Listen to Him

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday February 22, 2009, Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday

2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Echoes, I love the sound of an echo in the mountains. When I was in the Boy Scouts, I used to love the yells between camps at jamborees, hearing hundreds of scouts call off into the woods waiting for a reply from another group at the other end of the camp.

In seminary we practiced chanting the Psalter like a Cantor on a racquetball court just for the reverb. That was an amazing sound hearing the voices of twenty seminarians singing the word of God. There is a peace that comes over you as you hear the final notes fade away not into the distance, but into your own ears.

There are other kinds of echoes. In literature, echoes can be called foreshadowing; where words spoken in an earlier chapter become prophetic of things happening later. The reverse of the echo is the flashback, recalling the foreshadowing of a bygone time.

This is “Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday.” This is the day when we read the story of Jesus taking Peter, James, and John to the mountain where they receive a vision that brings Jesus together with the greatest heroes of the faith, the two most important men in messianic prophecy. They see him transfigure, watch his appearance change. By their senses they perceive the change to Jesus’ outward appearance. His clothes become whiter than anyone on earth could ever make them. If this weren’t frightening enough, a cloud overshadows them and a voice within the cloud says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.”

This scene gives Peter, James, John, and all of us a flash from the past and foreshadowing into the future.

The very command “Listen to Him” harkens the listener steeped in the Torah to Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (this me is Moses) from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” The voice reminds the three apostles that a prophet will be raised up in Israel who shall be heeded, listened to. Jesus is this promised Mosaic prophet.

This voice also reminds the reader of the gospel of the first chapter and the baptism of the Lord; a piece we read only about six weeks ago, “He saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”[1]

For the one who hears the words of the Gospel, this is both a distant and a recent memory.

The whiteness of Jesus’ clothing, dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them; this image returns the reader to the prophecy of Daniel. The seventh chapter presents us with the Ancient One:

As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
and an Ancient One took his throne,
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool

The images of the Kingdom of God are set in prophecy, and fulfilled in the viewing of Jesus on the mountain. We are told what the prophet would look like, and Jesus’ appearance has come to match this.

This image of bright blinding whiteness makes another appearance in Revelation as the return of Jesus is described, “in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow;”[2]

So the whiteness is not only a flashback to the past, it is a foreshadowing of future events. It not only represents what was prophesied for the future, it prophesies to the future. There are other flashbacks and foreshadowings which can be found in this passage, but this is enough to make a point. The point is that this is a moment in history where the past, the present, and the future come together, and with this comes the epiphany from the voice that says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.”

At that moment in history, Peter, James, and John were given a glimpse into the divine nature of Jesus, and with every epiphany comes fear and confusion. This is the very nature of epiphany as literature.[3] No wonder Peter offered to build three booths; I wouldn’t have had the good sense to offer that foolishness. My foolishness would have been much sillier.

This moment ends with the four coming down off the mountain, talking about what has just happened and what will happen. By this experience, Jesus prepares these three for the future. Jesus prepared them to tell the world who he is. Jesus was preparing the three to take the reins of disciple leadership and teach the next generation and every generation beyond them. Jesus prepared them for his death, for his life, and for what comes next.

Of course, the three are just men, and they will behave like people behave. In the very next chapter, James and John will seek personal glory in the midst of the kingdom. They will beg “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus models Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup in “A Few Good Men” when Jesus reminds them of the passion to come and asks “Can you handle my glory?”

Peter will be the subject of “instant prophecy” when he cries out that he will never abandon the Lord. Jesus tells Peter surely he will deny his Lord. He will deny his Lord not once but three times. Bluster aside, Peter will seek to save his skin. And this is just what happens, and as the cock crows, Peter knows what he has done.

In the garden at Gethsemane, Peter, James, and John, the three who saw Jarius’ daughter raised from the dead, the three who witnessed the transfiguration, they fail the Lord moments before his arrest. These are the three who saw Jesus in his Glory and participated in some of the most intimate moments of his ministry. And with these benefits, they remained absolutely human.

At this moment in history, we are given a glimpse into the divine nature of Jesus. We are given the vision that brings Jesus together with the greatest heroes of the faith; the two must important men in messianic prophecy. We see him transfigure, watch his appearance change. As Jesus prepared the three for the present and future with a glimpse from the past, we are prepared for the present and the future with a glimpse from the past.

This passage shares the good news that “the kingdom that Jesus is preaching has been implemented. Despite the turmoil of the world, experienced by the Markan Christians, they can recognize that Jesus is superior to their persecutors and is already controlling the world.”[4]

But I imagine that it also comes with the warning that in this world, knowing the greatest God of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords is no guarantee that our perfection follows. If anything, this story teaches us that those with the greatest advantages will fall victim to sinful nature as deeply as those who deny Jesus by malicious intent. The sins are different, but the sins are still sin.

This passage is filled with echoes. Some of them have bounced back from the days of Moses, some of them bounced back from just a couple of days earlier. This passage has echoes that remind us of Israel in the desert, Jesus during his baptism, and Revelation’s vision of the second coming.

This is a moment in history where the past, the present, and the future come together. These echoes are to be shouted from the mountaintops. They are to be cried from the city square and the temple gates. They are to be shared with the world.

Things change. That’s the nature of our world and our earthly lives. Things change. Our gospel reading today even shows how Peter, James and John’s view, their vision of Jesus changes. It changes with the epiphany from the voice that says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.

Our vision of the world must change also. There is no way it cannot. By this experience, Jesus prepares us for the future too. Jesus prepares us to tell the world who he is. Jesus prepares the body which is the church to take the reins of disciple leadership and teach the next generation and every generation beyond them. Jesus prepares the world for his death, for his life, and for what comes next. Listen to him, and share the word of his victory so others may hear the good news too.

[1] Mark 1:10-11
[2] Rev 1:13-14
[3] New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII, Leander Keck, Ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995, page 630
[4] Ibid, 631