I Kings 9: 9-18; Psalm
27: 5-11; II
Peter 1: 16-21; Mark
9: 2-9
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Springfield, Illinois, on Sunday, February 15, 2015.
“LIGHT
FOR STRENGTH AND SAFETY”
(Homily texts:
II Peter 1: 16–21 & Mark 9: 2-9)
Most of you know that one of my
hobbies has to do with railroads and trains.
In fact, I’m so involved with this hobby that I’ve been active in some
tourist railroads in a number of different capacities.
I never tire of looking at
trains. In fact, whenever I have to
cross a set of tracks, I look carefully ahead of where I am going, and then
take a glance up and down the track to see if anything is coming.
These days, it’s easy to see the
locomotive coming, because every one of them has three bright headlights. These three headlights have two lower units
in addition to the main one, which is mounted higher on the locomotive’s front.
The two lower lights flash back and
forth to attract the attention of drivers and pedestrians as the train
approaches.
It wasn’t always thus … in times gone
by, the locomotive usually carried only one headlight. On some railroads, there may have been two,
and in some cases many years ago, one of the two would have had an oscillating
beam called a Mars Light.
Sometimes, when an antique steam
locomotive is operated on a main line track, it is required to carry the three
headlights, whether or not it originally carried three. Some purists complain about that, arguing
that the original appearance of the locomotive has been altered.
What might have been the reason for
requiring the addition of two more headlights to the front ends of trains? I think the answer is probably obvious: More light helps to ensure the safety of the
train, both in terms of being able to see far more than was possible before,
and also to ensure the safety of the train as it approaches grade crossings
where motorists and pedestrians will be crossing the right-of-way.
It’s this first aspect of adding all
this brilliant light that I’d like to focus on, the aspect of providing bright
light to ensure the safety of the train as it moves forward. Having that light allows for a safer passage
forward.
Essentially, the Lord is providing
the brilliant light of God to the three disciples, Peter, James and John, who
witnessed the changing of His appearance as the bright light of God
transfigured His appearance. Jesus’
appearance changes, giving a glimpse of God’s glory. It is this glimpse that is God’s gift to
these three witnesses, providing light for the path that lay ahead of them all,
the path down from the mountaintop where this event took place, down into the
way which will lead to the cross in Jerusalem.
But I risk getting ahead of myself.
Let’s take a moment to review what’s
happened just before Jesus took these three disciples with Him up the
mountain…
In the chapter immediately preceding
today’s passage, Jesus has asked His disciples who they think the Son of Man
is. They give Him some of the answers
they’ve heard from people they’d encountered on their travels. Then, in response to the Lord’s direct
question, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Christ.”
Then, Jesus begins to tell them all
that He will go to Jerusalem, that He will suffer many things, that He will be
killed, and that He will rise again on the third day. Apparently, Peter didn’t hear anything else
beyond the word “killed”, because he began to object to what the Lord had
said. In response, the Lord had to say
to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For you
are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Now that we’ve reminded ourselves of
the setting within Mark’s gospel text, let’s turn to the importance of the
Transfiguration event itself.
Jesus’ true identity is seen,
perhaps as never before in the experience of the disciples, as His appearance
is changed, reflecting the glory of God the Father. Then, His true identity is confirmed as the
voice of the Father is heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”
The significance of this event is
lost on the three witnesses, at least temporarily, for Peter says, “Lord, it is
good that we are here. Let us make three
tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” We might surmise that Peter is suggesting the
erection of a memorial to this event.
It would be some time before the
three who had seen these things would understand the importance of what Jesus
had done in giving them a glimpse of the glory of God that was present with
Him. In our epistle reading for this
morning, Peter looks back across the span of many years, recalling that he was
an eyewitness of Jesus’ transfiguration.
The glory that was seen on the
mountain that day will be seen again: It
will be seen in the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning, as the disciples
encounter the brilliant, dazzling appearance of the angels who will tell them
that the Lord had risen from the grave.
Apparently, the transfiguration was
meant to give the disciples strength for the journey down from the mountain,
through the depths of Holy Week, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, into the joy of
Easter Sunday morning.
God’s light shines on our pathway,
lighting the way before us. We have
experienced His power and great glory, the power and glory of God the Father,
in our own lives, and this life-changing experience guarantees our safe passage
through the trials and tribulations of this life. This power and glory also guarantees our safe
passage into God’s presence when this life is over.
So God gives us a glimpse of the
power that is His alone, a power that can overcome any and every challenge,
problem or difficulty that might lie in the pathway of life. God leads us, bearing us safely into His
presence once this life is through.
Thanks be to God!
AMEN.
