The Transfiguration – 8^th August 2010.

Luke 9:28 – 36

One summer years ago we rented a chalet above Lake Brienz in Switzerland, and nearly every morning we would awaken to find we were above the white cotton wool clouds, which was wonderful. I think there is nothing more magical than climbing a mountain and walking above the clouds, somehow you leave behind the stresses of everyday life, you leave the world behind.

Throughout the Old Testament whenever God wanted to get people’s attention he seemed to take them up a mountain.

He brought Moses and the people of Israel to Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. And while they were there he came down with a cloud and filled the sky with thunder and lightning. His powerful voice made the people tremble. His intention to make sure Israel never forgot what happened that day. He wanted them to always remember that they served a powerful fearsome God who had the power and authority to demand they listen to Him.

In the days of Elijah, God once again brought His people to a mountain - Mt. Carmel - and there he challenged the pagan prophets to a contest, and in the midst of that contest, God sent fire from heaven and consumed Elijah’s sacrifice.

Again his intention was make sure Israel would never forget that day, would continue to remember his awesome power.

And now – once again – God brings people to another mountain, Mount Tabor - and His intention is to make sure that the disciples understand who they are with. He is saying to the disciples, see who you are with, look at him; take notice for my son has all the power, all the authority to command your attention, to have your love, believe in him. Look at him,

he is here with Moses and Elijah. Take notice he is not a prophet like them, he is a far greater leader, he is my son, the one you have been waiting for.

Today God still calls us to climb the mountain, to see through the clouds which dim our sight, not the physical clouds and our physical sight; but the spiritual cloud which prevents us from truly trusting God, truly seeing him in his true light, truly accepting Christ as our saviour. To accept that only Christ can save us.

However many times we hear this passage I think there are always new lessons for us in it, it gives us new strength to proclaim the Gospel to hold up Christ as our Saviour, to have the confidence to challenge the deriders and doubters.

For surely this account truly reveals the majesty of Jesus. He isn’t like the disciples, just a good man, just someone it is good to follow. He went up Mount Tabor with the three disciples, to show that as well as being their friend, the man they followed he is God.

The Transfiguration tells us that within that human frame was the awesome majesty of God. Jesus may have been fully human, but he is also fully God, it may be hard to always understand, but he was God standing here on earth with the disciples.

We heard what happened - Christ’s robes became dazzling white, and alongside him are Moses and Elijah and they are talking. Talking to Jesus about his departure; which would happen in Jerusalem. In the glory of that moment, Moses and Elijah showed they knew what was to happen, they may have been standing there in glory but what they were speaking of was suffering.

For glory and pain are never far apart, the glory of heaven so often reached through hardship, heaven may be glorious but death brings with it much suffering and sadness to those left behind, however I think this passage does bring hope, show us the way ahead.

For I believe that in that scene the disciples got a glimpse of heaven, a glimpse of the glory which awaits all faithful people. The power and glory of that scene should reassure us, strengthen us as we journey along life’s pathway.

It should strengthen us in our desire to serve God, to live out and share our faith, but remembering at all times that we do this we are not doing it for ourselves, or even for the Church, but for the glory of God. I do not think we get to heaven by doing things for the church, but for God, and I believe there is a difference.

We may not be able to walk into Jerusalem with the earthly Christ at our side, but we do have Christ at our side at this very moment, now. Through Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus still walks alongside us, if we hold out our hands he will lead us.

Committing our lives to serving Christ doesn’t mean we will have lives which are without disappointments, without perhaps dreadful upsets, but Jesus is alongside us and through the message of the Transfiguration we can comfort ourselves that there is something more, and better to come. The appearance of Jesus in his glory reminds us that we, too, will receive spiritual, glorified bodies. That we will no longer be subject to pain, illness, suffering, because the old order of things will have passed away. That in time we shall be in the presence of Jesus, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit for eternity.

We heard in the Gospel that Peter is so overwhelmed by what he sees that he wants to turn this into a worship time. He wants to build three shelters… one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus. But they were only being given a glimpse of what was to come, and a thick cloud descends and a voice declares ‘This is my Son... Listen to him’. When the cloud disappears, all they can see is Jesus, they are back in their earthly life.

And this can be a problem with Church. Peter isn’t alone when he wanted things to stay just as they were, he was happy, felt secure, he wanted it to last. But life isn’t like that; we have to move on in faith. I think I have said before that I have been to the Holy Land; been to Mount Tabor, been to places which brought the Gospels alive, where at that moment I would probably have liked to remain. But our earthly pilgrimage can’t just be a visit to a Holy place, it is an every day event, our pilgrimage is our life’s journey.

We have to allow our eyes to be opened to new things, there may be changes we don’t like the sound of, but something tells us we have to listen. We may feel we are being called to leave our comfort zone, we may feel threatened, but when God is working within us we can’t stand still. We may feel scared, think we can’t cope, but we will cope, for God never calls us and then leaves us alone.

Our Christian journey is like climbing a mountain, the path ahead may seem hard work, but God is with us, and one day we will see Jesus face to face. Amen.