“Listen to Jesus”

Mark 9:2-8"
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

Good morning! It’s good to be back! Even just one Sunday away makes me miss you all! It’s hard to believe it but it is already Transfiguration Sunday— the last Sunday before Lent. This year is the earliest Lent possible and so despite only having a few weeks after Epiphany, we’re already at Transfiguration Sunday. In general, I tend not to like super “churchy” words that aren’t used anywhere outside of church because I think it’s hard to connect their meaning to our lives when it’s a word we only use here. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of churchy words and it’s not always avoidable, as is the case today. Transfiguration is one of those words that we throw around one Sunday a year as if it’s totally normal, when in fact we *never* otherwise use it.What does it mean to be transfigured, anyway? What is the point of this story and why does it always come before Lent? I’m excited to try and answer those questions with you today. My study and conversations of this text this week have been extremely interesting to me and I’m excited to dive in together.

If you’ll remember, Mark has a word that he uses constantly to describe the timing of when things happen. Does anyone remember what it is? Immediately! Everything in Mark happens at a breakneck speed… until we reach today’s passage. Suddenly, there’s a break in the pace of the narrative and there’s a 6 day break in the story. It’s almost as if from the very beginning of the story, Mark wants us to know that this moment is set apart and special. But, of course, if it starts with “6 days later” then we will want to ask, “what happened 6 days earlier?” 6 days earlier, we get the first “Christological Confession” to use some very big churchy words. It’s the first time that someone in the book of Mark correctly identifies Jesus as the Messiah. It’s Peter who does so and Jesus tells him to keep it a secret, another often repeated phrase in Mark. For a moment, we’re proud of Peter for finally getting it right but then Jesus tells the disciples that, “Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again” and Peter is so horrified that he takes Jesus aside to rebuke him! To this, Jesus gives his famous rebuke of a rebuke, “Get behind me Satan!” It’s a humbling reminder that even when we sometimes get it right, it doesn’t mean we’ll always be right. Our pride, our expectations of what “should” be, and our humanness all can trip us up at times.

This morning’s story starts there— 6 days after being told that there is no skipping the bad parts of the story, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to the top of the mountain and there he is “transfigured.” His whole appearance becomes blindingly bright, like an angel’s. As the light dims, the disciples are able to see that Jesus isn’t alone but is surrounded by Moses and Elijah— the two great prophets of Israel. The gospel authors don’t tell us what they talked about, but I love to wonder about what it could have been. Were Moses and Elijah there to comfort and encourage him? Did they bond over the shared experience of trying to preach to a people who were uninterested in what they had to say? Did Moses tear up upon finally setting foot in the promised land, something he never got to do in his lifetime? I love to imagine these three men together, somehow caught up in time and set apart from it and what it must have been like.

Of course, upon witnessing a blinding light and the appearance of the two most important figures in their faith history, the disciples are terrified and speechless. In his stunned state, brave and bold Peter puts forth an idea of his own— let’s build booths or tents for them! One for each of the three men. He’s saying, “let’s stay here.” Maybe it’s his awe and reverence for the two great prophets of Israel. Maybe it’s his inclination to follow the great Jewish tradition of Sukkot, the festival of booths where Jews would build booths as a symbol of the temple. Or maybe, it’s because Peter feels safe up there. Safe away from the crowds and the priests and Romans and everything that Jesus said is going to happen. He can’t suffer and die up here, right? 

Fear is a powerful, dangerous motivator. When we are anxious and afraid, we do the first thing we can think of to ease that terrible feeling. We often rush to the first solution that comes to mind because allowing ourselves to sit in our fear is so uncomfortable. Painful, even. We do not like to be afraid. In his response to the transfiguration, Peter starts what will become a time honored Christian tradition of responding to a terrifying existential threat by proposing a building project. We might call it, “field of dreams theology” for its’ “if we build it, they will come” premise. For two millennia, Christians have channeled their anxieties into building bigger, better buildings instead of investing our time, energy, and money into people. This is a story that this congregation knows well. I get a reminder of it every time I look out my office window every day and see the unfinished basement addition, slowly crumbling over the decades. It’s a reminder that a leader here once thought the answer to our problems was through building a bigger building and what resulted was an expensive problem that still haunts us today. 

One of my most often repeated mantras is that “we are called to be more than caretakers to crumbling buildings.” Every time I say that to another pastor colleague, they just sigh wearily because no matter how much they know it to be true, that’s who their people ultimately want them to be. We have plenty of stated values and beliefs, but at the end of the day, the conversations that fill the many church meeting agendas are about what to do to fix their buildings. For lots of congregations, it is as if maintaining the building is the sole purpose of the church. Perhaps this temptation goes all the way back to Babel. Building something grand and beautiful makes us feel safe and secure. It’s easy to celebrate, even idolize, a beautiful building. But if we read Matthew 25, Jesus says, “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” He does not say, “for I was worried about being forgotten, so you built me a beautiful building.” We have to be intentional not to fall into the trap of caring more about buildings than our hurting, vulnerable neighbors for it is alluring precisely because we are so tempted to think it is a faithful response. 

Peter’s idea gets a response from the voice of God from the heavens! It’s similar to what happened at Jesus’ baptism but this time, instead of talking directly to Jesus, God talks to the disciples themselves! “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him!” It’s not a rebuke or a rebuttal, but a redirection. When we get anxious or afraid, we want to solve existential problems with solutions that feel tangible and practical. While it’s understandable, it’s not always a faithful response. Instead, we are called to respond by listening to Jesus. It’s easy to get so distracted by all the things that people say about Jesus that we forget to listen to the words Jesus actually spoke– through the gospels that we read and through the Spirit of God inside us today. Don’t focus so much on what people are saying about Jesus that you forget to listen to Jesus himself. 

Our passage today ends with the sudden disappearance of Moses and Elijah and the disciples are left with only Jesus on top of the mountain. When they come down the mountain, the first thing they do is encounter the other disciples trying to heal a man plagued with demons. They cannot cast it out on their own and need Jesus’ help, which he provides. The faithful response to the majesty of the transfiguration was not to build something but to go out to the people and meet their needs. Our calling is the same. 

What do we do, once we have seen the glory of the Lord? Do we build buildings to keep God’s light intact and safe or do we go out to encounter and bless the people in need of that light? If you’re not sure what that looks like, don’t take it from me– listen to Jesus, God’s beloved son, and he will tell you where to go.