The Transfiguration in the gospel of Mark: 9.2-10
Preacher: Dr Mary Cullen, Editor, Open House
Readings: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Mark 9:2-9
A dramatic episode
Light and darkness, heaven and earth, past and present; God’s voice speaking from a cloud.
Mark places the episode right at the heart of his gospel. It comes after the first prediction of Jesus’ Passion and resurrection in chapter 8, and before the second and third predictions in chapters 9 and 10. It points back to the very beginning of the gospel, when a voice from heaven speaks at Jesus’ baptism, saying ‘You are my son, the beloved’. And it points forward to the Passion, where Jesus takes Peter, James and John aside once again, this time to watch with him in Gethsemane. Once again, they struggle to understand, and fall asleep.
The story of the transfiguration is the pivot of Mark’s gospel.
Allusions
Moses and Elijah, standing on either side of Jesus, represent the Law and the Prophets. The transfiguration reveals the thrust and dynamic of everything that has gone before.
Perhaps also an anticipation of the Crucifixion, where two thieves are crucified on either side of Jesus, representing fallen, but about to be restored, humanity.
The mountain setting and the voice from the cloud allude to Moses on Sinai, who entered the cloud where God was.
Peter’s desire to stay on the mountain, and not move on, perhaps alludes to the Israelites on their journey, who grew faint and were unwilling to continue.
The whole scene can be read as a commentary on Jesus’ command to metanoia, repentance, which he makes at the start of his mission in the first chapter of Mark. The verb used here to describe the transfiguration is used again in Romans 12, where Paul urges believers to ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’. And in II Corinthians 3, where he speaks to the believers ‘…who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, [and] are being transformed into his likeness /with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’.
Reflection
The transfiguration is a moment out of time which illuminates the journey on which the disciples have embarked with Jesus. The cross is at the heart of Mark’s Gospel. Everything points to it, anticipates it, leads from it. Through the cross glory is experienced.
The Christian experience is one of transformation, of metanoia. Divine revelation occurs in the dark and not in the clarity of one’s own vision, opinion or desire. Metanoia is a profound change of mindset.
We can identify with the disciples, who are on the road with Jesus, and don’t know where it’s taking them. They catch glimpses, but don’t yet understand. There is always a temptation to stay put and resist change.
Perhaps the story says something to us about commitment and perseverance. It’s when they grow tired that the disciples experience the transfiguration.
Ultimately, the gospel invites us to see the world through the lens of God’s promise. The transfiguration points to the cross but also to the glory of the resurrection. It opens up the possibility that death does not have the last word. It reminds us that God’s reign is both now and not yet, and we are called to be communities of hope.