Matthew 17:1-9
The apostles probably had a lot of different ideas about who Jesus was. Sure, he could work miracles -- they’d seen a few. At the time of the transfiguration, they had even seen miracles such as Jesus walking on water, quieting a storm, sending demons into pigs -- but you know human beings, then and now. The Pharisees witnessed his miracles and decided that he drove out demons by being in league with demons. And there were other healers in those days, pagan as well as Jewish. Could they heal as well? And if so, how? In any event, Jesus attracted a lot of people to follow him, but despite the miracles, a lot of folks decided it didn’t mean they should change their lives. And the apostles who traveled with Jesus couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t that different from them; he got tired, he had to eat, walking on those roads he got dirty; on a hot day you could see sweat on his brow. And they would wonder -- is he just another healer? Is he a holy man, a prophet? Is he the messiah? And if he’s the messiah he doesn't look like a messiah! And they would ask, when is it going to happen? And he’d say, The Son of Man must suffer and die. It didn’t make sense so they would ignore it.
When I read about the transfiguration, I wondered how Jesus persuaded his disciples to climb the mountain with him. Maybe he invited all twelve but only Peter, James and John took him up on it. We know that later on when they came down the other nine were trying without success to drive a demon out of a boy. But it may have been nothing more than a desire to pray. We read many instances in scripture when someone ascends a mountain to pray. It’s a way to get away from the world and at the same time feel closer to God, even though we know God isn’t up there somewhere. Jesus is always making time to pray, where he can tune out the rest of the world. We read that after curing people in Peter’s village he withdrew to a deserted place to pray; and one time he told his apostles, after he had sent them out to preach and heal, that now was the time to withdraw and rest a while. You and I need this as well. I don’t know if you have a favorite place to pray or meet God on a regular basis, but one of the wonderful things that happens right here in Saint Mary’s is that there are times when we place Jesus on the altar so that people can come in and sit before him and pray.
When Jesus and his disciples get to the top of the mountain, the story tells us that he was transfigured before them, and was conversing with Moses and Elijah. Moses climbed a similar mountain to receive the ten commandments, and in his encounter with God he was transfigured as well; when he came down it says that no one could look at his face so he had to cover it. Elijah climbed a mountain and encountered God in a still small voice, not in thunder or lightning. And like Moses, he was changed and was strengthened to continue to do God’s bidding. Matthew and Mark both tell us they conversed; Luke tells us they conversed about what was to happen in Jerusalem -- his passion and death. In our moments of prayer when we sit in the presence of God we need to look carefully at our lives and ask God for wisdom and strength to face our futures, because there will be suffering, there will be death.
You can imagine how the apostles felt in the presence of this scene. Jesus, who up to then was their teacher, worker of miracles, and indeed, friend, is now revealed as much more than that, and it is all confirmed when the voice from heaven calls him “son”. Greater than Moses, the lawgiver; greater than Elijah, the prophet. Messiah, sure, but Son, a title given by God. Peter, sensing the miraculous nature of this moment, wants to prolong it and proposes that they build structures for the three. We human beings like to hold on to those moments that make life worth living. We remember anniversaries, birthdays, religious and public holidays, that in some way connect us with those great moments in the past. The Jews build little structures like the apostles were proposing during the feast of Succoth, to remind themselves of how they sheltered during their time in the desert with Moses.
But then the vision is gone and there is Jesus, dusty and sweating from the climb, his old self. And when those great moments happen to you and I, at some point we have to get back to the real world. Peter, James and John will never see Jesus the same way again; and in some way have been prepared to hold the little community together when Jesus is captured, condemned, suffers and dies. That’s what adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is supposed to do -- prepare us to re-enter the world renewed, strengthened and given wisdom.
So who was transfigured on the mountain? Jesus of course. But so were the apostles, who would never be the same. The presence of Jesus does that. And his presence is here in this Church all the time, but especially during adoration. Make it a point to come and visit him a few times during Lent, and be transfigured yourself.
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