THIS Sunday’s gospel, taken from Mark 9:2-10, reveals to us certain important truths.
First, that Jesus is indeed the Son of the living God. Up in the mountain with his disciples – Peter, James and John – Jesus was transfigured. Our text tells us that his clothes became dazzling white, such that no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them. And from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Whose voice was heard? That of the God the Father. And what was his message? That Jesus is his Son, and therefore, that Jesus is God himself in human flesh, the second Person of the Holy Trinity.
Second, that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. The transfigured Jesus was seen by his disciples as conversing with Moses and Elijah. Moses represented the prescriptions of the Old Testament Law, while Elijah embodied the writings of all the prophets. Their presence with Jesus validated their earlier works and writings, but more than that, showed that they are giving way to someone and something far better – to Jesus Christ himself and to his teachings. About this, Jesus said elsewhere, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf” (John 5:39). The writer of Hebrews also wrote, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Third, that as Christians, we are duty-bound to listen to the words of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Jesus is the Living Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:1-3, 14a). Hebrews 4:12-13 adds, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” We must therefore study the words of Jesus by reading the Bible and consume the Living Word by receiving him in Holy Communion.
Fourth, our mountaintop experience with God should not leave us there; rather we must go down equipped with the knowledge and power of God to share the good news to others. Just as Jesus and his three apostles did not stay in the mountain but went down after this supernatural experience, so must we. He charged them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. Jesus has already risen from the dead, and so this is the time to tell others about him – his goodness and his offer of salvation, healing, and fullness of life.