Mark 9:2-9

We get all caught up in being followers of Jesus and pretend it’s all about how good we are at believing and proclaiming. Yet it’s very hard to see the glory of God, the transfiguration of Jesus when we are the ones standing in the spotlight. For God seeks those who are not in the picture; like this icon those who dare to stand below, not be seen yet very present. In their very human comprehension the disciples, especially in the persona of Peter, want to make Jesus the hero of the day for theirs, and often ours,

is like a flat screen TV not the multi-dimensional one Jesus has with God. We are called into that kind of dimension often to be challenged and changed on such a deep level that we never really come out on the other side. Jesus discloses the eternal truth and trustworthiness bestowed on him by his God, of love and justice in the midst of evil.

And evil is coming; it’s on the way. We heard “You Raise Me Up” from our choir last week; even though this song does not ask a question, Jesus might very well ask of us:

are we willing to come up the mountain to stand with him, to be so changed that we follow him to his crucifixion? How willing are we to be transfigured? Amen.