Transfiguration A
image: “Transfiguration” by Ted (Flickr)
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist, Patreon
Bryan Odeen, @BryanOdeen, bryanodeen.com, soundcloud.com/bryanodeen
Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist, Patreon
Nicole Cox, @PastorBesties, Facebook.com/PastorBesties, Youtube Channel
Musician - Whym, “Thrill” from their debut album Sing, Doubter, @WhymMusic, Facebook, WhymMusic.com, Instagram
Matthew 17:1-9
Initial Thoughts
Sermon the Mount is every 3 years - Transfiguration is every year
Time to embrace the mystery of the divine incarnate and accept the invitation to be transformed ourselves
Complete transformation - how has the promise of Christmas transformed you? Are you prepared for Lent?
Context
Peter declares Messiah
Jesus predicts death. Peter denies death
Jesus revealed in glory of Transfiguration
The disciples fail to heal
Second passion prediction
Transfiguration Sunday: Why is this a thing?
End of Epiphany
The ordinary made extraordinary
The human made divine
F Buechner: “Even with us something like that happens once in awhile. The face of a man walking with his child in the park, of a woman baking bread, of sometimes even the unlikeliest person listening to a concert, say, or standing barefoot in the sand watching the waves roll in, or just having a beer at a Saturday baseball game in July. Every once and so often, something so touching, so incandescent, so alive transfigures the human face that it's almost beyond bearing.”
UMC Discipleship article gives two reasons:
“We celebrate the revelation of Christ's glory "before the passion" so that we may ‘be strengthened to bear our cross and be changed into his likeness.’ The focus of the Lenten season is renewed discipline in walking in the way of the cross and rediscovery of the baptismal renunciation of evil and sin and our daily adherence to Christ”
“In the biblical context, the synoptic gospels narrate the Transfiguration as a bridge between Jesus' public ministry and his passion. From the time of the Transfiguration, Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem and the cross.”
“In the East, the Festival of the Transfiguration has been celebrated since the late fourth century, and is one of the twelve great festivals of the East Orthodox calendar. In the West it was observed after the ninth century by some monastic orders, and in 1457 Pope Callistus III ordered its general observance. At the time of the Reformation, it was still felt in some countries to be a "recent innovation," and so was not immediately taken over into most Reformation calendars, but is now found on most calendars that have been revised in the twentieth century. A recent tendency in the West is to commemorate the Transfiguration on the Sunday just before Lent, in accordance with the pattern found in the Synoptics, where Jesus is represented as beginning to speak of his forthcoming death just about the time of the Transfiguration, so that it forms a fitting transition between the Epiphany season, in which Christ makes himself known, and the Lenten season, in which he prepares the disciples for what lies ahead. Whether observing the Transfiguration then will affect the observation of it on 6 August remains to be seen.” Society of Archbishop Justus
Bible Study
Six Days - only time in the Gospels something happens after “six days” (Robert Myallis)
Six days of creation - Genesis 1:31, “very good”, but not complete
Six days of Moses in God’s presence before receiving the Word from God
The transfiguration recalls the humanity of Jesus (humanity created on the sixth day), but it will be Jesus’ divinity that leads him to the cross (the completion of his ministry)
Preparation of what is to come
Jesus “took up” Peter, James and John to the top of the mountain - “took up” can also mean sacrificed and is used in the Septuagint when Abraham “took up” Isaac to Mount Moriah (RM)
“I argue that Jesus’s transformation was not an epiphany but a preview of his apotheosis or deification. That is, this transformation reveals not a divine nature that Jesus already possessed but the divine nature that would obtain in the future when ascended to heaven.” (Delbert Burkett, Journal of Biblical Literature 138, no.2 (2019):413-432)
According to Burkett: Three main lines of argument regarding this story
Jesus changed materially on the mountain
Jesus revealed something that was true all along
Jesus revealed something that would happen in the future.
Burkett makes the argument that Jesus was transformed here, using genre studies and other evidence, he argues that it is here that Jesus becomes divine.
Three major movements:
Jesus’ Transfiguration
Transfiguration - a rare word even in the bible (appears in Romans 12:12 and 2 Corinthians 3:18)
Clothed in light & shining are both evidence of being in the presence of the divine (Ex. 34:29)
Moses and Elijah
both have divine encounters on the Mountain after facing opposition from Kings (Pharaoh and Ahab respectively)
Represent the twin pillars of the Hebrew Bible - Law and Prophets
Warren Carter - “Jesus’ association with them emphasizes his similar tasks and identity: to confront Rome’s oppressive rule, reveal God’s will, experience rejection, and be vindicated by God (Matthew 16:21)”
God speaks
Second time in Matthew (first was Jesus Baptism)
“My son” has been used to refer to Kings (Psalm 2) and Israel (Hosea 11)
Son denotes being an agent of a greater power - Israel is called to be a holy nation and priestly kingdom (Ex. 19) and a light to all nations (Isaiah 42:6); Kings are called to represent God’s justice and righteousness (Psalm 72)
Declaration is political - Emperors were designated as sons of God (Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian)
Listen
Command is to listen to him - a powerful message after we have just explored the sermon on the mount
Immediately preceding this passage Jesus proclaims his own death (Matthew 16:21) and the death of at least some of his followers (16:24-28)
Disciples respond
The disciples are afraid - an appropriate response when confronted with the divine
God has just confirmed Jesus’ disturbing proclamation
They continue to follow Jesus
Transfiguration united baptism with resurrection - the death and resurrection of Jesus is only understood in connection with Jesus’ life and ministry
Same words used at baptism (Matthew 3:17)
Adds “listen to him.”
Same clothing as the Easter angel (Matthew 28:3)
At baptism, it was ambiguous if anyone else heard God. This time it is explicit that they hear.
Leaning into Lent
Lent will focus on Jesus’ encounters with various people - listen to what Jesus says to each of them:
Lent 1A - Satan, “Worship and serve only God”
Lent 2A - Nicodemus “[Jesus was not sent] to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”
Lent 3A - Woman at the well, “I am [the Messiah]”
Lent 4A - Blind man, “I am the light of the world”
Lent 5A - Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life”
Thoughts and Questions
From listener Robert Blankenship (from Feb. 5, 2016):
In your podcast on The Transfiguration, you asked for listeners to let you know our thoughts on the transfiguration, so here are mine. In addition to the usual themes of mountain-top and valley, I find two things intriguing about the Transfiguration. The first is that until the Transfiguration, the disciples might have wondered about eternity, about Christ’s allusions to his resurrection, etc. But now, they have to wonder no more, resurrection is real. Previously, Moses and Elijah have only been storybook figures from Israel’s history, but here they are, in the flesh, still existing. No more will the disciples have to question what happens after death. For the faithful, here is proof that they still exist.
The second thought, and the more important to me, is that the disciples are still trying to figure out how all of Christ’s story fits together. What is he talking about with all of the stuff about the cross? Where is he going and why is he talking about leaving us, etc.? The disciples have no way of knowing what their futures will hold beyond this point, but God has said, “Listen to my Son.” I think about the trek back down the mountain following this experience, of the disciples simply following Christ, putting one foot in front of the other. Isn’t that what the Christian experience is all about? The only way we find God’s will for us in the world is to listen to Christ, but to also continue putting one foot in front of the other as we follow along. It is only through taking that ‘next step’ that we will ever know what all God has in store for us and what all he has for us to do in this life. Keep taking that next step.
Are we willing to be “take up”/ sacrificed for the sake of God’s love and grace in Jesus? Are we willing to sacrifice the life we knew before (cf. Matthew 16)?
Transfiguration is both mysterious and strange and also very practical: like Moses we are called to embody the spirit of the Law and represent God’s truth and justice, and like Elijah we are called to speak truth to power and wait to hear the silent voice of God. Instead of shying away from the mystery- perhaps this Sunday is a chance to embrace it and the practical implications of being transfigured by Christ.
Exodus 24:12-18
Initial Thoughts
Many forget how long the Sinai experience was. Certain understanding that the people got there, Moses went up, got the 10 Commandments, came down and they were worshiping the golden calf.
As Exodus tells it, the giving and receiving of the law took quite some time. Several trips up the mountain. A lot of law, but also a lot of priestly details.
Bible Study
Literary Context
Ch 19 - Arrival at Mt. Sinai - Warning that people are not allowed to come up mountain. Aaron allowed, but no one else. Seeing God = Dead.
Ch 20 - Giving of Ten Commandments, but not in stone
Ch 22-23 - More instructions about slaves, violence, and property. Promise for military conquest of the land they are to occupy. Warning to not worship the gods of the defeated inhabitants of the land.
24:1-8 Moses tells the people of these instructions. They agree “Everything the Lord has said, we will do, and we will obey” (24:7). Moses reads the covenant scroll, and then seals this covenant with splattered blood from the sacrificed oxen. Half over altar, and half over the people.
24:9-11 Covenant meal with Moses, Aaron, Badab and Abihhu, and 70 elders, “and they saw Israel’s God. Under the feet looked like lapis-lazuli tiles, dazzling pure like the sky. God didn’t harm the Israelite leaders, though they looked at God and they ate and drank.”
This setting makes v. 12 confusing, because they already seem to be “up.”
Ch 25-31 are detailed instructions about the Tabernacle, the Ark, and worship instructions.
Ch 32 - The people worship the calf, and break the covenant made in ch 24.
Lectionary Context
End the Epiphany season - Describes an epiphany of God
Epiphany - the manifestation of God as human
epiphaneia (Gk) - from “to appear” mean “manifest” or “appearance”
Cloud covered mountain
Like a blazing fire on top of the mountain
(Skips v. 9-11, “under God’s feet there was what looked like a floor of lapis-lazuli tiles, dazzling pure like the sky)
Transfiguration is another moment of meeting God on the mountain.
“Thus, in this season of reflection upon God's manifestation and incarnation, today's lesson brings us to the place of revelation--God's holy mountain--where heaven meets earth and humans encounter the divine.” (Frank Yamada, Working Preacher)
Transfiguration is a transition piece from epiphany to Lent in lectionary. In gospel, it is a transition from ministry to passion.
What comes before this passage: The binding of the covenant
What comes after: The instructions, and the breaking of the covenant
This theophanic moment is a transition between God’s saving act in Exodus, and the people’s failure to live into covenant.
Four movements within the passage (Yamada)
The Lord's instructions to Moses (v. 12)
Moses' ascent to the mountain (vv. 13--15a)
The glory of the Lord settles on the mountain (15b--17)
“Settle” same root as “dwell.” God lived on the mountain. Part of instruction given is the instruction for the tabernacle, or “dwelling,” of God.
Presence lasted 6 days - recalls Creation account. On the seventh day God calls Moses.
Moses enters the cloud (v. 18)
Moses is clearly called out from among the leaders. While many of the elders had just experienced a special ‘viewing’ of God, Moses and Joshua, and then only Moses is singled out to be the receiver of God’s instruction.
The farther up the mountain, the more glorious is the presence of the Lord, and the more exclusive it is. Moses slowly loses his companions as he gets higher and higher up the mountain.
Moses stays for 40 days - again a significant number.
40 days of rain for the Flood.
40 years of wandering has not yet been established, but probably part of the final editing.
Clearly significant when we fast forward to Jesus in wilderness.
Thoughts and Questions
Where does God dwell? How is God connected to both the particular and the universal? Is it possible for God to dwell in a place and also be a universal God over all creation?
An unsatisfying ‘end’ of the story. “The texts stops short of directing the departure. We only know that Moses waits and is at risk… All we know thus far is that Moses has indeed met God. Because of that meeting, nothing will ever be the same.” (Walter Brueggemann, Texts for Preaching, Year A, p. 166)
Is there a need/room for a more dangerous God within our theology. There is, rightfully, a desire among many preachers to move away from the “fire and brimstone” days of literally scaring the hell out of people, but perhaps there is a healthy fear of God that needs to be addressed sometimes. Is there anything more terrifying than standing in the presence of God? Standing next to a crib of a newborn you have to care for, Holding the hand of a loved one whose breath is slowly leaving, walking with someone through addiction and recovery, these things are terrifying. Yes, God’s presence can be a comfort, but acknowledging the fear is not the same as succumbing to it.
2 Peter 1:16-21
Bible Study
The “clearly devised myth” that Peter is speaking of is the parousia - the coming of Christ.
The early church suffered a crisis when the parousia was delayed. This letter was written as an encouragement for those troubled by the delay.
Holds onto the promise of the coming, in face of ‘false teachers’ who are starting to say it will never happen.
Probably not written by Peter. Most scholars date between 90-110
Some authorship issues discussed by Dwight Peterson on Working Preacher.
This article on the conservative website Bible.org comes to the conclusion that 2 Peter was written by Peter, but does a pretty thorough job laying out the argument. It also does a nice job outlining some of the controversy surrounding including it in the cannon at all. In the end it basically concludes, It says it was written by Peter, and the Bible is true, so that must be true.
Peter as eyewitness, not just a teller of stories
Eyewitness to the transfiguration.
Also heard God’s own testimony about Jesus.
Faith is rooted in a real experience with God, not just the teaching of ‘experts.’
Assurance that testimony of the prophets is true
Troublesome passage about interpretation
I once had a conversation with a more conservative Christian. In it, I said something like, “I think we have very different ways of interpreting Scripture,” and her response was, “I never interpret Scripture.”
We interpret Scripture whenever we take meaning from it. It is impossible to avoid interpreting Scripture.
CEB makes this a little more clear - that the prophecy that is written comes inspired by God. This is about authorship, not readership.
There are still issues about authorship (for instance, this particular letter).
Thoughts and Questions
The heart of 2 Peter is about authority. Where do you place authority?
What do you mean by authority of Scripture?
The author claims authority in Christ as an eyewitness, not as second-hand.
To what have you been an eyewitness?
When you imagine a possibility
As we turn from Epiphany to Lent, we can reflect on the many ways that God is revealed to us.
What is the dream of Epiphany that God has revealed to us?
What is the way of life that God dreams for us?
What is the way of Christ? What would such a world look like?
Before the world is shattered by Lent, Sin, and the like, let's not take a moment to dream God’s dream of what might have been or of what could be. Let us dream God’s dream about what will be.
Thanks to our Psalms correspondent, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist). Thank you to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Misirlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Sunday Morning”, "Real Ride" and “Summertime”) and The Steel Wheels for our transition music(“Nola’s First Dance” from their album Lay Down, Lay Low) and Paul and Storm for our closing music (“Oh No”).