Thursday, August 6, 2009

Transfiguration


And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi,it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. Mark 9:2-8
There are moments in life when something so remarkable happens that there no words to describe what is going on. Not often for most of us, but there are incredible events that take our breath away and that we do not wholly understand at the time. There is such an overwhelming sense of holy presence, that one can find no words to say, and nothing appropriate to do. It happens for some at the birth of a child, and for others at a deathbed. Quite rare and completely breathtaking, many people are often afraid to even speak about these moments.

At the feast of the Transfiguration, the disciples witness Christ being changed, if for a moment, into his true self, viewed in the completeness of his relationship to God and throughout history. They glimpse love complete and continuous without the bounds of time and space. They did not know what to do and had no words to tell their story, Their experience only made sense in hindsight. Often, that is the way love is. That is the way God is to us, we cannot experience the completeness of love until we have a very long look at things.

I want to encourage us all to remember the times in our lives today when we had a full sense of God's love and presence in our lives. Most likely we are still afraid to talk about it, but there is someone who needs to be comforted today with that story. Our feeble attempt at words for the most holy can transform others lives by our experience. God whispers to us today,"This is my beloved child," We are transformed and changed by our willingness to share our story with others and they are transformed also. May God's love be so radiant in us today that we might share our stories of loves presence with the people in our lives.

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