Passing the Mantle - Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday

Passing the Mantle
Transfiguration B
February 14, 2021
Grace, Waseca, MN
Mark 9.2-9; 2 Kings 2.1-14

It’s been a year since the pandemic drastically altered our lives, giving birth to new vocabulary such as “Zoom” and “social distancing.” With the advent of vaccinations, many are wondering what life will be like on the other side, what the “new normal” will look like. That is particularly true in the church because deep down, we know we can never go back to the way things were. Cindy and I have been watching some TV shows that mess with time travel and characters who go back in time to change events. All of them find out that it never works the way they want, no matter how benevolent the changes. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher who lived 500 years before Jesus, said “Life is flux.” And if we didn’t get his meaning he added, “the only constant in life is change.”

Change, transitions, and not going back are all present in our Gospel and First Reading texts for today. We almost get whiplash zooming to Mark chapter 9 from chapter 1, and in doing so we miss the first of three so-called “passion predictions,” where Jesus foretells his death and resurrection. Yet Mark 9 serves as an important segue from Epiphany to Lent, as we hear at both the beginning of Epiphany and now the Transfiguration God’s heavenly declaration that Jesus is the Beloved Son. It is a pivotal point much like the 2 Kings text where the primary prophetic responsibility is passed from Elijah to Elisha as Elijah is spectacularly taken up into heaven via a fiery chariot.

If you’ve ever wondered where the term “passing the mantle” came from, it’s from the Bible, here in 2 Kings 2. A mantle is a cloak or cape, an outer garment that comes to signify authority or responsibility. Here the mantle is also imbued with power to show that the authority and responsibility passed from Elijah to Elisha is valid. A similar, but less obvious, dynamic is present in the Transfiguration story. The arrival of Moses and Elijah with Jesus signifies the transition from the Law and Prophets to Jesus, that something new is happening. Now, we know the Law and Prophets will not be abolished by Jesus, but will now be viewed through the lens of Love.

There’s a sense of inevitability in the stories today, that what is going to happen can’t be stopped. Elisha, even knowing that Elijah will leave him, nonetheless cries out, “Father, father!” as Elijah is taken up into heaven. And Peter, disturbed deep down at Jesus’ talk about death and resurrection, wants to hold on to him. But Elijah is gone and the disciples must go with Jesus down this mountain, leaving behind the Jesus they want, the glorified Jesus, onto Jerusalem and another mountain, where they will get the Jesus they need, whose glory is the cross.

Times of transition, of “passing the mantle,” are by definition uncertain and therefore scary. Elisha will need that double dose of spirit for the dangerous work ahead and Jesus (not to mention the disciples) will need every bit of the affirmations that God the Father gives to his Son as the Beloved. I know many of you are concerned about the future of Grace, heightened by the pandemic. You wonder about the “passing of the mantle” to a new senior pastor. You wonder about getting people back to church. You wonder about your financial stability and how you can minister to families in a changing world. You even wonder about getting along with one another.

These are not small concerns. But I’m convinced that the congregation that survived two splits 90 years apart over controversial topics (speaking English in worship & LGBTQ+), a flood, two instances of pastoral misconduct, and other significant woundedness will find its way through these issues, getting the pastor you need to help you. I say this partly because of who you are, but mostly because of whose you are: God’s beloved. You have a future and though I don’t pretend to know what that looks like, I do know that it won’t mean going back but rather going forward, in Christ, as you figure it out together. Amen.

To view a video of the sermon, click here.