RBWords

     Although I hesitate to use a Broadway song to describe a gospel process, I could not help but think of the song, "Getting to know you!" to describe the series of events that culminate in the Transfiguration.  Jesus has fed the multitudes, then asked the disciples who they think he is (Peter, at least gets that one right, or almost).   And he predicts his passion and death (Peter gets that one wrong!).  Now he takes Peter, James and John "up a high mountain."  As in the Old Testament and the Sermon on the Mount, important things happen on a mountain!  The portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is that of a "New Moses" and an important revelation is about to happen.  Jesus even resembles Moses, whose face was radiant after speaking with God.  Matthew also portrays Jesus especially as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament.  Here on the mountain, Jesus is portrayed with Moses and Elijah, and then comes the terrifying announcement that was heard at Jesus' baptism by John, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.  Listen to him."   The whole experience is too much for those three disciples!  Jesus does what he did when he calmed the storm - he simply tells the disciples: "Rise, and do not be afraid!"  The warning not to share the vision yet is given because the vision will not make any sense until "the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

     Even with the benefit of centuries of reflection and all the commentary of scripture scholars, this event is almost too much to contemplate.  Jesus goes from being a rabbi (Sermon on the Mount) to being a "wonderworker" (feeding the multitudes, calming the storm) to being the "beloved Son."  However, even though in good stories that we have heard time and again we know in advance what is going to happen to our hero, we still go through the fear and anxiety and doubt and confusion that all the characters experience.  The story is about Jesus and who he is, but it is also about us disciples and who WE are!  Despite all that happens, we need to remember Jesus' command:  "Rise, and do not be afraid."   AMEN