What is a transfigured life? It’s about glory and transformation. It’s an invitation to view in our world the “thin places” that allow us to experience the divine. The transfiguration of Jesus occurs in such a “thin place.” Traditionally, mountaintops are seen as places of revelation. They are literally and also figuratively, close to heaven. This Sunday (February 15th) is Transfiguration Sunday where we hear a story from the early church of when Jesus invites 3 of his closest disciples to see an alternate reality. In the story, divine light shines through Jesus. The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is hard to wrap our rational nature around, because it’s so wildly imaginative. And yet, it invites us to look for “more” in ourselves and others. It invites us to look for the divine in nature or other people, and revelations in the commonplace.
Transfiguration invites us to consider how Jesus reveals God’s deepest nature and the deepest nature of the universe. This story is not based on scientific truth, or on a reality that can be objectively verified; it is the meaning that shines through the world of atoms, particles, rocks, and sunsets. The energy of love permeates all things. Only our vision prevents us from seeing the infinity of all things. God’s glory is veiled by our failure to look deeply into life settling for the surface rather than the inner life and the light of all things.
While we are careful to not invoke supernatural violations of cause and effect, we can nevertheless look at Transfiguration as a way to experience the miraculous in everyday life. We can affirm that faith and prayer can shape our lives for the best and commit ourselves to see holiness in every situation and bring out the holy in others, especially the vulnerable and marginalized.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Carolyn