Sunday before Lent
Collect
Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: Give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Matthew 17: 1-9
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Two transfigurations?
The gospel story of the Transfiguration in Matthew 17 provides many opportunities for exposition.
17:2 has parallels with Exodus 34:29, when Moses returns from talking with the Lord, his face radiant with the light he has seen with his own eyes – God’s real presence becoming visible.
In 17:3, we could discuss the link between Old and New Testaments – the fulfilment of the Law given to Moses, and the promise of a Redeemer as prophesised by Elijah, being filled by the Messiah.
In 17:4, Peter’s all too human response is a request for permanence, a desire to hold on to the Mountaintop experience for ever.
In 17:5&6, God commands an acceptance of Jesus’ authority with such power that the disciples are terrified.
17:7 records Jesus’ encouragement that they should not be afraid but inspired them and reassures them to be fearless in the events that are to happen – that His power will overcome the world.
In 17:8, short as the experience might be, it will be burnt into their memory and they too will carry the reflected light with them in their future ministries.
In later years Paul will describe his own personal experience of meeting Christ in 2 Corinthians 3:18 – And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory
In all of this, the Transfiguration – when Jesus the human is recognised as divine – is often described as the meeting place of the temporal and the eternal. But let me suggest that our interpretation of this massive, life shattering meeting might sometimes get it the wrong way round.
Perhaps the Mountaintop Transfiguration – the metamorphosis, the change – is actually in the believer’s eyes as, for the first time, they see the changeless Jesus as he is, was before the world was made, and will be when the New Jerusalem descends; His Earthly Transfiguration having happened at the moment of incarnation, when the divine became a human being.
Malachi 3:8 – He changeth not. Rather, it is in our belief that we, with unveiled faces, are changed forever. Perhaps, when we pray, we need to remember it is the Jesus on the Mountain to whom we address our prayers, the one whose face shines like the sun and transfigures our faces as we radiate in His light.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (Church Online) – Hillsong Worship
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