Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
February 23, 2020
Peter responds to this event by offering to build three dwellings, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Something strange and mysterious has happened here. This is big stuff, and Peter stands ready to build something to commemorate what has happened, a lasting monument, a place for worship, and a holy site for pilgrims to come from near and far for generations to come. To them the Transfiguration is a mystery that draws people to it.
But, wait; there is more... Peter was still rambling about making dwellings when a bright cloud enveloped them, so they could no longer see anything. And from within that cloud, they could hear a voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” On hearing the voice of God, the disciples fell to the ground. They were terrified. To be in the presence of God was more than they could bear.
The Transfiguration story involves 2 different opposite reactions. In the 1st reaction, there is a kind of interest and attraction. Jesus is revealed as God, and Jesus draws people to himself. Dwelling places are planned to mark the spot where pilgrims will surely come as they hear of the fascinating event that occurred here. In the 2nd reaction, there is a kind of shrinking away and dread. The voice of God speaks to them directly, and it is more than they can handle. Fear paralyzes them, and they fall to the ground.
Rudlof Otto is known as one of the most influential thinkers of the 1st half of the 20th Century. He is best known for his work The Idea of the Holy published in German in 1917 followed by an English translation in 1923. Here Otto attempts to analyze the human experience that underlies all religion. For Otto, the numinous encounter with God is described with the 2-part Latin phrase: Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans. The 1st part is the trembling experience of overwhelming power. In the presence of the Almighty, we are acutely aware of our smallness, frailty, and sin. Terror sets-in, and our knees fail us. The 2nd part is a response to mercy and grace. We are fascinated and drawn toward the divine Love which has willed us into being. For Otto, the strangest and most noteworthy phenomenon in the whole history of religion, the human encounter with God, has two polar-opposite qualities, both daunting and fascinating at the same time. Of course, this is a logically impossible description, contradictory and not making sense. It is an emotional paradox.
People experience emotional paradox when we feel quite opposite feelings at the same time. As a youth, I remember the high diving board at our neighborhood pool. I was fascinated with the high dive and scared of it at the same time. (You don’t see diving boards this tall nowadays; Thank you, insurance companies.) One time, I ascended the ladder to what seemed like the stratosphere and walked down the board to where my toes peeked over the edge of the board. My unresolved feelings went off in two directions. On the one hand, there was anticipation of flying through the air and splashing down to join the elite club of those who had made the jump. On the other hand, there was fear of pain, of getting a large hit of chlorinated water up my nose, and possibly losing my swim trunks somewhere in the pool! (The 1st time up, I turned around and climbed right back down the ladder.)
After Taika Waititi won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay, Layne and I decided to watch the movie, “Jo Jo Rabbit.” The movie, set in Germany during World War II, tells the story of a ten-year-old boy who has been indoctrinated by the Nazis. In the course of the film, young Johannes, or Jojo, learns that his mother has been secretly hiding a teenage Jewish girl, Elsa, behind an upstairs wall in their home. Steeped in the blind fanaticism of the Hitler youth, he is afraid of the girl...but as the story progresses his fascination keeps drawing him to her. Jojo’s interactions with Elsa change him. He comes to reject the Nazi politics, and think for himself. In the end Elsa becomes family for him.
I imagine that the Transfiguration changed Jesus’ 3 closest disciples. While still cowering on the ground, their friend and teacher, Jesus, walked to them and touched them saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” They could not stay on that mountain top; they had to descend and return to everyday problems once again. The change is that the everyday issues would now be seen from a different perspective….so much so that Jesus needed to remind them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until after the Resurrection. The Transfiguration was only experienced by 3 disciples. But, Jesus points them, and us, to the Cross. The Cross is Christianity's Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans. What God is doing, sending the Son to redeem the world, is fully and finally revealed to all the faithful in the Cross of Calvary.
With this story, the Season after the Epiphany is drawing to a close. We leave these 3 disciples coming down the mountain, but now with a different perspective, a newfound perception that Jesus is more than a teacher and friend. The story is just dust and ashes unless we see ourselves reflected in these disciples. With the help of God’s Holy Spirit, may we prepare for Lent with humility and with renewed faith that Jesus will guide us on our life’s pilgrimage down the mountain and into the valley. AMEN.
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