AN EPIPHANY
Opening Prayer
Lord, we bow in the presence of Your glory.
Read LUKE 9:28–36
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure,[a] which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Footnotes:
a Luke 9:31 Greek exodos
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father” (John 1:14).
After Peter’s profession, we enter more fully into the mystery of who Christ is. Is it possible to assert that as the Gospel progresses the glory of God shines more and more brightly through Jesus, culminating, despite everything, in resurrection glory? Here the curtain seems to be pulled aside. Peter, John and James (the innermost circle of disciples) are privileged to catch a sustained glimpse of the brilliant light that temporarily transfigures Jesus as he communes with the Father. Jesus is not alone but is accompanied by Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets and the fact that what they anticipate will be fulfilled in him. Truly, there are more things in heaven and earth than what occupies our confined little worlds.
There may be some who would describe this incident as “paranormal” or as involving an “altered state of consciousness.” It’s certainly true that it doesn’t happen every day! My preference would be to characterize it as “numinous,” involving as it does an overwhelming and mysterious sense of divine presence. In biblical narratives clouds almost invariably signify the awesome presence of God (e.g., Exod. 19:16–19; Acts 1:92). Manifestations of the divine presence are found throughout Scripture and in our individual Christian experience, but there is more than that here. This is incarnation, God coming to us in and through a particular person. Jesus is God’s Son, chosen by the Father, pleasing to him, and speaking for him (35). Jesus has a momentous departure to complete in Jerusalem, literally translated “exodus” (31). Jesus is going away, but in so doing will lead his own people to freedom and glory.
The reaction of the three disciples in this situation is almost comical. Having gotten things gloriously right in the previous section, Peter now mindlessly babbles on about makeshift accommodations (33). Perhaps he should simply remain speechless, as should we.
Apply
Take a few moments to bow humbly in God’s presence and to worship without words.
Closing prayer
Lord, we see through a glass darkly and can’t comprehend Your full splendor, yet we joyfully anticipate the day when we can.
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