Last week, Marcus ended his reflection with reference to the transfiguration and it is appropriate for me to follow that this week with thoughts on that biblical story.
As regular readers of this column will know my specialist research interest is art and religious experience. The Bible is, of course, full of examples of spiritual experiences but for me one of the most fascinating is that of the transfiguration.
To begin – a short note about the word – transfiguration is a translation of the original Greek which it could be argued really means magical metamorphosis an has also been used by St.Paul (Romans 12, v,2) to refer to the transformation of the believer into the spiritual likeness of Christ.
This experience is to be found in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 9, verses 2—8 and in that according to Matthew in chapter 17, verse 1-13 and according to Luke, chapter 9, verses 28-36.
Regular churchgoers will be very familiar with this event, the importance of which is demonstrated by its being recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels but is actually quite a difficult passage with which to get to grips.
A good way into this story is to look at it through the eyes of Peter – after all he makes a great point of referring to the incident at the beginning of his second letter. But on the other hand we must not ignore the significance of the incident for Jesus himself and I will come to that a little later on.
So, starting to look at the passage from Peter’s point of view, first of all it is a passage which describes a vision – these days, as I indicated above, we would call it a religious or spiritual experience – in this it has considerable similarity with other such passages, for example Isaiah’s call vision when Isaiah learns of his vocation through the actions of the seraphim. Like many of these passages God is represented as appearing through a dramatic movement of a cloud – known as a theophany or shekinah. And just as Isaiah was in no doubt following his vision that his role was to be that of a prophet, so was Peter in no doubt that after this transfiguration vision his role was to be that of minister to the people.
Secondly, this incident occurs just after Peter has made the great affirmation that Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah. Peter was therefore quite probably in an emotionally heightened state. This is emphasised when Peter in that emotional bewilderment and fear wished to prolong his stay in the company of Christ and his companions by building tabernacles or tents. It may also be consistent with Peter’s general temperament as an “action man”, not always recognising that there are times when a quietness or a stillness is the required response – “Be still and know that I am God” as Psalm 46 has it.
So, Peter has to learn that however pleasant the experience on the Mountain of Transfiguration, ultimately it has to end and Peter has to return to daily ministry and to follow the way of the cross.
Which brings me now to the effect of the experience on Jesus. At this stage in his career, Jesus was on the way to the cross – he had just told his disciples so. But before he comes to make that fatal journey to Jerusalem, with its clearing of the Temple of its money changers, Jesus needs to make absolutely sure that he is following the will of God. As William Barclay puts it, “When Jesus had a problem he did not seek to solve it only by the power of his own thought; he did not take it to others for human advice; he took it to a lonely place and to God”.
Now in Luke’s version of the transfiguration, Elijah and Moses speak to Jesus and they speak of his departure that he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. And the Greek word that is used for that departure is the word which is often translated as “exodus” – which of course has the connotation that it describes a journey which people may embark upon when they set out into the unknown, placing their whole trust in God for a safe arrival at their destination. The most obvious example of this is of course the departure of the Israelites as they set out from Egypt for the promised land.
And, it was quite reasonable for Peter, in his vision, to have seen Elijah and Moses because, whilst Christ was the fulfilment of their hopes as Jews, the Law as represented by Moses and the prophets as represented by Elijah were all directed to this end. So, we have the greatest of the law givers and the greatest of the prophets telling Jesus that he must go on in faith. Therefore, for Jesus, the mountain of transfiguration was a spiritual peak from which he gained sufficient strength to set out on his final journey – his own personal exodus.
In highlighting the significance of the transfiguration for Peter and for Jesus I have glossed over much detail* but just before I close, let us consider whether or not the incident has any significance for us today. You may recall that I mentioned that Peter was possibly finding the experience so enjoyable that he wished to prolong it.
It is often with us that we find some experience so pleasurable that we wish it would never end – it may be an extra specially enjoyable holiday or for those fortunate enough to enjoy mystical experiences it may be a sense of nearness to God. However, the message of the transfiguration is that we must use those experiences as a source of renewal, of regaining strength so that we can return to the daily task with all its ups and downs, refreshed and revitalised. Let me just end with a very apt quote from William Barclay: ” The moment of glory does not exist for its own sake; it exists to clothe the common things with a radiance they never had before”.
*There is much discussion about the nature of the experience itself – was it in psychological terms hallucinatory? Was it based on post-resurrection experience and written back into an earlier time? Was it a piece of symbolic writing in the apocalyptic style in the nature the Book of Revelation? These are all fascinating avenues to explore but to get too involved in these detailed questions could detract from the overall meaning of the story which I have suggested above.
Dr David Greenwood d.greenwood@uwtsd.ac.uk July 2020
Ref: Commentaries by William Barclay, A.E.J. Rawlinson and D.E.Nineham
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