Dave spoke this morning on the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-9). So many people seem to crave physical transformation these days through cosmetic surgery and Botox; Michael Jackson, for example, was transformed by plastic surgery, but in essence, this only deals with the outward appearance and cannot change the inner personality. Jesus’s transfiguration was not just about physical transformation (though his appearance was changed as he dazzled with light), but was more a case of his true nature shining through. The Transfiguration revealed His true glory and splendour and we all need to experience this in our lives; we need to experience God in ways that stretch our imagination and revolutionise our lives.
We can, if we are not careful, be like the young boy who was so thrilled by the circus parade that came to his home town that he failed to go to the circus itself, mistaking the preliminary excitements for the real thing. We need to experience the full glory of God, not just become used to mere ‘routines’ of prayer and praise. Whilst life cannot be lived entirely on the mountain top, we do need to yearn for God’s presence and seek His glory. Then, equipped by a renewed vision of G0d, we are able to go back to the valley and continue the work to be done there – work which, as Jesus reminded His disciples, included suffering and death.
We need always to remember that Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Peter wanted the glory of the Transfiguration without the sacrifice of Calvary and that can never be the case. His view, like so many nowadays, was that ‘where the Messiah is, there’s no misery.’ The truth is that where there is misery, there we will find the Messiah. Glory never comes without sacrifice; triumph does not come without suffering. Jesus knew there was one more mountain to be climbed: the mount called Calvary. Glory and sacrifice are twin peaks in the Christian life: the one does not exist without the other. We have to learn from the glimpses of God’s glory on the mountain tops, but we must also learn to take those experiences into our daily lives in the valleys and walk with God in every moment of every day.