Sermon for the Sunday Next Before Lent
Sunday 22 February 2009
2 Kings 2. 1-12
Psalm 50. 1-6
2 Corinthians 4. 3-6
Mark 9. 2-9
One of the most rewarding things about working with young
children is to follow their progress – to see them gain new skills
and knowledge and to constantly build on them. At the moment,
one of the most pleasant tasks of my very pleasant working week
in school is hearing the infants read. One child – let‟s call him
Charlie – is so far ahead of his year group that he reads to me
one-to-one. Where the other children are still stumbling over the
basic phonic sounds, Charlie rarely hesitates. When he does, its
usually over one of those quirky English words which you can‟t
read by sounding it out. In recent weeks he‟s discovered „month‟
and „iron‟ and „tough„. Understanding brings an expression of
delight to his face. It‟s just like seeing the sun come out on a
rainy day.
I suppose we experience those moments all through life. There
are things we struggle to learn, skills we strive to master. When
the penny drops, when things suddenly fall into place, it can
spark intense pleasure and pride in achievement. And then,
occasionally, there are those extra-special times of recognition or
realisation, when light suddenly dawns. Those times when we are
drawn out of anxiety, pain or despair to the certainty and comfort
of God‟s presence with us. Those times when we know for sure
that God‟s in his heaven and all‟s right with the world.
In the words of the writer Leslie Francis:
“Just occasionally in our spiritual life the curtains of heaven are
pulled back and we are vouchsafed a vision of the glorious reality
of God.”
The story in today‟s gospel reading tells of just such a moment of
recognition or revelation for the disciples Peter, James and John.
They have been led by Jesus up a high mountain and there they
see him transfigured. His robes become dazzling white and he is
talking with Elijah and Moses. A cloud comes over them and from
the cloud they hear a voice: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen
to him.”
Experts debate whether this story relates a real occurrence –
something which actually happened in the lives of Peter, James
and John – or whether it is allegorical or symbolic in nature.
Certainly there are elements of the story which give it a sense of
reality. We‟re told that the disciples were terrified. In his fear and
excitement Peter blurts out a wild suggestion – that they should
build three dwellings for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
But the story is also made up of a series of allusions and
references to the Old Testament scriptures. It closely echoes the
text of Exodus 24, which tells how Moses went up Mount Sinai to
receive the tablets of stone with the law and the commandments.
Moses also went „up a high mountain‟ where the glory of God was
hidden in a cloud. The voice of God called to Moses out of the
cloud. And when Moses returned to his people his face was
shining because he had been talking to God.
Whether it is the stark truth, embroidered fact or creative
symbolism, the significance and purpose of this story remain the
same. There came a time, a moment of clarity, in the lives of the
disciples, when they knew for certain that Jesus was the Messiah,
the Son of God. At that moment they began to see something of
the divine splendour - “the curtains of heaven pulled back to give
a vision of the glorious reality of God”.
The story of the transfiguration of Jesus is told not just in Mark‟s
Gospel but also in Matthew and Luke‟s Gospels. In its context
within each of the three Gospels, it‟s a story which is significant
not only because it relates the vivid and life-changing personal
experience of Peter, James and John, but also because it is a
pivotal moment in the life-story of Jesus himself. Jesus has been
travelling with his disciples in the area around the Sea of Galilee,
teaching and healing. As Tom Wright says, his work to date has
been to „unveil God in extraordinary actions and puzzling but
profound words‟. But now, when Jesus speaks to his disciples it is
to teach them – and reiterate – that he must undergo great
suffering. He will be betrayed and killed and after three days will
rise again. The time has come when he must turn towards
Jerusalem, to complete his task on earth in suffering on the
cross, and then to rise again to new life, to live and reign in
eternal glory. Here, at this moment of transition, the Gospels give
us a glimpse of the glory that has been, and is, and is to come.
This is the time to remove the veil from the minds of doubters
and unbelievers, to reveal „the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ‟.
The season of Lent will begin on Wednesday this week.
Lent is a time for meditation and contemplation.
It‟s a time to walk with Jesus in the wilderness - to wrestle, as
Jesus did, with the powers of darkness. Like Jesus we need to
face up to the attractions of this world which might entice us
away from the path God has chosen for us. It‟s a time to grow in
self-discipline and obedience to God‟s will. In Lent some of us
choose to forgo everyday temptations like sugar or chocolate or
wine. But to walk closely with Jesus in the wilderness is to
consider some of the more powerful inducements which can lead
us astray – like greed, pride, or personal ambition.
Lent is a time to walk beside Jesus in the way of the cross. It‟s a
time to recognise what it means to relinquish the way of the
world and seek God‟s way, to willingly accept that such a path
may involve hardship and suffering. In the forefront of our minds
will be the torment and the anguish as Jesus wrestles to accept
what is to come, submits to rejection and brutality, and bears the
agony of crucifixion.
Jesus, the man, was tempted as we are – and struggled to resist.
Jesus, the man, suffered, and died a terrible death.
But through all of this we must remember that „the way of the
cross‟ is also „the path of glory‟. The cross is not the end of the
story of Jesus. A Good Friday collect reminds us: „in the cross of
Jesus we see both the cost of our sin and the depth of God‟s
love‟. But we must look beyond the cross to the triumph of the
resurrection when „a new day dawns and the way to life stands
open‟.
Jesus, the Beloved Son of God, has defeated death and reigns in
glory.

“Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son.

endless is the victory thou o‟er death hast won.”

So perhaps, during Lent, we can hold in our minds the image of

Jesus transformed by the glory of God, his clothes „dazzling
white, such as no-one on earth could bleach them‟. Perhaps, with
St Paul, we can pray that God will shine in our hearts, so that we,
too, are able to see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. This is the light which can transform
us so that we, too, can shine as a light in the world to the glory
of God the Father. This is the light which enables us to be drawn
out of anxiety, pain or despair to the comfort of God‟s healing
presence. This is the light which brings us the certainty that God
will come to reign in power and glory.

Perhaps we, with Martin Luther King, will be able to claim:

“I‟ve been to the mountain top. And I‟ve looked over, and I‟ve
seen the promised land ….. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the
coming of the Lord.”