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| Mount Tabor, southern Galilee |
The
high mountain where Jesus is transfigured in front of his three closest
disciples does not have a name in any of the gospels, but for centuries it has
been thought it was Mount Tabor. Somewhat of a landmark in the area of southern
Galilee, which is where Jesus and his disciples were travelling at this point, Mount
Tabor is one of the highest mountains in southern Galilee. At almost 2000 feet above sea level, it was
visible from most locations in the area. People could plot distance and
direction with it on the horizon. In addition to that, it has a broad, almost
flat summit. It could be climbed fairly easily, yet was high enough to be
actually in the clouds some days.
Besides
the fact that mountains are often, in many religions and cultures, associated
with leaving the mundane world below and having an close experience with the
divine, mountains also help people get their bearings. My parents have a house
in the North Carolina mountains that is perched, facing westward, at the very
edge of the Blue Ridge. When I’m up there, I spend a good bit of my time glancing
back and forth between the wondrous view in front of me and Google Earth on my computer, trying to find out where
I am on this earth in relation to the mountain peaks I’m seeing.
Richmond is
just far enough east not to have any real peaks from which to survey the area, unless
you count that strange, giant dirt mound just off 288 and I-64 at the edge of
Short Pump—what is that thing? I remember that when I first arrived here I
spent a good bit of time one day looking out of one of the windows down at MCV
hospital while I was visiting someone. Looking out over the landscape, I tried
to make sense of where Shockoe Bottom was from where I was standing, how
downtown slopes off suddenly around 14th street, how the James River
starts to curve a bit more southward past downtown. A newcomer to the area, I
was getting my bearings.
I think
that’s a large reason why Jesus takes his disciples up this mountain. He’s
getting his bearings, and he’s giving them theirs. They’ve had a string of good
experiences with healing and teaching. Peter has just started to put two and
two together about Jesus’ identity. Like the vantage point offered by any high
spot, this transfiguarion on Mount Tabor will now give them perspective. It
gives them the chance to see their own location—their own relationship to him,
their own call to discipleship—in relation to where they’re going. Although the
Scripture here doesn’t mention anything about what they can see off the side of
the mountain—where, for example, the Jordan River starts to flow southward out
of the Sea of Galilee—it’s clear that they’re given some sort of glimpse of
Jesus’ final destination.
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| "Transfiguration of Christ" Giovanni Bellini (1455) |
The
specific events of this transfiguration may seem a little otherworldly, but if
you put all the images and visions together for a moment, you start to realize
that one perspective they gain has to do with Christ’s being at the center. All
the focus is on him. That’s what the dazzling white clothes are for. Appearing
together with the two biggest heroes of Hebrew history underscores it. The voice
of God, which had also occurred at his baptism, is now heard by others for the
first time. And even though Jesus strangely silences them about what they’ve
heard and seen, we get the idea that they come down that mountain with a
slightly greater appreciation for who he is and for how important he is.
This
is all a very helpful but sometimes jarring remedy to any spirituality or
religion that ends up being too “me-focused.” I know I spend hours wondering
how God is speaking to me, or how God fits into my life and consider, for example, whether there may be signs
intended especially for me from God that I am misinterpreting, or—worse
yet—missing altogether.
Maybe
you have the same struggles, too. The perspective from the mount of Transfiguration
should shake us out of all that. This voice from above hones in to say, “Listen
to Jesus. It matters more to you, Phillip Martin, that I speak through him than
if I ever speak to you.” Said differently, while it true that God is present in
each of our lives, speaking here and there through this or that person,
nurturing us through prayer, none of us is ever the complete center of God’s
activity. That position has been given to Jesus, and ultimately faith in Christ
means that we should be more interested in how God is present in his life. Ultimately
our time and energy are better spent, spiritually-speaking, paying attention to
Jesus and the life Jesus leads. It is better for us to listen to Jesus and the
words Jesus speaks, because eventually Jesus—not any of us—will die and rise as
a ransom for many.
Notice
as soon as that mysterious voice stops speaking, the disciples saw no one with
them anymore, but only Jesus. The point is driven home: only Jesus. All the
world gets its bearings in him and the love he has for us.
Another
way that perspective comes into focus on that mountain of transfiguration has
to do with the place Jesus is ultimately going. The disciples do not appreciate
it at the time, but they have received a glimpse of the glory for which Jesus
is bound, a glory to which he will bring them, as well. Like a sunrise that is
visible from one mountain summit to another, but not noticeable in the valley
below, the transfiguration is a glimpse of the resurrection, the dazzling,
beautiful light of Jesus’ risen glory. It is the consummation, the completion
of all that God had hoped for God’s people through the words of the prophets
like Moses and Elijah. It is a life where all of creation will be given a
bright, dazzling new existence because of its relationship to Jesus.
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| "Transfiguration" Fra Angelico |
This
is the perspective that Jesus gives the disciples, and it is vitally important,
because they will come down that mountain. They will watch Jesus come down from
that high point into a real shocking bottom, and it will be crucial that they
remember that glorious, transforming light is still the destination. Of course,
they won’t really remember. The darkness of Good Friday makes it easy for them
to lose their way. Indeed, all perspective is lost as Jesus climbs that lonely
dirt mountain of Golgotha nestled in that valley of death. And yet, in the
distance, the rising sun will pierce that gloom. The transfiguration is a
reminder, a promise that greater glory does call us onward, that our end is in
Christ, because Christ holds the end.
I read a piece by a school headmaster and long-time counselor of teens a few weeks ago who wrote about
the three most important questions parents these days should be asking their teenagers. The
first one, he said, is, “Who tells us who we are?” Could you imagine that
conversation happening around the dinner table? I think the transfigured Christ
would like to tell us who we are. The second question was “Where do we want to
go with our lives?” As it turns out, the article was written in response to the
millennial generation and their emerging signs of ennui, their sense in young
adulthood of being lost and without purpose. According to this writer, it’s if
we’ve raised a generation (or more!), that is well-educated, well-heeled, and
well-prepared, technologically-savvy and well-resourced, but with precious little
sense of who determines their identity and even less sense of what the ultimate
goal is. They’re good in the moment…but they suffer from lack of grand perspective.
It
was really an article about all of us, truth be told. With no one like God
speaking out of the cloud of our sin and our waywardness, we don’t know who we
really are. With no one like Jesus leading us through the shocking bottoms of
our lives, we have no idea that God has descended to the valley eventually to
take each one of us to the top. With no promise of the glory that God grants
Jesus Christ, it is easy to forget that we are bound for greater things. We,
too, are promised a great transfiguration when we are finally rid of this
weight of sin that clings so tightly.
A
lot of people have been waiting for this day, Lucia. Plans have been made,
parties organized, family gathered. And people have already been talking about
the family you have, the roots of faith and love and hope you’ve been given. There
is no doubt the foundation is strong and you’ve got a lot going for you here at
the beginning. Both of your parents are ordained pastors. (Well, on second
thought, start praying now!!). Your grandfather is a beloved bishop in your
branch of the church. All of your grandparents are living and healthy, involved
in their communities of faith and wanting to hold you every moment they can. You’ve
got aunts and uncles who love you and model Christ for you.
But,
Lucia, it’s not really your beginning in faith that we’re celebrating today—as
strong as it is—and the greatest gift of this baptismal journey is not the
wonderful roots your parents are giving you as they bring you to that font. The biggest gift is that today they're giving you an ending. It’s
your destination that we’re focusing on. For in this water you are claimed by
that Man who climbs all mountains for you. And the man who descends the darkest
valley for you. Today you are claimed by the promise that this Savior will
welcome you home, transfigured, whenever your life here comes to an end. Lucia,
little burst of light, you get perspective today that no one else in the world
can give you. Life-giving, life-saving perspective...a perspective that will help you answer any of the questions life throws at you.
And
we rejoice partly because your baptism gives us the opportunity to ponder again our own
journeys in light of this perspective. We lean in a little closer…listen a
little harder to his words…cherish the light a little more. We are transfixed
by the glimpse of glory today, but trust all the more that God’s beloved Son
will walk down this mountain with us and then ascend--Alleluia, Praise Him!--to an even greater mountain
Son-rise in the end.
Thanks
be to God!
The Reverend Phillip W.
Martin, Jr.
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