Ask any three people to describe an elephant…or a marching band…or a baseball game. Most will emphasize something that evaded the others, causing us to wonder if they had observed the same object or event. My own household encounters the same phenomena: the Guy says that something is red, or blue; the Woman says that it’s lavender or cerise or magenta… A vehicle in our neighborhood has survived many fender-benders through transplants–a new door, a new rocker panel, a new trunk. Each of these seems to fit on the vehicle, yet all are different colors! If the car were to be used in a felony, witnesses would contradict each other for days!
Readings for Transfiguration Sunday point to an intimacy with the Divine which is too encompassing for verbal description. We begin with the story in Exodus (24:12-18) of when Moses was summoned up Sinai to receive the ten basic commandments for life within a holy community. Moses entered the cloud at the top, and was hidden from sight for a LONG time (“40 days & 40 nights”: twice what you can count on your fingers and toes). He never told all that he saw; but when he returned to the waiting Hebrews his face glowed and he was obviously changed. Where can we see glory?
What stories we can tell! We yearn to pass on these tales which have shaped our own lives to our grandchildren–but sometimes they become lost. Near the beginning of the Second Letter attributed to St. Peter we read, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.” (1:16-18) The Apostle knew what he’d seen and experienced, and how this had affected him. Is there some way, then, to affirm this with others? Where can we see glory?
The account of how Peter, James & John were overwhelmed by the intimacy of God’s Presence on the mountaintop is in all three synoptics. Matthew’s version (17:1-9) which we read today is especially concerned with links to Moses and the Sinai experience. The Church has long told this to connect Jesus to the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). Not only does the encounter solidify Jesus as “my Son, my Beloved”, but it begins to open the disciples’ eyes to see a holy light within and despite the chaos soon to come. Did they all see the same thing? Where can we see glory?
We can only imagine the post-encounter conversations: “What did YOU see? What do you think God meant?” That’s why the Church is necessary, as a common forum for us to share and interpret our visions. The details are often debatable, and the exactness can be likewise hazy. But the centrality remains: that God’s remarkable and bright Presence overflows then and now on a hilltop near you! O Lord, give us eyes to see.
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My thoughts about scripture readings assigned for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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