Today we come to the conclusion of Epiphany. Epiphany is known as the season of light. It begins with the story of the bright star leading the Wise Men to the baby Jesus. And it ends with Jesus in his brilliant transfiguration. How dazzling the moment must have been for Peter, James and John! No wonder they fell to the ground in fear and awe! The transformation of Jesus, the heavenly visitors, the bright cloud, the voice. Pretty awesome! It was a God moment, for sure.
Here was Jesus, this man, this ordinary man, they knew and loved. The longer they knew him, the more their perception of him expanded. Who is he? A rabbi? A healer? A miracle worker? When Jesus asked his disciples who they think he is, Peter goes out on a limb. “You are the Messiah!” he says.
But now, this! On this mountain, Jesus is more than a rabbi, more than a Messiah. He reflects the brilliance of the divine.
The Greek word for “transfiguration” comes from the root “metamorph.” It’s the root for our word “metamorphosis.” A caterpillar enters a cocoon. This is the word to describe what’s happened to Jesus. His appearance has been altogether altered. Jesus went up the mountain as a human being. But Peter and his associates witness an altogether different aspect of his being. Their friend Jesus shines with the brilliance of the divine.
They do what anyone does when they stand in the presence of God. They fall to their knees.
When the vision has ended, their friend Jesus stands before them again. “Get up,” he says, “Let’s go.” And then he tells them, “Don’t say anything about this to anyone. Don’t speak about it until after I’ve been raised from the dead.” This strange comment about dying made what they saw even harder to comprehend.
“Tell no one.” Indeed! Even if they had, what they would have said would’ve sounded like the ramblings of mad men! They simply didn’t have the understanding, the mental capacity, to absorb and comprehend what they’d witnessed. They leave the mountain and keep their mouths shut.
We have God moments along our life journeys. Just like Peter, our comprehension of them need time and experience before their significance can crystallize. During the heat of the moment, we can’t fully absorb the sparks of hope, the glinting of grace. But along the way, we come to a level place, and there, we can look back on the way we’ve come. We can look and see it all. We can see our God moments for what they are.
For us to fully appreciate the God moments we encounter, we need the gift of hindsight. Remember and reflect on those moments:
– Huddled around a font at a baptism
– That moment when grace unexpectedly met you around the turn of a corner, and just the right person stepped into your life
– Remember when you were quietly humbled by the gracious outpouring from your neighbors
– Remember that moment when you knew in your heart that God would see you through, that everything would be enveloped and carried by God’s almighty hand
It’s only from the perspective of hindsight that we can see and understand the thrust of those God moments. And when we do, they strengthen us.
Jesus underwent a radical transfiguration on that mountaintop. But that wasn’t the only metamorphosis that Peter would witness. There was another. And this one would be Jesus’ greatest transfiguration.
Contributed by Mary Erickson, Hope Lutheran Church
Eau Claire, Wisconsin