In Luke’s Gospel, just after Jesus calls the disciples to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow him, Jesus leads three of his disciples up a high mountain to see him transfigured. This little exercise was not merely so that Jesus could somehow show off before his disciples. The disciples’ presence is crucial, especially after being told what it means to follow him. Jesus wants to give them a taste of what is coming for them as they continue to follow him. A foretaste of Jesus’ coming glory on that mountain is just as much for the disciples as it is for Jesus. The cross of which Jesus just told them is not the end for Jesus or for the disciples. The cross is the necessary path to glory, but the cross is not the end of the story.
In his fear, Peter doesn’t seem to remember what Jesus told them about eight days before concerning the cross. He wants to stay there on top of the mountain. This can’t be done. Glory is coming, but it will not be a cross-less glory. Jesus will lead the way through the death of the cross to glorious transfiguration in resurrection. All those who follow him will follow the same path in one way or another.
This journey is a series of deaths and resurrections–ripping apart and reuniting into new creation–in which we are maturing. We are moving from glory to glory through death and resurrection. This is revealed to us in Jesus’ own Transfiguration. Jesus began as a child growing in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man. (Lk 2.52) At thirty years of age, he is “transfigured” in baptism by being anointed as God’s Son, the promised King. (Lk 3.23ff) Just before he sets his face like a flint toward Jerusalem (Lk 9.51), Jesus is transfigured again, given more responsibility and the power to handle it. All of these transfigurations, these movements from glory to glory, will culminate in his death, resurrection, and enthronement at the Father’s right hand.
The call to follow Jesus is a call to this type of life of maturation. In following Jesus we move from glory to glory until one day we move into our final glorification in resurrected bodies. Jesus’ call to follow him is a call to grow up. The purpose of that growing up is so that we might grow into our office as rulers in his creation. We grow up this way by doing what Jesus did: being faithful with whatever the Father puts in our hands.
When God puts responsibility into your hand, he has given you stewardship over his creation. Everyone has been given a piece of God’s creation to manage. Each person has a body created by God, and God expects you to manage your own body faithfully. You are to keep yourself from impurity and pursue that which is righteousness. You are to avoid illicit physical encounters and engage fully in the joys of the licit. Each of us, therefore, has a bit of creation over which we are stewards.
As we grow older, our stewardship grows as well. Not only do we continue to manage our own bodies, but we also have other possessions, vocational responsibilities, and relationships to manage. As Jesus continues to give you more, he expects that you will look to him and all that he has provided for you for strength, and then manage those responsibilities. He is calling you to grow up.
And growing up is hard to do. We don’t like it. Sure, we like what we see on top of the mountain–the resultant glory of faithfulness–but we don’t like dealing with all the menial details of life in which we are called to be faithful on the path to get there. We might have a tendency to gripe and complain about what we have to do; the children are always a mess, and it is nothing but work night and day; the job is a drudgery; my life is nothing but a mundane series of repetitive and seemingly meaningless events. These are gripes and complaints of the immature person who doesn’t want to be faithfully content with what Jesus has given. We think that following Jesus is always supposed to be spectacular and fun. Not so. There is joy, but it is joy that is set before us that is so worth it that we will endure the cross and despise the shame (cf. Heb 12.1-2). That’s one truth that the Transfiguration teaches us, and it gives us encouragement to persevere.
We have been given rule in Jesus’ kingdom–heaven and earth–and we will be given more rule as we continue in faithfulness with all that he puts in our hands.
