Mountain tops are special places, places where we feel awed by the
immensity of God’s creation.
When the weather is good, the distant views reveal how
puny we really are. When the clouds close in, we experience isolation from all
that is familiar. And when the wind blows rain or hail or snow in our face, we
understand our own frailty and vulnerability.
Like most of us, I suppose, I love walking and
climbing in mountains – though I’m not so limber as I once was. I have vivid
memories of many climbs. I remember climbing Keeper Hill as a child with my
parents, how each time I thought I had reached the top another ridge revealed
itself, until at the final summit half of Ireland was laid out in front of me.
I remember climbing a peak called Le Dent du Chat near Annecy in France as a
teenager, where close to the top, Mont Blanc and the snow peaks of the alps began
to rise above the opposite ridge. And I remember climbing Lugnaquilla by myself
in my 40s - on a whim, unsuitably prepared – after a few minutes on the summit
the cloud closed in and it grew cold, very cold – I was lucky to fall in with a
soldier with a compass walking from the Glen of Imaal to Glenmalure who showed
me the right way down.
In today’s Gospel (Mark 9:2-9), Mark tells the story of Peter, James and
John’s very special mountain top experience.
High on the mountain, Peter, James and John see Jesus ‘transfigured
before them, and his clothes became dazzling white’ – his appearance
is changed: the Greek word translated as ‘transfigured’ is from the same root
as ‘metamorphosis’. Alongside him they see two figures talking to him,
whom they recognise as Elijah and Moses, the two preeminent figures of Judaism,
representing the Law and the Prophets.
Peter, always the impulsive one, says, ‘Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah’. Peter does not want this emotional
moment to end – such a human response!
Then the cloud closes in around them. They are terrified. And they hear a voice
saying, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to
him!’ When the cloud clears they look around, and can see only
Jesus, who orders them not to tell anyone what they have experienced, ‘until the Son
of Man (has) risen from the dead’.
Their experience, which we call the Transfiguration,
reveals Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God. It must have been very
important to them, because they remembered it and after the Resurrection passed
on their story, so that it could be told to us not just by Mark, but also by
Matthew and Luke.
There is a possible scientific explanation for what Peter, James and
John saw.
High on a mountain, with cloud around, is precisely
where we may encounter an optical effect called a ‘glory’. In this effect sunlight is scattered back from water droplets in a mist,
as a glowing halo - the technical term for it is Mie scattering.
The most famous example is the ‘Brocken Spectre’, so
named because of sightings on the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz
Mountains in Germany. This appears when a low sun is behind a climber who is
looking downwards into mist from a ridge or peak. The spectre is the shadow of
the observer projected onto the mist, and it is surrounded by the glowing halo
of a glory. Here is a photo of one, and if
you’re interested you can follow the web link to find out more.
The Brocken Spectre – if
you are interested in more of the physics
see http://www.atoptics.co.uk
You might be lucky enough to see a glory yourselves,
as I have. I saw it when I looked down from a plane at the shadow it cast on a
cloud. The shadow was surrounded with a halo of light – this was the glory.
I imagine Peter and James and John close together on
the mountain, with Jesus praying a little bit away, as the clouds swirl around
them. Where Jesus has been standing, they each suddenly see a glowing figure –
it’s their own shadow cast on a cloud, wrapped in a glory - and two other
shadows beside it, those of their companions, whom they take to be Moses and
Elijah.
This explanation from physics helps me to believe that
the Transfiguration really did take place and was not invented by the
Gospel writers to serve their own artistic or theological needs. I believe that
God is present in and works through the laws of the universe he created. The
disciples accurately reported what they saw, even if they could not understand
the physics.
Their experience of hearing a voice from heaven also
rings very true to me. When someone suddenly realises something of vital
importance, something which changes everything, he or she often talks of having
a ‘flash of inspiration’ or ‘hearing a voice’. Many people have reported such
deeply emotional religious experiences, not only in our own Christian
tradition, but also in other faith traditions.
If this scientific explanation is correct, it should not change one whit
our awe and wonder at God’s power and glory.
What matters, surely is what the Transfiguration
reveals to Peter, James and John - and to us too - about the nature of Jesus
and his relationship with God.
They saw Jesus transfigured, as ‘the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God’, in St Paul’s words from today’s 2nd
reading (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). The voice they heard told them to listen to him,
and this surely is what they did. From then on Jesus intensified his teaching
to them, preparing them for their role as apostles after his death.
I believe the Transfiguration was the moment on their
long road when they realised their complete commitment to Jesus and his
teaching. Starting from their call in Galilee, this road led them ultimately to
Jerusalem, to the Cross, to the Resurrection, to the Ascension, and on to
Pentecost, where they started to blossom as Christ’s Church.
And as Christians it should inspire each of us to make
our own commitment to follow Jesus as his disciples. ‘For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ’.
Let us finish in prayer with a Collect of the Word Transfiguration
Sunday.
Holy God,
you have revealed the glory of your love
in Jesus Christ,
and have given us a share in your Spirit.
May we who listen to Christ follow
faithfully,
and, in the dark places where you send us,
reveal the light of your gospel.
We ask this in his name. Amen
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