Grace and peace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and move, and have our being. The Transfiguration.
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..”
“When they became fully awake, they saw his glory.”
The traditional interpretation of the transfiguration describes Jesus as the fulfillment of the law, the prophets, and the foreshadowing of the resurrection.
I do believe it’s of great importance to have scholarly examination on the significance of the transfiguration–concerning the law of Moses, the divine oneness of Jesus and God, his suffering and resurrection but how is it relevant for us today in the climate we live?
I have not heard voices in the clouds or seen radiant faces recently, but there is something happening that reveals God’s glory to me.
transfiguration of Jesus
This week, I have the joy of co-grand parenting my grandsons–Aiden, Greyson and Elijah with their Nana while their parents are on a trip.
Hmm how appropriate the young one is named Elijah. He will be my witness.
As I was downstairs working on this message of transfiguration, I could hear Nana calmly and lovingly coaxing the fun-loving Elijah to bed. It was precious.
Why? Because Nana represented and enforced the bedtime laws or prophetic cautions for tomorrow? No. Maybe those things happen, but something else was happening.
Nana was in her element with Elijah, her grandson–a new generation of her creating. I saw our daughter, Elijah’s mom, with her in spirit. Nana was in her glory, you might say.
I stopped, took off my reading glasses, closed my eyes and listened to Elijah tell excited stories. I could see three generations–and more–colliding in Nana’s glorious moment.
Am I making too much of this event by comparing it to the transfiguration of Jesus joined by Moses and Elijah? Am I minimizing the biblical account by humanizing the biblical characters with my event?
What would Jesus say? What would Moses and Elijah say? What would my mother or Nana’s mother and father say if they observed her alongside me? Doesn’t Hebrews say we are surrounded by a whole cloud of witnesses?
Nana was in her glory.
Glory of God
Sitting downstairs, staring weary eyed at the computer screen, I might have missed Nana and Elijah’s moment had I not stopped my hyper focus and become fully awake.
When we are fully awake, we see the glory of the mystery we call God revealed in our worlds. We see coming dangers and are alerted to our disastrous paths, which is the whole purpose of the law and the prophets.
I don’t know why Moses and Elijah were there with Jesus no more than I know why I got to be in this familial moment. I don’t know why Peter, John and James were there with Jesus either, but I’m getting a little better idea.
Just like Aiden, Greyson and Elijah, they will carry this with them. Generations of love will be glorified into their families.
As we show up for each other, we are forever witnesses to the future glory of those who come after.
The voice in the cloud said, “Listen to what Jesus tells you.” I would guess they had no trouble staying awake from then on. Like Peter, John and James, we must fight off our sleep.
To be fully awake is to overcome the force of spiritual sleep.
We can awaken to the truth we cannot be separated from God by man-made doctrines, imaginary borders or stone-hearted officials. Love prevails.
I believe all will be made right, but who will be witnesses to God’s glory right now? It will be those who see the mystery we call God–fully awake. Dare I say, fully “WOKE!”
What Jesus says
I wonder if Jesus would have been as troubled with the “woke culture” today as much as with the sleeping culture obsessed with being social morality cops for God. Preventing any movement of loving transformation or acceptance of others in the name of Jesus, could be called trans-disfiguration–humans changing the image of Jesus, to serve their own selfish ambitions.
Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Peter, John, and James wanted to make three separate shelters for them. Why did the scripture say they didn’t know what they were saying? They must have still been fighting sleep. They were just beginning their journey of transformation.
To be seen in glory is to witness the shared pleasure of divine loves presence through all generations at the very cellular level, from the inside out.
As poet Denise Levertov says:
“…Spirit streaming through every cell of flesh so that if mortal sight could bear to perceive it, it would be seen His mortal flesh was lit from within…”
The Cloud, the Spirit, is still speaking to us, calling us to do what Jesus says.
I pray today that every pastor and teacher of these passages will pause and be filled with the glory of the eternal presence of love that connects us. Maybe then we will turn from walls built to prevent the glory of God in each human being. Then, perhaps, we might see others as God sees them.
We must be transformed beyond our blind spots to see God’s radiance in one another.
The transfiguration mystery, though difficult to comprehend, is still embraced by Christians as true. Why can’t the same people embrace other people and experiences they can’t understand. For example, the LGBTQ+ experience, the immigrant experience, the indigenous communities experience, etc.?
Fully AWake
If a voice in the cloud spoke to us now, it would probably say the same thing it did to the disciples, “Do what he tells you to do!”
How is this glorified state of transfiguration achieved? My guess is it is an ongoing transformation of being fully awake to the God who is. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus forerunners in this mountain experience.
To do the will of His father is what it means for Jesus to be in his glory. That day they saw him as he was before his life was taken. He did not need to convince others who he was. They saw him as he was.
Maybe we need to ask ourselves: who are we?
Who is the authentic me when standing in the presence of God, fully awake? It is who God tells us we are. It is not holy perfection; it is a holy desire–a longing to be fully awake in God’s presence.
God’s glory is revealed when we act in our authentic loving self. God sees us as we are–full in his glory.
To be fully awake is to see the Glory of God revealed in what is most unfamiliar to us. No wonder Jesus was beaten and crucified as he identified with the least of these. Today it appears loving what is unfamiliar to our experience is a threat to “evangelical Christianity.” Perhaps, we should be less concerned with a woke culture, and more with a sleeping culture. How do we begin this transformation and transfiguration?
We wake up and do what Jesus told us to do.
Amen
Wednesday Respite is a 30-min contemplative service of scripture, prayer, music and a Spirited Touchpoint by Henry Rojas, spiritual director at Spirit in the Desert.
Touchpoint is a reflection on where God’s story touches our life story. It is a short homily based on a biblical story of people in the Old and New Testaments and their relationship with God. Our spiritual ancestors’ experience of God’s grace connects with our lives in the present and our relationship with the Divine. Previous Touchpoints are available as PDFs or on SoundCloud.
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