First Lutheran Church
February 14, 2021 - Transfiguration Sunday
2 Kings 2:1-12
1Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”
4Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.”
6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Mark 9:2-9
2Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
“Peter Was Messy”
Pastor Jasmine Waring
If I was looking for a protege to carry on my work with excellence and integrity, I would choose Elisha. Elisha was Elijah’s devoted disciple, who was chosen by the LORD to become Elijah’s successor. We don’t know much about him during the years he served under Elijah, but we can see in the last moments Elijah and Elisha had together, we can see that Elisha was loyal, and passionate about the work they did. Elisha called Elijah his father, and we hear in this poetic storytelling the love, pain, and devotion he felt in these final moments.
“Stay here.” said Elijah.
“As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!”
“Did you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Of course I know, but be quiet about it.”
After Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, Elisha was tasked to carry on with Elijah’s work. He went from the quiet and devoted student and turned out to be one of the great prophets of Israel, performing miracles like healing the sick, multiplying oil and food, even raising someone from the dead. Elisha was a protege anyone would be proud of.
Now, if this was a movie, we would fade out from this hi-light reel of Elisha, and fade into Jesus’ face on the mountain talking to Elijah and Moses. Moses, by the way, also had an awesome protege named Joshua who was vital to the possession of the promised land. Cut to Jesus, we hear Elijah say to him, “So, who is your protege who will carry on your work after all these things come to pass?” and interrupting in the background we hear Peter saying, “Hey there! It’s so great y’all are here. How about I uhh make some tents for you’s guys, make them real nice, and we can just camp out here for a while, ya know? Anyone thirsty?”
I could only imagine Jesus face-palming himself in embarrassment, shaking his head. Thankfully, God interrupted Peter and told him and the other disciples to listen to Jesus.
Peter was a different kind of protege…a messy one. He had a big mouth that was always getting him into trouble. He was, after all, a fisherman by trade. Fishermen were not trained to be in ministry. He would have known the basics of Torah like any other Hebrew child, but he was not in the priestly class, and certainly not good enough to be trained as a rabbi. Yet, Jesus must have seen something in him when he called him.
Compared to Elisha, Peter was a mess! When Elijah asked Elisha to stay back three times, Elisha responded by swearing he would never leave him. When Jesus told Peter and the other disciples to stay awake and pray in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter fell asleep three times! When other people were telling Elisha that Elijah was going to be taken away, Elisha acknowledged them three times. When Peter heard Jesus talk about being killed, Peter said, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” and Jesus called him Satan and told him to get behind him. When other people confronted Peter about knowing Jesus, he would deny him three times.
Peter was a mess, a very unlikely protege. And yet, Peter is the one Christ promised to build his church on. Right before the Transfiguration, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter said, “You are Messiah.” This is the turning point for Peter, because this is where he gets his name, Peter, which means rock. From this point on, whenever someone says his name, they are prophetically and in faith calling him to be what he is meant to be, the rock upon which Christ will build his church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.
Peter is still a mess, and will continue to mess up even after he gets his new name. But the story does not end there. By the grace and love of Jesus Christ, Peter was able to carry the torch and boldly declared the Gospel on the day of Pentecost because it was never about his ability, it was about his epiphany! Peter’s epiphany of Jesus Christ as the Messiah is what qualified him to do what he was called to do. And when the Holy Spirit came upon him, he was unstoppable! Peter went on to build the early church and perform great and miraculous works. Including being one of the few people in scripture to raise someone from the dead…Jesus, Elijah, and Elisha.
We are all called to torch bearers for Christ, declaring the liberating good news of Jesus Christ. Why do we disqualify ourselves? Why do we think that our education, vocation, gender, orientation, age, or race disqualifies us from sharing Christ. We do not need to be the properly trained student like Elisha to carry on the work of the LORD, we could be like Peter! We need to put ourselves out there, knowing we are going to mess up, and we can have the grace to make things right. It is our epiphany, our deep knowing of Christ, who liberates all people from oppression, that qualifies us to go out into our world to do the same as Christ. To give good news to the poor, set the captives free, heal the sick, and declare the year of the Lord’s favor.
May you receive permission to be a mess like Peter
May you not disqualify yourself by comparing yourself to others
May your epiphany of Christ inspire and ground you in your calling
May you carry the torch well, in the name of Jesus Christ, our liberator.
Amen