I remember, when I was in seminary, reading the instructions that God gave Moses for the construction of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant in Exodus and being awed by the precision and detail included. Listen now to just a few verses from Exodus 26:
31 You shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver. (Exodus 26:31-32)
And later in Exodus, the author describes how the workers followed each instruction according to what God had said. I just marveled at the discipline and commitment they demonstrated.
Even so, it can be hard to see why twenty-first century Christians should care today about how many cubits, loops, clasps and pegs were included in these holy spaces. Just like it can be hard to understand why we hear the story of the Transfiguration every year on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
And yet, every year when we are on the cusp of Lent, we hear this story from the gospels where Jesus takes three of his disciples up on a mountaintop and there they witness his transformation and the appearance of Moses and Elijah with him and they hear God speak, declaring, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)
And we are meant to recall the words spoken to Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, at his baptism in the river Jordan by his cousin John, when the Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus, and a voice came from heaven, saying "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:10-11)
But more than a way to connect us back to the events at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, that we heard on the first Sunday after Epiphany, the Transfiguration texts help us connect how our faith is grounded in the tradition of ancient Israel.
Contrary to the Marcion heresy espoused in the mid second century AD that argued the teachings of Christ were incompatible with the Old Testament or even the criticism we sometimes hear today the Old Testament portrays a different God than the one we know in Jesus Christ, the God of Moses and Elijah is also the God we know in Jesus.
I hadn’t thought much about that common ancestry before seminary, but my Hebrew professor emphasized that the Old Testament is not something to hold separate and apart from the New Testament. The stories of Moses and Elijah and Jesus are all parts of one story of redemption.
And knowing those stories helps us understand the significance of the mountaintop experience Mark tells us about in today’s gospel.
If you know any Bible stories, you probably know about Moses. We hear his story in the book of Exodus. He was the baby found in a reed basket by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in his palace. He was the shepherd whom God called from a burning bush while he was tending his flock. (Exodus 3) God told Moses to go to Egypt and bring the Israelites out of slavery under Pharaoh and to deliver them to Canaan. During their escape, Moses separated the Red Sea and the Israelites passed through to safety, but the waters returned and drowned Pharaoh’s army who are in pursuit. (Exodus 14) The Israelites grumbled while they were in the wilderness, complaining to Moses and even forgetting about Moses when God summoned him to go up Mount Sinai and he was gone longer than they like. But Moses didn’t stay on the mountaintop; he returned to the people and after forty years of wandering, Moses and the Israelites reached the Jordan. Moses died on Mount Pisgah in Moab, and God gave Joshua the mantle of prophetic leadership and commanded him to lead the Israelites into Canaan.
Elijah’s story may not be as familiar. He was a prophet who lived during the ninth century BCE, who was called by God and sent to lead Israel back to God after their kings promoted idolatry. In First Kings we hear how Elijah went to Zarephath and met a widow and her son whom he healed, and we see the assembly of prophets at Mt. Carmel where the God of Israel prevailed over Baal and Asherah. And then we hear how Elijah escaped from Jezebel’s armies who were pursuing him to kill him and how God then appeared to Elijah, not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire, but in the silence. And after God spoke to Elijah, God commanded him to go back through the wilderness of Damascus to God’s people. And, according to God’s word he has anointed Elisha to be a prophet after him.
Today’s reading from Second Kings tells us the story of the end of Elijah’s life. Maybe you remember that a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, and Elijah was taken in a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2:11)
Here the writer of Second Kings is telling his audience what happened just before that spectacle took place, when the Lord was about to take Elijah. (2 Kings 2:1) Just as knowing the stories of Moses and Elijah help us understand Jesus, hearing this story helped the Israelites make meaning from Elijah’s story.
In this part of the story, Elijah and his disciple Elisha traveled to Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho and to the Jordan - sacred and storied places in Israel’s history. Gilgal was where the Israelites camped after they crossed into Canaan, Bethel was where Jacob met God in a dream; Jericho was where the Israelites were victorious over the Canaanites and the Jordan is that place where they crossed over from the wilderness into the promised land.
In this story, at each place, a company of prophets questioned Elisha, telling him that Elijah would be taken away from him but Elisha didn’t run away. He stayed.
And, at the Jordan, Elijah separated the waters so that they could cross on dry land out of Canaan back to the wilderness. After they crossed over, Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind, and the text says that Elisha “picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back.” (2 Kings 2:13) Elisha is like Joshua, the inheritor, receiving the prophetic mantle.
So when we hear today’s gospel and see Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop with Jesus, we are witnessing what the others disciples saw on that day: Jesus being revealed as the fulfillment of the law and prophets who came before him.
In Epiphany, Jesus has discovered who he is; the disciples have learned what it means to follow him; and now the through Jesus and his disciples, the world is learning what it means to have a Messiah.[i]
Throughout the biblical narrative, the people of God are never left without a voice.[ii]
The God of Abraham and Jacob, the God of Moses and Elijah is the same God who we know in the person of Jesus, whose life, death and resurrection restores us to life with God, who loves us and forgives us and draws us to God. And it is this same loving God who sends us out into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to do the work of calling people to God, and accompanying each other in the wilderness places we experience. As Peter says, “It is good for us to be here” (Mark 9:5) but we cannot stay on the mountaintops. We have to go into the valleys and towns and be with people to love and serve one another.
Amen.
[i] Lectionary Lab Live podcast
[ii] Pulpit Fiction podcast
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