Matthew 17:1-9
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Matthew 17:1-9:
1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.
4 Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Arise, and have no fear.’
8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus alone.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’
Dear congregation,
Summit experiences are exhilarating and often have a lasting effect! The experience of having conquered a mountain when you finally reach the summit. The moment of happiness up there – a wonderful, liberating feeling. Life stands still for a few moments. Moments when everything fits together. I am on top of the world! Outwardly – and even more so inwardly!
Who doesn't know these mountain experiences?! The view wanders into the distance: the fields and valleys, the houses and trees far below my feet – everything tiny and far away. I stand above things and experience how small they appear from above. I have left everyday life far behind me. Summit experiences have something heavenly about them. Far from the earth. In the clouds! High above, detached from life down below, freed from the worries and struggles of everyday life. Summit experiences bring a new perspective to life, a piece of eternity reveals itself – and spreads out. Up there in the vastness of the mountains, everything is different. There, heaven and earth meet.
So we are not surprised that Moses and Elijah now appear up there on the Mount of Transfiguration. In the stories of these two outstanding figures from the Old Testament, encounters on mountains with unique summit experiences also occur.
It is on a mountain that Moses encounters God in the burning bush and is commissioned to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Later, on Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, he receives the decisive message with which God seals his covenant with the Jewish people: the Ten Commandments. And then Moses asks to be allowed to see God's glory. However, he is only granted this wish in part: he is only allowed to look after God as he passes by, for no human being can see God face to face.
The prophet Elijah, on the other hand, has his mountaintop experience while fleeing. Before that, Elijah fights against false gods, against Baal and his priests. This earns him the enmity of Queen Jezebel, and he is forced to flee. But during his flight, he experiences an encounter with God. Right there on Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, where God had already come close to Moses, Elijah also encounters God. Not in the storm, not in the earthquake, not in the fire – but in a quiet, gentle whisper, he experiences the presence of the Eternal One.
Moses and Elijah are men of the mountains, on whose peaks heaven and earth meet. And that is why both of them now appear in this story of Jesus' summit experience. They are witnesses to God's history with his people. As such, they are now also involved in Jesus' encounter with God. And so, on this summit, God's history with his people is repeated: Moses, Elijah, Jesus; past, present, future! Everything comes together on this summit: what was, what is and what is to come. It has its origin and its centre in the merciful, holy, revealing God. On the summit of the mountain, heaven and earth touch.
The sermon passage begins: “Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John, his brother, and led them alone up a high mountain.” Jesus chooses these three disciples and takes them up to the heights; the other nine remain below. These three are allowed to experience the climax of Jesus' journey with him. Later, he will also take them with him – into the depths. Again, only these three. They will then experience the low point of his journey with him – there in the Garden of Gethsemane, in God's abandonment. This is what we read in Matthew 26: “Jesus took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him and began to mourn and despair.” At the height and in the depths – closeness to God and abandonment by God. Jesus takes these three disciples with him on this journey.
The Gospel of Matthew has very deliberately and artfully reported this connection: the high point and the low point, Epiphany (i.e. manifestation) and Passion. That is why this Gospel reading is intended for today's Sunday – the last Sunday after Epiphany, which marks the end of the Christmas season. From now on, Jesus' suffering becomes increasingly the focus of attention. From the highest point, the paths can only lead downwards. The path to the summit is the prelude to the path into the depths of abandonment by God.
And what is happening now on the mountaintop? We read: “Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” At the peak of his journey, Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of his disciples for a moment. In the transfiguration, Jesus reveals himself in absolute clarity: as the light of the world! “His face shone like the sun.” No wonder Peter wants to build three huts in this place! ‘Lord, it is good to be here!’ With these words, Peter expresses the mood that emanates from this summit experience. Here in Jesus' light, here in this wonderful clarity, he wants to stay! It would be nice to settle down high up, / to bask in the light of God. But he is not granted this, because peak experiences are short-lived. The high trail, the place on the summit, is not the goal, but only a stop on the way: to recharge your batteries for the dry spells, the hardships of the plain, the depths of life.
But before descending into the depths, before going down into the valley, the disciples are to be clearly shown who Jesus is. They are not to be confused by him when his time of suffering begins. The light of the resurrection already shines briefly upon them from the distant future. Jesus in his transfiguration is the foreshadowing of the risen one. Even now, at the very top of the mountain, the disciples encounter the One who is to come, who will meet them again when he has passed through the valley of desolation and abandonment by God; who will meet them again when he has passed through the valley of death for us. For the three disciples, the transfigured Jesus is already a foreshadowing of the risen Lord.
The divine voice from the cloud removes the last doubt: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” We have heard these words before: namely at Jesus' baptism. At that time, the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus.
But here on the Mount of Transfiguration, four more words follow this sentence: “You shall listen to him!” – “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; YOU SHALL LISTEN TO HIM!” The words “You shall listen to him!” are added for the disciples at that time – and for us today. Down there, when you are back in the valley, when you are no longer at the height – down there in your cities, in your offices and factories, in your homes and in your schools – down there in your everyday life, the following applies: “You shall listen to him!” In the valley of desolation and godforsakenness, in passion and suffering, the following applies: “You shall listen to him!”
Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai, God's instruction for his people. Now God speaks to his people again, not through Moses, but directly through his Son. Jesus is the new Torah of God, the instruction he gives to his people, which he gives to us. “You shall listen to him!”
One cannot always remain at the summit of happiness. Summit experiences are the exceptions in life. Every summit meeting and every summit experience comes to an end. What remains of the stay at the top? Summit experiences leave a lasting impression and often become turning points in life. A new awareness, a new openness, a new willingness to listen makes the heart grow. The special summit experience is over. But what is vital has remained: the words of Jesus. “You shall listen to him!”
The light of the world shines even into the darkness; it shines even down in the valley! We have Jesus' word. The word that gives meaning to our lives, that gives direction to our actions, that makes our speech healing. We have his word that acquits us of guilt; his word that promises forgiveness; his word that motivates us to love; his word that fills us with hope; his word that leads us back to him again and again!
We live in a world where we are exposed to a tremendous flood of words. A world where everyone speaks louder than the next. A world that is overflowing with big promises, frightening threats, secretive or bombastic propaganda. A world in which we have become masters at saying nothing with many words, at hiding our faces behind ambiguous phrases. Often, we must first close our ears to the many words that seek to influence us in order to hear the words of Jesus. They are words of life. In a world that seems to be falling apart, the words of Jesus are the firm foundation of our lives.
As Christians who follow Jesus, two things are expected of us: first, that we detach ourselves from everyday life and go with him to the mountaintops of religious experience. Every Sunday service is intended to be a small climb to the summit. And secondly, that we return to our daily lives with renewed strength, confident that Jesus' words will remain with us and continue to guide us. The Holy Spirit enables us to hear them as we journey through the valleys. If you have become negligent or never really started, begin again today to read the Bible – to expose yourself to the word of Jesus once more.
When we allow ourselves to be moved by the stories of Jesus in the Good News, when our eyes and hearts are opened, when we get back on our feet and lift up our heads, we feel something of the power of Christ as he comes close to us in the fleeting form of a word or a story that brightens our lives.
On Sundays, we do not go to church primarily because we have always done so, because we feel comfortable there and meet many like-minded people, but because we follow the divine call: “You shall hear him!”. Today we are here in worship, where Jesus' word can be heard, where this word is preached, here down in the plain, because we believe in Jesus' promise: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And we WANT to hear him! - here, today, and every day.
Let us always listen to the words of Jesus in everything. Amen
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The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
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