Mark 9:2-9

Year B - Transfiguration or Mountain Top to Valley

February 15, 2015

Mark 9:2-9

A promise has been made: “Some here will see the power of the Presence of G*D before they die.” [Mark 9:1]

Now, six days later, some (Peter, James, John, Jesus) ascend a distant high mountain. With the sun in their eyes, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus and two sun dogs (Moses, Elijah) all connected and communing.

Peter piped up to offer to make three Sukkot dwellings for them before remembering there were no branches here and hauling them up would be untold work. This was evidence that Peter had lost his bearings.

Well, the Presence of G*D can do that.

Before things could be properly sorted out, a cloud obscured the sun and sun dogs. The take away was as the shepherd response to the angels, “Let’s check what we are hearing and follow where it leads.”

It leads to enacting the Presence of G*D, not talking about it.

Admittedly there is extra material tossed in here regarding being raised (vs risen) and that being an opportunity to reflect on the Presence of G*D. However, the disciples being the disciples they were, they didn’t wait to talk amongst themselves about what being connected to their heritage of “Law and Prophet” might mean.

What they lost in talking too soon were the “Writings”, the stories that could make sense of Law and Prophet without the danger of literalizing them. So the disciples saw the Presence of G*D, but had yet to learn how to engage it participating in the real world. They were still trapped in a Heaven and Earth paradigm when only one of Paradise could keep the connection and communing going and healing alive.

In just a few days it will be time to shift gears from this great gift of Presence and enter a time when the rule of thumb is—no Paradise for such as you. It may be that this would be a good Lenten gift to give yourself—attend to the Writings during Lent, not the Prophets and, especially, not the Law. See if Lent can stand on its own without Law/Sin.