He Comes Down ~ Mark 9:2-9 ~ Transfiguration Sunday

He was as close to heaven as he could be...

Jesus is up on a high mountain, together with Peter, James and John.  And there, in that place, he is transfigured; he is transformed—his clothes become radiant with the glory of God; then Moses and Elijah appear out of nowhere and begin talking with him...  And a mighty voice says to his disciples “This is my Son, the Beloved.  Listen to him!”

What a moment this must have been for Jesus.  The glory of God is radiating from him.  Here, there are no crowds clamoring for his attention, and his enemies cannot even touch him.  Here, he could bask in the glory that was rightfully his as God’s Son.  This is where Jesus belonged. 

And Jesus’ disciples wanted to stay there with him.  Peter was ready to build three dwelling places so that he and the two other disciples could remain there forever with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  What a heavenly existence this would have been, living each day in the light of the glory of God. 

But Jesus will have none of that. 

Jesus comes down the mountain…  Jesus leaves it all behind.

He goes back to the world below that was so full of suffering and evil…  He goes back to live among his enemies who would stop at nothing to end his life.  He moves on into the future, fully knowing that he will not experience God’s glory again until after his suffering and death upon the cross.  He moves on knowing that tougher days lie ahead.

How difficult it can be to move on…

How difficult it is to face our tomorrows when the future presents us with so many uncertainties—and so many threats.

Many of us may remember a period of time from our past when life was good and the joys were many.  We remember the “good old days” when life was better than it is now.

Many of us, however, have never known “good old days,” but we dream of living that kind of reality.

Whether it’s on memories or in visions, we all have our very own ideals of life as we want to live it.  That’s the kind of life where we know we belong.  And our hearts ache for that so much because life as it is right now is so much more complicated.  With the passing of time, we suffer losses and pains that we could have never imagined in even our worst nightmares.  We sin; we make mistakes, and we have to endure the consequences of those actions.  The struggles of the present time grow so enormous that life isn’t about living, but trying just to cope with all the hardships.  We don’t belong in the life that we know now.

Our traumas and our failings become so significant that we come to believe that life, as we know it now, will always be this way…  All we see ahead of us is just more pain and discouragement…

But this is not the future that God intends for you… 

And this is why Jesus came down from heaven to earth; this is why he left behind the glory of his moments on the mount of transfiguration and returned to the world below…  Heaven is Jesus’ rightful dwelling place, but he chooses instead to make his dwelling-place with us.  Jesus came down to be our redeemer.  Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, came down from heaven to be our redeemer; to us to bear away the sin of the world by giving his life upon the cross.  Even still, he comes down to redeem us from our brokenness and despair. 

Jesus does not want us to live in fear of our tomorrow.  Even if we know that the worst of our trials has yet to come, God does not want you to be held captive by that which you fear and dread.  He abides with us strengthen us in the power of his redemption as we face the difficulties and the impossibilities of life.  

God wants for you to embrace tomorrow as a gift—and it is another day for you to experience the presence of Christ right there with you in whatever the day may bring.  If we move forward into our tomorrows with faith and trust in Christ, we will witness God’s glory.  We will experience the awesome power of God as Christ gives us healing and transformation; as we overcome the worst of what life brings us by the amazing grace of God. 

If you’ve been torn down so much that you don’t know where you will ever find the strength to face the day ahead, know that Christ has come down from heaven to take your hand and lead you forward. 

As we embark on our Lenten journey in just a few days, keep your focus on the cross—because the cross is the sure sign that nothing that will come your way in life can stand in the way of God’s redeeming work in your life.  The cross did not have the final say.  Out of that cross the fullness of God’s glory has been revealed to the world in the resurrection of Christ.  Christ triumphed over the cross—and you will over triumph over your cross. 

So may the cross be a sign of your hope—a sign to give you confidence that you will witness the glory of God.