Category Archives: Transfiguration

Last Epiphany A/Transfiguration

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, March 2, 2014

Moses receives the Law and the Commandment.

Moses receives the Law and the Commandment.

First Reading: Exodus 24:12-18
Transfiguration Sunday marks the liturgical midway point between Christmas and Easter. Now we turn from the incarnate light of Epiphany toward the penitential pathway of Lent that leads toward the crucifixion and then the joy of the resurrection. Today’s readings show us the awe and fear of humans encountering the divine. Exodus describes Moses going up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from a fearsome God cloaked in clouds and fire. This scene is a surprising contrast with the verses that came just before, in which Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the people apparently dine and drink with a more accessible divine being. In our quest for God, humans have always wrestled with the contrasting ideas of an intimate God who knows our deepest thoughts, and a transcendent God who surpasses human understanding.

Psalm: Psalm 99
This hymn of praise envisions God as a mighty king, at whose appearance the people tremble and the earth shakes. Yet, recalling Moses and Aaron receiving God’s law and teaching, it also shows us God as forgiving and kind, a doer of justice, equity and righteousness. Again the people look for God and find both distant might and present love.

Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Here’s something to know about the New Testament’s Letters of Peter: The Apostle Peter didn’t write either of them, and this one was probably written 100 years or more after the Crucifixion, long after Peter’s death. But that doesn’t matter! This letter may have sought to bridge quarreling factions in the young church as believers wondered why Jesus hadn’t yet kept his promise to return. Recalling Peter’s presence at the Transfiguration, it reminds us to trust in God.

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
Using images that recall Moses on the mountain and in words that precisely echo God’s approving words at Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan, this account shows us Jesus with Old Testament prophets, glowing in dazzling light, revealed as both human and divine. It’s no wonder that Peter, James and John were afraid … until Jesus’ loving touch reassured them. Jesus calls us, too, to follow his way … and not to be afraid.

Last Epiphany C/Transfiguration

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.

The Transfiguration of Jesus

The Transfiguration

First Reading: Exodus 34:29-35
Radiant light shines through today’s readings, and Moses appears in all of them. But look deeper, and we find a consistent emphasis on God’s covenant, which since Moses’ time has called the people to love God and follow God’s commandments. But here’s a twist: This was their second chance! The first time Moses brought the commandments down the mountain, his face shining with the reflected glory of God, he found them worshipping a golden calf, and he smashed the tablets in anger. Then the people repented, God forgave them and gave them another chance. God gives us another chance every time we sin and turn back, again and again and again.

Psalm 99
This mighty ancient hymn envisions God as a powerful king receiving loud chants of praise. In the temple in Jerusalem, two cherubim – scary angels depicted as lions with wings and human faces – were placed atop the Ark of the Covenant to serve as God’s throne. The Psalmist understands God as no petty tyrant but a mighty ruler who demands justice. Throughout the bible, the Israelites got in trouble every time they forgot their covenant call to love their neighbors and care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
In this letter to his congregation at Corinth, Paul recalls the reading about Moses with his shining face, but he takes the image of the veil that Moses used to conceal his Godly glow, and turns it around to express the idea that Jesus “unveils” God’s covenant in all its shining glory. God’s light can transform us. It inspires us to take the message of the Gospels to the world.

Gospel: Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a
As we come to the Gospel through the prior readings, suddenly we see it anew. Peter, John and James, mouths dropping in awe, see Jesus with Moses and Elijah, but now Jesus, not Moses, is the shining one, his face and clothing aglow as he is transfigured in God’s light and voice. God’s voice declares Jesus his son and chosen One. “Listen to him,” booms the divine voice, a command that rings down the ages to all generations. How do we listen for Jesus’ voice? What do we hear?