Matthew 17:1-9

The Transfiguration of Our Lord | February 19, 2023 | Matthew 17:1-9 | The Rev. Dr. Ryan D. Mills |

¹Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead” (NRSV).

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         Well every now and then on a Saturday morning I’ll try and take a hike up the Sleeping Giant Mountain in Hamden.  Those of you who have done the hike at some point know there’s a lot of people you meet going up the mountain, and especially in the morning they’re usually quiet, maybe trying to forget the workweek or the night before or get away from it all and clear their heads, and it’s a tough hike in places, so occasionally you see someone reach their hand out to pull someone up over a stone or up a sharp hill.  You wind around and around the Giant’s head to go up, and it’s cool and dark in the shadow of the mountain until finally you reach the top, where you can walk up into the little Castle that was built up there in the 1930’s, and from the top of it you can see Forever: up to Middletown, down to downtown New Haven, across the Sound to Long Island, the sun that was hidden from view on your way up is now massive and blazing right over your head, you just want to stay up and bask in the brightness and take in the view forever.

         Today on this Transfiguration Sunday, Jesus takes his inner circle of disciples to the top of their Sleeping Giant, Mount Tabor. Jesus has just told them that he must be crucified and die, and that the disciples too must carry their cross, that they will suffer because of obedience to him, that their faith will lead to struggle and to darkness before it leads to the light.  And so I think they too must have been trying to clear their heads, to forget about what they had heard and about what might be right around the corner as they made their way up the mountain today.  And as they reached the peak, about 1000’ higher than the Sleeping Giant, there a view met them they did not expect.  For we’re told that Jesus was transfigured before them, “Alleluia Jesus shone like the Sun,” his face beaming, his clothes dazzling white.  For a moment the curtain is parted, and they see Jesus’ raw glory, the glory he had from eternity with his Father, the glory of the Father’s only-begotten Son, shining like the nuclear fusion of the sun itself, the center of the universe radiating uncreated truth and love and compassion bright enough to blind them, it overwhelmed them, and as if that wasn’t enough they looked around and saw Moses, long dead, and Elijah long gone, just chatting with Jesus, a kind of heavenly coffee klatch.  Sometimes you get a glimpse of past, present, and future all brought together; a snapshot of a grandparent, child, and grandchild all together; sometimes you see everything unified and where everything is going, and here the disciples saw Moses who never made it to the promised land, and they saw Elijah who lonely and despairing battled for God’s honor, and the Lord of Old and New, the Lord over our every failure shining in their midst, and they know, no matter what happens now the future is bright, you can see all the way to Easter Morning now.  And we know that no matter what has been or will be, God’s light and life and love in Jesus Christ will be the last word for us all.

         And this feels so good, that Peter decides to interrupt this heavenly conversation, he buts in to Jesus speaking with the Old Testament, “Uh, Lord it is good for us to be here, why don’t we make three booths, three dwellings, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, and one for you too?”  Peter has plans, his plans, like we all do, plans for how we want our life to be; plans for how things should turn out, so why worry about carrying our Cross, why worry about Good Friday when we can just stay up here and relax and get tan in the light of glory?!

         But while Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed him, shining but dark at the same time, foreboding but with rays of hope, blotting him out and shining on him together and from the cloud came the voice of the Father:

         “This is my Beloved Son, with him I am well pleased, Listen to Him.”

         And they fell to the ground, and were overcome with fear.

          Maybe they were overcome with fear, because they had heard God speak with their own little ears.  Maybe they were overcome with fear because of the darkness that covered them, that threatened to blot them out, to erase them as if they had never been. Maybe they were overcome with fear because in that moment they recognized their littleness, they saw their sins, their failures, their guilt in the plain light of day.  Maybe they were overcome with fear because of their own plans, that they dared dictate to God how it would all work out, and what he needed to do.  Maybe they knew how easy it is for us to listen to everything else in life: to listen to our plans, to listen to our fears, to listen to what other people say, to listen to the little voice in our head as opposed to: “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.”

         They fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.

         But Jesus came, and touched them, saying “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

         Jesus reaches down to all those overcome by fear, Jesus reaches down to you, and says, “Don’t be afraid.”  Don’t be afraid, of your past or of the future, for in the Light of the Transfiguration we see the light of Christ shine on all that we have been, and all that will be, shining and transfiguring and healing what was and what will be.  Don’t be afraid, for when you listen to him this is what you hear, “You are my son, You are my child, You are my beloved with whom I am well pleased.”  Don’t be afraid, for he comes to you to reach out his hand, to you who are in fear, to you who have stumbled, he comes again today to reach down to you, to extend his hand to raise you up, to set you on a high rock where you can stand on solid ground, and where you can hear his voice and not be afraid, where you can look back on your past and look towards your future and know that it is all safely in his hands.

         “Tell no one about this,” Jesus says, “until I have been raised from the dead.”  Jesus raises you up high, because he goes down low.  He raises you up, because he himself will go down the mountain, to his Cross.  And there on the little hill of Golgotha, on Calvary, he will lower himself and stretch out his hands, even unto death, he will descend into hell itself, so that you can be raised up high, up out of fear, up from the darkness, up out of death, into his light, into his love, and into the confidence that comes from knowing you are his beloved, and so have nothing to fear.

         Today we stand on the mountaintop, and are taken by the hand as we hear, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.”  We are raised this morning, not to stay at the top, but in order to follow him back down the mountain to serve, to care of our neighbors, to reflect the light of his love to all we meet.  For the Cross is coming, Lent begins in just three days’ time, and he must die down on the Cross to raise us up to life, and in carrying our Cross we will in many little ways die daily to ourselves, so that we can help raise up our neighbors and all who need us.

         But for now, we kneel before him one last time on the mountaintop, for now we get one last glimpse of his shining in glory, and as he is put into our hands this morning in bread and in wine, his body and blood, he takes you by the hand, saying, “My beloved son, my beloved child, Get up, Arise, and Do not be afraid.”

And the Peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

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The Rev. Dr. Ryan Mills

New Haven, Connecticut

Pastor@TrinityLutheranNH.org