FEAST OF THE TABERNACLE

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON FEBRUARY 26, 2006

Mark 9:5

Master, let us make 3 tabernacles – one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

I’m sure there are many preachers in the Episcopal Church this morning who will begin their sermons by telling you that you don’t have to believe this story. It is far too fantastic to be taken seriously. And it is not necessary for salvation. I heard that in the 1960’s!

Not only is the Transfiguration recorded in the 3 gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke but in today’s epistle, 2 Peter 1:16, we hear St. Peter telling us of the experience himself. And he goes on to say in reference to those preachers who like to demystify the scriptures, No prophesy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.

Being the traditionalist that I am, I much prefer the King James Version of this text where he has quoted “Master let us make 3 tabernacles” instead of the modern word booth. A tabernacle is more than just a booth. For St. Peter didn’t just want to build 3 tents on that mountain to keep the sun off Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He was thinking of that tent which was called the Tabernacle by the Jews in the wilderness of Mt. Sinai, as they wandered for 40 years after the Exodus. The tent was in their midst as the presence of God amongst them. Above it by day was a cloud, and by night a fiery pillar.

During those 40 years in the wilderness that tent was the tabernacle of God’s presence amongst them, the particular place where he dwelt amongst his people, and the place where they could know his presence. In fact the only way they could have survived those desolate 40 years was with the presence of the Almighty amongst them in the tabernacle. The only way they could be sure that God was with them and leading them, and that they were his chosen people.

So St. Peter wasn’t only caught up in a spiritual experience on Mt. Tabor in which he wanted to capture these 3 in a tent. To make this moment a permanent shrine, like the shrines of Our Lady and Christ in our Churches. St. Peter doesn’t just want to perpetuate it; he realizes that what he is experiencing is the same presence of God that the Sinai tabernacle proclaimed. No doubt he also had in mind the annual Jewish feast of Tabernacles, when the Jews erected little tents all over the place to remind themselves of those 40 years in the wilderness and the exodus from Egyptian slavery.

As St. Peter experiences Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah, all those images of the Old Testament come to his mind. But this is not just a recollection of ancient stories and rituals and feasts - this is something that he understands fulfills all of the Old Testament.

St. Mark begins his gospel today with the words: “6 days later.” What happened 6 days before? It was that moment at Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asked the apostles “who do men say that I am?” And then “who do you say that I am?” It was Peter who spoke up: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” - just 6 days before today’s event.

So now 6 days later Jesus takes Peter, along with James and John, to see what Peter’s declaration really means. Now in the Transfiguration the man they were following as a teacher, a miracle worker, a wandering Rabbi is revealed as so much more. If Peter couldn’t get the connection 6 days ago now as he saw this vision there was the voice: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” No wonder St. Peter never forgot it! St. Peter was right 6 days before, and if he had any doubt, it was now dispelled. With joy he proclaimed “let us build a tabernacle.” He knew what it all meant. Indeed at the end of his life he put it in his second epistle.

It must have been an incredible experience. There they were alone on the mountain. Jesus is praying, and as he is praying the reality of his prayer assumed a visible form. They could see the effect of his prayer - in his clothes, in his body and in the natural surroundings.

In those 2 great figures of Moses and Elijah is represented the law and the prophets. The Old Testament is present to acknowledge that here is the promised Messiah, the Christ. In St. Luke’s gospel account of this story, he records that they were speaking about the exodus which Jesus is soon to undergo in Jerusalem. That is, his death and resurrection. Not only is the Old Testament a visible witness to what is going on, but the church is also involved in the mystery of Jesus praying on this mountain. For there the church is present in the 3 apostles, and Peter recognizes the meaning of it all.

Today, as we look forward to the season of Lent, the Transfiguration has a particular relevance. Firstly, Lent is a season that leads us ever onward over 40 days to the annual celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus - His exodus.

Indeed, the liturgy of Holy Saturday, that wonderful service on the Saturday night of Easter, is full of images of the exodus, the Red Sea, and even the fiery pillar which dominated the tabernacle in the wilderness.

Secondly, as we approach Lent we are reminded of the power of prayer. Jesus praying on the mountain has an extraordinary result, and this must surely inspire you and I to make Lent a season primarily of prayer. Not just asking and telling God things, things which he is already aware of, but more a season of the prayer of adoration and devotion to Him who is the Christ of God. And, of course, a season in which we listen to Jesus and reflect.

The voice from the cloud speaks to us too: This is my beloved Son. For the season of Lent listen to him.

So on to Lent: a season of listening; a season of worship; a season of prayer; a feast of the Tabernacle.