Outline:
· Last Epiphany, Gospel lesson is Transfiguration- Mark 9:2-8
o
Also occurs in Matthew17:1-9 and Luke 9:28-36
· Epiphany is about God being made manifest. This is the
event.
· Transfiguration = Icon, physical revealing of an inner truth
Jesus:
Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets
· Moses Signifies the Law
o
Giver of the Law at
Sinai
· Elijah represents the Prophets
o
Why Elijah? Stay tuned
for later sessions.
o
Major part of answer,
seen as precursor to Messiah
Moses
and Elijah are both present with Jesus
· Physically embodying what Jesus is fulfilling
· Thus Transfiguration= a physical representation of who Jesus
is.
Only
Peter, James, and John are present
· Why just them? Christianity is about witness.
· Easier to have faith in what God is saying to us when we aren’t
comparing/contrasting with the event itself.
o
See Kierkegaard in Philosophical Fragments
· Jesus to Thomas (Jn 20:29): “blessed are they who have not
seen…”
· Did this need to be an exclusive sighting?
o
Would it have assured people’s
belief?
o
Answer to both: We don’t
know.
· The magic in the Transfiguration is the mystery
o
We don’t fully
understand it.
However, we do know that it reveals who Jesus truly
and full is.