Earlier this week with the confirmation class we had our own mountain top moment. We hike up PKOLS, the local mountain just a few kilometres from the church. We had 60 minutes to get from the parking lot to the summit and back again. Thankfully the kids were up to the task. I go to hear them talking about school. Nothing makes you feel older than middle school kids talking about what counts as old. One of them said, “My school is so old it was built in 19 something and something.” We were blessed with a clear, sunny afternoon with great views of the water and Greater Victoria. It was a chance to get some air during a busy week. A chance to take a break from the desks and chairs. And much like the disciples who dared speak to Jesus, when I tried saying something about the Transfiguration I was reminded this was a BREAK! One of the takeaways for the disciples is God tells the disciples “Listen!” to Jesus. I do well to heed these words too.
This listening includes learning how other Christians talk about the transfiguration. Eastern Orthodox Christians call this festival “Metamorphosis” because of the Greek word from which it comes. In this sense Jesus is undergoing a metamorphosis on the mountain. On the mountain Moses and Elijah appear together with him. New Testament scholar Troy Troftgruben reminds us both these figures were giants of Hebrew Scripture. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the prophets. For Christians, Jesus represents this new direction of the Messiah, grounded in the Law and the prophets. Note Jesus doesn’t come to replace Moses and Elijah and the traditions they represent, but rather he stands alongside them on the mountain. Moses and Elijah share parallel stories with Jesus. Elijah is beamed up to heaven, thinking about Jesus’ later Ascension, while Moses dies on a mountain.
Part of this metamorphosis includes prayer. Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray and await a blessing from God. Whenever we wonder about whether prayer “works,” we do well to remember it was good enough for Jesus. We think about the ways the Spirit metamorphoses our hearts and minds through prayer, through listening to Jesus. Certainly we all need lifting up at these times. Times when we watch the leader of Ukraine disgraced in the White House. Times when tariffs might tank our economy, but then again, they might not, depending one man’s mood after playing golf. Times when Gaza is sold to us as the Middle Eastern Riviera. Not sure if you saw the AI-generated video of Gaza that features a giant golden Trump statue. As Rev. Dr. Munther of Palestine points out, it mirrors King Nebuchadnezzar of the Book of Daniel fame. We read this story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refuse to bow down to the golden statue the king set up. And they pay the price of refusing to bow down. They are thrown into a furnace of blazing fire heated three times its normal capacity. The furnace is so hot that the guards heating up the furnace fall down dead. Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego williningly go into the furnace and the king is amazed because instead of dying, the three men are all comfortably standing inside the furnace. And there is a fourth person with them with the face of a God. It is their own Transfiguration moment. Their own metamorphosis through the power of God their lives are spared. And while this is a surprising twist to the story, perhaps the most surprising part is that King Nebuchadnezzar has a change of heart. He gets rid of the golden statue and instead devotes his life to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Of course he doesn’t lose all his old ways. He then threatens with death anyone who doesn’t worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Small steps. And while none of us are holding our breath for a change of heart in world politics, we can take faith that God is with us. Listening to Jesus, he is guiding us through this overheated furnace of 2025. Make note of this story when we read it again on the Easter Vigil on April 19, 7:30 PM here at Church of the Cross.
We’ve talked about understanding Transfiguration as “Metamorphosis” and also the parallels with the power of three in the fiery furnace in the Book of Daniel. Another connection is that when Moses and Elijah leave Jesus on the mountain, it says they “departed.” The word “to depart” is the same word translated as “exodus” – to leave. Moses went up a mountain to pray and prepare for God’s people’s exodus from Egypt. Their departure was a promise of liberation. And so why we might be a bit sad at the prospect of going down the mountain and leaving the divine vision behind, God’s presence is one of liberation. God is present to us as Spirit, so we may proclaim a word of liberation to others. We know that people are lonely, people are suffering, people are sick and dying out there, people are sad and despairing. The need for a word that offers comfort and healing has never been stronger. So rather than despair, Jesus reminds us to wake up from our sleep. Jesus calls us to trust in a word of love. To trust in a word of grace that we are enough. That we don’t have to work harder to earn God’s love. That we are good enough now.
Another story about mountain tops. On Friday morning I went to the Gowlland Tod Provincial Park and ran parts of the trails around McKenzie Bight. The forest was vivid green. As those of you in Victoria know, the sun coming out in the late winter is quite something. It felt like that beginning of Wizard of Oz where it switches from Black and White while in Kansas to Technicolor when they Dorothy ends up in Oz. The green moss was mesmerizing. I had to remind myself to keep running because like so many things in life I had a schedule to keep. I had exactly two hours for my mountain top moment. And in fact I didn’t make it to the mountain top I had hoped. Jocelyn Hill was just a little out of reach. I need to return to the mountain to make it the full distance. I need to pack my stuff a bit earlier, leave town before rush hour, book an extra hour and half of time to make it up the mountain all the way. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t wonderful, but that’s part of life. Sometimes a mountain top moment doesn’t go entirely as planned. You want to stay a little longer and it’s time to come back home. And the disciples felt that keenly in the gospel story. They didn’t want to go home because knew exactly what was awaiting them – work, laundry, taxes, chores. They wanted to hang out the beauty of that moment being up there with Jesus.
Wrapping up know that you are enough. God is giving you the gifts of metamorphosis, the powers to withstand the fiery furnaces of life, the exodus of liberation. And together God is doing amazing things through us. Amen.
