In life there are holy moments, times set apart from the busyness and routines of our lives. Such moments can be times of new awareness and life change. Such a moment is Jesus’ transfiguration, which we celebrate today. Jesus and the three disciples closest to him go up a mountain and suddenly things change. Jesus prays and is lit up with great brilliance. Moses and Elijah appear and speak with him. Then the cloud covers them. The disciples are terrified. God speaks out of the cloud and acknowledges Jesus as God’s beloved Son, chosen by God.
The ancients believed that God shone with a light too bright for human eyes to bear. Remember that when Moses came down from the mountain with the ten commandments, his face was so bright that he veiled himself to protect his followers from the light. In Daniel’s vision of God and the Messiah, God is surrounded by fire. The gospel account tells of Jesus person and clothing being filled with dazzling light.
The significance of the transfiguration is that divinity meets humanity. As in Jesus’ baptism, God speaks of Jesus as God’s beloved Son in the hearing of witnesses. In Jesus, who is fully divine and fully human, we have the assurance that Christ gives us the promise of lasting guidance and hope.
We live in a time of change. This is indeed a transient age, where everything seems to change – in our personal lives, in the church, the state, the world. At times we may feel overwhelmed and burdened with many changes. In life there will always be change. Nothing stays the same. When there is no change, there is death. Yet I think of my grandparents’ generation and all the changes they experienced – the advent of electricity, the telephone, radio, television, automobiles, planes, rocket ships. Today technology bumps us along, yet it seems more change of degree than such enormous changes. After all, people communicated by telegraph and now can email or text. Today’s changes may seem daunting, but surely they are not as radically different as those of earlier generations.
Today’s scriptures remind us of the importance of time apart from life’s routines. Daniel has a vision. Jesus and the disciples experience the wondrous time with Moses, Elijah and God. These times could not have happened if those involved had not had time apart. I recall that years ago a curate spoke of the difficulty of making time. Our rector picked her up quite sharply and said, “You don’t make time. You take time.” An elderly nun said, “Throw down your deadly doing.” We must set aside our “deadly doing” to have time and space to be open to hear God’s will for us.
During my first clinical training unit in a hospital, I found the work stimulating and fulfilling, but I became overtired. My supervisor made me take time off. In that time, freed from the busyness of clinical tasks, I received what I can only see as a message which was the working of the Holy Spirit. It was life-changing and that learning has remained with me.
In the past week there was a meeting at St. George’s to talk about future property development. The purpose of the meeting was to turn our minds to the future, to begin trying to discern how we may be better stewards of our parish land resources. Such conversations are taking place in other parishes across our diocese, as the church faces times of transition and change. How will we meet the future?
What are the challenges in your life just now? Among family and friends and for you personally? Today’s scriptures are a reminder of the hope that we are given by our God who is eternal and who promises to be always ready to guide and direct our paths. When we take time apart to reflect and pray, God will be with us. Thanks be to God for this hope.