Transfiguration This Sunday’s gospel reading has Mark’s version of what we call the Transfiguration, the mountain-top experience Jesus and his inner circle had when they saw Jesus’ appearance ‘transfigured’ - his face shone like the sun and his clothes were so brilliant white that the Gospel writers remark on it - ‘whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them’. This is strange enough, but there is more. Moses, the great figure from the Jews’ history, and Elijah, the great prophet of the Kingdom Period, are seen talking to Jesus. They represent the Law and Prophesy. Jesus refers to himself as a prophet; his cousin John was a famous prophet; prophesy was an important feature of Jewish history and self-understanding - the prophets gave the people the words of God. The prophets helped the people and the kings to understand the will of God. Moses is the one who led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt through the wilderness for forty years to the Promised Land. He didn’t enter the Promised Land; Joshua took over that task. Moses, like Elijah, was taken up to heaven. Neither had a grave. Moses, of course, was the great Law-giver. The first five books of the Bible are attributed to him. Jesus was often referred to as a second Moses, just as Francis of Assisi was called a second Christ. The atmosphere on the mountain-top is full of awe. Jesus is speaking with Moses and Elijah. Peter, never really at a loss for words, suggests making booths for the three of them. He doesn’t have a better suggestion! On top of all this the mountain is covered by a cloud and they hear a voice: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’ Suddenly it is all over, and they are alone with Jesus, who binds them to silence over what they have seen and heard. What does it say to us? This passage is full of mystery. It seems that the curtain that divides us from the world of the spirit is pulled aside and we are allowed to look beyond this physical world. We see Jesus as he really is. He is transformed before our eyes. Not only do we see, but we also hear the voice of God, and it terrifies us. Who is this itinerant preacher we have been going around with? He has healed people and we have heard his teaching. This is of a quite different magnitude. We have to try and take this in. And just as suddenly it is over! Moses and Elijah have vanished. The curtain has been closed again. The voice has echoed away. Jesus is alone in his everyday clothes. What are we to make of this? We hear him telling us to keep this to ourselves - and we agree. What else are we to do? He is God’s Son, and God has ordered us to listen to him. Two thousand years on we have the same dilemma. How do we react to this event? I suggest we bow down in awe and wonder. My Lord and my God!
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AuthorCanon John Green Archives
May 2021
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