Transfiguration

2 Kings 2:1-12 p290
Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.2Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.3The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”4Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.5The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.7Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.8Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”10He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.”11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.12Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
This is the word of the Lord…..Thanks be to God

Mark 9:2-9 p 820
2Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.5Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”6He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
This is the word of the Lord……thanks be to God.

(sing)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, comin for to carry me home…..swing low, sweet chariot, comin for to carry me home……

I’m guessing Elijah wasn’t singing this, as he crossed over the Jordan, knowing that his time on this earth was almost over. We are sure Elisha, his protégée and student, was not happy to see him go—in fact, three times he tries to delay Elijah’s departure. And twice when companies of prophets come to say goodbye to Elijah, Elisha tries to silence them, saying, in effect Shut up. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear that my master is going away today to be with the Lord”. It’s the kind of news Elisha doesn’t want to hear, even if its true.
Because, after all, with Elijah gone, his work and responsibilities fall entirely on Elisha’s shoulders. And the prophet’s life is a difficult calling that requires one to speak truth to power, often with life threatening consequences. And to think that someone you admire, someone you’ve left everything for, someone you’ve been traveling with for a significant part of your life—to think of him being taken away—well, that’s unthinkable.

Up on the mountaintop, there was no singing, at least that we know of, but a voice, that came from heaven and said “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to Him.”

The disciples did not want to listen. Just a short while before this, Peter has declared that Jesus is The Messiah. But when Jesus tries to explain what that entails, what that will mean, what the future will be like, including suffering and the cross….Peter, and the other disciples, do not want to hear it. Much like Elisha being reminded of Elijah’s impending death. It’s the kind of news they don’t want to hear, even if it is true.

Because, after all, a Messiah who suffers and dies isn’t really much of a messiah, is he? A savior of the world who can’t—or won’t save himself isn’t really a savior, is he? And to think of someone you love, someone you’ve left everything for, someone you’ve been traveling with and living with these 3 years—to think of him being crucified, --in his own words—well, that’s unthinkable.

So Peter, up on the mountaintop, in all that light and that glory, must be deliriously happy- or so scared he is stupefied- because all he can talk about is pitching camp and staying up there. Of course he wants to stay up there- everything is hunky dory, right? No more of this stubborn death talk—there’s light, and glory, and Moses and Elijah up there, chatting with Jesus.

But the fact that it is Moses and Elijah who appear should give us some pause. Moses and Elijah are important people in the Hebrew tradition. And Elijah is supposed to reappear, by tradition, when the Messiah is about to come.

Moses and Elijah are two of the only there people who are thought not to have died (Enoch is the other, and we don’t hear much about him) but to have been taken up to heaven. Elijah goes in a big fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses- sort of like an old testament version of Ghost rider, I guess- and we never really know what happened to Moses- he hides in the cleft of a rock, and we don’t hear anything about him after Joshua takes the people over to Canaan.

So, we would likely think that Jesus will go in the same way- a fiery chariot, or taken up by God…leaving his disciples to stay behind and wonder, mouths open, fingers pointing, necks craned upward.

But that’s not what happens. After all that glory, after all that light, a voice comes out of heaven and says “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him”
Because the disciples don’t want to hear those words that Jesus has said.

Then, the moment is gone, and Jesus comes down from the mountain.

Jesus comes down, to enter daily life, with us. And as his disciples, we are called to do the same. As tempting as it is to hold onto those mountaintop moments, to want to stay up there, to try and prolong the moment, to dwell in them, like Peter, our call is to go down the mountain, and enter life.
Perhaps you have had some moments- perhaps a time in your life- on retreat, after studying the word, after being at Camp Whitman, when you have felt the glory of God, the love of God. And the moment is so—so holy, so other, that you don’t want it to end. But it does. And you come down, into real life. Which is not very shiny or glorious, but is filled with people like you and me, all of whom happen to be in the same line at Wal-mart, all at the same time. I find it interesting, that in the PC(USA), there are two Presbyteries with the word “peaks”- Presbytery of Plains and Peaks, in Colorado, and the Presbytery of the Peaks, in the Blue Ridge mountains. Which makes sense, geographically. But there do not appear to be any presbyteries named “peaks and valleys”—which would be a much more accurate statement of what life as a Christian is like.

Jesus is clear about what will happen. He speaks very plainly to the disciples. And as disciples, we also are called to walk in that way as well- the way of suffering and of the cross.

Now, let’s be clear. None of us is the Christ. And while suffering has been held up in many traditions as a spiritual good in itself, or as saving and redemptive, it is not. But it is the price we pay as followers of Christ.

We are not called to a passive life, or a passive love that simply tries to be good and avoid evil. Rather we are called to an active life, that engages the world, that works for justice, that speaks the truth in love, that refuses to play the world’s power games, that refuses to buy into the world’s definitions of what is good and honorable, we are called to witness to a love that is transformative and life changing.

Christ came down from the mountain, knowing what was ahead. Christ came down, to be God with us. To go to the cross, and die. For us. And be resurrected, by the grace of God, to bring new life, to bring hope, knowing that wherever we may go, Christ has already been, and where Christ is now we will be one day.

This is the kind of God we have. This is the kind of love God loves us with. This is not like Elijah, or Moses. This is Jesus Christ, the Son, the Beloved, who suffers with us and for us, who redeems us. In the Apostle’s Creed, which we will say in a few minutes, we say this about Christ: “he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell…” The psalmist says “Though I make my bed in Sheol, you are there…” There is no place that we can go, there is no suffering we go through, that God in Christ is not with us. Jesus comes down from the mountain…and joins us in our life. Our lives that are messy and broken, our lives that are ordinary and long, our lives that are lived out in both darkness and sunshine.

There is another song we sing, at Christmastime.
(sing) “He came down that we may have love”

Now, the song talks about the incarnation, and in a call and response, the singer asks “Why did he come?”
And the people reply: “He came down that we may have love. He came down that we may have love. He came down that we may have love, yes! Alleluia forever more.”

Jesus came down from the mountain, knowing what he was going to face—that we may have love, and life, and have it abundantly. Alleluia. Forevermore.