The sermon at church this morning was about the Transfiguration. In
Mark 9, Jesus, Peter, James, and John go up a high mountain, and Jesus
becomes transfigured before the three disciples. Jesus’ clothes
becoming shining, and Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus.
Peter suggests that the disciples make three tabernacles—-one for Jesus,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah. V 6 says that Peter did not know
what to say and that the three disciples were afraid. A cloud
overshadows them, and a voice from heaven proclaims that Jesus is God’s
son and exhorts the three disciples to listen to Jesus. Then, the only
ones there are the three disciples and Jesus. The disciples ask Jesus
questions, and, when they come down the mountain, there is a child who
is demon-possessed and needs Jesus’ help.
The most interesting part of this sermon was when my pastor was
offering explanations for why Peter wanted to build tabernacles for
Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. That is what I try to do when I am studying
the Bible: I seek explanations for certain details in the text. The
pastor presented a few explanations. One is that Peter was hoping to
start the fulfillment of Zechariah 14, which foretells that nations will
observe the Feast of Tabernacles in the time of the Messiah. I liked
this explanation because it was tying the New Testament with the Hebrew
Bible. I am not entirely convinced by it, however, because the Feast of
Tabernacles was supposed to take place in Jerusalem, whereas the
Transfiguration occurred in Galilee. I also think that this explanation
contradicts the spiritual lesson that the pastor was drawing from the
Transfiguration story: that we cannot just stay on the mountaintop
enjoying our mountaintop spiritual experiences, but we have to come down
to the messy world and serve. But, according to this explanation,
Peter did not just want to limit himself to the mountaintop, for he was
hoping to start the Feast of Tabernacles on that mountain and for that
Feast to spread beyond that to the outside world.
The second explanation was that Peter wanted to keep the mountaintop
experience going. He wanted for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah to have
tabernacles so that they could stay a while. That makes some sense, and
it coincides with what my pastor believes is the spiritual lesson of
the Transfiguration story. Still, I have a question about it: Does not v
6 say that the three disciples were afraid? Why, then, would they want
for the Transfiguration experience to continue?
Way back when I was in college and was in a Bible study group, I read
a commentary’s explanation for Peter’s desire to build tabernacles. It
said that Peter was trying to contain the experience—-to put it in a
box. This is the sort of explanation that can draw glazed or confused
looks in a Bible study group, but maybe Peter was trying to bring this
exalted sight down a few notches so that it was more comfortable to
him. Or perhaps Peter was trying to be hospitable.
What do I think about the spiritual lesson that we shouldn’t spend
too much time on the mountaintop but should try to make a difference in
the messy world below? I have heard this idea before. I remember even
hearing a Jewish homily in which the rabbinic student was drawing this
sort of lesson from the Pentateuch. It reminded me somewhat of
Christian homilies I had heard about the Transfiguration, and someone
who knew this student told me that was not surprising, for this student
was a convert to Judaism from Roman Catholicism.
But what do I think about the spiritual lesson? Well, part of me
does not care for it. I am the type who can spend the whole day in my
study. More than once during the day, I pray. I enjoy being alone,
away from the judgments and expectations of other people. When the
pastor said that we may like to spend all day with Jesus, not wanting
the experience to end, I could identify with that.
But I do believe that I should have some contact with the messy
world, a world that does not consistently conform to my desires or
expectations, or God’s, for that matter. I can do that when I go out
into social settings. I can also read about how messy the world is.
As the pastor said, mountaintop experiences are great. Jesus may
have given Peter, James, and John that mountaintop experience to
encourage them in the days ahead—-especially after Jesus’ resurrection,
when the disciples put together who exactly Jesus was and went forward
in mission. But we should also come down from the mountain and try to
make a difference in the messy world here below. Are mountaintop
experiences pointless if they are not motivating us to serve here
below? Not necessarily. God may give us mountaintop experiences to
minister to us and to edify us, because he loves us. But I do believe
that God wants us to care about other people. That is part of being
like God.