Meditation on the Transfiguration

May the meditations of our hearts lead us into your presence, O God.  And may the Holy Spirit lead us towards greater understanding of your image reflected in us.  Amen.

Please make sure that the copies of this icon are spread evenly throughout all of you.  Pass them around so that everyone spends some time holding one and looking closely at it.  Feel free to move around during this meditation and come up to look at the original.  The Gospel will be read as part of this meditation.

(Icon of the transfiguration by Elizabeth Huestis, 2009)

As we prepare to start our journey through lent, we are called to examine ourselves.  We are called not to give up something that is part of us, but to discover and bring out that which is truly us.

Let us pray.

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

Jesus often went to mountains or to the wilderness to pray.  Mountains were seen as places where you came closer to God.  The wilderness was a place of self discovery.  Both were places to go to be away from all distractions.

And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

Jesus was not changed.  A greater truth about him was revealed to Peter, John, and James.  This is called the Transfiguration of Jesus.  Transfiguration is not a change in fact.  It is a change in perspective.  A change in how we perceive the world.  Transfiguration shows us a deeper truth about now.  This is different from revelation which shows us a truth which may be partly true now but is rooted in the future.  Such as the revelation of the Kingdom of God.

Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.  They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

In Jesus Christ the prophesies of Moses and Elijah are fulfilled.  The prophets deliver those prophesies directly to Jesus.

Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

We resist seeing transfiguration.  We are much more comfortable seeing the world as we know it to be especially when we are confronted with a reality which is different from our understanding.

Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"-- not knowing what he said.

Even when we keep our eyes open, we are often unable to understand what is shown to us by God.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.

We are not capable of understanding the full image of God.  Every time God interacts directly with people in the Bible God is either obscured, partially hidden, or represented by something else such as a pillar of fire.  The face, or image of God, is not within the capabilities of our perception.  Transfiguration allows us to stretch the abilities of our perception and to grow in understanding.

Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

God speaks to us directly.

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.

Witnessing a transfiguration is a very personal event.  It is a personal glimpse of God’s message to us.  It is a command to share not the event itself, but the truth which it revealed.