Do you remember what you were doing on August 21, 2017? I was working in downtown Minneapolis, and I took a lunchtime walk up Nicollet Mall being very careful to not look directly into the sun. I was avoiding staring into the sky because that was the day of a total solar eclipse and looking directly at a solar eclipse can severely damage a person’s eyes unless one is wearing special protective glasses. The total solar eclipse was visible within a band that stretched across the entire contiguous United States. Minnesota was outside of the band so here we saw only a partial eclipse. At the time the Great American Eclipse was a big deal as prior to this event no total solar eclipse had been visible across the entirety of the United States since June 8, 1918. There were watch parties all over the nation including at the White House. My aunt and uncle who live in the Chicago suburbs went down to Southern Illinois into the band of the total eclipse and watched the event in a stadium with over 15,000 people. Small towns that were in the path of totality had multiple day festivals including Moonstock headlined by Ozzy Osbourne who played a show during the eclipse. The eclipse was much anticipated and then suddenly it was all over and it will be years before we will have another opportunity like this again. I remember going home after work and watching a PBS Nova special called Eclipse Over America. The footage shown that night was quite impressive. As in all total solar eclipses, the moon blocked the sun and revealed the sun’s corona or outer atmosphere. The corona is only visible in a total solar eclipse and during the eclipse the corona appeared as a pearly glow that surrounded the darkened moon. It was a wondrous and heavenly celestial spectacle. Even though Minnesota was not in the path of totality I went to bed that night thinking that I had missed out on something. Maybe I should have bought the special glasses so that I could have safely glimpsed the solar eclipse in real time with my own eyes. I wondered if seeing something so marvelous with one’s own eyes had changed the lives of those who viewed it. In the days and weeks that followed the eclipse faded from the headlines. Four and a half years later I have yet to encounter anyone who said that seeing the eclipse changed their life. The eclipse came and went very quickly with minimal impact on most people.
The disciples Peter, James, and John had a unique opportunity to witness the Transfiguration with their own eyes. For them it may have been like viewing an eclipse but likely it was a much more awesome experience. They saw the appearance of Jesus’ face change. They saw his clothes become a dazzling white. They saw Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. They were overshadowed by a cloud, and they heard the voice of God telling them to listen to Jesus. They were shocked and terrified. They were surely wondering what the impact was of what they had just seen. Unlike the Great American Eclipse which came and went these disciples had witnessed an event that changed human history and one that is central in the story of Jesus. Jesus had already displayed the glory of God in his ministry as he performed healing miracles and showed his power over nature. The miracles that Jesus performed were similar to those previously performed by Moses who brought the plagues on Pharaoh and who led the Israelites out of Egypt as he parted the Red Sea and also similar to the works of Elijah who revived the son of the widow of Zarephath. These great prophets had received God’s glory. The Transfiguration however is evidence of something completely different as Jesus shows here that he is not a recipient of divine glory but instead is truly the source of divine glory. In revealing himself as the source of divine glory Jesus shows that he is truly the Son of God.
The Transfiguration is a key hinge point in the life of Jesus because it is where a life which started in a manger in Bethlehem now turns toward a cross in Jerusalem. In the Transfiguration Jesus shows himself to be the Son of God but he also begins to reset people’s expectations of why the Son of God has come into the world. If Jesus became incarnate solely to reveal God’s glory, then he just would have stayed on the mountain and periodically put on a series of stunning displays and every day could have been eclipse day. In the Transfiguration story we see a glimpse of Jesus’ future. As Jesus was speaking to Moses and Elijah, we read that they “were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” Soon Jesus would start his journey to Jerusalem where his Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension will occur. The glory displayed in the Transfiguration will be seen again in both the Resurrection and the Ascension but first Jesus will make a long journey to Jerusalem and suffer a painful death on the cross.
Moses and Elijah were two great prophets who lived in very close relationship to God as they both knew intimately the mind and the will of God. Moses and Elijah would not have been capable of spectacular acts on their own, however through their relationships with God they were capable of great miracles as God worked through them. They surely had their doubts but ultimately, they relied on God as God guided them through some very difficult times. Moses suffered with the rest of the Israelites under Pharaoh’s cruelty and oppression before he was able to lead the Israelites to freedom. Elijah was forced to flee for his life and was severely depressed before he was eventually taken up to heaven in a whirlwind as a chariot of fire and horses appeared. The experiences of Moses and Elijah foreshadow those of Jesus who is about to experience suffering and death before returning in glory. The way of God will not bypass the cross. Both Moses and Elijah knew what it was like to experience both painful misfortune as well as God’s glory. Through the good times and the bad times both Moses and Elijah stayed close to God. Moses and Elijah appear in this text as symbols of the law and the prophets, but more importantly these two great prophets represent those who are living their lives in close relationship with God.
In other parts of Jesus’ ministry, it is clear that Jesus wants to be in relationship with all of us as we see him as an itinerant teacher who healed the sick, fed the hungry, and took the little children into his arms. Here this awesome display of power seems like it would have scared and intimidated anyone who witnessed it so it is hard for us to view the Transfiguration as an invitation to relationship with Jesus but if we look closely the invitation is there. The Transfiguration actually happens during a time of prayer. While Jesus was praying the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white. Prayer for Jesus involved, at times, a dramatic encounter of God’s presence. Jesus used prayer to call on the other persons of the Trinity. When he prayed at his baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon him and in the Transfiguration, prayer resulted in a display of glory and the voice of God proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God. In this case prayer was not merely speaking words to God but was a truly spiritual experience of God. Prayer is a way for us to be in relationship with God. It is unlikely that any of us will have an experience like that of Jesus in the Transfiguration on a regular basis in our prayer lives. However, this is an example that has value for our personal prayer practice. When we pray, we should not just be speaking words in the hope that God might hear us and give us what we request. In prayer we should be seeking the powerful presence of God in our lives. It is unlikely that we will see a dramatic display of God’s power like the Transfiguration occur while we are praying, however it is through prayer that we experience God’s constant presence with us all day and every day.
At first glance the awesome scene of Transfiguration does not appear to be related to the story of Jesus healing a boy with a demon. However, this healing provides appropriate closure to what had just transpired on the mountain. Peter had offered to make three dwellings for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus to commemorate the Transfiguration but that is not what Jesus wants. Jesus and his disciples simply come down from the mountain the next day and they encounter a great crowd of people including the father of a boy who was afflicted by an evil spirit. The father may have been emboldened to ask for healing as he may have seen from a distance that something spectacular had happened on the mountain the day before. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy. According to the text the crowd was astounded at the greatness of God. This was not the great display of glory that had occurred on the mountain but for that boy and his father this act of healing was a much more significant display of the power of God. Jesus showed that he wants to be in relationship with us and to heal us.
In the Transfiguration and in the healing of the boy we see that Jesus has come to reveal God and to redeem humanity. Jesus is the source of divine glory and unlike a solar eclipse that suddenly comes and quickly departs the glorious power of Jesus manifests itself not just for a brief moment but for eternity. The divine glory of Jesus is so powerful that it even triumphs over the power of death. By living in close relationship with God we too can experience the power of Jesus in our lives. Jesus comes down from the heavenly heights to be with us and to bring healing to us as he desires to bring us into a relationship with him that lasts forever and ever.
- Vicar Kyle Anderson