Feast of the Transfiguration – Mark Winward
And while [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. – Luke 9:29-31, NRSV
Today’s account recounts an event Christians remember as the Transfiguration. The other Synoptic Gospels—namely Matthew and Luke—tell this same story, but add that while it was all happening, the disciples had fallen asleep, only to awaken at the end. They almost missed witnessing a miraculous movement of God that would forever change their lives.
Often, we are so enclosed in our own little worlds that we lose sight of the bigger picture. How often are we preoccupied with our own issues to the exclusion of everything else? We become prisoners of our own trivialities, rather than opening our eyes to God’s movement in our midst.
Sometimes the veil between this world and the next is very thin. I wonder what might have happened if the disciples had recognized that the veil had been drawn away. Perhaps, like Moses on Mt. Sinai, they too would have been transformed. But it was easier for them to sleep through these events rather than be transformed in a profound way. Still, they were clearly touched by what they experienced, and their transformation had begun. For the first time, the blinders had been removed, and they clearly witnessed Jesus’ glory. There could be no doubt in their minds that they had encountered God. Their hearts and lives could never be the same.
The prospect of transformation can be frightening. Primarily, this is because it involves something we naturally resist: change. Yet we can draw several important conclusions from both the disciples’ experience of the Transfiguration and Moses’ encounter on Mt. Sinai.
First and foremost, it is impossible to have a genuine encounter with God and not be changed in some way. Remember when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai? After standing in the presence of God, he was different. Moses’ life—like that of the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration—could never be the same after beholding the glory of the Lord.
Second, such encounters are often fearful experiences. Today’s Gospel tells us the disciples were terrified when the cloud overshadowed them. The writer of Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Perhaps this is because when we stand before the presence of the Lord, we are utterly powerless—faced with a power we cannot control. We don’t encounter God to change Him—God reveals Himself to change us. And by conforming to His will—like Moses and the disciples—we somehow become something greater than ourselves.
Lastly, God reveals Himself for a special purpose He has for us. Nowhere in the text does it imply that this change was consoling to the disciples. In fact, I can think of no direct encounter with God in the Bible where the purpose was to comfort. Rather, every genuine encounter with Almighty God was unsettling and disruptive. That’s because every time God reveals Himself, He prompts those who witness His truth to respond—regardless of the personal cost.
Encountering God’s transforming power isn’t just the stuff of saints and prophets. It’s the stuff of plain folk like you and me. God has a plan for each one of us—one that can transform our everyday lives, if we but wake up and remain sensitive to holy moments, when the veil between heaven and earth grows thin.
