The Mount of Transfiguration, that’s the traditional name given to
the mountain where Jesus went with Peter, James and John, in the north part of
So - much more likely is
Here it is that Jesus comes
with the disciples, Peter, James and John. And as they are there with Him, an extraordinary
event takes place. Suddenly the majesty,
the presence of the living God, the glory of the living God is seen in Jesus,
as He speaks with Moses and Elijah – Moses the great law giver and Elijah the
great prophet of
Peter helpfully asks if he can make some kind of shelter for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Peter sees the majesty, the glory, but perhaps does not graspthe utter holiness and sacredness of the moment. Then a cloud descends which obscures everything and the Father’s voice is heard –
This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased – listen to Him.
When the
cloud lifts only Jesus is there.
As the disciples watch from a
distance………
And that’s as far as we may
come ourselves, for this is holy ground……
The things that took place here
are at the very edge of mystery - much of what happened is hidden from us.
But what happened that day,
certainly stayed with Peter and John
for
the rest of their lives
Peter would later write of that
day, that experience –
“we were eye witnesses of his majesty – for he received honour and
glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic glory
saying “This is my Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased”. We ourselves
heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred
mountain.” And John would write “The
Word became a human being and lived among us. We have seen His glory, the glory
of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth”.
Let’s ask an earth-bound
question - Glory - What is glory ?
What is this glory that we read
of ? We sing Glory,
glory Hallelujah, and
To God be the glory ! And Glory is one of the great Biblical words
– glory is seen when the law is given, in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar
of fire by night in the wilderness wanderings, glory during the worship in the
Temple, at the call of Isaiah and of Ezekiel, the shepherds see the heavens
filled with glory at the birth of Jesus and here we see it at His
transfiguration. But what is glory ? Well, the Hebrew word is kabodh and the Greek word is doxa and taken together the
word glory means the light filled radiance that is present when God is present
- not a flickering, fading light but a light which has solidity, substance, a splendour,
a beauty, a magnificence, in other words:
glory is a
light, a radiance which speaks of the presence of God in majesty and greatness
To take two examples: Exodus
gives us a wonderful account of how Moses was invited into the living presence
of God on the mountain top. The Lord passes in front of Moses and reveals His
glory. Moses is caught up in the Lord’s glorious presence on the mountain top,
and coming down a day later – his face was still radiant with the experience,
with all that he had seen.
Or read how the glory of God
came down on the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting:
15. On the day the
the Tent of Meeting
was
set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning
the
cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
16 That is how it continued to be; the
cloud covered it,
and
at night it looked like fire.
and………..
Leviticus 9.23 Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting
when they came out, they blessed the people
and the glory of the Lord appeared to all……
glory is a
light, a radiance which speaks of the presence of God in majesty and greatness
And now we read in Matthew’s
gospel of the glory of Jesus
what
might we understand from the glory we see on the Mountain ?
Firstly this,
the
lowly One, the Man of Sorrows,
the
One now on His way to the cross, here,
here, we see His glory,
a
light, a radiance which speaks of the presence of God in majesty and greatness
the
glory of the One who is the Eternal Son, the living Word among us.
At the the Mount of
Transfiguration, through the gospel we are allowed to glimpse, along with the
disciples, something of the glory and power of Jesus, as the Son of God.
And secondly this - that glimpse of the
glory of Jesus Christ up there on the mountain means, this:
that the
Cross which lies ahead is not the working of ‘fate’ or ‘an unfortunate event’ –
by
allowing us to glimpse the glory of Jesus there on the mountain,
that light,
that radiance which speaks of the presence of God in majesty and greatness in Jesus
the
gospel shows us the glory of who Jesus is – that in Him is the power, the majesty,
the greatness of God.
The Word of the Living God from
the cloud confirms and declares Jesus to be the well beloved Son.
So the gospel shows us that Jesus is the Son
of the living God and shows us that yet He has chosen to walk to death on a
cross in
Why ? it was for our sake, to offer Himself for us
!………..
that
we might receive life, and that we might be healed
and
this is in the loving purpose of God……….
for when
the Cloud lifts Moses and Elijah are gone………….
only
Christ is left !
He alone – the bread of life –
the Son
To return, then, for a moment
to the gospel of Matthew -
When the mountain top is filled with the light, the radiance of the majesty and
greatness of Jesus
Peter calls out and asks if he can helpfully
make three shelters for the Lord, Moses and Elijah. There is just a hint in the
gospel that perhaps Peter has not grasped the utter holiness and sacredness of
the moment. But yet, Peter says, Lord, it
is good for us to be here.
Only - look at the Church – how
little we know of the glory of Christ,
how
little we know of His holiness
how
little we know of
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
so
dull are we of eye, blind of sight,
but
how we as a Church need this vision of the glory of Christ,
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
To be silent, to be listening,
to be wondering, to be adoring His glory
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
What would it be like to know
something of the glory of Christ,
to
know more of His holiness ?
to
understand
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
What would it be like
as a
Church to glimpse the glory of Christ ?
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
What would it mean for us
To be silent, to be listening,
to be wondering, to be adoring His glory ?
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
John Calvin wrote long ago that
in the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
we
discover ourselves to be truly sinful, blind and failing……….
but,
and here is good news, we do not live “according to the poverty of who we are,
or what we believe,
but
according to the greatness of Christ and what He can do”
that’s
what we would find……..
and
Corinthians goes on to tell us this
that
if we live in the light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
then
His glory will change us too,
transform us into His likeness……….
Let us ask of our heavenly
Father, that we may live in
the
light, the radiance of the majesty and greatness of Jesus
And may our words be the words
of Peter,
Lord, it
is good for us to be here.
AMEN
John
Chrysostom
Heavenly Father, it is fitting
and right to sing of You, to praise You, to thank You,
to adore You in all places. For You are the ineffable
God, invisible, incomprehensible, existing forever and yet ever the same, You
and Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus, and Your Holy Spirit. You brought
us into being out of nothingness, and when we had fallen, You
raised us up again. You have not ceased doing everything to lead us to heaven
and to bestow upon us Your future kingdom. For all
this do we thank You and Your Son, our Lord Jesus, and Your
Holy Spirit - for all the benefits of which we know and those of which we are
ignorant, for those that are clear to us and those that lie hidden.
There stand before You
thousands of archangels and myriads of angels, Cherubim and Seraphim,
six-winged and many-eyed, borne aloft on their wings who sing, proclaim, cry
out, and worship You in the triumphal hymn of praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts! Heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!