Transfiguration Sunday (Last Sunday before Lent)

This usually misunderstood episode is not Jesus showing off his resurrection power. Rather, there are important theological truths revealed and confirmed. The presence of Moses and Elijah are significant in more than one way. First, these are the two Old Testament figures who saw God (theophany), each imperfectly, from the mouth a cave. But now from the mountain they see God perfectly in Christ. The two also declare that the Law of Moses and the legacy of the prophets culminate in the fulfilling work of Christ on the Cross. Jesus’ face also shines with the very light that made Moses’ face glow when he came down from the mountain. The “bright cloud” that envelops them recalls God’s presence in the shekinah glory of the cloud in Exodus. Here it also refers to the Holy Spirit’s future coming on the church in baptism (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1). All of this is confirmed in the presence of Peter, James, and John, the “two or three witnesses” required in the Old Testament for verifying anything. These are those who will not “taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matt. 16:28).

Constructing a sermon out of this maelstrom of resonances should center on the purpose of the episode: That Jesus himself is fully God, and to see him is to see the Father perfectly. This vision buoys believers in hope while shouldering their crosses. The Christian life is not the emulation of the example of an ordinary earthly teacher but progress toward the very glory of God. By drawing near to the Sun of Righteousness, we too may hope to be likewise transformed.