Never the Same

Mark 9:2-9 

This weekend I was at Trader Joes, and a man kept bumping his buggy into mine as we went through the dreaded frozen foods aisle.

Now, in most grocery stores, the frozen food aisle is a generous 8- or 9-feet width, allowing for passing of shoppers to get to their chosen frozen dishes. But in Trader Joes, the aisles are thinner, and there’s a certain level of patience required when you’re waiting to get to the Asian foods section.

It’s normal to sometimes get cut off or do the cutting off as you rush through the store. But this gentleman just would not stop bumping my cart.

The first few times I sort of kept my eyes down, but finally by the final time I was angered.

I raised my eyes up to meet him and found an older gentleman smiling staring back at me.

And then looking into my eyes, he bumped my cart with his one more time and broke out into laughter.

His laughter broke me out of my own self-righteousness and soon I began to laugh with him. Until we were cracking up in the middle of Trader Joes. And not saying a word as the laughter faded, he moved on.

And I stood there totally confused. All it took to break that tension was laughter at how absurd the entire situation was.

It was a moment of transfiguration for me, not nearly as profound as Jesus on the mountaintop – but a human experience of witnessing how God’s love can overcome the least of our frustrations and make friends out of Trader Joe frozen food aisle competitors.

Simply through a moment of laughter- everything changed. And the rest of my time shopping in the crowded Mardi’s Gras filled patron- Trader Joes turned into a much happier experience. I felt uplifted.

My personal challenge with stories like the Transfiguration is that it sometimes sets me up spiritually to expect a mystical experience in my faith journey.

When we read this passage from Mark- we’re hit with four theological points to consider in our own faith -

1.     Theological Significance: The Transfiguration encapsulates profound theological implications. As scholars, we recognize the presence of Moses and Elijah—representatives of the Law and the Prophets—engaging in conversation with Jesus. This convergence symbolizes the fulfillment of the Old Testament, highlighting Jesus as the culmination of divine revelation.

2.     Divine Affirmation and Identity: The voice from the cloud declaring, "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" is not merely a proclamation but an affirmation echoing the divine endorsement at Jesus' baptism. Scholars, as we dissect these words, let us grapple with the theological depth encapsulated in the relationship between Jesus and the Father, and the divine identity unveiled on that sacred mount.

3.     Redemptive Foretelling: The conversation between Jesus and the disciples on the descent from the mountain reveals the intricate weaving of prophecy and destiny. The reference to Elijah, the anticipation of suffering, and the subsequent resurrection foreshadow the redemptive narrative—a narrative that, as scholars, we are called to scrutinize and unfold.

4.     The Silence Mandate: Jesus' instruction to the disciples to keep silent about the Transfiguration until after His resurrection unveils the strategic timing of divine revelation. In our scholarly pursuits, let us ponder the nuanced interplay between revelation and concealment—recognizing that some truths are unveiled at precisely appointed moments.

 There’s a lot of incredible moments in Scripture that I’d love to witness, but to be with James, John and Peter on top of some beautiful mountain and to watch Jesus’s form change to bright white and for then Elijah and Moses to appear – well honestly it seems like a very fair reward for surviving seminary during a pandemic.

I too, would very much appreciate hearing the voice of God give me a little direction in life. Morgan Freeman’s voiceovers comes close… but not the same.

There are so many times when God meets us where we are in such a profound way, that we are never the same again.

And looking at each of you, each called into leadership in your communities to serve God, I can only dream of the personal stories each of you carry, stories that have shaped and formed your faith and your relationship with Christ, making you never the same as you were before.

I imagine that James and Peter and John walked down the mountain after that experience in total silence after Jesus’s request they not speak of what they had witnessed. Whoever those men were as they ascended that mountain, certainly they too, had been changed by what they had witnessed.

What we didn’t read today in Mark is interesting as it is what happens next after this profound experience.

From the highest high of a divine encounter- a totality of love- Jesus and the three men descend the visual of being on top of the mountain and encountering conflict and hate at its base.

They come upon a crowd that has formed. Scribes are arguing over a boy who has a spirit and is unable to speak, with foaming mouth and grinding teeth.

Demonic hate has transfigured the boy, curling his body into a state of rigidity. He rolls in and out of the fire! A spirit seizes him and cries out. In the bible, the father tells Jesus that the spirit “shatters him and will hardly leave him.” (Luke 9:39) 

Is there an uglier moment in the Bible? And to make matters worse, the disciples are totally ineffective. They cannot do anything to bring comfort, healing, peace, and safety. They are helpless.

The highs and lows of the human experience are all paired together here in perfect contradiction.

Jesus says, “All things are can be done for the one who believes,” and the boy becomes free, with Jesus explaining that some exorcisms can only be done through prayer- and balance is restored.

In Mark’s telling of the transfiguration, the main point of the whole event is to emphasize Jesus’ identity and to instruct the disciples, and us, to listen to Jesus. It is a moment of God’s glory revealed.

It’s such a significant moment, that it found its way into all the synoptic gospels.

We see accounts of the transfiguration of Christ in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Some bible scholars think that it didn’t make it into the Gospel of John because the entire gospel of John is a gospel of glory, and in John- it could be argued that Jesus is always in a form of transfiguration, introduced even at the beginning as God going from Word into flesh in a state of eternal glory- John 1:14 says “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

Love and Hate seen here in Mark, can change how we choose to see the world.

It’s up to us to decide which element we choose to be defined and transfigured by, because we will encounter both.

So often we are trying to get to the top of the mountain. Maybe like those who were building the Tower of Babbel in Genesis, it’s in our nature to always be seeking to climb higher and go farther- to reach God the fastest way possible. 

And because of that it’s so easy to relate to Peter- who wants to build tabernacles or tents for the Elijah, Jesus and Moses and just camp out at the top. To live in that eternal state of holy bliss. 

But that’s not what being a human is.

Being a human is raw, and scratchy and uncomfortable, and to be positively transformed through those experiences so that we can love and minister to one another.

Staying at the top of the mountain, as Peter wanted, is unrealistic.

God’s people don’t live on the mountain.

We live in the valley where the boy lives, where pain and suffering are a daily reminder not just an ancient worry.  We live in churches with unfathomable insurance rates.

We live in the valley of hospital systems that treat the poor as second-class citizens to fair treatment and care.

We live in the valley among the unhoused, among Governors who bring firing squads back into action for the incarcerated-on death row.

We live in valley of crippling student debt, in a world where black and whites still are not given equal treatment and opportunity.

 We live in a valley where justice feels like a social media tagline, and not a form of everyday practice.

Yet- we search, and we find ourselves sometimes at the mountaintop without any warning.

And without warning- We are transfigured when we witness the baptism of a new member of our community- and welcome them into the life and love of the Body of Christ.

We are transfigured when we read the Gospel and see the testament of Christ’s love for us.

We are transfigured when we worship God together in the moment,

and see our neighbors together- united as disciples of Christ.

We are transfigured when we witness sharing of resources,

of uplifting the underprovided,

when we connect the haves with the have-nots,

when we hear those who have kept silent,

 when we sit by the beds of the sick and dying,

when we encourage others to step into their spiritual gifts and serve the Church,

Each of us as Ruling Elders, Teaching Elders, members of churches, Brothers and sisters in Christ hold a responsibility placed upon our shoulders at our baptism to be active members in the Body of Christ-

We are called to raise those up around us so that they too can use their trans figurative experiences in which God has touched their lives and be morphed into leaders of the church- sharing their gifts and ministries with us and the world.

Once you witness or experience a profound change through Christ- you’re never going to be the same.

Thanks be to God. Amen.