"Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud. 'This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!' "

 

         I have an early childhood memory of the old Tabernacle at Covenant Beach, which was located just south of Seattle on Puget Sound. When the property that became Covenant Beach was purchased, probably in the 1930's, it came with a dance hall – a large structure that was built right on the water. This building was converted into the Tabernacle. As a small child I remember going to the evening services there during Family Camp, and if the timing was just right it would be high tide, and so during the long preaching you could listen to the waves hitting the bulkhead upon which the building sat. It was a mysterious place for me – to hear the Gospel sung and proclaimed as the sun was setting over the water and the waves were lapping at the foundation.

         One winter the structure burned down, and rumor had it that some of the young tough guys from the town set it ablaze, and it was eventually replaced with a swimming pool. The new Tab was in the center of the camp and never held any mystery for me. But the memory of the old Tabernacle remained strong in me, so strong that for many years I thought that was what a tabernacle was: The children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years and worshipped God in a large and mysterious wooden structure with the waves beating against it at high tide.

         My experience of going to camp and working at Covenant Beach during high school was all "post-Tab." I moved beyond a childhood sense of awe and mystery, to a growing life in Christ, a time of increasing understanding, of personal commitment to Christ, a testing of faith, an opportunity for leadership. What has become central for my life has been the growing personal relationship with Christ, a discipleship that has taken different form in every stage of my life. I had to move beyond the tabernacle of my childhood and its memory.

         Peter has an experience on a mountain with Jesus and Moses and Elijah, and he wants to build some tabernacles, some tents of skin so he can preserve the memory, so he can hold on to the experience, so he can live in that religious moment. But he is not allowed to do that. He instead embarks on a life of growing understanding, a life of maturing commitment, of cross and resurrection, of being filled with the Holy Spirit, of ministry and leadership in the early church. He had to leave the memory, the unique experience of awe and mystery, and learn to follow Jesus and listen to him.

         Jesus takes Peter and James and John up a high mountain. There they see him transfigured; the Greek word is very close to "metamorphosis." They see Jesus as he is, glorified, and dressed in shining white. Alan Cole says they see the Son of God in his "pre-Bethlehem" condition. It is a remarkable experience and Peter, at least, wants to hold it right there. It is interesting that it is these three whom Jesus also selects to go with him to pray at Gethsemane, and there they see his agony and his struggle. They see his glory and they see his humanity, his suffering.

         The presence of Moses and Elijah on the mountain is somewhat puzzling, and people have come up with a variety of explanations over the years. David Garland explains that in Jewish thought at the time, Moses and Elijah were both eschatological figures. That is, both of them figure into the events of the last days. Elijah was seen to play a key role before the restoration of all things. Moses was Israel's first deliverer, and a prophet like Moses was expected to appear and liberate Israel. So their appearance with Jesus would indicate the final redemption of Israel was near. It is no wonder that Peter would want to live there, would want to preserve that experience.

         But Peter does not get his wish. Instead, he hears a voice calling him to discipleship, to a maturity in following Christ. He hears the voice say, "This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him."

Peter is about to embark on a way he has not chosen. He is about to discover the reality of cross and resurrection. He will experience failure in his discipleship, but also restoration and leadership. He will encounter the Holy Spirit. The way from the mountain to the end of his life will be one of few visions and high religious experiences. It will be mostly a life of serving God, of ministry, of evangelism, and healing. He will encounter opposition. It is not only Jesus who is transfigured on the mountain. The lives of Peter, James and John change drastically too.

         The voice of God guides this life of maturing discipleship.

"This is my son."

         That is important for Peter to hear. Peter's confession of who Jesus is, "You are the Christ," will be tested. Jesus will soon be treated as a false prophet by the leaders of his own people. The Romans will treat him as a revolutionary, a bandit. So Peter is directed in these words to not listen to the loud human voices, to the accusations. This is God's Son, even when you see him on the cross.

         "Whom I love."

         That message too will be tested, and still is. What kind of father love is this? It seems more like a curse to hang on a tree. It seemed even to Jesus for a moment that he had been forsaken.

How do we find the love of God in the cross? This word we must hold on to as well, as we enter the season of Lent, and consider once again the meaning of the cross.

         "Listen to him."

         This is what Peter had to learn. It was not easy for him. When Jesus spoke of the cross, Peter took him aside and rebuked him. Now he must learn to listen.

We too must learn to listen to Jesus. It is not easy to listen to Jesus speak about death and life. So we enter a season of fasting and praying, of study and worship. We enter a season of listening and obeying.

         How do you plan to listen during this season? Have you found a book or scheduled some prayer room time, or considered how you might do justice or walk humbly before your God. The voice of God says, "Listen to him."

         Peter embarks on a life of discipleship that will now define and shape his life. He moves from being an eager student who may or may not use what he has learned from the master, to becoming the maturing disciple who will be Peter the Rock, Peter the leader, the evangelist. He will be, in the early church, Peter the Jesus-bearer. He will not be a fisherman who spent a few years with Jesus in his youth. He will be Peter through whom Jesus lives. Another apostle, Paul, said it best: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

         The Transfiguration was the turning point. Having seen and heard, he now followed in a new way, a deeper, more lasting way. He moved from the desire to set up tabernacles and keep things just as they were, to life changing discipleship in which his faith was shaped not by memory, but by obedience. He moved from confessing "You are the Christ," to living by listening to Christ. He came to truly love the one who God loves.

         This is the pattern for our discipleship as well. We have many pleasant childhood memories of religious experiences that bring assurance and peace to us. We remember how we felt when things were just so. We long to hold those memories and even to make them live again. But listening to Jesus always draws us forward. Following Jesus takes us where we do not choose to go. Faith is not the return to safety. Faith is the stretch, the uncomfortable dependence on Christ, which leads us to that which is new and alive, to his kingdom.

We follow along what is sometimes a rocky, narrow or steep path. It is not always quiet and serene when we listen to Jesus. There are other voices. But the journey, even to the cross, is a good one, and every stage of it is filled with the faithfulness of the savior. Every act of obedience is accompanied with grace and provision. Every lesson along the way prepares us for fruitful service. The path of Jesus is a good path, and the one that leads to life.

         Amen.