Epistle: 2 Peter 1:13-18
Gospel: Luke 9:28-36
Anytime the three synoptic Evangelists record the same event, it is worthy of special attention. The Transfiguration is such an event, made even more notable by the closeness of the narrative across authors. The Transfiguration is the seminal theophany of the Gospel narrative: a visible manifestation of God's presence. It is also a trinitarian passage. And it is loaded with symbolism recalling OT events and imagery. Today, I wish to focus on two symbols: the cloud and the light.
The scene is set in the evening, probably after dark. The apostles are exhausted from scaling the mountain. They are sleeping when the light becomes too intense for them to stay in slumber. They awaken to a manifestation of the divine glory of Jesus that was hard for them to describe, as each of the three synoptic accounts searches for an analogy: Matthew writing, "His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" and Mark, "His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them" and this morning's reading from Luke, "the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening." In Christian iconography, the person of Jesus is sometimes surrounded with a slight blue tint to the edges of the white to suggest that the light was more intense than white alone can convey -ineffable light.
And though St. John does not record the narrative, a close reading of the initial section of his Gospel can easily be perceived as a theological commentary on the Transfiguration. Just a few excerpts include:
In this language, St. John is alluding to the Transfiguration in a slightly more obtuse fashion than St. Peter did in the Epistle, when he wrote: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
Before we consider the implications of this extraordinary theophany, we should discuss the cloud. The cloud as a symbol of God's presence is a facet of the stories of both Moses and Elijah. You may recall in the book of Exodus that God guided the Israelites through the desert in a cloud and when Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 commandments, the Mount was overshadowed by the cloud of glory. Then, in the Tabernacle of worship and the subsequent Temple, God's presence was signified by a cloud in the holy place. In Ezekiel's prophecy, he received a vision of the cloud of glory departing from the Temple. And the Maccabean author attributes a prophecy to Jeremiah: “Then shall the Lord show these things, and the majesty of the Lord shall appear and the cloud also, as it was shown under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honorably sanctified” (2 Maccabees 2:8). Some scholars attribute the whirlwind which took Elijah from this earth to be the cloud of glory.
So, in the time of the Apostles, no one had seen the cloud of glory for many generations. This and the remarkable appearance of Jesus explains why they were terrified. Also, the presence of two historical figures from their own history who had experience with the cloud. They were being taken up into a drama with implications that they were not then prepared for. The nation was rife with conjecture as to the real nature of Jesus: was he the Mosaic prophet, was he Elijah the forerunner, perhaps even Messiah? (Here, it is interesting to note that the three apostles were able to recognize the translated forms of Moses and Elijah – there is certainly a message of how we will know each other in the resurrection to be found in this passage.) Jesus shatters all expectations and reveals himself to be God in the flesh.
Again, it should be noted that in the OT, it was widely believed that to see God meant certain death. Thus, the presence of the cloud at Mt. Sinai led the Israelites to conclude that Moses had likely died and they set about making their own religion. The apostles likely wondered if they were soon to die. And then the voice came from Heaven and announced to them much the same message that had been pronounced at Jesus' baptism, a testimony to his divine son-ship, now with a charge to hear him! Gone was any notion of building three tabernacles, Jesus had eclipsed Moses and Elijah and the Law and the Prophets. He was the Word which they had longed to hear, incarnate! And yet the passage closes by telling us that they were not yet attuned to his message: the Transfiguration had raised as many questions as it answered for the apostles.
The Transfiguration is trinitarian because there is Jesus and the voice of the Father -but no man has seen the Father at any time, says Jesus himself- so the cloud of glory cannot be a manifestation of anything other than the Holy Spirit. And it is the coming of this Holy Spirit that will finally break down the last barriers in the hearts and minds of these apostles and allow them to see and believe that Jesus is God. It is the coming of this same Holy Spirit that symbolizes the return of the presence of God to his people, as the prophet had foretold.
And so, many years after the fact, Sts. Peter and John look back on the Transfiguration and reference it as a powerful evidence that this new Gospel and new church is very real. But there is also a promise in all this because at the Ascension, Jesus returned to the right hand of the Father in the cloud of glory. And wouldn't you know, two men again appeared in white apparel and promised them that Jesus would come back in the same manner. And at the last day, we will all be not transfigured – but transformed. And we will not see only the glory of God, but perhaps also his substance. And we will experience his energies without fear.
Gospel: Luke 9:28-36
Anytime the three synoptic Evangelists record the same event, it is worthy of special attention. The Transfiguration is such an event, made even more notable by the closeness of the narrative across authors. The Transfiguration is the seminal theophany of the Gospel narrative: a visible manifestation of God's presence. It is also a trinitarian passage. And it is loaded with symbolism recalling OT events and imagery. Today, I wish to focus on two symbols: the cloud and the light.
The scene is set in the evening, probably after dark. The apostles are exhausted from scaling the mountain. They are sleeping when the light becomes too intense for them to stay in slumber. They awaken to a manifestation of the divine glory of Jesus that was hard for them to describe, as each of the three synoptic accounts searches for an analogy: Matthew writing, "His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" and Mark, "His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them" and this morning's reading from Luke, "the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening." In Christian iconography, the person of Jesus is sometimes surrounded with a slight blue tint to the edges of the white to suggest that the light was more intense than white alone can convey -ineffable light.
And though St. John does not record the narrative, a close reading of the initial section of his Gospel can easily be perceived as a theological commentary on the Transfiguration. Just a few excerpts include:
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John the Baptist came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
In this language, St. John is alluding to the Transfiguration in a slightly more obtuse fashion than St. Peter did in the Epistle, when he wrote: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
Before we consider the implications of this extraordinary theophany, we should discuss the cloud. The cloud as a symbol of God's presence is a facet of the stories of both Moses and Elijah. You may recall in the book of Exodus that God guided the Israelites through the desert in a cloud and when Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 commandments, the Mount was overshadowed by the cloud of glory. Then, in the Tabernacle of worship and the subsequent Temple, God's presence was signified by a cloud in the holy place. In Ezekiel's prophecy, he received a vision of the cloud of glory departing from the Temple. And the Maccabean author attributes a prophecy to Jeremiah: “Then shall the Lord show these things, and the majesty of the Lord shall appear and the cloud also, as it was shown under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honorably sanctified” (2 Maccabees 2:8). Some scholars attribute the whirlwind which took Elijah from this earth to be the cloud of glory.
So, in the time of the Apostles, no one had seen the cloud of glory for many generations. This and the remarkable appearance of Jesus explains why they were terrified. Also, the presence of two historical figures from their own history who had experience with the cloud. They were being taken up into a drama with implications that they were not then prepared for. The nation was rife with conjecture as to the real nature of Jesus: was he the Mosaic prophet, was he Elijah the forerunner, perhaps even Messiah? (Here, it is interesting to note that the three apostles were able to recognize the translated forms of Moses and Elijah – there is certainly a message of how we will know each other in the resurrection to be found in this passage.) Jesus shatters all expectations and reveals himself to be God in the flesh.
Again, it should be noted that in the OT, it was widely believed that to see God meant certain death. Thus, the presence of the cloud at Mt. Sinai led the Israelites to conclude that Moses had likely died and they set about making their own religion. The apostles likely wondered if they were soon to die. And then the voice came from Heaven and announced to them much the same message that had been pronounced at Jesus' baptism, a testimony to his divine son-ship, now with a charge to hear him! Gone was any notion of building three tabernacles, Jesus had eclipsed Moses and Elijah and the Law and the Prophets. He was the Word which they had longed to hear, incarnate! And yet the passage closes by telling us that they were not yet attuned to his message: the Transfiguration had raised as many questions as it answered for the apostles.
The Transfiguration is trinitarian because there is Jesus and the voice of the Father -but no man has seen the Father at any time, says Jesus himself- so the cloud of glory cannot be a manifestation of anything other than the Holy Spirit. And it is the coming of this Holy Spirit that will finally break down the last barriers in the hearts and minds of these apostles and allow them to see and believe that Jesus is God. It is the coming of this same Holy Spirit that symbolizes the return of the presence of God to his people, as the prophet had foretold.
And so, many years after the fact, Sts. Peter and John look back on the Transfiguration and reference it as a powerful evidence that this new Gospel and new church is very real. But there is also a promise in all this because at the Ascension, Jesus returned to the right hand of the Father in the cloud of glory. And wouldn't you know, two men again appeared in white apparel and promised them that Jesus would come back in the same manner. And at the last day, we will all be not transfigured – but transformed. And we will not see only the glory of God, but perhaps also his substance. And we will experience his energies without fear.
