Today, on this final Sunday before the start of Lent, we recall the Transfiguration of Jesus, no matter in which of the 3 years of the reading scheme we happen to find ourselves.  It is recorded in the Gospels, just after the event in which we have seen the best, and the worst of Peter, and he has got himself into trouble with Jesus.  Peter has made that wonderfulconfession of faith, and states that Jesus is ‘The Christ.’  At first Jesus praises Peter and calls him a ‘Rock’.  However, he then tells the disciples that he has bad news, and that he must go to Jerusalem, be arrested, tried, and suffer at the hands of the religious leaders, who will kill him, and then he will be raised from the dead.  The reaction of Peter is to protest that this must never be allowed to happen, and Jesus ends up telling him that he is a hindrance, and calls him ‘Satan’!  It is after this dramatic event though, that Jesus shows that he has not given up on Peter, and the Transfiguration takes place.

It is a remarkable event, in which Jesus goes up a high mountain – we know it is important because it is mentioned by all the three Synoptic Gospel writers – Matthew, Mark and Luke.  They are called the ‘Synoptic Gospels’, which means ‘see together’, because, unlike the other Gospel writer, John, they use similar material and words, often in a common sequence.

We are not quite sure though which mountain they go up – Mount Tabor is the location of the Church of the Transfiguration.  Others have suggested Mount Hermon, Mount Nebo or Mount Meron.  Mount Tabor is located between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee, but it is only 1,900 feet high and a fortress occupied its summit, which makes it unlikely for such an event.  Mount Hermon is 9,200 feet high, but it is miles away, thereby making it an unlikely place for Jesus and the disciples to encounter a great crowd, including scribes, on their descent.  Mount Meron, 4,000 feet high, is located 12 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee.  It really doesn’t matter though, and as long as we remember it was a mountain we won’t go far wrong.  Mountains were important places, and notably it was Moses who went up the mountain and met with God, so Jesus now does the same.  He takes with him his special, ‘inner-ring’ disciples, Peter James and John.  On the mountain, Jesus is subject to a change in appearance.  Mark tells us that his clothes suddenly became the most ‘dazzling white’, and Matthew tells us that his face ‘shone like the sun.’  Again the readers would note how Jesus is being shown as the ‘New Moses’. In Exodus Chapter 34 we read: ‘Moses came down from Mount Sinai.  As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face shone, because he had been talking with God.’

Bright light is often associated with divine revelation.  Paul described his conversion on the road to Damascus as an encounter with blinding light, accompanied by a voice from heaven.

Two men appear with Jesus – we are told that they are Elijah and Moses, and they spoke with him.  In a state of fear and no doubt bewilderment, Peter tries to get them to stay, and offers to put up some tents.  That is not such a crazy idea, as it was the Feast of Tabernacles, and at the bottom of the mountain there were lots of people living in tents at the time.  This moment is not however destined to last, and a cloud appears, again reminiscent of the cloud which came to Moses, and what is believed to be the voice of God, makes a proclamation, which is slightly different in all three gospels, but along the lines of ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased – my chosen one – listen to him! ‘

Unsurprisingly, we are told that the disciples end up on the floor, and in Matthew’s Gospel there is a lovely moment recorded, that Jesus came and touched them and said ’Rise, and have no fear.’  This event is so out of the ordinary, and beyond our experience, that we don’t know what reallywent on.  In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that it occurred when they were on the mountain, praying. There is always a temptation to try and see normality in the events described in the Gospels!

Not only did the disciples refuse to reduce this experience to any normality – it was on the basis of such an event, that they went on to proclaim the story, refusing to deny what had happened, even to death. It was in this moment that the disciples had become aware of the fact, that when they looked at Jesus, they were looking into the face of God in all its grace and glory. At that moment of Transfiguration, the veil that shrouds the mystery of faith was lifted, and they saw that God was present in human form, reconciling the world to his own self.

There are important truths which stand out in this episode, and which influenced those disciples, so much that they were not afraid to give their lives in defence of the Gospel. As the veil is removed from their eyes, the disciples see who Jesus is, and they see two figures from history, who are alive to God. The Transfiguration provided the disciples, and through them, us, with a glimpse of another world. It is an opportunity to remind ourselves that there is a reality beyond the world around us, which is greater than that which we can simply see and touch. There are possibilities available to us, through the presence of God, greater than most people could ever imagine. The Transfiguration challenges us to think in a new way, just as the disciples see Jesus in a newlight. They understand the presence of God in an amazing experience – from now on everythingwill be different.   Amen