February 11, 2024

         The transfiguration on the mountaintop marks the turning point in the book of Mark from Jesus’ healings and teachings to turning his face toward Jerusalem and the cross. 

            Ernest Hemmingway said, “It takes two years to learn to speak and sixty to learn to keep quiet.”  Twice in the first scripture today, Elisha tells the prophets to keep silent and in the Gospel the voice of God shushes Peter and tells him and James and John to listen to Jesus.  Then Jesus tells them not to say anything to anyone until after he is raised from the dead. 

            Keeping quiet and listening are crucial to our faith, but they are often overlooked as Spiritual disciplines.  For the company of prophets, they are trying to be helpful.  They want to share information with Elisha to prepare him.  But had they stopped to listen, they would realize he knows far more than they give him credit for and they would have let him have these last moments with his teacher and guide instead of interrupting him.

            For us, too, we’d like to think of the right thing to say when someone is grieving or in pain.  Sometimes the best support we can give is to listen, accompany, be available, ask about the loved one, say their name, give the person space to pour out their story, their questions, their emotions.

            Peter struggles with listening, like we all do.  In the previous scene he rebukes Jesus for saying that he will die.  Jesus tells him he will be rejected, that he will suffer and die and in three days rise again.  Peter can’t seem to take this in.  He takes Jesus aside and tries to reason with him, he tries to correct him.  Peter, like the companies of prophets in the Hebrew scripture, wants to protect someone he loves, to remove pain and suffering.  He wants to help.  But that is not what is needed here and maybe that’s not our job in a lot of cases. 

            Jesus is headed to the cross.  He’s not going to avoid suffering and death—he is turning to face it and by facing it, he teaches us to face it, not with fear, but with hope.  We will all suffer.  We hope it will make us more compassionate and loving.  Avoiding it can get us in trouble.  Avoiding suffering, we may blame people for their suffering and distance ourselves from them, thinking it couldn’t happen to us.  Avoiding suffering we may not visit someone in need and then later regret we didn’t show up when they needed us.  Avoiding suffering, we may begin to worship money or comforts that we think protect us but then feel empty since those things can never save us. 

Jesus shows us the value of facing suffering.  He shows up wherever people are hungry, isolated, hurting, and imprisoned.  He shows us we are not alone and that is a relief to our pain right there.  He goes through suffering itself to show us that it doesn’t get the last word, that it isn’t the end of the story, but that we rise again to new life and will live in peace, love, and hope.

Jesus, Peter, James, and John, go up the mountain together.  They are following Moses’ path up the mountain to receive the commandments.  Their trip up the mountain will take them to truly seeing Jesus as God’s son, the fulfillment of the commandments.  On the mountain they see there Moses and Elijah, who seem to be giving their endorsement of Jesus.  Jesus turns bright, just like Moses did when he encountered God on the holy mountain.  When Moses came back down the mountain he had to wear a veil over his face for a while because it was too much for people to bear—for the protection of the community.  Jesus, talking with Moses and Elijah, is revealed as at least their equal in this story and then when the voice of God pronounces him God’s beloved, as in his baptism, his true identity as Son of God helps us and perhaps these 3 disciples understand who he really is. Maybe it will even be an aid to Jesus as he heads down the mountain to the cross.  He has this moment, this word of connection, of love.  Whatever else the world throws at him, however tortured he is, he is solid in his connection to God and understanding of who he is.

Peter is invited to listen, and he is halfway listening.  He sees they are on the mountain and that Jesus is glowing and that Moses is there.  He makes the connection to the Exodus.  He proposes making three dwellings, because that’s what you do for the Festival of Booths, celebrating the Exodus and the Harvest.  You make dwellings like they used in the desert.  The other important thing about the Festival of Booths or Succoth, is that is a time when you are sure to be welcoming to others.  Peter wants to be welcoming so he suggest making tents for everyone.  He’s not completely off base, but tents aren’t what is called for here, it is listening and following.  I’m sure Peter went over this and over this moment over the years and eventually he did get better at listening, as we can see from the book of Acts.

We, like Peter, are invited to listen.  Listening does several things.  First of all, when we listen, we are apt to learn something.  That the Disciples are meant to learn something is apparent with the use of the name Rabbi for Jesus, teacher.  Secondly, listening conveys respect.  That Moses, Elijah, and Jesus were talking with each other and listening, we see they have mutual respect for each other.  When we listen to Jesus, to Jesus’ actions, to Jesus little ones, to God’s good creation we show respect and are ready to learn.

We are invited to listen to Jesus and learn from him.  He has some hard teachings.  He’s going to a difficult place.  When we are in difficult places, rejected and scorned, we call on our gift of baptism and remember who we are, beloved children of God and heirs with Christ.  When we are comfortable, we will remember by listening to Jesus, to have compassion on those who aren’t and to walk with them in solidarity and accompaniment.

We, like Peter, are invited to listen to Jesus’ life, to see where he goes.  He goes to the margins, to people who can’t increase his wealth or popularity.  Jesus goes to people in their hardship and distress and listens to them.  We are invited to listen as Jesus goes to the mountain, as he goes to Jerusalem to ride a humble donkey, as he goes to prison, as he goes to the cross, and as he goes to his disciples after he is raised to offer them forgiveness and a chance to feed his sheep.

We are invited to listen to God in nature, the bright shining sun, the smell of the earth waking up from winter, the sound of birds and waters and wind and thunder.  We are invited to listen to this earth which gives us such important information about our own well-being, since we are earth creatures and part of God’s good creation.  We listen when the earth cries out from abuse.  We listen when the earth begs us to let it be wild.  We listen to the earth and give thanks as it feeds us, supports our livelihoods, and gives us enjoyment and recreation.  Just as creation knew who Jesus is on the mountaintop and revealed his glory, it knows him even now and proclaims him.  This is a good time to listen to creation and humble ourselves in worship of God and respect for all that God has made.

We are invited to listen in prayer, to quiet our minds and spend time in openness to God’s vision.  We are invited to make space in our lives for God to speak, to remind us we are claimed, to remind us our neighbor is precious, to feel all the pain of nations at war and children suffering, to let ourselves be moved by love to take action.  We are invited to listen to Jesus, to learn from him, and to honor him so that all might have new life through him.