Transfiguration
Dear Friends,
Every year, on the Last Sunday in Epiphany, we hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, when he takes three of his disciples to the top of Mount Tabor, where they see him “trans-figured” into a dazzling form flanked by the great prophets, Elijah and Moses. Just as soon as Peter cries out, “let’s build some tents and stay awhile” a voice from God booms from a cloud, “This is my Son the Beloved…listen to him! Then cloud leaves, the prophets disappear, and Jesus becomes just plain Jesus. And down the mountain, back to “real life” they all must go.
And yet…after that experience, that mountaintop experience, I imagine that Jesus never really was “just plain Jesus” to his disciples again. Because for that moment, that one moment that Peter could to cling to forever, they saw Jesus, not from a human perspective, but from God’s perspective.
When we speak of having a mountaintop moment, we often mean any larger-than-life experience that reaches into our depths and radically changes our perspective. Whether by means of an organized event (a pilgrimage or spiritual retreat) or one of life’s ordinary sacraments (the birth of a baby, a close call with death), we suddenly see beyond our usual capacity, our hearts open, our defenses fall. Everything we think we already know and understand is “transfigured.” And like Peter, we stumble for words, for ways to respond. If we are wise, we allow the mystery of the memory to reside within, so that it continues to re-form our perspective and transform our lives.
More and more, I’m learning that transfiguring moments are found not only on mountaintops. Even and perhaps especially now during this time of pandemic when many of us are remaining close to home and perhaps more aware of nature and the simple blessings of domestic life, I’m reminded that awe abounds everywhere. In our Psalm for this Sunday, we hear, “The mighty one speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. In the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.” You only need to look out the window, savor that cup of tea, listen to the sound of your breath, rising and falling.
While it is true that sometimes we do need a journey up to the mountaintop to see things differently and understand our lives in a new way, we need to remember that transfiguration takes what is already there and simply reconfigures it. Seeing things as God sees them is about noticing the beauty that shines forth suddenly and unexpectedly in all circumstances, that calls us back to our ordinary lives, changed, and with a new perspective.
As we move toward Transfiguration Sunday and the holy Season of Lent, may we keep awake to the wonders in our midst, let ourselves be transformed by them, and follow the path they open to us.
In Christ,
Amelie+
