Year C The Transfiguration February 14

Luke 9:28-36

“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God”. Luke 9:20

Context:

It is unusual for me to include a verse that is not in the reading as my leader. On this occasion it is very helpful as we read the epiphany that we know as the “transfiguration”. The question of Jesus identity and significance is one we look at post-resurrection. For those who lived and walked with Jesus the question “Who is this man?” was a live and on-going issue. Was he really the Christ, God’s anointed, the Messiah?

The Messiah was longed for and long-awaited by the Jews. When dominated by a foreign power that longing was intensified. They needed a deliverer. It is not surprising that they held on to any that seemed to offer a glimmer of hope. The scene in Monthy Python’s “The Life of Brian” where the John Cleese character cried out “He’s really the Messiah. I should know, I’ve followed a few in my time.” May be closer to the truth than the film maker knew.

Luke follows the Marcan order of events (Mark 8:31-9:8) and makes very little adjustment to the Marcan wording. It is worth taking note of the responses of the disciples when the one they believed to be “the Christ” raised the matter of his own suffering and death. This was not the picture they had of the Messiah.

Comment:

Sandwiched between two declarations of future suffering and death is this remarkable epiphany. God broke into our world in dramatic ways. Here, up on a mountain (and hence closer to God in the thinking of the ancients), Jesus prayed. The disciples with him, Peter, James and John, were stirred from their tiredness by the luminous presence of Moses and Elijah with Jesus. Jesus stands between the great deliverer of Israel and the great prophet of Israel.

A drowsy Peter is confronted with these two heroes who stand alongside a “dazzling white” Jesus. His impulsive and blustering response is to build a tent and stay in this exalted state. Ironically the discussion topic of discussion between Jesus, Moses and Elijah is about Jesus departure and “what he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.” (31)Every time the prospect of his rejection, suffering or death was raised the disciples (for whom Peter was the mouthpiece) protested.

The idea of a difficult path for their master was not comfortable, and certainly not welcomed by the disciples. In words reminiscent of the epiphany at Jesus’ baptism the divine voice speaks "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" (35) The path chosen for Jesus and by Jesus was one of suffering. The price paid for a greater good was enormous, but it was a price Jesus was willing to pay.

Many are the times that we would say NO to suffering and pain. We would all prefer the easy road. Yet God calls us to walk in His ways. For some those paths will seem impossibly hard, and yet we must trust that ultimately the will bring about the best. For us there is a responsibility to listen for the divine voice, the voice of God. Once we have heard the challenge is to obey.

Other readings:

Exodus 34:29-35

Psalm 99

2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2