11 February 2024 - Transfiguration Sunday, Year B

 

Theme

Transfiguration Sunday presents us with two incredible (almost unbelievable) stories. In Mark, Jesus is transfigured on the mountain top and communes with two of the great prophets of Israel: Moses and Elijah. In 2 Kings, Elijah is lifted up and passes on his mantle as Israel’s prophet to Elisha. The symbolism of these two stories presented together reminds us of Jesus’ role as God’s Prophet in the world. Furthermore, the position of the transfiguration in Mark’s Gospel, reminds us that Jesus is a different kind of Messiah than what God’s people were expecting.

Scripture Readings

  • Mark 9:2-9 - Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain where he was transfigured before them. His clothes became white and Elijah and Moses appeared and spoke with him. Peter desires to set up three shelters for them. A cloud appeared and covered them and a voice came from the cloud declaring: “This is my Son whom I love, listen to him.”
  • 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 - Unbelievers who are perishing can not see the light of the Gospel. God shone his light in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in Christ’s face.
  • Psalm 50:1-6 - The Mighty God controls the whole Earth. He rules with fire and justice.
  • 2 Kings 2:1-12 - Elisha accompanies Elijah as God calls him to Bethel, Jericho, and the Jordan. Elijah struck the ground with his staff and the water divided so they could cross. Elisha requests a double portion of Elijah’s spirit before he departs. As they were walking, a chariot of fire appeared and Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.

The Context

Jesus’ transfiguration takes place at almost the exact midpoint of Mark’s Gospel. The first eight chapters of Mark describe Jesus’ ascent, his ministry of healing and liberation, and the last eight chapters describe the descent into his passion and death, arriving finally at the stunning news of his empty tomb. The Transfiguration stands as the turning point between these two great sections of Jesus’ journey.

2 Kings provides a portrait of ancient Israel’s prevailing model of prophetic succession. Elisha does not surpass or supersede Elijah, but rather follows in his footsteps, quite literally picking up Elijah’s “mantle” (his cloak), and carrying on his mentor's mission (2:13). Mark picks up on this basic pattern as well as Jesus follows in the footsteps of the great prophets Elijah and Moses before him.

Personal Application

A prophet is someone who shares the voice of God with the world. They are not a mystical fortune teller as they have often been portrayed. Rather, they notice the movements in the world and speak out when those movements are contrary to what they believe God desires.

Transfiguration Sunday ends off the Season after Epiphany and ushers in the upcoming Season of Lent. Lent is an ideal opportunity to take stock of our lives and prepare our hearts for the blessings of Easter and Resurrection. We might not have a literal prophet telling us where we are straying from God’s will in our personal lives, but if we are faithful in prayer and discernment, we can usually identify places where we have strayed from God’s desires for us.

Where have you strayed from God’s desires for you in recent times? How could you perhaps use this upcoming Lenten season to refocus on pursuing God and walking in Jesus’ footsteps?

Communal Application

For Mark, true messiahship comes not with trumpets and chariots, but rather in the deeply hidden form of a suffering servant.

In the context of the overall narrative, Mark’s central point in the Transfiguration story is this: the suffering and death of Jesus may at first appear as an unthinkable, desecrating defeat, but it’s actually a step toward a dramatic, subversive victory. So take heart! And “listen to him” — that is, continue to trust and walk with Jesus, following in his footsteps and taking up his mantle, even though the path ahead now seems littered with danger. Radiant beauty awaits — on the other side of the Cross.

Think of this passage itself as a “high mountain” at the center of Mark’s Gospel. On one side, we climb up through stories of Jesus’ healing, liberating ministry. And on the other side, we’ll descend to the cross. Today, we arrive at a clearing on the mountaintop — and from here we can survey both how far we’ve come and the Lenten journey ahead.

Here atop Mount Hermon, we can survey the 40 days ahead, take a deep breath — and remember that the journey through ashes and sorrow is never for its own sake. It's for the sake of what comes next. In a word, it's for the sake of transfiguration: a radiant new life and a dazzling new world.

How can we best take over the mantle of prophetic urgency from Jesus as Jesus himself did from Elijah and Moses, and as Elisha did from Elijah? As we survey where we have come as a Church and look ahead to the journey through sorrow and suffering, let us keep our eyes on Christ who calls us and sustains us, until we are able to revel in the glory of the resurrection together again.

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