Transfiguration of Our Lord

Even the best of marriages have times of difficulty, or patterns of behavior that are not necessarily helpful. For a long time in our relationship, the default response that Anke and I would have, if the other spouse came up with an idea or suggestion, would be to respond negatively to it. To either reject it outright, or to start coming up with all the reasons why it wasn’t nearly as good an idea as the other person thought it would.

One day, while we were still in Pennsylvania, I was seeing my therapist and we started talking about this. And I asked him at one point, “Why is it that every time your spouse comes up with a suggestion or an idea, the first response is to reject it? To be opposed to it?” And he laughed! And then he said, “If I knew the answer to that, I would be a very rich man!” So clearly it was not just Anke and me who were dealing with this.

Anke and I have become much better about that kind of thing. But I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I think it comes down to a couple of things. First, I think we have a tendency to receive suggestions or new ideas as criticism. Especially if it’s an improvement upon something that we’ve already developed. But I also think, more importantly, that it comes down to agency and control. That is, the rejection of an outside idea is an effort to maintain our own sense of agency and control in our own lives. It’s a manifestation of the inner child, whose automatic response to anything is, “You can’t tell me what to do! You’re not the boss of me!!” It’s a means of retaining power and control. And of course, it’s not just something that happens in marriages. It happens all over the place. It’s a struggle that we see being played out between Jesus and his disciples in exquisite, sometimes excruciating detail in the Gospel of Mark. It’s also a struggle that continues to play out in the life of the church today.

In order to really understand what’s happening here, we need to remember the context of the transfiguration. The backdrop for all of this is what happens in Chapter 8 of the Gospel of Mark, specifically in the verses 31-35.

31 Then [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. (Mark 8:31-35)

To those who already assume they are followers, Jesus says, “Not necessarily! You have to become my followers by the only way possible: deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow me to suffering, rejection and death. Either you lose your life for my sake, and find it, or you try and avoid that, and lose it. There’s no other way!”

So, here we are. Jesus makes this declaration, which expresses the very essence of his mission and ministry. And Peter’s first response is, “No, that’s not right. That’s a really bad idea.” The disciples are determined that there is another way, with a happy ending. We see in this the willful blindness and deafness of the disciples to the Way of the Cross. And to drive this point home, this scene is followed by Jesus healing two blind men and two deaf and dumb people.

So when Jesus says these awful things about what absolutely must happen to him, rather than reject him, the disciples climb on board. But then they start trying to control what that means. They try to frame the concept of “following” in their own terms. It’s a struggle between Jesus and the disciples. It’s a struggle over which way they are going: They way of control, power, and triumph? Or the way of the cross? And the clearer Jesus’ path to suffering becomes, the harder the disciples dig in their heels.

At this crucial point, we have this transfiguration. Just like at Jesus’ baptism, the heavenly voice confirms that it is Jesus’ way that is the right way, and that the things the disciples find hardest to hear are precisely the things they must hear. It couldn’t be clearer: “This is my Son, the Beloved! Now listen to him!” Listen to the call to follow. Be prepared to accept the terms, because there’s no room for negotiation.

The shadow of the cross hangs over this entire story. In fact, it hangs over the entire Gospel of Mark. We who already know how the whole things ends need to realize something important. The resurrection doesn’t dilute the horror and evil of the cross!  Mark cannot emphasize this too strongly. Jesus predicts suffering, rejection, death and resurrection. But the resurrection is no comfort to him! He dies, screaming in bewilderment, “My God! Why have you abandoned me?” Hardly the cry of someone who knows he just has to hang on till Sunday and it will all be all right.

So what is this event on the mountain telling us? First, the kingdom Jesus has preached as having drawn near in his person and ministry is the Kingdom of God. Jesus, Mark tells us, is the one to whom God has given dominion. Secondly, the thing that the disciples are to listen to is what Jesus tells them about the way of the cross. This Kingdom can only be established through his suffering and death.

Remember the conditions for following? Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow. The setting for this three-fold demand is not some inward spiritual asceticism. It’s not about giving up chocolate, coping with a difficult boss and attending church!

The context is the court room. This is written in the context of a Christian community under persecution. When you’re on the stand, Jesus says, “You have two choices: deny me, and save your life. Or confess me, denying yourself, and lose your life – and save it in the process! Follow me. That is what I am facing. If you want to follow me, face it too”. Jesus is the one to whom dominion has been given in the court of heaven. In the earthly court, however, Jesus will be on the stand. It’s ironic: because Jesus is the one to whom ultimate dominion has been given, he is the one to whom all must give account.

Those who threaten death to Jesus and his followers will be powerless – because Jesus and his followers are challenging and smashing their ultimate power. Their ultimate power is the power to kill. They use the threat of death to demand conformity and cooperation. Their kingdoms are built upon death. Jesus fully intends to resist and accept the penalty! He will not bow the knee, or compromise, or take a bribe, or back down. Jesus is resisting the powers. Resisting the powers of our day is what it means to follow this Jesus.

In other words, the Transfiguration is different from what most of us have been brought up to believe, myself included. This is not a moment of glory, or of hope. It is confirmation of the Way of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is about engagement with the powers that be. It will bring about suffering and death. It is the only way – both for Jesus and for would-be followers. The Transfiguration confirms the call to suffering discipleship issued in 8:34. The divine voice underscores it: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to what he tells you!”

Yet the disciples continue to resist. We see it in Peter’s misinterpretation of what is happening in this story. We see it when the disciples are discussing who among them will be the greatest. And we see it when James and John ask to sit to Jesus’ left and right.

We are standing on the threshold of Lent, in the shadow of the cross, squirming uncomfortably. The challenge of the Way of the Cross is a challenge for the Church. We followers of Jesus need to take a close, hard look at our own hearts and responses. We need to face up to the possibility of our own blindness and deafness to a gospel that’s uncomfortable. Lent is not about giving things up. It’s about not giving up on Jesus! And it’s about being prepared to deny ourselves.

The self-denial Jesus talks about doesn’t come easily or cheaply. Jesus was taking on the powers that control some human beings for the benefit of others. He was intent on building a new world. A world where the least come first. That’s what being his followers should mean. But look at the world we have! But look at the world we have! Endemic war and violence, starvation, oppression and gross inequality. And that after 2000 years of Christianity. How can it be that so-called followers of Jesus have created such a world? Clearly, we are as resistant to the Way of the Cross as the first disciples. We should never underestimate our aversion to what discipleship entails, or our ability to dull the demands of Jesus’ call.

So, let’s be extraordinarily clear: it’s very, very difficult to live out what Christ calls us to. But it’s a whole lot easier when done in community, rather than trying to go it alone. Rev. Lawrence Moore relates the following story about a friend of his from South Africa: One of the saints of the anti-Apartheid struggle, he decided that Christian discipleship as a white person in Apartheid South Africa meant moving into a Black township, to share in the inconveniences, deprivations and sufferings of the people. He and his wife did so. After two years, they both had complete breakdowns and had to move back into the white suburbs. The task of discipleship was simply too overwhelming. By contrast, a group of several white families from a church moved into a township for the same reasons – together! As a little community, they gradually became part of the wider community they believed God had called them to stand with – and their support for one another kept them sane and encouraged

At the end of Epiphany, we stand on the threshold of Lent and have to be prepared to hear the call to the Way of the Cross as shocking, new, and uncomfortable. We need to commit ourselves to dealing with our blindness and our deafness. In Mark’s narrative, the blind and the deaf symbolize the disciples’ condition and response to Jesus. But it’s a narrative of hope, because the deaf hear and the blind see – and the disciples on the mountain do deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Jesus! That, too, needs to be our story. Thanks be to God!

AMEN