This Is My Son

This is my Son

Four men slowly made their way up a steep rugged mountain. The man leading the group seemed to know exactly the path to take.  The three behind him struggled at times to keep up.  In fact they were struggling both physically and mentally to keep  up.  Six days ago, their teacher, Jesus, had told them something that had been on their minds ever since. 

Jesus had said he would suffer many things, would be rejected by the religious establishment and be killed.  And to top it off, he would after three days, rise again.  So, to say the three men, Peter, James and John, where probably deep in thought, is an understatement.  

The journey up the mountain wasn’t a leisurely stroll. And this wasn’t just a very big hill either.  Though the name of the mountain is not mentioned in any of the Gospels, it most likely was Mount Hermon.  Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in ancient Israel.  At 9000 feet with snow capped peaks, it was always considered sacred. It looks surprisingly similar to a mountain in the Canadian Rockies.  And the four men were ascending the mountain in tunics and sandals.  

“And he was transfigured before them”. This being the Gospel of Mark, the details are sparse.  At some point in their ascent the three disciples saw Jesus bathed in a bright light; “and his clothes became a dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them”. 

Two figures appeared before the four.  Instantly recognizable as Moses and Elijah.  Why these two prophets?  They represent or summarize “the Law and the Prophets”.  Moses and Elijah are in fact saying that Jesus is the one that the law and prophets spoke.

Peter one again shows his impetuous nature, speaking with very little thought.  Recognizing the sacredness of the moment, he wants to prolong it.  Suggesting they erect three tents he assumes that Jesus and Moses and Elijah together are stronger than Jesus alone, that the three figures before the disciples are of equal standing.  But then a voice is heard.

“This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him”. The voice of God speaks to the three disciples and immediately dispels any misconceptions of what they are witness too. Jesus is not one of three great prophets, he is not standing shoulder to shoulder with Moses and Elijah. This man they have just began to follow is in fact the Son of God. 

The three disciples who just two weeks ago had been busy on their boats fishing, are now witness to an event that confirms to them, the feeling they first had when they looked into the eyes of Jesus.  For centuries, Scripture has told them of the coming Messiah. Being on the mountain with Jesus, seeing Moses and Elijah and then hearing the voice of God, any doubts they once had are gone.  

It is difficult to put into words what Peter, James and John were thinking at that moment.  How could they process this?  What just happened?  These three were not scribes, or priests.  They did not have the education that the priests and the Levites had.  They were fishermen.  Jesus though, knew exactly who they were and what they were capable of.  In time they would show that. 

The men in awe and  wonder looked around and saw no one with them anymore. Only Jesus stood before them.  Then he started back down the mountain to the others.  Turning to them at some point he told them not to mention to anyone what they had just witnessed until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 

I can only imagine the three disciples at that point.  They must have been bursting to tell their friends and families what they had just been a witness too.  Words would have been difficult, but they had to share this.  Jesus though had other plans.  His time was short.  He knew exactly what he had to do. And how much time he had. There could be no distractions. Peter, James and John had to keep this to themselves for now.

Thomas Aquinas, said on more than one occasion that the transfiguration was the greatest miracle of Jesus.  Together with the baptism it showed the perfection of Heaven,  Transfiguration together with, baptism, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension are the five major milestones of the life of Jesus.  The three disciples, witnessed a pivotal moment on the mountain, where God meets human nature.  Man’s temporary nature meets God’s eternal nature.

It was also in a way, a transfiguration of the three disciples.  Peter, James and John.  After their mountain top experience they had no question as to the true identity of their teacher. He was and is the Son of God.

Nearly one thousand years previous to the time of Jesus, another transfiguration had taken place.  The prophet Elijah knew he would soon be taken to heaven.  His disciple, Elisha did not want to see his teacher, his mentor leave.  The disciple asked the teacher for one thing before he was taken.  A double portion of Elijah’s spirit so Elisha could be like his teacher.  The moment arrived a chariot and horses of fire appeared and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.  Elisha was left behind. His request of his teacher was granted and he in fact performed twice as many miracles as Elijah.

In both cases, with Elisha and with the three disciples, they had witnessed God meeting man.  Their temporary world had met the eternal one.  They might have disliked or wanted another outcome but it was God’s plans not theirs.  The finite mind of man is of no match to the infinite mind of God.

“This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him”. These are the words that God spoke to the first three disciples.  Elijah had travelled nearly 1000 years to be with them on that holy mountain.  Joined by Moses they showed the disciples and all of us, that Jesus is the Son of God, this is the Messiah that the prophets of the scriptures had spoken of.  This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.