The Transfiguration
In yesterday’s bible reading, we read Matthew 17 – which has the story of the Transfiguration. If you’re not familiar with it, I encourage you to take a few minutes and read the story.
It’s always been a story that is a bit (or a lot) puzzling.
Here’s the rough gist: Jesus and some guys go up a mountain, he’s ‘transfigured’ (whatever the heck that means – besides the fact that he’s glowing and shining!), a couple of dead guys appear to Jesus (ghosts? spirits? bodies? what are we talking about here?!?), and they have a conversation (what was the conversation even about?!?). See what I mean? It’s a bit puzzling. And it’s not like Jesus comes down still glowing or whatever…the transfiguration is over by the time they come back down, and Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about this until after Easter.
It’s no wonder Peter, who you gotta give it to him – he’s doing the best he can, is confused and offers Jesus an ill-advised response (build a bunch of huts???).
We’re with you Peter;
we’re confused too.
But whatever the meaning of the story, whatever the meaning of the conversation, no matter why it’s Moses and Elijah (why not David or Abraham?), whatever the reason for all the glowing, there are two things to come out of it that are crystal clear and that it’s wise for us to hold on to.
First, listen to Jesus.
After Peter’s ill-advised response, a voice from a ‘cloud’ (i.e., God’s voice) speaks to him and reaffirms who Jesus is (my Son, the Beloved) before giving a very simple, straightforward, and life-giving command: listen to him!
If there’s one thing we all could take from this story – and do – in our lives that would make our lives, the lives of everyone around us, and the whole world better, it’d be this: listen to Jesus. I know I can be so quick to listen to the voice – or voices – in my head and heart, or to the voices of those around me, or to the voice of culture pressuring me to do this or be that, or to the voice of the expectations placed on me, or to the voice of my fear, or to the voice of…well, you get the idea.
And those voices are real and present and often very loud. Fine.
But it’s the voice of Jesus that I need to remember to seek first, to listen to first, to respond to first, to prioritize first. If only I could do that more. His is the voice that tells me who I really am. His is the voice that wisely directs my path forward. His is the voice that offers real comfort. His is the voice that calls me to take steps of faith. His is the voice that convicts and challenges and reforms me. His is the voice – the only voice – that is truly trustworthy.
So why don’t I listen to Jesus first?
Second, there is more glory hidden than we could possibly imagine.
I love the story of the transfiguration because it reminds me that there is something better, brighter, and more glorious to come. It is here now, but it is often too hidden. After all, the Kingdom of God is among us, but it’s also like yeast in a lump of dough: impossible to see at the present.
It reminds me that when Jesus returns to finally and fully transform this world into his new creation, it will be transfigured: glowing, shining, saturated with life-giving light. Right now, it’s like we mostly see the Jesus who suffered and sweated, bled and died – because that’s the life we mostly know. And as much as that is true, and a true revelation of who God is, there is more to come: more light, more life, more love, more glory.
Peter and James and John got to see a glimpse of it for just a few minutes. When the times comes, we will be bathed in it.
I don’t know what that idea brings you – but I hope it brings you hope. I hope it lifts your spirits. I hope it brings light into your life on a dark day. I hope it speaks truth to you when the other voices are too loud. I hope it shapes your hope and so shapes what you live for.
The transfiguration is just a small sliver of a few moments from the past, but at the same time,