Curate’s sermon 10.8.25: Transfiguration

In the Church of England, we don’t seem to observe the feast of Christ’s Transfiguration as a particularly important date. It is in the lectionary in red letters, the same as the feasts of the apostles and evangelists, the Visitation, and the Baptism of Christ, but it is not usually something we mark. And yet, what happens at the Transfiguration is symbolically rich and theologically significant. It seems that it points to the events of the past, while simultaneously looking towards an eschatological future, and through this dialogue, a meaning for the present emerges. Please bear with me as we take a little walk from the Old Testament into the New, and then will see what this journey means for us today.
In the narrative of the Transfiguration, there are deliberate references to the Hebrew Bible, which speak of direct continuity with things that have happened before this moment.
Among the recognisable echoes of the Old Testament are Christ’s dazzling clothes, the appearance of his face and the cloud covering the disciples, as well as the fact that the events are taking place on top of a hill or a mountain. All are elements of Moses’ encounters with the Lord in the book of Exodus, when he meets the Lord in a cloud on mount Sinai and emerges with a radiant face. However, as Paul observes in the second letter to the Corinthians, the glory of Moses’ face faded away, but the glory of Christ endures and unfolds.
The appearance of Moses and Elijah next to Jesus is commonly interpreted as the Law, personified by Moses, and the Prophets, represented by Elijah, both affirming and giving way to the rule of Jesus, whose exceptional role is confirmed by the Father himself: ‘This is my Son, my chosen one. Listen to him’. Moses and Elijah have paved the way, but now it is Jesus, the Messiah, who has to be listened to, he is now both the Law and the Prophets. One intriguing thing occurred to me though as I was working on this sermon. The appearance of Moses and Elijah at first seems a vision, but in verse 32 Luke clarifies that Peter and his companions were awake and really saw the two men and Jesus in glory. How did they get there? In 2 Kings 2, Elijah is taken up to heaven – he never dies and is clearly somewhere with the Lord. It is then logical that he appears from heaven to meet Jesus as He is transfigured. But Moses dies and is buried in Deuteronomy 34. Does this mean he is raised from the dead? Is he among the first fruits before Christ is even dead, resurrected and ascended? In an even more exciting turn of events, if I am not missing anything, the only other appearance of someone who is dead and buried in the Bible occurs in 1 Samuel 28, and it is not a pleasant one. King Saul goes to a medium in the place called Endor to summon Samuel from the dead. Samuel is not pleased, having been disturbed, and predicts Saul’s defeat in a battle and death not only to him but also his sons. The very next day the sons indeed are killed and Saul takes his own life. Saul knowingly goes against the prohibition to consult spirits in Deuteronomy 18 and pays a very dear price for it. The appearance of Moses in the Transfiguration is the first one since Samuel’s appearance to Saul, but it has a dramatically different connotation. This appearance is sanctioned by the Lord. It is no longer a spirit from Sheol but an ambassador from heaven appearing to proclaim Jesus’ power and to anticipate the things to come. Perhaps it is a sign that those who lived before Christ will also be subject to the resurrection. With this in mind, we are going to turn to the future and see what the Transfiguration narrative is anticipating, as opposed to where it is coming from.
Another reference to dazzling clothes is found in Daniel 12, where he is describing the end times, saying that all will be awake, but, among them, those who are wise will ‘shine like the brightness of the heavens’. Jesus’ transfigured appearance can be interpreted as a foretaste of things to come. It is a vision of Christ in glory, as he forever will be after his Ascension. The disciples are offered a glance of the New Creation, as well as an insight into Christ’s identity. The identity of Jesus is confirmed beyond all doubt by the Father himself. The words He says are identical to His proclamation at Christ’s Baptism, but the announcement is now made to the disciples. Transfiguration is not a change in who Jesus is but instead a glimpse of His new state beyond what is currently real and visible. It is a vision of the whole transfigured creation, which will not disappear to be replaced by something different, but will be transformed. It is an anticipation of Christ’s resurrected body, which is physical and material and yet is of a different kind – the kind of existence not yet available to us but very possible if we have faith in him. The disciples see the kingdom that is to come before Jesus is even dead and risen. In fact, the words Jesus says in Luke 9.27, just before the Transfiguration narrative, may be about this event and not the New Creation as is commonly believed. Jesus says, ‘Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God’. Indeed, it was only some of the disciples present who witnessed Christ’s Transfiguration, thus seeing the kingdom of God and His glory.
In response to what he is seeing, Peter wants to put up tents for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. This is most likely a reference to the festival of the Tabernacles, or Sukkot. This festival was established to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. The little tabernacles or tents, or ‘sukkot’ in Hebrew, reminded the Israelites of the dwellings they lived in during the 40 years in the desert. In verse 32 of Luke’s Gospel, the word ‘exodus’, translated in our reading as ‘departure’, is used by Moses and Elijah, who tell Jesus that he must go through with his death and departure in Jerusalem. This exodus, however, is no longer to the promised land, but into the kingdom of heaven. Peter did not know what he was saying because he did not understand it. The little dwellings are no longer needed because the promised land is heaven itself that will unfold in all its glory in the New Creation.
Transfiguration is a moment in which eternity, with its pasts and its futures, is seen in all clarity. Like a precursor of the torn temple veil at Jesus’ death, the fabric of life has been cut and something unimaginable can be seen through it – a glimpse of eternal heaven. Saul tried to cut a hole into what is below but Jesus has shown us what is above.
I am sure some of us gathered here have experienced glimpses of it too: sensing the presence of God, hearing his voice, encountering miracles and inexplicable coincidences, seeing lives transformed – all these, I believe, are the windows into God’s glory, which first opened as Christ was transfigured. The timelessness of the moment of Transfiguration means that it always has relevance and can bring the confidence in the life to come into any moment in our lives. Whatever we are going through, the glory of the Lord is right here, all around us; we do not see it yet, other than perhaps in little glimpses, but seeing Christ transfigured should give us hope and comfort in the knowledge that the glorious, wonderful, dazzling heaven is real and He is waiting for us there.
Amen