Well, the “cat is out of the bag”! A certain worker discovers that the owner of his company has physical ailments and family problems which are unknown to the public at large. However, these burdens have taken a toll on the owner and there are plans to sell the company. The owner is seeking a friendly buyer to purchase the company. Yet the owner is open to buyers bidding from overseas. This could be either good news or bad news for the employees of the company. How does the person who discovers this knowledge -- which has been kept secret thus far -- respond to this revealed mystery? This might be one theme that ties all three of the lessons together on Transfiguration of our Lord Sunday. The disciples’ master has already said and then began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes; be killed; and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31). Such situations are not without precedent in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
2 Kings 2:1-12
The prophet Elisha is about to see his mentor Elijah taken up into a whirlwind after a pointless, roundabout journey from Gilgal near the Jordan to Bethel, then back to Jericho (Nelson, p. 158). Is the prophet Elijah trying to “shake” his follower Elisha, while also trying to keep the “fifty men of the company of prophets also in the dark” (2:7)? Elijah takes his mantle, rolls it up, and parts the river so he and his student walk across the river bank (2:8). Then Elisha requests a “double share” of his master’s spirit (2:9). We then see the elder prophet ascend in a whirlwind of fire while riding in a chariot with horses (2:11). Elisha grasps his own clothes and tears them to pieces (2:11). Elijah disappears and is not seen anymore. Certain modern Jewish households still keep an empty chair at the kitchen table in the event that Elijah returns. This is one response to the mystery -- waiting and expectation.
Elisha shows persistence. He is not about to let his master ride off into the sunset like an old American western movie. Elisha wants to carry on the mission and desires the same spirit that his master possessed. His perseverance pays off, as later in 2:13 Elisha will pick the mantle that Elijah left on the ground and he will carry out the mission.
One response to the above illustration is for the person who knows the mystery of the company’s change of owners is to ask: “Who will pick up the mantle?” Times and events that need ministry would change for Elisha. He would heal a leper named Naaman and the greed of the servant Gehazi (2 Kings 5). He would anoint King Jehu. Elisha would live to see the messy deaths of both Queen Jezebel (2 Kings 9:35-37) and King Ahab’s family (2 Kings 10:1-17). Elisha would carry on the next chapter of the prophetic ministry under the monarchy in Judah (I chose to call it southern Israel in my sermons for those who are not well read in the Old Testament).
Which mantles are we as Christians or a congregation called to pick up as one chapter ends for a person or community? This is one challenge of this text. Once we discover that God and God’s messengers are genuine and are not lying, how shall we respond as people of faith? The idea that the person of God was insincere has now been debunked. Now it is time for people of faith to follow up on the words of the prophet -- or pick up the mantle. [sources: James L. Mays, general editor, Harper Collins Bible Commentary (Harper One, 1988); Richard Nelson, Interpretation -- A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: First and Second Kings (Westminster John Knox Press, 1987)]
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
In this text Paul tackles the question Christians of all times have struggled with regarding why all people who hear the gospel message don’t necessarily come to faith in Jesus as Christ. In this context, Paul is responding to his critics. Those who are familiar with Paul’s story in Acts 9 can view this text from a larger frame than the immediate critics of Paul in Corinth. In this text Paul simply believes that Satan, who is the god of this world, continues to blind certain people. This suggests that Paul does hold to a dualism to some extent in his writings. Satan continues to be the cause of rebellion against God since 1 Chronicles 21:1 when Satan caused King David to take a census of Israel, which resulted in God sending a plague that killed 70,000 people of Israel (1 Chronicles 21:13).
For Paul, Jesus is the likeness of God. Either one accepts God’s revelation in Jesus as Christ or he/she perishes. The context of Corinthians is a people who have a newfound wealth due to thriving economic conditions in their community. This has resulted in much bickering, nitpicking, and even scorning the apostle Paul when he confronts them on this. Any leader of a dysfunctional organization knows how this feels. Paul persists in his ministry (as Elisha remains persistent in the text above).
How does evil infringe on otherwise neutral or good people in our community? Do they listen or watch too much populist media that become their de facto satanic influence? The anointed one for Paul or the “Christ” is the suffering servant tradition of Isaiah 40-66. What does the face of Christ look like in any given congregation these days?
One harsh reality some church leaders may have to face is when the people simply say “no thanks.” For example, a pastor of a struggling congregation reads much of the of leadership materials on the “post-Christian” reality of the church in a “secular age.” So the pastor tells the congregation that they are now missionaries in a new or neo-pagan society. This means smaller, more efficient use of worship space and Sunday school materials, plus scaling down some ministries that no longer attract attendees. This is a sincere response to the reality that many small, struggling churches face in times when Christian values are marginalized. So one pillar or financially strong member of the congregation talks to the pastor privately and tells him or her they have decided to transfer their membership to a larger congregation in the next community that has the programs they want. Second Corinthians would suggest that the pastor and church leadership persist in their ministry for as long as God has called them to be there. The reality of God’s face in Christ is still authentic. [sources: F.F. Bruce, The New Century Bible Commentary: I & II Corinthians (Eerdmans Publishing, 1971); Frederick W. Danker, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: II Corinthians (Augsburg Fortress Publishing, 1989)]
Mark 9:2-9
Transfiguration Sunday is an annual observance that is shared in all of the lectionary years. Mark’s narrative is shortest of the three. Moses, who represents the law tradition of the Hebrew Bible, and Elijah, who represents Israel’s prophetic tradition, become transfigured with Jesus, whose clothes become dazzling white so no one could bleach them (9:3). Peter, James, and John are the disciples who are present to witness this event. They are terrified and want to build three booths to either commemorate or capture this event in some concrete manner (9:4-5). God’s voice speaks a second time in Mark’s gospel (the first being at the Baptism of our Lord in Mark 1:11). In this scene God tells those present to “listen to him” (Jesus).
Mark reports the bare facts. He does not add any comments about the disciples falling on their faces and being filled with awe (Matthew 17:6-7). Nor does Mark report that the disciples were sleepy during this event (Luke 9:31-32). Since there are not as many blocks of Jesus’ actual teachings in Mark’s gospel as in Matthew or Luke, the preacher might use this event as a way to expound on some of the few teachings shared later in Mark 9. A boy would have an unclean spirit that the disciples could not cure. The father would proclaim, “I believe, help my unbelief” (9:24). After Jesus lifts the boy up, he reminds the disciples that some spirits can only be cast out through prayer. So how does one pray after realizing the mystery of the Transfiguration validates Jesus’ claims (9:14-29)?
Later, Jesus would foretell another passion prediction (9:30-32). How could a person of God be with two great figures such as Elijah and Moses one moment, then talk about his inevitable betrayal and death the next moment? Are great moments of revelation often accompanied by harsh news? Think of a sports team who has a great player who brought them to their respective playoffs one year, and then the fans are told the team traded the player due to the high salary of this same player.
Jesus would have an opportunity to talk about who is greatest later on when he talks about welcoming children into the ministry. How many pastors have had a screaming kid in the middle of their sermon? This brings this text home. It will awaken one from any blissful memory of the “Transfiguration” moment (9:33-37). Jesus would perform another exorcism (9:38-41) and proclaim those words: “Whoever is not against us is for us” (9:40). Does this include those who are outside the “Christian fold”? Finally, Jesus would identify obstacles that would prevent us from being in the kingdom of God. He even mentions hell three times (9:44, 46-47): “Where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.” Is this a metaphor or do people really believe in a “hell”? Since Mark’s gospel is the earliest written and a source of the synoptics, this particular text cannot be simply “redacted away.” If a pastor has nothing to preach on, this will perk up some sleepy parishioners.
Another direction to take this text might be to trace back the Malachi 4:4-5 (Elijah and Moses return) and Deuteronomy 18:15-18 (rising of a prophet) traditions of the people of Israel. This is a reminder that Christianity is anchored in the Hebrew Bible. For people who have doubts as to whether Christianity is simply another world religion like many others, Mark reminds readers that their faith is also anchored in ancient Judaism.
Some other directions of this text include: Jesus glorifies his father. When big events occur in any given community, who is being glorified? Are they worthy of such glory? Movie stars and sports heroes crop up in the winter months when people are watching sports events live or on television. [sources: Kurt Aland, Synopsis of the Four Gospels: Greek-English Edition (United Bible Societies, 1972 edition); M. Eugene Boring, The New Testament Library: Mark (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006); Frank J. Matera, New Testament Theology: Exploring Diversity and Unity (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007)]
Application
What is the mountaintop experience people have experienced that confirms “Yes, my faith is indeed well worth it”? Last year one of the questions on a Christian website was regarding the value of campus ministries for college students. Are college students given an idealized “church experience” in the form of a closely orchestrated and highly funded campus ministry experience for their years of education, only to be disappointed to discover that the average church congregation has many more issues and is not nearly as nurturing as was the campus church? Also, what happens to mission congregations who have started with a very strong vision and had many great “transfiguration” moments, but in present times seem to be waning as another church in the next community is the new “flavor of the month”?
In all of the texts this week, the people experience a divine or mysterious reality from a transcendent God but respond in differing ways. Does one pick up the mantle as Elisha did? Do they dig in their heels and defend the experience as Paul does? Possibly they want to try to “hang onto” the experience and build three booths as the disciples attempted to do, while trying to ignore the passion predictions. Transfiguration Sunday is also a time to prepare for Lent. What challenges does the community of faith face in the upcoming time of testing? Mark 9 does provide reminders about unclean spirits, status in the kingdom, and temptations to compromise one’s faith.
An Alternative Application
What happens when one discovers that “the emperor wears no clothes”? A person in authority is throwing around their weight to their employees and/or students. One subordinate then sees the same boss/person of authority being pushed around by their two-year-old in the store, who is kicking and screaming in a loud temper tantrum in the store aisles, and the compliant boss/teacher is now begging for the child’s good behavior. There is another story behind the mystery of the boss’s or teacher’s crabby moods the next day. The workplace is the only place the person can be “bossy”!
