Glory and Agony

Posted on by Japanese Congregational Church

Luke 9:28-42

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and told no one at that time what they had seen. 37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” 41 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

Today is the last Sunday of Epiphany. You’ll remember that epiphany means “a disclosure, unveiling, manifestation, appearance…” It represents the time when Jesus, born as a human baby, is openly revealed to be a king, the Son of God. The season begins right after Christmas and usually focuses on the following texts:

  • The visit and worship of the MAGI to the baby Jesus and his parents
  • Another common epiphany text is the baptism of Jesus (where God’s voice from heaven is heard…)
  • We close the season today…. with the transfiguration of Jesus, where the disciples “see the glory” of Jesus on the mountain top.

MOUNTAIN TOP / GLORY!

Here we have described the transformation of Jesus, with bright light, a voice from heaven, and visions of Moses and Elijah. Jesus has taken Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain to pray. What happened was truly a “mountain top” experience for the three disciples. Have you ever had one of those, spiritually speaking?

In the synoptic gospels…..the transfiguration account is immediately followed by this story about the healing of a young boy. In the lectionary, they are always coupled together. And it is this “mountain top” epiphany – this story of glory…. That I want to compare today with this other story of agony…that happens once they have come down from the mountain.

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN / AGONY!

However, next…. They come down from that mountain, and what follows is not a high, but a “low” …..shear agony as they are met by a father agonizing over his son. Scripture describes the son as demon-possessed…. all of the signs which are given are also the symptoms for epilepsy:  screaming, convulsions, rigidity, grinding teeth, and foaming at the mouth.

The disciples are not able to heal the boy….and so Jesus, seemingly somewhat frustrated, heals him.

Then right after this healing…..Jesus again talks about his imminent suffering and death…. But again, the disciples DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

And finally, the disciples have an argument (I’m not kidding) about “who is the greatest”, directly following their failure of not being able to heal the demon-possessed boy!

A quick recap:

ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP:  the disciples see Jesus’ GLORY, hear God’s voice…and Jesus’ identity is clearly revealed to them.

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN: 

  • the disciples can’t heal the boy or help the agonizing father,
  • they don’t understand when Jesus again explains his impending death
  • they even argue about who’s greatest.

So the powerful disclosure on the mountain….is followed by ignorance, fear, and failure once they are down from the mountain.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could bottle our emotional and spiritual “highs” …. So that we no longer needed to experience anxiety, fear, and failure?  Whenever we were in trouble we would have our emotional high to keep us going.

I can remember attending bible camp as a young person, feeling emotionally charged, high, empowered….while at camp. But once I got home and wasn’t surrounded by the “glory”…. I sometimes lost steam and power, and confidence in my new-found spiritual strength.

We are about to enter the season of Lent, and it’s important that we understand this rhythm of glory and agony in our own lives.

I don’t know about you, but this week, while reading and seeing reports of what is happening in our nation’s government –  I also had feelings of ignorance, fear, weakness, inability to know what I should be doing….as a Christian and as a citizen. I believe in the gospel…. And in the power of Jesus to save and heal. Yet, at the same time, I have felt helpless and unsure of how to proceed. How about you?

The epiphany is real…. But so are the agonies.

  • Jesus experiences the transfiguration….where his heavenly Father approves of him and expresses love. And then immediately following that, Jesus reminds his disciples of what lies ahead – suffering and death.
  • Paul – has a vision including blinding light and Jesus’ voice. And that vision changed everything! Yet, for Paul as well, it meant only hardships, suffering, uncertainty, “we see through a mirror darkly”, etc.

For us as well, our epiphanies… our understandings and “seeing” of Jesus will not result in immediate glory. Our faith walk is not always a steady climb. It involves ups and downs.

Just as the disciples saw the transfigured Jesus…and immediately continued in their weaknesses, so we too, while seeing the glory of God, continue often in our weakness. The change is “little by little” – becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus… over time.

So, don’t be discouraged in these times of crisis, chaos, and trouble.

They are part of our walk.

These words from Paul in II Corinthians 3:18 may be helpful!

18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

This week we enter the period of LENT, which is the period that we walk with Jesus toward Jerusalem, where death and the cross await him. We already know about Easter…. the conclusion to the story. So let’s walk with Jesus, knowing that the ups and the downs… are OK, and part of our journey.  Amen

(the above is a summary of the message shared in worship on March 2, 2025.)