“Heavenly Splendor” Colchester Federated Church, March 2, 2025, Transfiguration Sunday (Luke 9:28-36)

Today is Transfiguration Sunday.  In Protestant churches we observe Transfiguration Sunday on the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday.  Today serves as a bridge into Lent by helping us consider who Jesus is and to anticipate what will occur in Jerusalem.  Preaching & Worship Professor Laurence Hull Stookey helpfully explains, “Who is this who was born in Bethlehem and now is steadfastly headed for Jerusalem?  This is the One who by being crucified and raised will fulfill all that the scriptures have promised.  Before the curtain goes up on the action of a dramatic opera, the orchestra plays an overture that hints at the musical themes to follow; so, just before the opening of Lent, the transfiguration presents subtle clues to the content of the Forty Days of Devotion and Discipline and the Great Fifty Days of rejoicing that follow.”[1]

We join Peter, John, and James as they make the journey with Jesus up the mountain to pray.  Jesus brings some of his closest friends to be present in this moment apart from the needs of the world below.  Luke tells us that as Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changes and his clothing flashes white like lightning.  Moses and Elijah appear.  Moses represents the Torah (the Law) and Elijah represents the Prophets.  Jesus is speaking with (and in continuity with) the whole tradition.  And the connections are even deeper!  We remember that Moses’ face shone after speaking with God on Mount Sinai and Elijah was taken into heaven in another kind of ascension.[2]  Holy moments abound here.

So, it is understandable that Peter, John, and James are overcome by all this heavenly splendor.  It must have been something to behold—Jesus’ face changing and his clothing flashing like lightning, Moses and Elijah appearing.  The disciples become sleepy, perhaps overwhelmed by the meaning of it all.  However, Jesus’ friends manage to stay awake long enough to see Jesus’ glory.  As Moses and Elijah prepare to leave, Peter awakens and tells Jesus, “Master, it’s good that we’re here. We should construct three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”[3]  Peter can’t help but get practical.  Peter is still coming up with his construction plan when suddenly a cloud overshadows them. 

As they enter the cloud, Luke tells us that those present are overcome with awe.  They hear a voice, “This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him!”[4]  After this moment of heavenly splendor with Jesus transfigured and the appearance of Moses, Elijah, and the voice from that cloud—Jesus, Peter, John, and James come down the mountain only to immediately encounter a large crowd clamoring for Jesus’ attention.  And Jesus, in his compassion, gets right back to work healing a child in need.  What a story. 

We often view this miraculous moment as a one-off event in the life of Jesus.  There’s a great liturgical dictionary from The Episcopal Church that explains this holy moment by relating, “The Transfiguration revealed Christ’s glory prior to the crucifixion, and it anticipated his resurrection and ascension.  It may have given strength and comfort to his disciples in the difficult times that followed.  It also prefigures the glorification of human nature in Christ.”[5]  All of which is true.  It’s almost like the curtain is opened and we see Jesus for who he really is, knowing full well that Jesus is going to come down the mountain and his life is not going to be all sunshine and roses.  We can put ourselves in the shoes of his disciples because wouldn’t this moment help sustain us when we faced hardship?  Wouldn’t we remind each other, “Hey, remember that time we all went up the mountain to pray?” 

We can also understand that the heavenly splendor is not just reserved for Jesus.  We are all glorified in Jesus Christ.  We all have the divine spark of God within us.  We are created in the image and likeness of God, if only we would remember this!  If only we would remember the Golden Rule we heard last Sunday, “Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.”[6]

There have been years when this text has come up in the lectionary and I’ve preached Transfiguration sermons that have basically said that it’s amazing that Jesus is up on that mountain in his heavenly splendor.  It is good to remember this moment of light and love and hope especially as Lent is about to begin.  But Jesus doesn’t hang out on top of the mountain away from the world forever.  Jesus doesn’t let Peter build those dwelling places atop that mountain for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah because there was work to be done down below in the world that God loves.  Jesus and his disciples come down the mountain and get to work.  We see Jesus immediately heal a child in need.  We have to live out our faith.  We are called to be compassionate as God is compassionate.  Because to believe is to care, and to care is to do.  This is also true. 

And I wonder if Jesus would have had the strength to endure all that was before him if he hadn’t experienced this moment of prayer and affirmation?  It seems important as Lent is about to begin to hear this story of Jesus and his friends being with God on that mountain to gather spiritual reserves for the journey ahead.  It matters that Jesus hears those loving words of affirmation, “This is my Son, my chosen one.  Listen to him!”[7]

There are certain phrases about self-care that have become a bit cliché.  “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”  “You have to put on your oxygen mask first before you can help anyone else with theirs.”  “Self-care is a journey, not a destination.”  Quit rolling your eyes if you’re starting to already!  Here’s the thing—this moment of Transfiguration, this holy epiphany, this miracle, this metamorphosis happens when Jesus goes up a mountain with just a few of his friends to pray.  The circumstances are important.  In fact, the Gospel according to Luke is full of moments where Jesus goes off to secluded places to pray. 

As we gather for worship here at Colchester Federated Church, we can wonder about the implications of Jesus going apart to pray and then getting back to work to do what God was calling him to do out in the world God so loves.  Perhaps we can see this story as an invitation to frequent Thin Places, those places where we feel especially connected to the divine.  On any given week, we may encounter hardships in our personal lives, in our professional lives, in our communities, in our nation, in our world.  We may feel stressed and anxious and overwhelmed.  There are many reasons why we gather to worship God.  One of the reasons could be because we need time apart to open ourselves to God at work in our lives and in our congregation.  On this Transfiguration Sunday, let’s not forget that Jesus went up on that mountain to pray.  And if Jesus needed to do that sometimes, maybe so do we.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

[1] Laurence Hull Stookey, Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church, pg. 137.
[2] Stookey, Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church, pg. 136.
[3] Luke 9:33, CEB.
[4] Luke 9:35.
[5] “Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The” in An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/transfiguration-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-the/
[6] Luke 6:31.
[7] Luke 9:35.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash