Theme:
The Transfiguration of the Lord
I have a picture at home, of the open country near Elvanfoot in the Borders. I took the picture from just above the Glenochar Burn. The foreground shows the burn running, slowly curving round with a steep bank on this side. But what draws the attention is the great open space in front, of rough open ground stretching for three or four miles, a rich green in the summer sunshine. Caught in a moment in time is the pattern of the clouds on the distant hills, some of the forest on the hilltops is in shade, the cloud shadow curves over the hillside. But the sun ? the sunlight picks out the burn and makes it sparkle, the white walls of a farmhouse, two miles away shine brightly. Light and shadow.
Light and shadow is what we see in Matthew’s gospel. Or, to put it in other words, the hiddenness and the glory of Jesus. At the Baptism, yes, in a moment of the most intense holiness, the Spirit of God comes down and rests upon Jesus, the Father’s voice speaks: This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased. A moment of the very deepest holiness, the Father delighting in the Son, who has come upon earth as a human being. But this is hidden, Jesus hears the voice of the Father. The Father richly and deeply affirms Jesus, His Son - but only John the Baptist knows that the Spirit has come and rests upon Jesus. Though He is the Son of God, the life of Jesus is deeply hidden, lived in the shadows, if you like, the life of a servant, that unseen, hidden.
This is where Satan comes to
test Jesus: in that time of testing in
the desert. Satan suggests to Jesus - a great public miracle in the
But in the Gospels, we see the
glory of Jesus unfolding, there are moments when we
see who Jesus is, and His glory. First, at His Baptism, then at Caesarea Philippi. At Caesarea
Philippi the Father opens the eyes of Peter to see who Jesus is - Peter cries
out: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God !
Peter, sees who Jesus is, the Son of God, Peter catches a glimpse of the glory
of Jesus, and is the first of the disciples to do so. This is why Jesus says to
Peter Blessed are you.........I tell you, on this rock I will build my Church ! What does this mean ? This
means that the Church is built as the Father opens the eyes of men and women to
see Jesus. The Church grows as the Father reveals His Son to men and women. At
Caesarea Philippi we read of moment of light that dawns for Peter, as God opens
his eyes to see Jesus, the Son of God. Followed almost
immediately by a moment of deep shadow, as Peter rejects out of hand any
possibility of Jesus going to
Six days after this, we have the third moment of light, a third moment of glory. Peter, James and John go up the mountain with Jesus. And as they look on, He is transfigured. His whole being becomes radiant, His face, His clothes. Light. Moses and Elijah appeared speaking with Him: Peter calls out let us build three booths, three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. But while he is saying this a bright cloud comes and once again the Father’s voice is heard: This is my Son whom I love, with Him I am well pleased - listen to Him ! Once again the Father speaks and this time Peter, James and John hear, and see the glory of Jesus Christ. Instead of being hidden, the glory of Jesus Christ is revealed. The disciples hear the Father affirming Jesus as His beloved Son. They see His radiant glory, and the prophets, Moses and Elijah who had foretold the coming of Jesus, gathered with Him.
And the word of the Father to Peter, James and John is
this - listen to Him ! Listen to Him
! You see, Peter has argued with Jesus about the
road to
Can we say what
the Transfiguration means ? What is its significance ? Well, these are holy things but perhaps we
can say this - when we, with the disciples Peter, James and John, look at
Jesus, in that moment of radiant holiness we see Him as He is - Jesus, who is
journeying towards Jerusalem and the Cross is the Eternal Son of God. So what
will happen at
And secondly - What is the light that the disciples see ? Where does this light come from ? this radiance ? Is it an angelic light shining from heaven ? Is it the light of the Father resting upon Jesus ? Long centuries ago, the saints used to wonder about these things. If we think of the light seen on the summit of the mountain as the light of the Holy Spirit shining from within Jesus Christ Himself - the Spirit who rests upon and within Jesus, this then means that in the Gospel here, we have the Father blessing the Son, the beloved Son receiving the blessing, the Spirit resting upon Him and within Him. The Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is present.
Little wonder, then, that Peter longed to stay there on
that mountain, there in that experience of holiness, there in that light. Little
wonder, then, that Peter longed to stay, to look upon Jesus, in the radiance of
holiness and glory. It was not to be, it could not be. But those few moments
were enough - Peter, James and John see Jesus Christ as He is. For a moment the
hiddennness breaks and Jesus is revealed in His glory. The Father’s love and
delight are poured out upon Him. The disciples see all this. And, for the
moment, they see Jesus as He really is, far beyond their earthly, sinful
misunderstandings. They see Jesus as He really is, as the beloved
Son, before that journey to
So, you see, the disciples know Jesus now, but in a different way, the hiddenness, and the shadows are gone if only for a moment, they see His glory. When we know the glory of Jesus Christ, we too are filled with adoration and praise and, like the disciples, come to know what a wonderful Saviour we have, what a wonderful Father in heaven, and we know then, that the Spirit has opened our eyes. AMEN.
That glory now on Tabor seen,
first
seen on
the Voice, the work of love unseen,
Christ alone, hears and thanks.
That glory now on Tabor seen,
flowed through Peter’s soul,
the Word upon which Peter leans
and Christ is known in whole.
That glory now on Tabor seen,
how hailed by Peter, John,
the Word is there and light, the beam,
the radiance of the Son.
That glory now on Tabor seen,
the longed for light of God,
irradiates the human heart
and draws us up to God.
That glory now on Tabor seen,
we too behold its light
and longing for this hour to stay
we bless the precious sight !
O Holy Father, precious Lord,
may we standing gaze
with Peter James and John
seeing Christ in all our days.