Main Text: Matthew 17:1-9 (Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
Moses and Elijah were with them on the mountain talking with Jesus. Moses was the law giver. We hear of his journey to the mountain in Exodus to receive the law on stone tablets. The law was never meant to be lived outside of relationship with God. Unfortunately, that is what began to happen. They knew the what, but forgot the who, the how and the why. That is where Elijah and the prophets came in. The prophets were the ones calling them beyond the letter of law and into the spirit of the law within relationship to God who is the giver of the law. The prophets sought for the community both corporately and individually to embody the law as God intended it to be. Instead, the leaders began to make the law embody their limited and futile vision and values. Jesus being on the mountain with Moses and Elijah was no coincidence. Embodied in Jesus was not only the law but its fulfillment. Jesus transfiguration is also ours. We are called to be transfigured. There are those who can quote law but fail to behave in the spirit of it. There are those who believe that there should be no laws or rules to govern except personal desires and needs, but this leads to chaos and inequity. Instead, we are called to be transfigured by the love of God in Jesus Christ. We are to embody not only the letter of the law but the spirit of the law as well. We are called to be transfigured into the image of Jesus Christ. As we leave the season of Epiphany and enter the season of Lent, may we consider our call brothers and sisters and come down the mountain with Jesus in order to embody the fullness of Christ.