Mark 9:2–9

Transfiguration

²And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,

³and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵And Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."

⁶For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

⁷And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."

⁸And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

⁹And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Peter was depressed. He had every reason to be. Six days ago Jesus had told His disciples that he would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and priests and be killed. This didn't make sense to Peter. It couldn't be the will of God that Jesus would be killed. So he took Jesus off to the side to set him straight. "This cannot be," said Peter, "stop this talk about dying. That would ruin everything that God is doing here."

But Jesus rebuked Peter and even called him Satan! It was bad enough that Jesus was losing it. That scared Peter. But to be rebuked so sharply by Jesus. Peter couldn't take any more. He was upset. He was depressed.

Suddenly Jesus calls him and James and John apart and tells them to come with him. He takes them up to the top of a mountain. "Probably we're going up here to pray," thought Peter, "It wouldn't be the first time."

But when they got to the top Jesus didn't kneel down as usual. He just stood there and turned toward them. And when he looked at them his face was shining brighter that the sun. His clothes were dazzling, glistening white. Peter and James and John couldn't even look straight at him for it was blinding.

But the remarkable thing is that Jesus was not alone either. Standing with him were two other men. It looked like Moses and Elijah the prophet. And a cloud overshadowed them;... a white, brilliant cloud. And from the cloud came a voice that said: "This is my beloved Son, listen to him."

This was all too much. Peter was terrified. What was going on? What was happening here? Was this heaven? Was he standing in the presence of God? That was a terrifying thought: a mortal man standing in the presence of a holy God, shining with the brilliance of all his glory! It would mean instant annihilation.

We have all heard that when someone is in an accident and thinks he is going to die his entire life passes before his eyes. I don't know if it is true or not, but that's what they say. Well, Right then the entire scripture went passing before Peter's eyes. Jesus had said once that everything written about him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets must be fulfilled. It was taking place right before Peter's very eyes. Here was Moses and here was Elijah the great prophet. These two men represented the entire Old Testament, the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and here was Jesus, the very person who Moses and the Prophets had written about.

That wasn't all. Here was the cloud. The cloud that surrounded the terrible mountain of God when Moses received the Law from God. The cloud that had led the Israelites through the wilderness. The cloud of God's glory that had filled the tabernacle and overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant. Here was Moses whose face was also shining like the sun after he had met with God and had to put a veil over his face when he talked with the people. Now the face of Jesus was shining like the sun. And here was the same command that God had told Moses: I will raise up a prophet like you, listen to him! Now that same voice said "Listen to Jesus."

And here was Elijah, the greatest of all the prophets. The Law of Moses and the Prophets was the expression that Jesus and his apostles used to refer to the Scriptures. These two men, Moses and Elijah represented what we call the Old Testament. The Old Testament that is all about Christ. And here was Christ too.

But it wasn't just Moses and Elijah with Jesus on that mountain. The apostles, Peter, James and John were also there. And here was that same voice that spoke at Jesus' baptism and said: This is my beloved Son: I am well pleased with him. Here was the cloud that took Jesus up into heaven. Here was the cloud that John saw in his vision of heaven that was surrounding the throne of God. He was that could of which Jesus spoke when he said, "The Son of Man shall return in the clouds."

Even though Peter didn't know it until later, he eventually came to understand that there on that Mountain, the Old and New Testaments were joined together in Christ. Just as Moses and Elijah represented the Old Testament and the chosen people of God, so Peter, James and John represented the New Testament which the Apostles themselves wrote. Here on that mountain were represented all believers. Here on that mountain, the Old Testament and the Israelites were joined in Christ to the New Testament and the church today. And that union is in Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God; whose Word gives us life. In Christ we are joined to the people of God, not only those living today, but those past and those future.

Then Peter speaks up for the three and says, "Teacher, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." It was good to be there and Peter wanted to stay. So let's make tents in which to live so we can just stay here and not go back down to the suffering, painful, depressing world of sin and death. This was paradise; this was heaven. Here, on this mountain heaven literally came down to earth. Heaven and earth met. And they met in Jesus Christ.

And from their vantage point on top of that mountain they could see right over the valley of Christ's death to the mountain of Christ's resurrection and ascension. They could see right past all the depression and worry and brokenness of this world right into eternal life. It was good to be here. This was heaven. Here heaven and earth joined.

But they could not stay here for long. Soon Moses and Elijah were gone, the cloud disappeared and Jesus was normal again. Then they began the journey back down the hill, back into the valley of everyday life.

Right down where we live our lives in this world. For we live in the shadow of the valley of death all the time. We are infested with sin. We carry our guilt and disgrace. Our selfish hearts always think first of ourselves and relationships are broken. The sin that resides in our hearts has broken our lives, our society, and our world.

How often we are discouraged and depressed! How we fell the fingers of death gripping us! Wouldn't it be nice to be on that mountain where heaven meets earth? Wouldn't it be nice to have a taste of heaven? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to look forward right past our sufferings and sins and death into eternal life? Wouldn't it be nice to share in the glory of Jesus?

On the Mount of Transfiguration the Apostles looked over the valley of sin into eternity. The Mount of Transfiguration was a brief moment of heaven. The Mount of Transfiguration is right here in this place. For every Sunday when we worship God around word and sacrament heaven meets earth in this place. Every time we worship God we have a foretaste of heaven. Every time the word is proclaimed or read or studied, it is heaven on earth, because Christ is present and is being poured out into us. In word and sacrament we are joined to Christ. In worship we stand with the Apostles on the Mt. of Transfiguration, looking forward to eternity. We are momentarily joined to eternal life. We have a foretaste of heaven. The future becomes the present. Heaven comes down to earth.

And then we leave the church and join the apostles on the walk back down the mountain. Back down to everyday life where we live out our lives in Christian love and service to others. For when we meet Christ on the Mt. of Transfiguration we are changed. We are joined to Christ. We are made new, forgiven of our sins, washed of our iniquity by his death on the cross.

The death of Christ on the cross was his greatest glory. That is why the mount of transfiguration is surrounded by the death of Christ. Right before it Jesus told about his death. Right after he again repeated his prediction about his death. The Transfiguration of Jesus is tightly connected to his death. His glory is his cross. It is God's greatest glory to redeem sinful man and save us from our sins.

Being made new in Christ we are given new hearts of love for one another. We serve one another, comfort one another, bear each other's burdens, and help them carry their crosses. We do acts of mercy; we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and help the poor. We visit the sick and imprisoned, and help the widow and orphan.

Worship is heaven on earth. Here we stand on the mount of transfiguration looking into heaven and tasting the eternal banquet. Now it is only momentary as we continue to serve God in this world, but soon it will be permanent when our bodies are raised and we join Christ and share in his glory forever.

Amen.