The Last Sunday in Epiphany is always the story of the Transfiguration. This year is Mark's version of the story. They are all very similar differing only in minor details. So I quite often like to go to the Old Testament lesson which is always different. If you were here last year for the last Sunday in Epiphany, you heard me talk about a theophany, that is, a vision of God. Years A and C both center around Moses up on the mountaintop. Theophanies are not uncommon in the Old Testament. You might remember things like Moses and the Burning Bush, Jacob's ladder to heaven, the Valley of the dry bones coming to life, the pillars of fire and smoke that led the Israelites out of Egypt. The Old Testament is filled with these images of God. This year we get Elijah being taken up in the "Chariot of Fire."
There’s a story told by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Wells (a professor at Duke University) about a famous preacher who was a bit of a fraud, because the sermons were great but no one ever realized that in fact they’d all been written by the staff assistant. Finally the assistant’s patience ran out, and one day the preacher was speaking to thousands of expectant listeners and at the bottom of page two read the stirring words, "And this, my friends, takes us to the very heart of the book of Habakkuk, which is…" only to turn to page three and see nothing but the dreaded words, "You’re on your own now."
"You’re on your own now." Just what Elisha felt the day Elijah departed to heaven. Just what the disciples felt at Jesus’ ascension. "You’re on your own now." In England they say, "That makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable." In the US you are more likely to hear, "Yikes." And our Old Testament lesson says that Elisha tore his garments.
Today's lesson shows Elijah and his disciple (apprentice) Elisha on a journey . They travel from Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho and on to the Jordan. And as they start out on each leg of the journey, and as a test, Elijah tells Elisha to stay there, but each time Elisha answers, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." They continue on until they reach the Jordan river. To cross over, Elijah takes his mantle (like a coat or cape) folds it up and hits the water. And lo and behold, the water parts and they walk across on dry land. And what does that remind you of? The Red Sea and the flight from Egypt. The water parting is the sign of the presence of God.
Elisha asks for a favor - to receive double (twice) the spirit of Elijah. He wants the elder son’s portion of the inheritance. But there was a condition on his receiving his desire - he must see Elijah being taken up. The answer is like saying, "Don't fall asleep, because if you miss it, you lose everything." Now our lesson ends saying that Elisha tore his clothes. In that time, tearing your clothes was a sign of great anguish. But the story goes on...
13 Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. 15 When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
Elijah's mantle fell back to earth and Elisha picks it up. He uses it to part the water of the Jordan to cross back over. Again, this is a sign of the Lord's presence and that Elisha has indeed inherited Elijah's spirit. This is a grand story about the transfer of power from one prophet to the next. The fifty prophets who followed them to the Jordan can now attest that Elisha is now the prophet in Israel.
The New Testament doesn't have as many examples of a theophany. But the gospels themselves present a kind of theophany. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that he is God incarnate, then the whole story about Jesus is an extended theophany. We get this vision of who God is and what God is like. We see his interactions with the people around him. The things he says are often confusing, but the things we see him do are powerful, inspiring.
So, here we are, 6 days after Peter blurts out that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. Gosh, I love Peter, because he’s usually sticking his foot in his mouth and saying something stupid. I figure if he can get it wrong as many times as he does and still be accepted as the rock on which the kingdom is built, then surely my mistakes can be forgiven, also.
They are up on the mountain, and when Peter sees this transfiguration, and Elijah and Moses with Jesus, he blurts out, "Let's stay here and build 3 dwellings." It says that he didn't know what to say because he was scared. How many times do we get scared and start babbling to cover up our fear, or our lack of understanding?
A cloud overshadows them - I can remember being on top of a mountain in Switzerland and there was a cloud forming over Lake Lucerne down below us. It began to rise up until it enveloped us, and it was very hard to see the person in front of you as we were traveling along a narrow path to the top of the mountain, and after a few minutes, it had risen above us. That can definitely make you nervous. And a voice came out of the cloud - "This is my son, my beloved. Listen to him." And then the cloud was gone and they were left standing alone with Jesus.
This was the second affirmation in Mark's gospel concerning Jesus' divinity. The first time (at his baptism) - only Jesus heard the voice. Now his disciples also hear the voice. What we are to take away from this has to do with Jesus, his image and his divinity.
Our lesson from 2nd Corinthians says that "Christ is the image of God." I would take that a step further and say that Christ is the only perfect image of God. We are also made in the image of God, but being human we are imperfect. That is why Christ died on the cross for us - to complete us by making that sacrifice; to pay the price for our imperfection, for our sin, and only that makes us worthy to stand before God.
So, what are we to do with this vision of Jesus? The disciples didn’t really understand any of it. Following this encounter, they returned to the valley and the city below. They had this monumental experience and immediately they were met by a man who is looking for healing for his son who is possessed by an evil spirit. It’s back to business as usual, nothing is changed in the world around them. Only them. This is just one of the many things that helps them put together the puzzle of the incredible life they are living as they follow Jesus. After he is raised from the dead, they remember all these miraculous things they have seen and finally begin to understand their significance.
God makes his light to shine on us and in us and through us so that all might see his glory and come to the shining of his light. Therefore, it is up to us to carry that light out into the world, so that others, when they encounter us, will know there is a God alive and active in the world today.
Amen.
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