Reading for Transfiguration
B: Mark 9:2-9
March 2, 2003
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
"The glory of God is the human person fully alive." (Irenaeus of Lyon) Today is the last Sunday of Epiphany. Epiphany (as you may remember) means "an appearance or sudden manifestation of God." So during this liturgical season of Epiphany, the Lectionary assigns us passages from the Bible that contain epiphanies or signs of God acting in human history and experience. Many of these signs that we read about point to the glory of God manifested in the person and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. These signs include miracles such as the changing of water into wine. Other signs point to Jesus' gift of healing such as the cleansing of the leper, the healing of the demoniac, and the healing of Peter's mother-in-law's fever. But most signs of God working through Jesus and his disciples in the New Testament reveal their willingness to serve others, to serve justice, and to stay faithful to their mission even if it means putting their lives on the line.
The season of Epiphany always ends with the feast of the Transfiguration which is what we are celebrating today. Every now and again, there come moments when our blindness is lifted, truth is made evident, and we are able to see the glory of God manifested in our fellow human beings. This was certainly the case in today's gospel when three core disciples were able to see Jesus in a new light. Today I am going talk about the spiritual practice of mindful thinking: a practice that can move us from a place of blindness to a place truth and glory. For the "glory of God is the human person fully alive." I will use the story of the transfiguration as my text.
Here is the context: Jesus has been on a teaching spree with his disciples. He has been teaching some counter-cultural wisdom about discipleship and the spiritual path. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for the sake of the gospel will save it." (Mk. 8) In other words, if people want to follow Jesus, they must live sacrificial lives.
This kind of wisdom is hard to swallow. It don't know how the disciples first reacted to Jesus' teaching about the sacrificial lifestyle, but my hunch is, they were filled with doubt, anxiety, and resistance. Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain, away from the crowds, to a place where they can reflect on some of these difficult teachings. Once there, the disciples have an epiphany. Jesus is transfigured before them such that his clothes became dazzling white. This experience causes them great fear. But it is through this experience that they finally realize Jesus' intimate relationship to God and the need to listen to him as a messenger of God.
Now I don't know whether this story is historically accurate or more symbolic in nature. I do know that the gospels were written many years after Jesus' earthly ministry and contain both facts and symbols. Did the disciples have a real and decisive experience of Jesus up on the mountain or did the gospel writers use this story to illustrate important theological statements to the early church? Whether the story was historical or symbolic, I think it has some profound theological insights for us today.
First, it assures us that Jesus is not some casual prophet who spouts some good ideas every now and then. Mark is trying to tell us that in the person of Jesus, we now have access to God in ways that we did not have before and that we ought to listen to him. Next, this story shows us that the truth can be before our eyes but that we are often blind to the truth. Sometimes it takes a crisis or an epiphany in order to see things in a different light. Getting away to a quiet place to listen to the voice of God often allows us to see things in a new light. Finally, stories about Jesus and his relationship to God are ultimately stories about humanity. If Jesus is the model for the new humanity, the new creation, then by looking at his life, we can see what we can become.
I think our expectations of the religious life are too low. Many of us come to church hoping that we might become more ethical or that some good news will rub off on our children such that they will stay out of jail or won't get pregnant. But the Christian path can be far more fruitful than that. The Christian Path is about transformation! Imagine waking up every morning, eager to celebrate being alive, and then seizing the day. Imagine going to bed each night with an inner sense of peace and gratitude. Imagine going through the day with a sense of meaning, a thirst for justice, and an attitude of compassion and service. This is God's will for us. This is what is possible when our thoughts become as God's thoughts. This is what is possible when we "put on the mind of Christ."
But in order to put on the mind of Christ, we first need to be aware of our thoughts. We need to be conscious individuals who are aware of the millions of random thoughts that flow through our mind each day. We need to be committed to the inner discipline of renouncing our mindless and harmful thoughts. In a nutshell- We are not our thoughts. And they need not have control over us. All of the major religious traditions teach about the mind and the need to discipline it.
The serious spiritual seeker must undergo training to redirect the mind by letting go of thoughts that do not lead toward wholeness. Thoughts can have incredible power if we are not aware of them. Thoughts which are dwelt on can produce feelings. Feelings can produce passions and cravings. Passions and craving can produce actions. Bad thoughts lead to bad cravings and ultimately to bad actions. Sin is the end stage of wrong thoughts and passions. Sin is alienation from God and each other. Once we are alienated, there is no glory, there is no peace, there is no joy.
Now sin has a bad name these days and most people don't want to hear about sin. But I don't know any other way to talk about getting rid of those obstacles in our lives that prevent us from becoming like Christ without talking about sin. When I say the word "sin", there is no telling what comes to your mind: It may be the act of purposely ignoring a fellow employee at work, adding to the problem of global warming by using too much heat at home, using another person to have one's sexual appetites satisfied, collecting a lot of household stuff while refusing to give generously to those in need. Whatever it is, human beings have a natural tendency to engage in narcissistic behavior that keeps them stuck, hurts others, and turns them away from God.
There are a lot of ideas out there that advise us on how to keep from sinning. But I have heard very little wisdom referring to the disciplining of our thoughts as the means toward a virtuous life. To become like Christ, first requires the desire for transformation. Next comes commitment to the interior work of training the mind. This means we need to have an awareness of our thoughts about food, sex, things, anger, dejection, sloth, vainglory, and pride. Once we are aware of our thoughts, then we need to make a decision. Are we going to dwell on a particular thought which can lead to feelings and then to cravings and then to actions? Or are we going to let that thought go and fill our mind instead with prayer and inspiration? We are not our thoughts and our thoughts need not control us.
Every now and again, there come moments when our blindness is lifted, truth is made evident, and we are able to see the glory of God manifested in ourselves and fellow human beings. All this is possible for the one who practices mindful thinking. This will be the topic of my preaching for the next several weeks. "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." (BCP 217)
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