Scripture Passage
Worship Video
Worship Audio
Sermon Script
A Glorious Scene
We see a beautiful and glorious scene in today’s Scripture. I love it. It is surreal. Jesus’ clothes became dazzling white. It was radian. There appeared Elijah and Moses who died long time ago. Their appearance was not like a hologram. They talked with Jesus. And a cloud overshadowed them and the disciples heard a voice that came from the cloud.
It was not something we experience in our mundane life. The disciples experienced something very special. They could not explain what they experienced with their language or logic. Much later, Peter recounted what he experienced on this mountain but he had hard time to describe it. The words he used were “Honour”, “Glory”, “Majestic glory.” He tried his best to describe what he experienced. Unfortunately, his words could not fully capture what he experienced. They didn’t just feel that it was wonderful. They were terrified. Peter said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings.” But soon Mark said this, “He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.”
They liked what they experienced but they were scared. Their response was a typical response of those who experience the deep mystery of life. And they experienced exactly that.
What do you see?
My friends, what we see, touch and experience is not everything. There are things that we cannot explain with the language we have and the logic we operate with. I find that very comforting, though. If what I see is everything about this world and about my life, then I will feel hopeless. What I see is that the powerful use their power to exploit the powerless. The strong always look down upon the weak and treat them with contempt. People who are different from those who have power experience discrimination. That is what I see but I am very thankful that life is more than what I see and touch. I am thankful that we experience sometimes the mysterious hands of God that take care of us.
God is still working among us and yet we do not see God. Jesus told Thomas, “Do you believe because you see? Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.”
Six days later
Today’s story begins with the phrase, “Six days later.” Sometimes when you watch a movie, they say, “one year later”, or “one week later”. That means what is going on now is related to what happened one year ago or one week ago. When Mark began with “six days later”, he relates this story on the mountain with the event that happened six days ago.
What happened six days ago? Six days ago, Jesus was with the disciples in Caesarea Philippi. There Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And then again, Jesus asked them, “Who do YOU say that I am?” That was what happened 6 days ago. In today’s story, we get the answer for that question. Today’s story is about who Jesus is – Jesus’ Identity. The answer we get is this:
This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him! (Mark 9:7)
Mark tells us that Jesus is the Son of God. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? It means that Jesus is the presence of God. Jesus was the presence of God in this world. Peter felt that. That’s why he wanted to build a tabernacle and the tabernacle was where God dwelled in the desert in Exodus. He knew that before he heard the voice from the heaven.
Peter
That’s Peter. Many times, he said things that he didn’t completely understand. Six days ago, when Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”, no one dared to answer his question. But Peter knew the answer and I don’t know how. But somehow, he knew. When other disciples were pondering on the question, Peter immediately said what came to his mind.
You are the Messiah. (Mark 8:29)
He didn’t understand what he was saying but he felt it. He knew it. He was spiritually connected with Jesus. That’s why Jesus loved him, in spite of his shortcomings.
The Identifications of Jesus
Mark records three incidents where Jesus was identified as the Son of God. The first one was when Jesus was baptized. Then in today’s passage on the mountain. Then finally at the cross. First two times, God said that but the last one, a gentile, a Roman soldier said it, not God.
Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’ (Mark 15:39)
It was God who revealed that Jesus was the Son of God. It was God who started it. But at the end, it was a human being, not even one of chosen people, but a gentile who said that Jesus was the Son of God. It was proclaimed not in the temple but at the cross. The tabernacle Peter wanted to build on the mountain was built at the cross.
The Cross: Where God Is
The cross became God’s dwelling place. Even though Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, God did not forsake Jesus. God was right there. The world did not see it but God was there. When we suffer, that is a place where God is. When we suffer, sometimes we wonder where God is. But God is right there. When we are insulted, ridiculed, and rejected, that’s where God is. This is what gives us the strength.
What we see at the transfiguration on the mountain is beautiful and glorious. But that is not what we experience every day. We sometimes have glorious moments but they are only temporary. Peter wanted to make that temporary experience permanent but he could not.
Our Challenges; Our Cross
What we experience every day is not the experience of transfiguration but of the cross. We face challenges and our problems bring dark clouds over us. We get bored by mundane life. We worry about the unknown future and we live with fear, running away from suffering. We are scared of death.
But even in our difficult life, we have tried to pursue what was right. Even in suffering, we have tried to keep our faith. Even in our pain and hurt, instead of turning away from our neighbours, we have tried to bring healing and reconciliation. We have to tried to be one. That has been our cross. That is our cross.
In their own cross, the disciples experienced the glory of God which they experienced on the mountain. That gives us hope and strength. Because of God’s presence in our own cross, we can take that cross and walk forward. At our cross, we are surrounded by glory.
United in Spite of Our Differences
We may see hatred and division. We may see injustice taking over people’s lives. But we will move forward, practicing love Jesus taught us, pursuing the truth and seeking peace and harmony. We will not be divided by our differences but we will be united in spite of our differences. Our differences make us whole. We also know that the unity is possible only in diversity. And we will continuously serve each other with humility.
There is a black poet who is only 22 year old, Amanda Gorman. She had the honour to recite her poem at Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day. Famous people had that honor in the past such as Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, and Elizabeth Alexander. In her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” she said:
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside…
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true,
that even as we grieved, we grew,
that even as we hurt, we hoped,
that even as we tired, we tried,
that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
When God’s presence is with us, the cross cannot destroy us; it will make us only stronger. The cross will give us a new meaning. We will realize that the cross is the narrow road that leads to life and to God.
Jesus’ Rebuke
Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah without really knowing what he was saying. Jesus saw that Peter answered it correctly and said,
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31)
Peter didn’t like what he heard. So Peter even rebuked Jesus. That was when Jesus said his famous rebuke to Peter,
Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. (Mark 8:33)
Our Suffering
Jesus placed God’s presence in our suffering. The REAL VALUE of today’s story is not in its fantastic and glorious experience. The real value of the story is that it points to the cross. It is the foreshadow of the cross and ultimately the resurrection. When we suffer, we are surrounded by God’s glory. Lift up your eyes and see not only the darkness of your suffering but the glory of God in your suffering. Do not see only what divides us but see what unites us. The place where we suffer will become the place of transfiguration.
Leave a Reply