What would you do if you knew the future? If you knew what was going to happen, I would imagine that a trip to Vegas would be in order. At the least you would have a pretty cool party trick. In our Gospel today, three of the disciples get a glimpse of the future.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on top of a mountain to go pray. That is a common theme with Jesus. Crowds of people flocked to him. Everyone wanted to see him, get some face time. Every move he made; people were there. It was impossible to get a moment of calm. In all the paintings we see of Jesus, he’s always sitting down somewhere teaching. A small, but respectable number of people are gathered around his feet listening intently, not daring to make a peep. And we do see that sometimes. When Jesus spoke, people listened. They had to hear what he was going to say. But it wasn’t just a handful of people, at times there were thousands of people, all wanting to hear Jesus, to have him heal them or someone they loved, or even just to see what he was all about. Crowds would press up against him clamoring for his attention. So ever so often, Jesus and his disciples would slip away to pray. Jesus would go off away from the crowds and talk with the Father.
This is one of those times. Not too long before this, Jesus has fed the five thousand. (That’s a lot of people.) And now they have gone off to pray. But Jesus takes three of the disciples a little further. They go to the top of the mountain. And here, they get to see the past, they get to see the future, and they get to see the glory of God.
As they get to the top of the mountain, the disciples are tired and with good reason. They’ve just climbed a mountain. Their eyes are heavy, and they want to go to sleep. Which is a common theme with the disciples. In a few chapters we are going to see Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and as he is agonizing in prayer, the disciples are off to the side snoozing. But this time, here on the mountain, they push through. Peter, James and John stay awake, and they are very glad they did. As they’re there struggling to keep their eyes open, suddenly Jesus changes. There’s a mesmerizing bright light, not coming down from heaven, but shining from Jesus. He dazzles like a diamond. Beaming like the sun. It’s not some soft glow like from a lamp but a furious light so bright that they can barely look at it.
And in this moment, they see Jesus in all his glory. They see the glory that Jesus was in before he came down from heaven to be born of the Virgin Mary. The glory that he dwelled in in heaven before he descended down to the manger. They see Jesus as he truly is.
Not only do they see Jesus in all his glory, the disciples look to the side and Moses is there. The Moses. The one who God had used to deliver the Israelites from the bondage of slavery. Moses, the one that God gave the law to. His name had been synonymous with the law given to them by God. And he is there talking with Jesus.
On the other side is Elijah. The ultimate prophet. The one who God spoke through. The one who called the nation back to God. The man through whom God had done countless miracles. And he is there too. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, and they are there talking with, pointing to Jesus. The two arms of the entire faith revealed to the people of God are there, and they are worshipping, directing the people to the glory of Jesus.
If that wasn’t enough, a cloud descends from heaven. Not just any cloud. But the cloud that led Moses and the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. The cloud that walked with them guided them to the Promised Land. The cloud that provided cooling shade from the hot Arabian desert sun as they wandered for forty years. That cloud from which the voice of the God of the universe, of heaven and earth proclaims “This is my son. My chosen. Listen to him.”
All of their history, personified in Moses and Elijah are in front of them, God the father is speaking to them, and they are all pointing to Jesus.
So, what do they do? They do what any of us would do. They are astounded. Amazed. Perplexed. Some of us would be like James and John and be speechless. Some of us are more like Peter and they have to say something. Peter can’t let a moment go by without opening his mouth. And like most of us when we have that mountain top experience, Peter says, “Let’s just stay here.” “We’ll build some houses. One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah. We’ll have a good time. Let’s stay in this moment forever.” And why wouldn’t he want that? He is in the presence of the glorified Jesus. He’s like that person on vacation who says, “We should move here.” Peter doesn’t want to lose this moment. He doesn’t want to let go of this feeling. He wants to stay on this vacation forever. But all vacations must end.
As quickly as it happened, it was all gone. The cloud vanished back into heaven. Moses and Elijah aren’t there. Where the glorified Jesus once stood, is the Jesus that they had known for the past few years. And Jesus tells them, “It’s time to go. We’ve got to head back down the mountain. There’s work to be done and we’re burning daylight.”
It’s kind of a funny thing. Throughout the Bible, there are people who see the glorified Jesus. They get to see the glory of God with their own eyes. Though the people are different, when they see the glory of Jesus, they are all given the same task. “Go.”
Moses sees God on the mountain. God speaks to him and commands him “These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel…”
Isaiah sees the glory of God sitting on the throne. And from that throne comes a charge. “Go, and say to the people…”
Saul is on his way to Damascus, when suddenly a brilliant light, just like the one that Peter, James and John saw on the mountain, surrounds him. He is blinded by the glory of Jesus and is told “Go into the city and I’ll give you further instructions.”
The glory of God is never something that is revealed for just one person. Because every time someone sees the glorified Jesus, they are told to “Go. I’ve got a mission for you.” Because the glory of God is not just for us. It’s for everyone. Christ is not some keepsake that we can put in a locket and stare at. Even if we stare at it all day, if we keep it to ourselves, we are completely missing the point. It is easy to want to take that glory and bottle it up like an ice-cold Diet Coke and keep it all for ourselves. Tucked away for us and only us.
You may not have seen the throne of God like Isaiah. You may not have had some transcendent experience like Peter, James, and John. But we have all experienced the glory of God. It might have been a miracle in your life. It could have been a wonderful time of worship and praise. It might simply be receiving the body and blood of Christ. Experiencing the gifts of God for the people of God. Big or small, we have all experienced the glory of God. But we cannot stay on the mountain forever. We always have to come back from vacation. Jesus, Peter, James and John all had to come down from the mountain top. Because there was work to be done in the cities and towns below. Even though Jesus told them, “Don’t say anything about this yet. When the time is right, go and tell everyone.” There was still work to be done. They had seen a glimpse of the future. The risen Jesus ruling and reigning on his throne. They saw how it was all going to end. But until that day, they must leave the mountain top. They have work to do.
They came down from the mountain and the crowds were waiting for them there. There were people to be healed. Demons that needed to be cast out. Jesus could have stayed there on the mountain in all his glory, he could have stayed in heaven in all his glory, but he came to Earth, he came down from the mountain, because there was work to do.
We get to see the risen Christ. We get to know his glory. He has revealed himself to us. But when we see the glory of God, that means there is a task. Go down from the mountain, because there’s work to be done.
