Now about eight days after these sayings
Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain
to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and
his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and
Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his
departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and
his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed
awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as
they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be
here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came
and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then
from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to
him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept
silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
Transfiguration is the last Sunday in the season of
Epiphany, and occurs before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Lent is a
40-day journey into contemplation, a reckoning with who we are and to whom we
belong. Lent ends with a death, and with new life on the other side of that
death. But it can be terrifying. I think that we are given this story of
Transfiguration as a foretaste of the feast to come, to provide us with
encouragement on the journey of Lent. That Christ is God-with-us and God-among-us,
and is dazzling with the light of heaven.
Yet, this glimpse of the face of God is terrifying.
I met with a hospice patient last week who stated that she
is excited to meet God and yet she is terrified. This about sums up my feelings
about meeting God too. What might be revealed about God? What might be revealed about me to God? The
transfiguration scene is one in which Peter, John and James are with Jesus on a
mountaintop. In a scene of chaos and
confusion, a cloud overshadows them and a booming voice comes from the cloud
says, “This is my son, my chosen; listen to him.”
What sticks with me about this text is that the voice comes
FROM WITHIN the cloud. They are not
alone. They have never been alone. Even
as we stare down a journey of which we cannot see the ending, the season of Lent,
but also a metaphor for the life that we live here on earth, we are not alone. After the voice has spoken, it is Jesus who
is there. The Son of God is present on
that mountaintop and present here with us even today.
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