Exodus 34:29-35 Psalm 99 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]
The second half of today’s gospel reading is optional in our lectionary. What we heard read from Luke is two stories – the story of the transfiguration in which Peter, James, and John witness Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah, and the second optional reading of the resumption of Christ’s ministry,
I was sorely tempted to end today’s reading without the story of Jesus curing the boy with epilepsy, but that story challenged me and I knew I needed to wrestle with the text. I decided to include it because I thought if I struggled with what Jesus said, I felt sure others would as well. Surprising enough, the theologians I read did not address the tone of Jesus’ response upon hearing that the disciples had been unable to cure the child, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?”
In Mark’s telling of this, Jesus even challenges the faith of the father saying that all things are possible to those who believe, to which the father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” This is one of my favor verses because we all struggle at times with our faith and need help trusting God.
In both accounts, Jesus asks to have the child brought to him. In both accounts, Jesus has compassion and Jesus heals the young man. But it does hurt for someone say to us, “How much longer must I be with you,” or “put up with you” as it says in another translation. Reading in this passage that it was Jesus, our Lord who said this, my first thought was that it was a poor translation so I turned to the Greek only to find this to be an accurate translation of Luke – and Mark’s telling of the story as well. The commentaries were no help, because they only spoke of the story of this child’s curing as a return from the mountaintop experience to the real world – or they softened its harshness by saying that Jesus was alluding to his upcoming separation from his disciples at his own crucifixion.
I did not find any of this satisfying. Instead, I kept hearing the frustration of a man in need of a break. Then, it hit me. I struggle with this passage because it shows me the humanity of Jesus. We talk of the incarnation – God becoming flesh like us in the person of Christ, but then we see Jesus as Peter, James, and John did on the mountaintop with his face glowing and in the presence of the two greatest prophets in the history of Israel – Moses and Elijah. We see him as the one who brings life to the Law given to us by Moses and the teachings of the prophet Elijah. In Jewish tradition, we can even appreciate that it was understood that Moses and Elijah would be seen talking to one another at the end of time – therefore, Christ’s presence with them signified the coming of God’s Kingdom. This part of today’s reading is not difficult for us to comprehend as followers of Christ. We talk of the humanity of Jesus, but we see the divinity of Christ.
There may very well be theologians that have cited this passage in Luke and the corresponding passage in Mark as representing the humanity of Christ, but not in the books and publications I have at my disposal. What I do know is that this passage helps me to understand that Jesus was indeed like you and me. He got tired, he got frustrated, and as we know from another passage, he wept.
“How much longer must I endure?” is an emotional response – a distinctly human response that many, if not most people, feel after a mountaintop experience. I certainly found this to be the case after my freshman year in college. I spent the summer working on the staff of a mission program, spending night and day with others who demonstrated their concern for people by repairing homes for those who could not afford to do even the most basic home repair.
We were away from home and living in community – if only for one week at a time. As a member of the staff I got to know new people each week as youth groups came from all over the country to work. People came to give, but together we learned that in giving we receive ten-fold more than we give. The people we helped were, for the most part, satisfied with less than what most of us considered the bare necessities. They were thankful for what they had, where we wanted more.
Upon returned from this Appalachian Mountaintop experience, I found myself frustrated by people. People did not appreciate what they had and helping others took a back seat to everything else in their lives. I found myself to be among a perverse people and I was irritated. Now mind you, it didn’t take me long to become as self-absorbed as I judged others to be – but my immediate response was not unlike that of Jesus.
I feel I am giving myself airs to say that I responded as Jesus did – but upon my return to school I did. And that is the point. God cared enough to come to us in the flesh and walk among us as one of us! Jesus experienced temptation and was hurt, frustrated and even angry at times. When I pray and when I read about Jesus I tend to forget this – Jesus was human like me and like you. It is easy to forget this because although Jesus was frustrated with the people, he responded with compassion and determination whereas I quickly joined in with my fellow students and turned my focus back to myself. I yielded to the temptation to accept things as they were and give up trying to make a difference, Christ did not.
These two stories in Luke, the mountaintop experience followed by the “next day” in the valley, can serve as a reminder to us that our call to Christianity is not to stay in our house of worship, but to serve God in the community. Our tendency is to be a perverse and faithless generation, but we are called to see past the flaws of others and have compassion. We are called to persevere and not give up. We are called to trust that God’s kingdom is at hand and do our part by helping others.
Let us pray.
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
