Chinese Parable from Matt. 17

One day, Dr. Sun Yat Sen ,  Mao Tse Tung, Chiang Kai Shek-Shek, , and Jesus went on a journey together to visit Tai Shan mountain in Shandong Province. As they neared the top, suddenly Jesus’ face began to glow with heavenly joy, and Mao, Chiang, and Sun saw Lao Tsu and Confucius walking towards them, while Jesus engaged them in conversation as though meeting long lost friends. Dr. Sun cautiously interrupted the conversation and suggested, “Jesus, please allow us to build three pagodas here on the mountain for you, Lao Tsu, and Confucius in memory of this momentous occasion.  He didn’t even finish the sentence before the shadow of a cloud blocked the sun and a voice was heard from the cloud saying, “This is my Son who truly pleases me. You listen to him.”

Dr. Sun, Mao, and Chiang were terrified and dropped with their faces to the ground, but Jesus lifted them up and said, “Look up! Don’t be afraid.” When they opened their eyes they saw only Jesus.

            In the story today the disciples ascend the mountain with Jesus where Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah uniquely held the place of prominence in Hebrew culture that Lao Tsu and Confucius have held in Chinese. In Chinese history Moses would have been alive during the Shang dynasty almost a millennium before Confucius, and Elijah lived about 200 years before Confucius.

            The same story could be retold using characters from any nation’s history in order to help students understand what the transfiguration meant for the disciples. In the United States Jesus might meet Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin on the mountain to show his unique superiority over what they represent. Students from other parts of the world in the class might also enjoy coming up with their own national stories to parallel the one here. Who in their recent history might represent the three disciples? Who in ancient history might represent Moses and Elijah as the pillars of traditional culture and national identity? What does the story in Matthew tell us about Jesus’ significance in relationship to each of our own cultural memories and experience if he is truly the Son of Heaven (the ancient Chinese term for the emperor) chosen by God to govern the world?