The Transfiguration!

Luke 9: 28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. 37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." 41 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God. (NRSV)

Those who have seen the glory of God in the everyday will not be surprised at the glory of God in the divine. This week we have been talking about the glory of God. The psalmist explained it in Monday's reading, Exodus on Tuesday tried to explain it on the face of Moses, yesterday, Paul went beyond veils in explaining the need for it. And today, Jesus steps into the divine and He has two witnesses. Here's how the story goes; in the first part of the chapter, Jesus gives supernatural, miracle-working power to the disciples (authority over demons and the ability to heal diseases). He sent them on an evangelistic mission of sharing the Good News with those who would hear. Word spread quickly about Jesus and His disciples' abilities and the crowds grew and so did the rumors about who Jesus might be, even Herod was in on the gossip wondering if his enemy, John the Baptist had come back from the dead. And Jesus tops all of these events by feeding a multitude with five loaves and two fish. There is a give and take between Jesus and the 12 where Jesus asks them who they thought He was, and Peter says Jesus is the Messiah. Then He goes and spoils it all by saying something about His having to suffer and die, and at the end of that week He takes Peter, James and John on a prayer retreat. These three were the inner circle of Jesus'. Peter was in a way the leader after Jesus, and James and John were the "Sons of Thunder," a name Jesus gave to them. They were in on some of the coolest stuff Jesus said and did, and this day they would again be privileged to see something unexplainable. Notice the power of prayer at work here; Jesus is praying, connecting with God, and His face changed, and so did the appearance of His clothing, now dazzling white. Then, in a way that the Spirit made possible, these three humans see and recognize Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. Talk about connecting! Here the closing words of the last book of the Old Testament are being fulfilled (Malachi 4:4-5) in their presence. The giver of the law which God said we must never forget, and the man who loved God so much that he did not die but was taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire and whom Malachi quotes God as saying that Elijah would be sent to them "before the great and terrible day of the Lord." And here are three Corpus Christi fishermen front-row witnesses to this! Of course, these three missed nap time and they were very sleepy and what Peter says the Bible says didn't make much sense, but all Peter could think to say was, "Hey, glad we're here, we can build tents for the three of you!" God intervenes and says, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to Him!" A cloud that had been present during the terrestrial visit of Moses and Elijah disappeared and after the voice, Jesus was alone. And the three did not say anything about this experience because who would believe them?

That was some spiritual retreat! Nine could say they slept; three could say they were swept away by the awesomeness of God (Some church members still can say both of those things! wink, wink!). And that would have been enough to hold them for a long time and I'm guessing the three did not want the great feeling and power of that retreat to quickly fade, but here comes reality! A father steps out of the crowd that gathered to greet Jesus and cries for help for this son was his only child. The child suffered from what was then called a demon possession where the child would shriek, foam at the mouth and mutilate himself and never leave the boy in peace. The man had asked the disciples to help but they could not; how quickly the power of the retreat wore off! Jesus said a word about that but then rebuked the spirit and healed the boy, returning him whole to the dad. All who saw it were astounded at the power and awesomeness of God.

You and I have been at both places. Places where our mouths have dropped in awe and wonder and places where we could not do a thing expected of us; but always in a place where Jesus steps in and does what is needed. That is enough for us to stay with those who are still astounded today at the awesome of God. A God who never sleeps and never denies the good for those who call upon Him. A God who invites all of us into a relationship with Him through Jesus. And we who are in that relationship should then be those who invite others to come and see and experience what God can do, for God can do it all.

PRAYER: Loving and awesome God, thank You for the glory seen and experienced even today. As we study the transfiguration and see how through Jesus we can see the divine even in the mundane, we are in awe of You and seek you. May we be a part of that which ministers glory and hope to those who otherwise might say in the doom and gloom of everyday life. We have been to the mountaintop and we want others to join us. This we pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Thought for the Day

We might not be transfigured here, but God can still transform us.