The Last Sunday after the Epiphany - 19 February 2012
II Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
II Corinthians 4:3-6
St. Mark 9:2-9
Background: The Transfiguration
The Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord is celebrated on 6 August, however the lessons and the collect for this Sunday reveal the same themes and readings. Lutherans celebrate the day on this Sunday as well as 6 August, and the Church of Rome uses these readings on the Second Sunday in Lent. In the Eastern Church, this day has celebrated with great solemnity since the fifth century. The Eastern Church saw in it a foreshadowing of the Risen Christ. It is a later feast in the Western Church, only added following the victory over the Turks at Belgrade in 1456. The news reached Rome on 6 August, so Pope Calixtus III added the new feast in gratitude for the victory. Since it was such a late addition, the feast was not in Anglican or Episcopal Calendars until 1892.
2 Kings 2:1-12
Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent."
Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
In a delightful rendering of a difficult parting we see Elijah testing his would be successor by leading him on a holy goose chase. At each interval a “company of prophets” (a school, if you will) clues Elisha in on Elijah’s fate and destiny. Their journey goes from holy place to holy place. Beth-El is the site of Jacob’s dream of the Ladder, and Gilgal (meaning circle of stones) was also an ancient holy place and the location of a shrine. This landscape of holiness is populated by holy people (the prophets) who comment on the journey.
The relationship of Elijah and Elisha is indicated in Elisha calling Elijah “father”, an honorific indicating that Elisha was Elijah’s disciple. Elisha’s concern is that he continue Elijah’s work, and he asks for it (please let me inherit a double share). A double share was the first-born male’s right under the Law, and Elisha is not too proud to ask for it. There are other indications of holiness and momentous events. The miracle of the Red Sea is called to mind when Elijah takes his mantle and strikes the waters of the Jordan, parting them. Elisha repeats the miracle in later verses (14) indicating that he was indeed a successor to Elijah’s power and mission. His exclamation “the horsemen and chariots of Israel” a phrase also used by the King of Israel in commenting on the importance of Elisha to Israel. The rending of the garment indicates that Elijah is indeed gone, and now Elisha must stand in his place.
Breaking open II Kings:
- What is your opinion of Elisha? Is he ambitious, or genuine in wanting to follow his teacher?
- Who has served you as a “father” (teacher) in the faith?
- Have you ever received someone’s mantel? How did you use it?
Psalm 50:1-6 Deus deorum
The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken; *
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, *
God reveals himself in glory.
Our God will come and will not keep silence; *
before him there is a consuming flame,
and round about him a raging storm.
He calls the heavens and the earth from above *
to witness the judgment of his people.
"Gather before me my loyal followers, *
those who have made a covenant with me
and sealed it with sacrifice."
Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; *
for God himself is judge.
This is one of the so-called Asaph Psalms, Asaph being the patriarch of a line of Levites (priests) originating in David’s time. There is a group of the psalms in the Third Book of the Psalter. This is a prophetic psalm, especially appropriate to the prophet nature of the readings. The naming of God in the psalm is unusual, where ‘El ‘elohim (God God) is followed rather than preceded by the unpronounceable name of God (YHWH), which is usually, translated as Adonai (Lord). These verses form an introduction to a discourse by God that follows from verse 7 through verse 23. In the introduction, the witnesses are called to be present to observe the prophetic discourse by God, as was common in prophetic literature. All of the faithful are gathered to hear what God has to say.
Breaking open Psalm 50
- How do you name God?
- How does God teach you?
- How does the earth, stars, and sky witness to you about God?
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. 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.
In an intimate allusion to his own conversion, Paul uses the notion of being veiled and blindness to underscore his own situation, and the situation of others when confronted by the Gospel of Christ. Indeed on this day, it is a commentary of all who followed Jesus, except Peter, James, and John before whom Christ is unveiled or transfigured before them. Paul reminds them that this gospel, this unveiling, is not something of his own invention, but rather from God who causes “light to shine out of darkness.” The light for Paul is the glory of God shining in the face of Christ Jesus. This is the countenance that is seen on the mountain.
Breaking open Corinthians:
- Are you blind to God?
- What about Christianity is veiled to you?
- In what ways are you blind to the world?
Mark 9:2-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
At Caesarea Philippi Peter confesses Jesus as “the Christ” (the messiah, the anointed one), and it is in the following pericope, today’s reading, that he and James and John literally see the truth of Peter’s confession. There are borrowings from the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly the theophany witnessed by Moses, that are used here. There is the mountain (Sinai), the cloud (the Shekinah – the sign of God’s glory) and the vision of Christ in glory, all attested to by the presence of Moses (the original participant) and Elijah.
This is all commentary on the Messianic nature of Jesus that reaches back into the religious history of Israel, and culminates in this vision. Such as at the baptism of Jesus, there is the heavenly voice that adds a note of verification to what the disciples think that they are seeing. Peter takes it all in, thinking that the messianic time in immanent, suggesting that they give up all, build booths (as in the Feast of the Tabernacles) and stay there. The messianic reality, however, is a bit different. Peter doesn’t know what to say, and as Paul points out later in his epistle, that is the point where the Spirit enters and tells us what to say. Peter having already said something at Caesarea Philippi (You are the Christ!) now is speechless and the Spirit guides on in the heavenly voice. The other aspect of this messianic vision is that it is to be kept secret. Not all things have been fulfilled – a perfect lead in to Lent.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- How does Mark reach back to the past and forward to the future to speak about Jesus?
- In what ways is Peter naïve?
- What is meant by the secrecy in Mark?
After breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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