Erl Purnell Sermon

bEpiphany Last ~ February 26, 2006 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

1^st Kings 19.9-18; Psalm 27.5-11; 2^nd Peter 1.16-21; Mark 9.2-9

Today is the Last Sunday of Epiphany. The Epiphany is the festival observed on January 6, celebrating the divine manifestation of Jesus through the Magi’s visit, or, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the baptism of Jesus. An epiphany, by definition, is an awakening, or, the manifestation of a divine being, or, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurance.¹

But on the last Sunday of Epiphany the reference in 2^nd Peter and Mark’s Gospel is to the Transfiguration.

“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.”

These readings say nothing at all about the Magi or Jesus’ baptism. Some of us celebrated The Epiphany with our Hispanic friends at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Friday, January 6^th. In fact OSA provided three royal characters—ancient and young Magi—for the celebration. And, you’ll recall, it was on the first Sunday following the Epiphany that we heard Mark’s rendition of the baptism of Jesus. So, we’re pretty far down the road from Three Kings’ Day and from Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River. In addition, we’ve jumped from the 2^nd chapter of Mark last week to the 9^th chapter this morning. So, what’s up with today; why the Transfiguration; and, what about the Transfiguration anyway?

The most number of Sundays possible after Epiphany and before Lent is nine—eight plus the Last Sunday after Epiphany. Nine Sundays occur only when Easter is at its very latest. This year Easter is one week shy of its latest possible date. Be that as it may, there is always a Last Sunday after the Epiphany. And, no matter what, the lessons for the Last Sunday following Epiphany are always about the Transfiguration. In Year A, the Gospel is from Matthew 17.1-9: “Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” In Year C, the Gospel is from Luke 9.28-36: “Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” In Year B—we’re in Year B now—the Gospel is from Mark: “Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

John, by the way, skips this story entirely. For his community, the Transfiguration seems to have been unimportant, or maybe John didn’t know about this event at all.

So, now we’re back to wondering what’s up with today; why the Transfiguration; and, what about the Transfiguration anyway? Remember the second definition for epiphany: an awakening, or, the manifestation of a divine being, or, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence.

Well, isn’t the entire season of Epiphany a celebration in this way? So, it can’t be too surprising that on this last Sunday of Epiphany we take a look at the ultimate example of an epiphany—the Transfiguration itself.

Peter, James, and John are with Jesus on the mountain top. Something happens. Something extraordinary awakens these three to a new reality, a new way of looking at Jesus, a new way of being in the world. While the disciples might have been impressed with Jesus’ healing ability, his teaching, and his commitment to justice, in the early weeks and months of Jesus’ ministry there were only hints about his intimacy with God. Now, on the mountain, Peter, James, and John awaken to the fact that Jesus knows God in a way others don’t. The transfiguration symbolizes an awakening in us all to see Jesus in a whole new way.

In the scene, Jesus himself is transfigured—“and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.” And then, after Peter makes a fool of himself suggesting they build Succoth tabernacles, the synoptic Gospels insert the voice of God from within a cloud—great imagery for the presence of the divine—affirming Jesus and his ministry, in no uncertain terms: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” The manifestation of divinity is present on the mountain, and at this moment the Gospellers reveal that Jesus is imbued with God’s Spirit. Moreover, the Gospellers are insisting that members of their communities—and so us as well—“listen” to Jesus, to the Good News. The Gospellers invite an epiphany, for people to know the manifestation of God for themselves—right here, right now.

Although over the centuries the church has put Jesus in royal robes and placed a bejeweled crown on his head, when you go back to Scripture, Jesus represents the ordinary. He comes from a peasant family, not the son of an ExxonMobil or Citibank executive. He and his three disciples are on a hike. They’ve just climbed a mountain. Everything is normal. Clouds cover the mountain top, as clouds often do. But something striking occurs and suddenly the disciples suspend disbelief and take a leap of understanding that transforms them forever. Mark crafts this moment masterfully such that we all share in the epiphany of Peter, James, and John.

Then, almost by way of explaining why most people did not recognize Jesus for who he was during his life-time, Mark inserts the Messianic secret: “As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

Jesus, however, is revealed to the faithful by the epiphany of Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration. Like the early readers of Mark’s Gospel, we know the story, we know what happens on Good Friday and on Easter morning. Now we take our new epiphany—“This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!—and walk down the mountain towards Jerusalem behind the Jesus who was so dazzling white atop the mountain. We’re back in the real world, on the rocky road with Jesus, the disciples, Mary Magdalene, and nameless others. But because we were with Peter, James, and John, we understand in our hearts what to do: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

The Transfiguration, however, is meaningful only when it changes our lives. This Sunday is about change and transformation. As Jesus-people, it’s not enough to think about the story, say we believe in Jesus, and come to church. We are to be transformed so that our lives are lived boldly, with radical compassion, forgiveness, justice, and love at the center. To know the presence of God among us—in, around, and through us—is to be transfigured ourselves and so transformed. People who follow Jesus are people of change and transformation. We move onward, not resting in the comfort of yesterdays but seeking the most of today and tomorrow.

Amen.