of the process of being transformed. Truly entering into the process of transformation is only possible when we know that we are the beloved. As we meet again and again with Jesus, as we begin to grow in the knowledge that we are loved and special, as we are open to the work of Jesus in our lives, as we grow a little bit more into his image and likeness, then our ‘appearance,’ too, will change. People will know that we have been with him and that it has been good for us to be there. We become more aware, more focussed. Old attitudes, old ways of behaving, inconsequential things begin to fall away, and more and more we see ‘only Jesus’ and ‘only Jesus’ is seen in us.