On His Father's Side

I preached this sermon on Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent. Why did Jesus allow the disciples to see him transfigured on the mountain? My sermon considers a possible answer to that question. You may find it useful, too.

“So, what’s his backstock?” I heard that question lots when I was growing up. Whenever I would mention the name of a new friend I’d made at school, my father would ask it. “So, what’s his backstock?” It’s a question related to “Where is he from?” But “Where is he from?” is mostly about location – he’s from Covington, or Troy, or Philadelphia – while “What’s his backstock?” is about family. What my father was really asking is, “Who is his father? Who is his mother? Who were his grandparents? And his extended family – who are they?”

Sometimes the answer brought a nod of approval. His family members were good, hard-working folks who sent their children to school faithfully and made something of themselves. Other times, my dad shook his head in disapproval. Oh, that was the family who had a lot of money, but never paid their bills. That family never lent a helping hand to others who were in need. That family was just out for what they could get. I never liked Dad to judge my friends by their family history, but he had a point – we are formed by our backstock.

I heard a song on the radio last week that asked the same question about Jesus. Those of you who listen to Bluegrass gospel may know it already, but I had never heard it before. It imagines the Pharisees asking the 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple about his family history. “What’s your backstock?” they want to know; and Jesus’ answers are revealing.

“What’s your name, boy?” they ask. “On my mother’s side,” Jesus answers, “my name is Jesus. But on my father’s side, they call me Emmanuel.”

“Where are you from?” they ask. “On my mother’s side, I’m from Bethlehem. But on my father’s side, I’m from the New Jerusalem.”

Finally, they ask, “How old are you?” The answer? “On my mother’s side, I’m 12 years old. But on my father’s side, I’ve always been here.”

It makes you think, doesn’t it? On his mother’s side, Jesus was a man just like all other men. He got hungry and tired, he got sore feet and a sunburn, and he put on a few pounds when he ate too much of Martha’s cooking. Maybe he even had allergies when the pollen kicked up in the springtime! But on his father’s side, Jesus was something very different – a part of God himself. Although he was born in Bethlehem, he had always existed. He helped to create the universe, and he sustains it by his grace. All the universe and all the time that ever existed can’t contain him!

Now, that’s very difficult for Christians to understand, let alone to live with. Although we believe that Jesus was fully human and fully divine, we tend to be lots more comfortable with one side of Jesus than with the other. My guess is that most of us are more comfortable with his mother’s side. We focus on the ways that Jesus is just like us. We appreciate the fact that he understands all of our joys and all of our hurts. We are reassured that he offers us friendship in all circumstances. But we can’t ignore his father’s side! Jesus isn’t just a warm, fuzzy guy who is always ready to sit down with us and share a cold beer while we’re watching the ball game. Jesus is the incarnation of the God who made us – the God who expects us to live with integrity and honesty and love for one other. It’s tough to keep both sides of Jesus in balance as we both love him and worship him.

It was tough for the disciples, too. They had to learn a lot about Jesus in only a couple of years! And they began by learning about Jesus from his mother’s side. They learned that Jesus was full of wisdom. They heard him interpret Old Testament teachings very differently than the Jewish teachers did, and they watched him go toe-to-toe with those teachers over fine points of the Law. They learned about the Kingdom from Jesus in ways that they could understand. They remembered Jesus’ parables that pictured the Kingdom of God as a mustard plant, as yeast in the middle of a batch of dough, and as a priceless pearl. And they saw Jesus provide for the needs of all kinds of people. They watched him drive out demons, heal a paralyzed man, and feed a huge crowd with five loaves and two fishes. But they hadn’t yet understood that Jesus was divine. So when Peter confessed that he believed Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus knew that it was time for his disciples to see his father’s side. They saw that side on a mountain, during the event that we call the Transfiguration.

Matthew tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him up to the top of a high mountain. While they were up there, Jesus was transfigured in front of their eyes. His clothing became radiant – as white as snow when the sun shines on it – and his face shone with heavenly glory. No less than Moses and Elijah appeared to talk with him. The disciples were overwhelmed with the splendor! If they had any lingering questions about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, surely those questions disappeared in the glory of Jesus’ presence – the glory that could only come from God. Peter blurted out an offer to build three shelters – one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. Was Peter planning to stay on that mountain permanently to offer them the reverence that they deserved? We don’t know for sure. What we do know is that the words had no sooner left Peter’s mouth than a cloud of divine glory surrounded the disciples, and they heard God’s own voice proclaiming Jesus to be his own beloved son. There was no more doubt about who Jesus was on his father’s side.

And then – perhaps surprisingly – Jesus led them back down the mountain. Jesus may have been divine on his father’s side, but his place was among all the mortal human beings who are like his mother. Jesus had one more thing he needed to teach his disciples, now that they knew who he really was. On his mother’s side, his life would end on a cross on a lonely hill, executed by the power of Rome and surrounded by criminals. But on his father’s side – on his father’s side, Jesus would be raised in glory – raised from the grave after three days, and then raised to a throne in heaven to reign over all creation until the end of time. That’s what the disciples had to learn about this Messiah who was both human and divine.

And that’s what we have to keep in mind as the season of Lent begins. The Jesus whose face is turned towards Jerusalem – the one who is headed towards his cross – is the same one who will break the bonds on death on Easter morning. The cross will not be the end. Evil will not be victorious. Death has no claim on any of us if we live in Jesus! So you see, it’s really not important whether we would rather think about the human Jesus, from his mother’s side, or the divine Jesus, from his father’s side. What’s important is that, as his path leads through the cross on Good Friday to the empty tomb on Easter morning, Jesus is on our side!