Transfiguration of Our Lord

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Churches which follow the Revised Common Lectionary always celebrate the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany commemorating the Transfiguration of Our Lord. This year the reading is from the Gospel of Luke 9:28-36.

Mount Hermon and the Upper Golan

The site of the Transfiguration is Mount Hermon, known in the ancient Near East as Har Tzafon, the mythical mountain of the gods, whose peak is 9,000 feet above sea level. Jesus and his disciples had fled the threat of Herod Antipas by traveling to Caesarea Philipi. It would make no sense for them to turn around and return to Galilee in less than a week. The traditional veneration of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor was a Byzantine decision. Six days after what is generally known as Peter’s Confession (Mark 8:27-9:1 and parallels) Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of the mountain, which climb itself must have been a spiritual experience. One can imagine the air becoming thinner, breaths getting shorter, as they ascended perhaps into a cloudy mist. Elijah, of course, did not die but was taken by God to heaven, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Moses’ death, “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there, in the land of Moab, at the command of the LORD. He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, near Beth-peor; and no one knows his burial place to this day” [Deut 34:5-6, JPS], led to the belief that God had also taken Moses to heaven. Hence the two great pillars of the Old Testament Law and Prophets are able to appear with Jesus on the mountain of mystery. For just a moment the curtain is pulled back and Jesus’ chosen three are able to peer beyond the mundane into the really Real, beyond the empirical to the Truth. But for now Jesus must descend the mountain, all the way to Jerusalem.

Mount Hermon is actually a small mountain chain, a third of which today is shared by Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. It is visible throughout your drive in the upper Golan. A good place to stop for lunch and pictures is in the Druze village of Mas’ada at Berkat Ram, a natural crater lake at Berkat Ram Kiosk: Oriental Food, tel. 04-6983362 (there is sufficient parking for buses). The specialty is a Druze homemade pita spread with lebane and zatar, but falafal and schnitzel are also available. Be sure to try the home cured olives, perhaps the best in Israel! The Druze in Israel are congregated in the upper Golan and on Mount Carmel. Their religion, an offshoot of Islam, originated in Egypt in the eleventh century, was influenced by Persian mysticism, focuses on the attainment of Wisdom, and includes reincarnation into the Druze community. They are a closed society of secret doctrines, and their sages can be distinguished by their black pantaloons and white turbans. They are also a kind and loving people ready to help the stranger and welcome guests with generosity. Their biblical patron is Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, whom they venerate at a tomb constructed below the Horns of Hattin just west of Tiberias. Head south on Highway 98 and stop at Kuneitra to observe the U.N. peacekeeping force on the Syrian border and for a good view of Mount Hermon. Looking to the east, the cluster of white buildings immediately before you is the U.N. compound in the “no man’s land” and beyond that is the Syrian village of Kuneitra. The Israeli surveillance behind you is able to read a license plate in Damascus.