Turning Points
Every year the lectionary directs us to one of the Gospel accounts of what has come to be known as the Transfiguration. It is an event in the life and ministry of Jesus that not only puzzled the disciples who witnessed it but has puzzled people of faith throughout the centuries.
At first glance it is one of the strangest events linking three great figures in the history of the people of Israel. In Matthew’s account, it is recorded that Moses and Elijah were seen talking with Jesus. What they were discussing is never recorded and perhaps the disciples could not hear what was being discussed. But Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his garments became white as light.
One thing we can gather from this account is that the disciples have come to a crossroad with Jesus. This becomes the moment when the ultimate purpose and goal of Jesus’ ministry among the people begins to be revealed in earnest. It is the beginning of the journey to the cross, the grave and the resurrection.
In the tradition of the people of Israel, there was to be a place at the table for Elijah. Elijah was a prophet of Israel who confronted the gods of Jezebel - wife to Ahab, the King of Israel. He was responsible for saving the people from totally and ultimately turning away from a life with the God of their ancestors. Elijah also was a prophet whom tradition says was swept up into the sky and who left behind no burial place. The expectation is that Elijah – who saved the people once from disaster – would return again to save the people again. The Scribes and Pharisees were looking for that return. This is why Jesus was so often asked if he were Elijah. But Jesus says that Elijah had already returned. He never gives specifics but it is believed that he might have been referring to John the Baptist. Whether or not that is true is immaterial. What is critical to take from this story is why these three figures are significant, why they appear together in conversation and what the purpose of their appearance means.
Each of these three figures represents a significant turning point in the journey of the people of Israel with the One we know as God Almighty. Remember that the real historical journey of the people of Israel with our God begins with the calling of Abram who leaves his ancestral home to follow God. Through the blessings that God bestows on him, Abram becomes Abraham – the father of a great nation. From him are born generations that receive the same blessing of God. But up to the point of Jacob, the God we know is revealed only to those who compose the family of the patriarchs. As a result of Jacob’s struggle with God – the Hebrew word being Israel – the people of Jacob’s family become known as Israelites. Through the jealousy of the sons of Jacob, the youngest is sold into slavery in Egypt. That person – Joseph - becomes the salvation of his family. From that time the sons of Jacob increase in number and become very prosperous but a change of fortune leads to the enslavement of the Israelites. In time God decides to take the people from Egypt and resettle them in a land of their own. With the help of God, Moses manages to free the people from the grip of the Egyptians and lead them through the Sinai desert on a 40 year journey designed to ensure the people will come to totally rely on God. At the end of the journey, Moses leaves them but they will never forget their deliverance from the hand of the Pharaoh and will ever commemorate that event with the annual celebration of Passover.
By listening to God, Moses saved the Israelites from what would have been certain annihilation. This was a significant turning point in the history of the people. Through the events leading to the Passover and the subsequent journey through the wilderness, the people became a united nation whose ultimate allegiance was to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Elijah appeared at another turning point in the history of the people. For centuries the people had lived in the land that had been promised to them by God but over time they had lost that strong connection with God and had come more and more to make choices in their lives that were moving them away from God. Things came to a head with the marriage of the King of Israel to Jezebel. Jezebel worshipped gods that were foreign to the people. But her influence over the king was such that she had managed to destroy most of the temples to God and imprison or kill most of the priests. The prophet Elijah had refused to give in to Jezebel and knew that the God of their ancestors was for them the only true God to whom they owed their lives. His disobedience to Jezebel led to a price being put on his head. He fled in fear but God found him and showed him that he was not alone. He came back to confront the priests of Jezebel’s gods. The miracle that took place when the sacrifice to God was consumed and the sacrifice to Jezebel’s gods was not was a turning point for the people of Israel. It strengthened the resolve of the people to return to follow the God of their ancestors. And while this did not ultimately save them from being exiled from their homeland, they did find the strength to continue to seek for God and indeed find that he was with them no matter where they went. Ultimately they did return to the land that Moses had led them to but they continued to struggle with what it meant to be the people of God.
The coming of God in the person of Jesus is the third turning point in the history of the people of Israel. They had been called as a nation and led to a promised land; they had been called back to be that nation with their God; now they were being called once again to live before the might of Rome that life as the people of the God who had never abandoned them but had constantly sought to love them and preserve them.
Jesus’ words through the Sermon on the Mount, his other times of teaching and healing are there as signs to the people that God still loved them and desired for them to take hold again of the life he had called them to live. In the end, they would also learn that God would give all for them – making Jesus the eternal Passover lamb that would not just preserve their life for a moment in time but for eternity.
This history with God that is the history of the people who came to known as the people of Israel is a history that we have inherited because we have come to know their God as our God. And those of us in this generation who have confessed our faith in this God can look back on those turning points and be thankful that God has never stopped caring for those with whom he seeks to be in relationship.
Let us be thankful for God’s faithfulness and love and so do our best in our time to honour God with our living both in this community and in our lives beyond these walls.
AMEN