RCL The Transfiguration
Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, II Peter 1:13-21, Saint Luke 9:28-36
“Just a moment, please.” That phrase usually means: “Give me time.” Give me time to prepare, time to pay, time to think, even time to pray. “Just a moment, please.” The moment Christ gives us today is a moment quite literally out of this world. The moment of his Transfiguration comes to his chosen disciples from beyond, beyond sight, beyond taste, beyond touch, beyond hearing, beyond smelling. For a brief moment, the veil is opened and the glory of God comes under our roof, and we can behold that glory directly, without parable, without example, and without intermediary.
The moment Christ gives us today in this Feast is a moment beyond all moments. For what we glimpse briefly today shall be the everlasting vision of those who love God. What we see today we shall see in his kingdom, everyday, world without end.
In ecstasy Peter exclaims: “It is good for us to be here.”[1] It is good for everyone to be in the presence of the living God, whose glory surpasses sense and time and space. It is always good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness can there be?
This day and every day let the beauty of Christ and the glory of the presence of God stream into your soul from beyond your senses. Let the glory of God grow in you. Let it wrap you and hold you in its warmth and safety. For God’s glory remains our true home. Our hearts and minds and souls shine with joy and gladness and exultation in God’s glory. Let your pew or your armchair be your Mount Tabor, for the glory of God is just beyond, just on the other side of your senses. One day, you’ll bathe in it for ever.
[1] Saint Luke 9:33.
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