March 4, 2000

March 3-4, 2000
Rose McLean

This is Transfiguration Sunday. The Sunday the church recognizes the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain with Peter, James, and John. It is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Today’s reading was from Mark. To be quite honest with you, this is one of those scriptures that I don’t completely understand and if it hadn’t been the lectionary reading for today, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen this scripture to preach on!

But it never hurts us to stretch some both spiritually and theologically so let’s see what this scripture has to say to us. If you want to turn back in the Bible to Mark 9, we will take a look at some of the elements of this story. First, Jesus takes the Big Three, Peter, James, and John, with him up the mountain, away from everyone else, presumably to pray. But when they get to the top, all of a sudden Jesus changes before their very eyes: his clothes become dazzling white, Mark tells us, and Matthew’s gospel says "his face shone like the sun." No doubt about it. These disciples were seeing Jesus in a way they had never seen him before: in a different light, if you will. And not only that, he was conversing with Elijah and Moses who were also there on the mountain. The scripture says these guys were terrified. I would think so. First, they climb a mountain with this man with whom they have been traveling for three years and although they have seen some pretty unusual, even miraculous stuff, Jesus had always looked pretty much the same and had confined his conversations with people who were alive on the planet at the time. I mean we’re talking Moses and Elijah, men who had lived hundreds of years before. And then Peter, whom we can always count on to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, sort of blurts out: "Let’s make a tent for each one of you." Nobody really knows why he suggested such a thing. What was he thinking? Was he thinking? He just felt like somebody ought to do something! But before he has a chance to get in any deeper, a voice from the cloud came, saying, "this is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" And then, just as suddenly as all of this had happened, it was over. There were just the four of them again: Peter, James, John, and Jesus, looking pretty much has he had before they climbed the mountain. But then Jesus gave them this strange order: "don’t tell anyone what you say until after the resurrection."

Like I said, I don’t really understand all that happened on that mountain, but I think there are a couple things we can learn from the experience. First, many of us have been walking with Jesus most of our lives. I frankly can’t remember the first time I heard his name. Can you? As long as I can remember, Jesus has been a significant character in my life story. I am so familiar with his story that I confess to you that it is rather common place. I need to have a shocking, terrifying experience where I see Jesus in a new light and maybe see him again for the first time. The people I saw last spring in Russia and Bulgaria who were new to the Christian faith had a zeal that I don’t often see among those of us who grew up in the faith. There is something to be said for trying to see Jesus in a new and different way and responding to his love with more fervor.

Another observation from this story is Jesus’ order not to tell anyone about what they had seen until after the resurrection. Well, folks, it is safe now to tell. Some of us have been living as if the gag order is still in effect. It’s OK to spread the word.

When we know Jesus, really know him, we can live our lives in a way that tells the story. There are a few people I would lift up whom I think have seen Jesus and are telling the story in a way that makes a difference.

Do you know Della Waghiyi? Della is a member of St. John. She grew up on St. Lawrence Island. She and her husband, John, lived in Nome when he was still alive and were active in the United Methodist Church. They both went to seminary so that they could take the gospel to the Yupik people in Russia after the Iron Curtain fell. John didn’t live to see his dream become a reality, but because of their inspiration, the Chukotka Native Christian Ministry was formed and Yupik people from Russia came to Nome to be trained in Bible study and took the Christian faith back. Della has been an integral part of this ministry. In the meantime, as you know, the infrastructure of Russia broke down and hard times and even starvation have become a reality across that country.

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