Transfiguration Sunday
February 14, 2010
Luke 9.28-43a
We began this Epiphany season with two major events in Jesus’ life: Way back on December 27th, we commemorated the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. The following Sunday, January 3, we commemorated the Wedding Feast at Cana. Now we end the Epiphany season on a glorious high note—the Transfiguration.
I realize that I have preached extensively about the Transfiguration. But you know, I love to do so. It is one of my favorite events in the life of Jesus. It is such an important event that we actually celebrate twice in our Church Year.
We celebrate today, the Last Sunday of Epiphany—the last Sunday before Lent begins. And we celebrate it on August 6. Personally, I truly appreciate that we celebrate it on this Sunday before Lent begins.
I’m happy that we go into the season of Lent with this vision fresh in our minds. Because truly the event of the Transfiguration is what will sustain us and hold us and nourish us through the next forty days.
This Transfiguration and the glory that we see revealed on the Mount was one of the defining events in the theology of Michael Ramsey, truly one of the greatest of the Archbishops of Canterbury. You have heard me talk often of Archbishop Ramsey. I quote him, it seems, whenever I can. He has been, by far, one of the greatest models of Christian life for me personally and he has been someone that I return to again and again whenever I hit a dead-end in my spiritual life or in my theological thinking. And I can always depend on Archbishop Ramsey to gently and graciously lead me out of whatever quandary I’m in.
Probably one of the most comprehensive of Archbishop Ramsey’s writings can be found in the aptly titled anthology of his writings, Glory Descending. This book brings together snippets of Ramsey’s writings and by doing so we see that single thread running right through his writing—the theme of glory. For Ramsey, the glory we witness on Mount Tabor is the glory that awaits us in God’s Presence. It is the glory we see whenever we encounter Jesus in our lives. On Mount Tabor, we have seen the veil temporarily lifted that separates this world from God’s world. And it is a glory that is almost too much Jesus’ followers to comprehend.
Ramsey also effectively brings together that first event we celebrated in this Epiphany season—the baptism in the River Jordan—with the one celebrate on the last Sunday of the Season.
“What the Baptism is to the public ministry of Jesus,” Ramsey once wrote, “the Transfiguration is to the Passion. In both events the Spirit descends. At Jordan the Spirit comes to Him for the fulfillment of His work as prophet, on the mount the Spirit (symbolized by the cloud) comes to Him for his mission as priest. There and then he is glorified, for the glory is his acceptance of the path of suffering…”
It is this glory that we glimpse today that sustains us. It strengthens us for what we are about to participate in our following of Jesus. Because following Jesus always involves this glory that we encounter on the mount. Following Jesus means recognizing in him the role of prophet (as we did at the River Jordan) and Priest (as we do on the Mount). But following Jesus also means following him down off the mountain and onto the path that lead to the hill of Golgotha. It means following Jesus from the glory of the mount all the way to the defeat of the cross. And, of course, beyond the cross as well.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. For now, we are here. For now, we are encountering the glory of this moment. For now we coming down off the mountain with Jesus and his privileged three followers. And we are struggling to make sense of this event. We are struggling to make sense of this moment of glory.
What do we do when we encounter glory? How do we process it? How do we make sense of glory? Ramsey writes:
“To see the world aright as the substance through which glory can shine, there has to be a degree of detachment from it; love without possessiveness. Peter on the mount of transfiguration wanted to hold on to the vision. He had to learn to let go.”
And that is what we take away from our encounter with the vision on the mount of the transfiguration. It would be nice to stay here, basking the glory of this event. It would be nice to stay put and not come down off the mountain. Because once we come off the mountain, we must face some unpleasant things.
For the followers of Jesus, they must endure their own betrayal of Jesus, they must endure the fact that their betrayal contributes to Jesus’ torture and murder. In our lives, we must come down from the mountain and face our own issues. We must come down and face whatever issues we are wrestling with our lives—issues that seem in many ways to detract from the glory that we have just witnessed. And as we come down and face those things, it is amazing how quickly the vision vanishes from our minds.
In that one moment, when all seemed clear, when all seemed to have come together, we find in the next instant that everything is topsy-turvy again. And that’s this crazy thing we call life.
It often works out this way. We find that we can’t cling to these glorious, wonderful events that happen. But what we can do is carry them deep in our hearts. And if we do, we find that somewhere down that road away from the mount, it will still be there, borne deep within us. Somewhere, when need it the most, that comforting presence we encountered on the mountain will well within us and help sustain us when we need sustaining. Of course, the stickler about this is that it is not something WE can control. We can’t make it happen. We can’t conjure that glorious experience whenever we want it. It happens on its own. It happens when it is needed the most. And when it does, it truly does sustain.
In these next forty days, we will need to be sustained by the glory we encounter today. In this upcoming season, we will be encountering a somewhat more dour side of spirituality. On Wednesday, we will have ashes smeared on our foreheads as a reminder that we will all die one day. We, in this upcoming Lenten season, will face our limitations. We will remember and repent of the wrongdoings we have done in this life—to God, to others and to ourselves. And we will fast. Some of us will fast from certain physical foods or drink. Some of us will abstain from certain practices. Some of us will struggle to use this upcoming season to break certain dependences we’ve had on things and people. And in this season, we will hear in our scripture readings and participate in our liturgy the continuing journey away from the mountain toward the cross of Golgotha. And in those moments, we will need to find an inner sustenance.
In those moments, we truly see how far we have journeyed away from the mount of transfiguration. We might even struggle to remember what it was like. But, then, on Easter morning—there again, that glory will be revealed to us once again and it will all fall into place once more.
So, let us begin our Lenten season with our faces still aglow with this encounter with the transfigured Jesus. Let us go knowing that no matter what will happen—betrayal, physical and emotional pain, death—we know that what ultimately wins out is the glorious light of Jesus’ presence in our life. Let us go from here carrying that glory within us, without detachment. Let us go from here transfigured with Jesus—changed by this encounter with glory so that we can reflect and spread this glory even in the midst of whatever may come to us in the days that are to come.
February 14, 2010
Luke 9.28-43a
We began this Epiphany season with two major events in Jesus’ life: Way back on December 27th, we commemorated the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. The following Sunday, January 3, we commemorated the Wedding Feast at Cana. Now we end the Epiphany season on a glorious high note—the Transfiguration.
I realize that I have preached extensively about the Transfiguration. But you know, I love to do so. It is one of my favorite events in the life of Jesus. It is such an important event that we actually celebrate twice in our Church Year.
We celebrate today, the Last Sunday of Epiphany—the last Sunday before Lent begins. And we celebrate it on August 6. Personally, I truly appreciate that we celebrate it on this Sunday before Lent begins.
I’m happy that we go into the season of Lent with this vision fresh in our minds. Because truly the event of the Transfiguration is what will sustain us and hold us and nourish us through the next forty days.
This Transfiguration and the glory that we see revealed on the Mount was one of the defining events in the theology of Michael Ramsey, truly one of the greatest of the Archbishops of Canterbury. You have heard me talk often of Archbishop Ramsey. I quote him, it seems, whenever I can. He has been, by far, one of the greatest models of Christian life for me personally and he has been someone that I return to again and again whenever I hit a dead-end in my spiritual life or in my theological thinking. And I can always depend on Archbishop Ramsey to gently and graciously lead me out of whatever quandary I’m in.
Probably one of the most comprehensive of Archbishop Ramsey’s writings can be found in the aptly titled anthology of his writings, Glory Descending. This book brings together snippets of Ramsey’s writings and by doing so we see that single thread running right through his writing—the theme of glory. For Ramsey, the glory we witness on Mount Tabor is the glory that awaits us in God’s Presence. It is the glory we see whenever we encounter Jesus in our lives. On Mount Tabor, we have seen the veil temporarily lifted that separates this world from God’s world. And it is a glory that is almost too much Jesus’ followers to comprehend.
Ramsey also effectively brings together that first event we celebrated in this Epiphany season—the baptism in the River Jordan—with the one celebrate on the last Sunday of the Season.
“What the Baptism is to the public ministry of Jesus,” Ramsey once wrote, “the Transfiguration is to the Passion. In both events the Spirit descends. At Jordan the Spirit comes to Him for the fulfillment of His work as prophet, on the mount the Spirit (symbolized by the cloud) comes to Him for his mission as priest. There and then he is glorified, for the glory is his acceptance of the path of suffering…”
It is this glory that we glimpse today that sustains us. It strengthens us for what we are about to participate in our following of Jesus. Because following Jesus always involves this glory that we encounter on the mount. Following Jesus means recognizing in him the role of prophet (as we did at the River Jordan) and Priest (as we do on the Mount). But following Jesus also means following him down off the mountain and onto the path that lead to the hill of Golgotha. It means following Jesus from the glory of the mount all the way to the defeat of the cross. And, of course, beyond the cross as well.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. For now, we are here. For now, we are encountering the glory of this moment. For now we coming down off the mountain with Jesus and his privileged three followers. And we are struggling to make sense of this event. We are struggling to make sense of this moment of glory.
What do we do when we encounter glory? How do we process it? How do we make sense of glory? Ramsey writes:
“To see the world aright as the substance through which glory can shine, there has to be a degree of detachment from it; love without possessiveness. Peter on the mount of transfiguration wanted to hold on to the vision. He had to learn to let go.”
And that is what we take away from our encounter with the vision on the mount of the transfiguration. It would be nice to stay here, basking the glory of this event. It would be nice to stay put and not come down off the mountain. Because once we come off the mountain, we must face some unpleasant things.
For the followers of Jesus, they must endure their own betrayal of Jesus, they must endure the fact that their betrayal contributes to Jesus’ torture and murder. In our lives, we must come down from the mountain and face our own issues. We must come down and face whatever issues we are wrestling with our lives—issues that seem in many ways to detract from the glory that we have just witnessed. And as we come down and face those things, it is amazing how quickly the vision vanishes from our minds.
In that one moment, when all seemed clear, when all seemed to have come together, we find in the next instant that everything is topsy-turvy again. And that’s this crazy thing we call life.
It often works out this way. We find that we can’t cling to these glorious, wonderful events that happen. But what we can do is carry them deep in our hearts. And if we do, we find that somewhere down that road away from the mount, it will still be there, borne deep within us. Somewhere, when need it the most, that comforting presence we encountered on the mountain will well within us and help sustain us when we need sustaining. Of course, the stickler about this is that it is not something WE can control. We can’t make it happen. We can’t conjure that glorious experience whenever we want it. It happens on its own. It happens when it is needed the most. And when it does, it truly does sustain.
In these next forty days, we will need to be sustained by the glory we encounter today. In this upcoming season, we will be encountering a somewhat more dour side of spirituality. On Wednesday, we will have ashes smeared on our foreheads as a reminder that we will all die one day. We, in this upcoming Lenten season, will face our limitations. We will remember and repent of the wrongdoings we have done in this life—to God, to others and to ourselves. And we will fast. Some of us will fast from certain physical foods or drink. Some of us will abstain from certain practices. Some of us will struggle to use this upcoming season to break certain dependences we’ve had on things and people. And in this season, we will hear in our scripture readings and participate in our liturgy the continuing journey away from the mountain toward the cross of Golgotha. And in those moments, we will need to find an inner sustenance.
In those moments, we truly see how far we have journeyed away from the mount of transfiguration. We might even struggle to remember what it was like. But, then, on Easter morning—there again, that glory will be revealed to us once again and it will all fall into place once more.
So, let us begin our Lenten season with our faces still aglow with this encounter with the transfigured Jesus. Let us go knowing that no matter what will happen—betrayal, physical and emotional pain, death—we know that what ultimately wins out is the glorious light of Jesus’ presence in our life. Let us go from here carrying that glory within us, without detachment. Let us go from here transfigured with Jesus—changed by this encounter with glory so that we can reflect and spread this glory even in the midst of whatever may come to us in the days that are to come.
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