Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on February 3, 2008
(Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Exodus 24:12(13-14)15-18
Psalm 99
Philippians 3:7-14
Matthew 17:1-9

I remember the first time I went to Church camp and it had a changing effect on me. Not the first time I was at Church camp but the first time it made an impact on my life. I don’t mean an "after the last campfire and you know it will be another year before you see your newfound friends so let’s trade addresses and stay in touch forever" change but a profound change in the way that I looked at life because the content of the week’s bible study, prayers, and talks changed the way that I looked at Jesus Christ, and intensified the relationship that I already enjoyed with him. It was a true mountaintop experience; a very real spiritual high, and I couldn’t wait to get home and share my newly discovered understanding with my friends and family.

And I have to admit that I was met with what felt like indifference moving toward apathy. Now looking back, I realize that that really wasn’t the case. In my parents case it was just that they were very tied up in the daily events of life; running a business, raising a family, making ends meet, and a thousand other things with which parents are preoccupied. As for my friends and siblings, it just wasn’t on their radar. And as for me, basically, it was hard to share something of this importance with them because they had not been there to share it with me. It’s not that they didn’t care but rather I wasn’t able to communicate it clearly and much was lost in the translation.

So I didn’t just come down from the mountain, I felt like I was pushed off, bouncing multiple times before landing in a heap at the bottom. If you are a fan of the Simpsons, it was like Homer falling down the Springfield Gorge. After picking myself up, I wondered what was the point of experiencing something wonderful if you couldn’t express it. So after a while I began to wonder if I really had experienced it at all and eventually I fell back into the old routines of adolescence, not throwing away what I had learned but keeping it tightly under wraps, almost protecting it from the cruelties of the world.

The following summer, I went back to camp and for a week I was able to climb back to the mountaintop and renew the initial experience, plugging my spiritual batteries in for a recharge before having to return to the real world for another year.

Today’s Gospel reminded me of this time in my life. The Last Sunday after the Epiphany is traditionally known as Transfiguration Sunday, one of two times this Gospel story is used in the Church calendar. It is a befitting story to bring Epiphany to a close because it is another manifestation and confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah. But I don’t want to focus on Jesus’ transfiguration but rather its effect on the disciples who were present, particularly Peter because I believe that Peter consistently throughout the New Testament represents each one of us as human beings.

Now keep in mind that just prior to this event, Jesus had asked his disciples who they thought he was, and Peter had proclaimed that he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus blessed him because he obviously had had a conversation with God the Father in order to ascertain that information. Score a three pointer for Peter. But then Jesus told them that he was going up to Jerusalem to suffer many things at the hands of the authorities including his own death but he would be raised on the third day. And Peter, hearing only the first part said, "God forbid this from ever happening." And Jesus essentially called him Satan, instructing him to get out of the way because he was once again listening to himself instead of God. So now Peter is benched with foul trouble.

So today Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and before their eyes he is transfigured. God’s glory is radiating from Jesus’ face and clothes, and then Moses and Elijah appear on either side of him, the two most foundational people in scripture representing the Law and the Prophets. By now, Peter is so excited that he says, "Hey, this is great! Let’s pitch some tents, one for everybody, and then we’ll make a fire, and maybe some s’mores, and then we’ll join hands and sing "Kumbaya!" And we’ll keep the fire going all night long in order to make this experience last forever!"

Then suddenly a bright cloud overshadows them, the shechinah glory of God Himself, the same cloud that overshadowed Mount Sinai at the giving of the Ten Commandments, the same cloud that led the Hebrews through the desert by day, the same cloud that descended upon the Tent of the Presence in the wilderness; and from within this cloud comes a voice like thunder saying, "This is my beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him." And then the disciples fall to the ground, overcome with fear because they knew they were that close to God and were still alive.

As they are shaking in their sandals, Jesus says, "Stand up, fear not," and they looked to see that they were all alone on the mountain. Jesus says, "It’s time we were heading back down but you are to tell no one of this experience until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

So off to the real world they go. Even if Peter could tell anyone he wouldn’t be able to describe the event because there were no words that could accurately convey what he had experienced. Everyone would have thought he was crazy. And besides God told him to listen to Jesus and Jesus said put a lid on it until later after he was raised from the dead. And what does that mean? That’s the second time he’s said that and Peter just doesn’t comprehend how that could ever happen! So Peter’s back in the game but he’s not quite sure of the game plan. All he knows for sure is that his life has been changed or better yet, transformed, in light of what he has witnessed. Now he’ll just have to wait patiently for further instructions or hopefully another mountaintop experience.

But it was the next mountaintop experience that changed the whole world; Jesus on the cross upon Golgatha, sacrificing himself in obedience to the Father, shedding his own blood in atonement for our sins, submitting to die in order to overcome death, thus setting the ultimate example for each and every one of us. No bright lights or radiant vesture this time but glorious nonetheless because through this mountaintop experience we are all given the opportunity to be transfigured.

So here we are on the last Sunday after the Epiphany. We are on the mountain with Jesus Christ, who is grounded upon yet in fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. We’ve heard God’s Word with our own ears, and it is time to return to the world below as we enter into the wilderness of Lent. During our wilderness pilgrimage we will be challenged, questioned, and tempted. At times we will wonder if we really did catch a glimpse of God’s glory on the mountain. We will wonder if Jesus really is God Incarnate. We will wonder if we really have had a life changing experience.

Stand up! Fear not! Before we descend the mountain let’s look ahead to the next one. Let’s look ahead to the cross and always keep in mind what that means for us as Christians. Let’s look beyond the cross and envision the Resurrection, which is the goal of our own transfigured life in Christ. Let’s look beyond the resurrection to Pentecost where we will have our spiritual batteries recharged by the Holy Spirit in order to live out God’s will for us in our transformed lives. As we descend, let’s remember that Jesus who is our light at the top of the mountain will also be there with us to illumine the way through the shadows of the valleys below. As we travel, we must forget our old lives before the Transfiguration and focus on our new lives in Christ Jesus. As Paul tells us, we must forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, pressing toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

In order to focus on the goal, I encourage you to take home today’s collect and pray it each day through Lent. Let us pray it again right now:

O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. AMEN

Gloria Patri