Transfiguration C: Listen to Him
Dear Partner in Preaching,
Just a few exegetical thoughts about this familiar, and somewhat confounding, story.
But first, why confounding? I think because it’s just odd enough (with the appearance of OT heroes), just strange enough (with Jesus all shimmery and shiny), and named with a word we rarely use, to leave us as confused as Peter, James, and John were. Further, it’s an odd placeholder and bridge between Jesus’ baptism (noting how similar are the words from the voice from heaven here and to Jesus at the River Jordan [3:22]) and Jesus’ resurrection (noting this time the similarity between the description of the transfigured Jesus here and the messengers at the empty tomb [24:4]).
To try to make some homiletical sense of all this, a few observations:
1) Luke, along with Mark and Matthew, connects this event with Peter’s confession about Jesus and Jesus’ counter-confession about what it means to be the Messiah and the necessity of taking up one’s cross (9:18-27). All of what happens, including especially the “glory” the disciples behold, should be viewed in light of Jesus’ decision and act to come back down the mountain and “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:52).
2) That connection is deepened by Luke’s word choice, distinct from that of the other evangelists, in noting that Moses and Elijah speak to Jesus about his “departure,” which in Greek is literally, “exodus.” Jesus’ cross is about release and freedom. This shouldn’t surprise us, given that these same themes permeated his first sermon at Nazareth (4:16-21). Yet it’s easy to forget that the cross is not simply, or perhaps even primarily, about making forgiveness possible (Jesus has already been doing a lot of forgiving up to this point), much less paying God off for our sin, but rather is about freedom, release from captivity, and establishing an open future.
3) Jesus’ accomplishment (same verse: 9:31), then, is to fulfill or bring to realization (other ways of translating the Greek verb, “play-ro-o” used here) God’s desire that God’s people live in freedom. All of God’s people, just as all of Israel was rescued from captivity. The link to the cross is deepened by Luke’s use of “mel-lo” – translated here as “about” with the sense of imminence, but which also can be translated as “intending to do” and often via enduring or suffering something.
4) When the voice from heaven speaks, the words, as noted earlier, are indeed similar to those spoken to Jesus at his baptism. But two distinctions. First, they are spoken to the disciples rather than to Jesus and, second, the end of this brief speech includes the directive, “Listen to him.” Luke does not record any immediate words from Jesus, which makes me think this is meant to signify that the disciples must listen to all he says and, particularly, to the message he proclaims through his accomplishment at Jerusalem. Which is what? That God desires freedom and life for God’s people. That God is with us and for us through all things. That God loves us and all of God’s children more than we can imagine. That God will do absolutely anything – including dying on the cross – to communicate this love and accomplish our release.
Yes, we are called to listen to him and, having been transformed by our listening, to then share the same message of freedom, love, release, and acceptance with others through both our words and deeds. Because at the end of this story, Jesus will address his disciples – then and now – quite directly, saying “You are my witnesses to these things” (24:48), thereby commissioning us to proclaim a message of forgiveness and freedom to all who may hear. Yes, let us listen to him.
Blessings on your proclamation this week and always, Dear Partner, as you seek to share words of grace and freedom to people who are eager and at times desperate to hear them. I am grateful for your good work.
Yours in Christ,
David
Post image: “The Transfiguration of Jesus,” Carl Heinrich Bloch, detail.
Freedom – that Lutheran thing! and obedience – the Roman Catholic thing? are in tension. Love God and do as you please? The breakthrough ISTM is beyond letting go (a-phiemi) and ‘freedom’ (politeia? – self governing autonomy?) to a more nuanced reality. Bonhoeffer talked about ‘responsibility’ in Ethics, in which the final act is denying all self-justification and giving up one’s action to God? ‘Take up your cross’ isn’t exactly a call to self-governing autonomy except insofar as you pick your own hill to die on. Which you do anyway. Grace and freedom are part, but not all of the claim of good news. You get to choose where and how to give your life, for every moment you are doing just that. The illusion may be that you can do that before something less than all of being itself.