Transfiguration sermon

What comes up must come down.

Ex. 24:9-12  a remarkable mystical communion with God-creation length of time to create a people- seven days  is time for a new creation. The cloud both reveals and obscures the presence of god, the glory of god. levels of presence describe ritual, the ark of the covenant, and later the temple itself-A new avenue of communication has been opened to his people which is in stark contrast to the burning terror of the theophany in chapter 19” (Childs, The Book of Exodus, p. 507).Within the story of the sacred meal, one finds another vivid description of God's glory: "They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness." The people saw God, but it does not fully describe God's physical presence but the brightness of the ground on which God was revealed to them, and even this description of the "pavement" is a little vague, using words, such as "something like" and the simile "like the very heaven" to describe it. This is visionary language.

God's glory is beyond the capacity of the human being to describe, much less comprehend, and there is something absolutely reassuring about that power being revealed in the context of a covenant-making ceremonial meal. God's power is on the side of the people of Israel, supporting their leaders, and establishing them as a people.Yet, here god has communion with the elders on the holy mountain. Even with the gulf in glory, the gulf between mortal and immortal, god desires communion with the people. Yes, only Moses communes with god with the obscuring cloud of presence.the whole idea of sacrifice was to gain access to the divine; here it is offered;it it is actual communion.

2 Peter 1;16-on a mountain here, with Moses and heard this voice linked to baptism’s thundering voice. In the transfiguration cloud they see Jesus in a wholly new way. Jesus is in conversation with those who have long since moved from earth into a new dimension.Jesus appears in a resurrection state, or if you will, a divine state of radiance. Peterson The term epilysis at the end of verse 20 is a technical term to the task of unwrapping, unknotting, “unlocking,” “deciphering,” or “explaining “ of a written text, as the translation of “interpretation” has accurately captured. Hence this means that once again (as in verse 19) the reference to “prophecy of scripture” is not to the “writing” but rather to the gift of clearly and accurately “unlocking” and witnessing to the message of scripture.Scripture too is transfigured from mere words to the touchstone of belief and practice. Here is a description of the bible becoming holy writing. It take sus into the cloud of obscurity and presence.

Sacraments and transfiguration Our tradition links word and action together in sacrament. Sacraments have a physical dimension to them, as most rituals do. The use the physical as the gateway to the spiritual realm.Moses and the elders dined with God on the mountain. We are lifted  to the mount of Transfiguration, of metamorphosis, of symbolic shift this morning in communion as well. At one level we have a bit of bread and a taste of wine, itself transfigured blood of life.At another level Calvin  insisted that the spirit moves us into the very presence of God. More than that we take those elements and have them incorporated into our very life stream. We participate in this communion together, hence Communion. Instead of the chosen  group on the mountain, this Communion is offered to all. At this sacrament we have union with Christ.