“Seeing the Glory. Listening to the Son.”
Matthew 17:1-9
We go toward the garden, the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus also prays. We go to dark Gethsemane, for another retreat with Peter, James and John. There, they will also be sleepy. There, they will also not understand. Jesus will be attended not by Moses and Elijah, but by the angels. There, Jesus will also speak of his cross – not as an exodus, but as a cup that cannot pass from him. There, in the garden, the brightness of glory is past, and the hour of the power of darkness will come.
But for now, it is good to be here. The Transfiguration was a necessary event for the disciples to witness. For them to both to see and also to hear. For them to experience. It must have made quite an impression. For we are creatures of our senses. Everything we know of the world passes through our eyes or ears, or is sensed by touch, smell or taste. But mostly eyes and ears. Here the disciples have a feast for both of these senses.
They see Jesus more clearly for who he is. They see his glory shining through. Surely not his full glory, for who could withstand such a sight? But he gives them a view of himself that they hadn’t seen, and perhaps would never see again this side of death itself. His face shone like the sun. His garments, whiter than anyone could bleach. White as light.
Jesus didn’t really change. He was still the same Jesus. Only his appearance changed. His figure got “trans-ed”. They got a better view of the reality that was always there. The Jesus they usually saw was the Jesus of the incarnation and humiliation, the savior that came lowly and meekly. The one who had no particular beauty that we should regard him. He wasn’t notably tall like Saul or strong like Samson. He had no riches like a Herod. He didn’t even have a place to lay his head.
And seeing is believing, isn’t it? Well, sometimes. Though our eyes may deceive us. Though our eyes may tell us what is real and we still choose not to believe it. Eye-witness testimony is considered the most reliable, but even that can be distorted, mis-remembered, or fail. Sinners tend to either rely too much on our senses, or not enough. We trust in our own devices and capacities to a fault, or we deny the reality that stares us in the face.
So God doesn’t leave Peter James and John with only the vision bright. He doesn’t just show them the glory of Christ without interpretation. Nor does Christ bare his true glory for all to see, but rather cloaks himself in a veil of humility and shows his true nature in other ways – in word and action.
And since this vision of the transfiguration, by itself, is not enough - this is also why the voice of the Father thunders, and also adds these little words to his endorsement: Listen to him.
Listening to Jesus is even more important than seeing him. It’s far better to listen to Jesus than to see him in all his glory, or all his humility. Martha, Martha, learned that listening to Jesus was far better than all her busy working and doing. Listening to Jesus is what his sheep do – for they know his voice.
So what does he say? Well, of course he preaches that the kingdom is at hand. He calls us to repentance and faith. He calls us to follow him. He calls for obedience to the law – as we’ve heard in the last few weeks from the Sermon on the Mount. He speaks many things, many words, in sermons and parables and sayings. The voice of the Father says, “Listen to him”, and we do well to pay attention to all of it.
But what those disciples had a hard time hearing, most of all, and what sometimes, we, too, stumble at – is the gospel itself. The very heart of Jesus’ teaching. The very focus of his mission. That the Son of Man would be betrayed, arrested, tried and convicted… that he would be made to suffer, crucified, and that he would be buried, and on the third day rise again. He told them – he spoke about it plainly. He repeated, again and again, but the balked, they were afraid to ask, or it simply went in one ear and out the other. Peter tried to rebuke him, just 6 days before (that’s what is mentioned at the beginning of this reading), but Jesus rebuked him, “get behind me Satan”. Harsh words, but Jesus will not be turned away from his cross. He will not be distracted or diverted by any other mission, for any other way of salvation is a suggestion of Satan. Don’t listen to the devil’s designs. Listen to Jesus.
And then there’s Moses and Elijah. Two Old Testament figures who knew a thing or two about not being listened to. Moses the great law-giver, who led a stubborn and stiff-necked people. Elijah the prophet spoke for God, preaching against wicked kings and queens and false prophets of Baal, but was ignored and opposed to the point where he thought he was the only one left. And yet for those with ears to hear, both of these men, and the whole Old Testament with them, preach a word of witness even today – pointing us to Jesus. They would agree with the voice of the Father. Listen to Jesus.
And listen in on what they were talking about with Jesus – they weren’t telling him stories of their good old days. They weren’t comparing notes with how hard it is to preach. They weren’t even asking how in the world they managed to appear on this mountaintop hundreds of years after they had lived. Luke’s account tells us the topic of their conversation: “ They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31) They were talking about the cross. They, like Jesus, knew what the point of all of this really was.
And one more little phrase to listen to – when they lifted up their eyes, they saw “Jesus only”. When the transfiguration conversation was over, the cloud disappeared, and Moses and Elijah went their way, they were left with Jesus only. The saw no one but Jesus only.
We, too, should see Jesus only and hear Jesus only. Sure there’s Moses and Elijah, but even they point us to Jesus only. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, but Jesus only. There is no one who can give us perfect righteousness but Jesus only. There is no one whose blood can cover our sins, but Jesus only. And therefore no one worth trusting in, following, and listening to – but Jesus only.
The transfiguration of Jesus is a blessed event in which we see, through the eyes of these three apostles, a glimpse behind the veil. We see, with them, a hint of the glory of the eternal Son of God that has hidden himself in this human flesh. We see Jesus, a little bit clearer, for who he is. But we see him not with our eyes, but with our ears. We listen to the gospel accounts. We give close ear to his teaching. We read and hear and learn and mark and inwardly digest his word.
As Epiphany ends, and as Lent begins, we too must come down the mountain. The shine will wear off quickly, and the ashes of repentance appear again. We go with Jesus, these 40 days, as he sets his face toward Jerusalem. There’s plenty to hear, as we listen to him. Some of it hard, unpleasant, quite challenging.
But in it all Jesus prepares us for our own departure. He is calling and forgiving us, comforting and strengthening us for that day when we, too, will stand with him in glory. That day, beyond our own grave, when we receive a resurrection like his. That day, when God’s declaration of Christ is also applied to us for eternity, “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. And so the transfiguration also gives you a glimpse of your own future, in Christ.
Dear Christians, as always, look to Jesus. Listen to Jesus. And find the glory of salvation in Jesus, and in Jesus only.
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