Echos
February 19, 2012 | Patrick Preheim | Mark 9: 2-8

I suspect there are moments when each us has felt the transcendence of a transfiguration moment. For one it has come in the illumination of a musical ballad, a painting, or the printed word which has left a person without language. For another it has come in jaw dropping wonder at a particular sun rise, the northern lights, the vista from a summit or something equally profound in nature. And still others have been left speechless from a grand epiphany out of something physical like child-birth, an athletic competition, the embrace of forgiveness or love. While each of these moments is glorious in its own right, I think it is the convergence of the past, present and future which elevate ordinary miracles to the status of a transfiguration event. Time stops. Words cease. We are left basking in the brilliance of mystery.

That is what happens on top of a high mountain in today’s scripture. It is impossible to meaningfully describe transfiguration, it must be experienced. And yet the transfiguration account leaves us clues as to the source of spiritual transformation and places we too might behold transfigured glory. I call these clues “echoes”. When we hear an echo we do not always see the person speaking, but we often understand what has been said (even if distorted slightly). There are serious scriptural echoes in today’s text. It is saturated with past allusions and foreshadows of the future which magnified that particular moment. These echoes direct us to a deeper understanding of Jesus, to the grace of Jesus, to more fully trust Jesus. If we can pick up on their faint resonance we might be guided to health and strength.

As I worked with the text earlier in the week I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the echoes. It was a cacophony of voices. Any one of echoes could have served as a sermon topic, but highlighting one theme we mean neglect of the others. So I will do something this morning which I rarely do in the sermon time: I will walk through this passage verse by verse paying attention to the echoes I and a few of my friends have heard. We begin in verse two.

9.2 “After six days”: This is Mark’s way of tying the previous conversation to the transfiguration of Christ. And what was the teaching found at the end of chapter 8?—taking up the cross. Mark does not want us to forget that God’s reaffirmation of Jesus comes directly after words about the trials of the cross. (Pheme Perkins, The Gospel of Mark in “The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, 630). We don’t often link suffering with transfiguration, so it is good of Mark to send an echo from chapter 8 to help illuminate the glory of this story.

9.2 “Peter, James, and John”: These three stooges also appear together in two other stories of Mark’s gospel. They witness the healing of Jarius’s daughter in chapter 5 (5.37) and they are privy to the anguish of Jesus in Gethsemane (14.33). The truth of our text is that dramatic “miracles and heavenly visions do not create faith” (Ibid., 632). These three see Jesus raise the dead and they see him transfigured with Moses and Elijah, and yet they lack faith. Jesus steadfastly loves these three despite their weaknesses. The presence of Peter, James, and John echo the grace of Jesus which appears again and again.

9.2 “up a high mountain”: Most commentators equate this high mountain with the Mountain of God, sometimes called Mt. Horeb and also Mt. Sinai. God appeared to both Elijah and Moses on Mt. Horeb, and their presence in and around this story are suggestive that the “high mountain” of chapter 9 is the Mount of God. Jesus is blessed by God in the same space where two giants of the Jewish faith met God. The setting of this story sends an echo that Jesus is on par with the big two, and maybe even beyond them. I will share more about that possibility in a bit.

9.3 “dazzling white clothes”: dazzling white clothes echo passages from the book of Daniel (7.9, 12.3), the book of Revelation, and a later scene in Mark’s gospel (16.5). In these texts those clothed in white are the pure, faithful, divine warriors who assail the forces of death and destruction. The book of Daniel, in particular, is alluded to in the episode preceding the transfiguration (8.38), and Mark continues that echo here. Like the white clad beings in the book of Daniel, Jesus is making war on the forces of death. One difference is that his war is waged non-violently: with healing and the cross. The white garb of Jesus is simultaneously a sign of Divine favour and a portent that his path will lead to the ultimate testimony of martyrdom.

9.3 “such as no fuller could bleach”: most of your bibles will have words such as “no one” or “anyone” for the actual term “no fuller”. In this instance the KJV got it right, so I modified the NRSV reading in the bulletin. This reference to “the fuller” reminds us of Malachi 3.2-3 in which God will purify the sons of Levi. Like the fuller of Malachi Jesus will purify the sons of Levi rectifying a religious system plagued with abuse and hypocrisy. Echo. Echo.

9.4 “Elijah and Moses”: Mark alludes to both Moses and Elijah in the scene leading up to the transfiguration (Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man, 250) and they each had a meeting with God on the holy mountain, so it should not come as a surprise that they appear in our story. There are several ways their presence tells us something of Jesus and transfigurations.

1. Both Moses and Elijah received Divine re-commissioning on Mt. Horeb when their self-confidence was failing. They found not only refuge on the Holy Mount, they were re-commissioned. Given that Jesus has spoken of the cross and loss of life, and given the obtuse response of Peter that Jesus need not suffer, I can imagine the transfiguration strengthened Jesus for his mission. The presence of Elijah and Moses with Jesus at this time in his ministry echoes re-commissioning.
2. In a slight distortion of the Elijah / Moses echo, Jesus does not need to hide his face from the brilliance of God or veil himself for the sake of humanity. In encounters with God on the holy mountain both Elijah and Moses hide their faces (Ex 3.6, 1 Kings 19.13). Later in Exodus, Moses comes from meeting God on Mt. Sinai and must wear a veil out of concern for the Hebrews (34.29ff). Not so with Jesus. Jesus can handle the brilliance of God. Jesus reflects the glory of God without striking fear in us. This distorted echo tells us there is something greater than Moses or Elijah here. 
3. Another Elijah and Moses echo: Neither Elijah or Moses, according to Jewish tradition, tasted death (Perkins, 630). For those who hear the echo, this is a divine foreshadow that Jesus will not truly die.
4. Elijah and Moses together also echo messianic predictions made in at least one Jewish writing (Deuteronomy Rabbah 3.17). Their appearance together affirms that God’s messianic restoration is happening in Jesus.

9.5 On this Messianic theme, Peter wants to make three dwellings: What about these dwellings? According to 1st Enoch “dwelling places” would serve as the place from whence the righteous waters of the Messianic restoration would flow (39.4-8). Other suggestions are that these dwellings replicate the “Mosaic tent of meeting” or the “booths used at the feast of the tabernacle” (Perkins, 630). Whatever the meaning of them, they are an echo from the tradition. After a moment of terror in the face of mystery, Peter offers to house Jesus in messianic predictions from tradition. The suggestion goes nowhere. It is natural for us fit God’s brilliant light into our understanding, but it is enough to let the great “I am” be who or what it will. 

9.7 “This is my son, the beloved”: This phrase is a near verbatim echo of the baptism scene in chapter 1. Actually, the words are an echo that reach all the way back to the 2nd Psalm. In that Psalm the anointed of God (the Messiah) is named “my son”. It fortifies Jesus to remember his call. The echo strengthens Jesus to hold the ideas of cross and Christ together. 

9.7 “listen to him”: At several points in Mark’s gospel up until now Jesus has invited the disciples, crowds and religious leaders to listen (parable of seeds in ch. 4; 7.14), and yet no one really hears. On the high mountain the disciples, Moses, and Elijah are again invited to listen. (Idea of Elijah and Moses included in the plural imperative “to listen” taken from Matthew Thiessen’s course on Mark’s gospel—January 2012). Disciples trying to fit Jesus into the Messianic tradition, Moses and his Torah, Elijah and his prophetic writings are all commanded to conform themselves to the person of Jesus. Tradition, scripture and the church are routinely called to deeper listening—this is an echo of a larger theme sounding through history.

You have been very patient as I slowly walked through the text pointing to some of the echoes I have heard. No doubt there are additional reverberations in this passage. I have a couple of thoughts how these echoes intersect our life of faith and action. 

Jesus is a sacred warrior dressed in dazzling white who does battle alongside of us, and on behalf of us, whether we are wounded, terrified, or uncomprehending. Yes, Jesus is a friend and someone to follow after but he is more than just an example. He is greater than us. He able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine. He will defeat death. He will dismantle racism. He finds the lost. When we struggle with death, prejudices, our own sin, the lostness of those we love—we do well to invoke the presence of the white clad Christ into our lives.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and most fully reflects God’s intentions for us. The Torah and Prophets and church tradition (and we) need to stop and listen. While we are all tempted to make Christ into our image, the heavenly voice tells us to open our lives before him and allow ourselves to be moulded into his likeness.

Jesus accepts us, our terror, and our slow learning curve. Jesus loves us and nurtures us into deeper understanding. Even when Peter seriously misunderstands Jesus he is brought up the holy mountain. Even though Peter, James and John do not remain awake in the garden they are entrusted with the divine mission. In time, Jesus and the Spirit makes apostles out of this rabble, and that is good news. If then Jesus is willing to bring salvation from such unlikely characters as these, there is surely potential for us. What a gift to follow someone so forgiving. 

Earlier I said that transfiguration must be experienced, not explained. We all crave the echoes that reminded us of God’s love and call. This leaves me with several questions for us:
1. First, have we asked Jesus to join us? By all transfigured appearances he would be a good mate to invite along for a trip up the mountain or to work place hostility or to the grave. Have we recently invited him into our lives?
2. Secondly, Jesus goes up a high mountain for his transfiguration. Which sacred places do we go to hear Divine echoes and be renewed? [allow a moment] While mountain retreats are nice, Jesus and transfiguration are not most often found on mountains within the gospel tradition. The glory of Jesus and God appears most often in healings and ministry and the way of the cross. For that reason a final question must be asked.
3. Do we consecrate our home life, work life, social life, private life as a place of ministry? Do we, with Jesus, carry the cross of life into all these places? I ask because this scripture text strongly suggests that when we take up our cross and follow after Jesus (8:34) we will encounter the risen Christ and be transformed.
May God grant us trust of Jesus the transfigured Christ. May God grant us echoes which strengthen us. May God grant us the wisdom and peace of the cross. Amen.