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Transfigured
in the Glory of God When Peter, John and James went up the mountain at night with Jesus to pray, nothing could have prepared them for what they were to witness. They saw Jesus’ face take on a strange radiance, and his clothes turned dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appeared beside him, all three figures wreathed in light. Peter said he and John and James could build tents to house the three, in effect, trying to contain the glory of this incredible vision from God. How often do we do the same thing? We attempt to wrap up mysteries we experience with reason, or reduce them into explainable events to make them manageable to our minds. This is a problem for the church today--how to hold high the compelling vision of Christ, while attempting to translate the radical justice of Jesus in a world that doesn’t tolerate such whimsy. Visions of transfiguation are lost on most of us, I’m afraid. When the cloud descended onto Peter, James and John, it wrapped them in the same momentous event with Jesus, Moses and Elijah. They all heard the voice of God say, “This is my son, the chosen one. Listen to him!” After God spoke, they saw Jesus, alone. This event, called the Transfiguration of Jesus, stands on its own as a pre-resurrection display of Jesus as the Son of God in glory. He inherits the legacy of Moses and Elijah. Much more than they, he is One who has saved all humankind, bringing us into intimate relationship with God. The cloud in which the disciples were assumed with Jesus, Moses and Elijah is the cloud which always accompanied the presence of God in the days of Moses. If you look closely at the text from Exodus, you’ll see that only Moses entered that cloud with Yahweh. The glory of God was too much for the Israelites to bear. Even the glowing skin of Moses’ face scared them off, so Moses took to wearing a veil, except when he went up to meet with Yahweh. Every time the cloud of God’s presence appeared in the Hebrew scriptures, its center held an envelope of brilliant light. That envelope of light was called, “the glory.” This cloud always had, literally, a shining silver lining. The glory of God’s presence encompassing all of us within the cloud is a symbol of God with the Church. In Jesus, God intended to remove all the barriers, all the distance between us and God. The glory of God is not just for a special few, but embraces all of us. Not only did the face of Jesus change, but Peter, John and James became metamorphic beings. (Transfiguration means metamorphosis in Greek-greatly transformed.) That’s what our baptism into Christ does for us. It morphs us into Christ-like beings, and brings us into the glory of God’s presence. It sets us on the path Jesus walked- to live for others, seeking justice and peace among all people.
This past week, with no lights in our neighborhood, when I’ve walked the dog at night and looked at the stars, they’ve been so much brighter and seemed closer than usual. And just last Friday, I saw a shooting star--I think it was the outer portion of the Perseid cloud which we’ll be hurtling through in the next two weeks. A shooting star makes me so aware of the mystery of life--it almost made me forget how hot I was without AC! It’s like that meteor struck out just for me. I often wonder who else saw it and if they felt that silent thrill at its brilliant silent display. In 275 a.d., St. Laurence was martyred in Rome, on August 10. Each year we observe the feast of St. Laurence on August 10 in our Church calendar. Laurence was an archdeacon in the church accused of hiding the Church’s treasures from the Roman officials who were persecuting his Christian friends. When ordered to produce the church’s treasures, Laurence did an interesting thing. He assembled all the sick, poor and destitute who had been fed and nourished by his parish. He led them before the officials and said, “These are the treasures of the church!” The officials of Roman government weren’t too pleased with his brazen, though honest, effrontery. They roasted Laurence alive on a griddle for his profession of the faith. When his followers emerged from the church after praying for Laurence on the night of his death, they observed the Perseid meteors shooting across the sky. His friends identified the death of a loving man with the brilliant, shining tears of shooting light in the dark sky. They said, “Heaven is crying tears of joy to receive the soul of worthy Laurence!” Today, this same meteor shower is sometimes still called “The Tears of St. Laurence.” Laurence’s friends were transformed by seeing heaven opened and God crying tears of light for their friend. They understood more clearly the mystery of Christ’s triumph over death. In spite of their grief, those church people in Rome understood his death bound Laurence to Christ in eternity. They knew Christ to be more present, more accessible than ever before. Laurence’s friends in Rome 1728 years ago this week also entered the cloud of God’s near presence. They’d seen God’s face in the night sky. They understood that God is so present all it takes is to look up, and the love of God is displayed. Cornelia “Neely” Jane Mathis has entered the cloud this morning. She has been buried with Christ in his death, and raised with him in resurrection. Her destiny is wrapped up with Peter, John, James, and Laurence, and with her great-great-great-great grandmother Mrs. Thomas H. Allen, Sr. Mrs. Thomas Allen was the daughter of Lewis Shanks, who founded Calvary. Mrs. Allen’s name is inscribed on the foot of the font in which Neely was baptized. Neely is the 8th generation of the founding family in Calvary. What an amazing witness to the power of God’s presence in the glory of knowing God. Copyright 2003 Calvary Episcopal Church Gospel: Luke 9:28-36 |
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