Epiphany Last/Transfiguration
The Rev. Dena Cleaver-Bartholomew
In the Book of Exodus we are told of Moses encountering God in ways that are filled with dramatic otherness. First there is the burning bush which is not consumed, the sight that invites Moses to turn aside from his ordinary day of sheep herding to explore how such a thing could be. Once God has his attention, God speaks to Moses, who listens and responds. It is the beginning of an ongoing pattern. God acts in a way that is intended to draw attention, inviting people to turn aside from their ordinary days, listen, and respond. Not all turn aside as Moses did.
In
today’s reading from Exodus the entire gathering of the Hebrews has just
entered in to covenant relationship with God, who has given them the Law and
the commandments. They are at the foot
of
In today’s Gospel reading we hear echoes of Moses’ adventures with God’s transcendent otherness. Peter has just had a theological epiphany, a shining moment when he grasped who Jesus is. When Jesus asked the disciples who others said he was, they gave him a variety of answers. When Jesus asked who they thought he was, Peter had declared: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Six days later Peter, James, and John found themselves in an ordinary day, hiking up a mountain, only to encounter God in dramatic otherness. Jesus “was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” Suddenly Jesus was flanked by Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the Law and the Prophets, two of the greatest leaders ever to listen and respond to God in faith. As if this were not enough, the Shekinah, the bright cloud of God’s Presence, overshadows them, and God speaks from the midst of the cloud, saying “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” Then, just to be clear, Jesus stands alone.
When
Moses came down from the mountaintop he “did
not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” He was, quite literally, radiant. The Presence of God was reflected from Moses,
as a mirror reflects the light. He took
to wearing a veil around other people and removing it only in the presence of
God. Moses was not the only one affected
by his encounter with God, for Moses brought with him the news that the
Israelites were to build a tabernacle, a dwelling place, for God among the
people. It is from this point on that God seeks to dwell among God’s people in
various ways, and finds more or less hospitable tabernacles. From the tent of meeting, the temporary
tabernacle the Israelites built, to the various versions of the
So where is the dwelling place of God now that Jesus has been crucified, died, has risen and ascended into heaven? The answer is right here. Yes, here in the Eucharist, in the bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. But also right here in you and me. If we are Christians, we have been baptized into Jesus and we are now the dwelling place among God’s people. We are God’s tabernacles. We know it is true, like Peter knew that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. That doesn’t mean we always, or even frequently, see it. Like Moses on his ordinary work day, or the disciples on their ordinary walk up the mountain, we may miss the extraordinary otherness of God in our midst until we are given an opportunity to notice and respond. Thomas Merton tells of a day when he went to the mall and suddenly his perception of the people around him shifted:
It was as if I could see the secret beauty in their hearts…the core of
their reality…I couldn’t explain it. How
can you go up to people and tell them they’re walking around shining like the
sun? If only they could see themselves
as they truly are. If only we could see
each other that way all the time.
When has God tried to get your attention? It could be today, tomorrow, later this week. Our job is to turn aside, listen, and respond. The invitation could happen anywhere, at any time. The mall is about as ordinary as it gets, as is work or a walk. I haven’t had a burning bush, but I have had moments that have taken my breath away, moments when I knew it was God. One was shopping; one on a Girl Scout campout; another sitting on the piano bench in our living room. You never know. While such an experience is, by definition, a surprise, the fact that such things happen should not be. As Paul tells the Corinthians, we too are meant to be transformed: “And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”
Sarah McLachlan captures a sense of this anticipation of transfiguration in the midst of the ordinary in one of her songs:
It’s not that unusual when
everything is beautiful
It’s just another ordinary miracle
today…
Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own
The light of Christ is here, both around us and within us, waiting for a moment when the veil is lifted and our faces shine radiantly. In the meantime, in ordinary time, we can live knowing that the presence of God is real, that the light of Christ is here, and we can seek to be alert and receptive to the invitations of God both to see and show that truth to others.
Amen