Category: HOPE

The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ–does it matter?

August 4, 2023 /

I don’t remember the last time “The Transfiguration” was mentioned in my local church. It is not a subject that comes up in everyday conversation and I rarely think about it.  This coming Sunday is nominated in the Church of England lectionary as a memorial for The Transfiguration and the bible readings for the day reflect. (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14. Psalm 97. 2 Peter 1:16-19 and Luke 9:28-36)[1]. What can I learn from The Transfiguration and why is it that the subject seems to be such a low priority even among Christians?

Forgive me for stating the blindingly obvious: the Transfiguration marks Jesus out as special. It is a difficult story to understand because transfigurations just don’t happen. None of us have seen one or met anyone who has. It is beyond our experience and we are generally skeptical about miracles. The Transfiguration corroborates the biggest miracle of all: the incarnation. Peter, James and John saw Jesus’ appearance change and heard a voice saying “This is my Son, my Chosen One; Listen to him!”   The Transfiguration asks us the question– who do we think Jesus is?  Is he merely a man, or God’s son, His chosen one? It is well worth taking time to ponder this event. Do we accept that it happened or do we think it is made up. Why would anyone make up such an unlikely story? If it happened then we too need to ‘Listen to Him’.

Another obvious observation: the Transfiguration story features Moses and Elijah. The New Testament cannot be understood without reference to the Hebrew Scriptures. And yet our knowledge of Old Testament stories and characters is receding. It is worth taking time and trouble to put this right, however unfashionable this might be. Only by getting to know the old testament can one begin to see God’s purposes being worked out over the centuries and to grasp the coherent over-arching and continuing story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Elijah was taken to heaven alive (2 Kings 2:11) and expected to return before the Messiah.  John the Baptist is often understood to have fulfilled this role. The Jewish people expected a prophet in the manner of Moses to arise (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). Moses and Elijah talk about ‘Jesus’ departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem’ (Luke 9:31). A little earlier in the same chapter of Luke, we find Jesus telling the disciples of the death he was about to suffer and that he would be raised from the dead (Luke 9:21-22).  I assume this is what Luke is referring to when he uses the word ‘accomplish’. What is accomplished is the saving of the world by way of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Putting it crudely: the Transfiguration directs us to the person of Jesus and the purpose of Jesus.

The third feature of the story is Peter’s response. Is it possible that he is bewildered and starts talking before he has had time to observe and listen? To suggest building booths might perhaps be an attempt to memorialize what was likely to be a fleeting event. Perhaps similar to building a statue to commemorate someone, something or an event? Or maybe it was equivalent to suggesting the formation of a committee –a gut response that allows us to acknowledge the need for change without actually changing? In any event, Peter’s ideas are cut short by the loud voice that talks across his talking and tells him to ‘listen up’.

We do well to be silent and listen in the presence of the Lord.

  1. Luke 9:28–36 (ESV) — 28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. ↑

 

HOPE THAT WILL NOT FAIL

October 25, 2020 /

“Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, through patience and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.“

This is the appointed prayer for today, ‘Bible Sunday’. When Thomas Cranmer wrote this one sentence prayer, around four hundred years ago, he ought to have felt like a traveller who has succeeded in stuffing more into a suitcase than a suitcase is designed to carry. Success in having left nothing out is counter-balanced by the effort required to carry it.

There is so much in this one sentence that it is hard to follow. It is as if one opens an overpacked suitcase and can’t focus on any one object because everything falls out in a heap. The phrase which falls out of the sentence and catches my attention this morning is “hold fast [to]… the hope of everlasting life”.

If you had asked me why anyone should bother to read the Bible, before pondering this prayer I suspect I might have come up with such reasons as “to get to know what God is like” or, “To know Jesus Christ better”. This prayer brings into focus another reason ‘so that I may hold onto the hope of everlasting life.’ Holding onto hope whilst adjusting to the uncertainties of the Covid world in the shadow of climate change is challenging. Without hope, our zest for life quickly dulls and eventually withers altogether. Sustaining hope is essential to healthy living. What we hope for and what we place our hope in matters. Get these things wrong and disillusion and despondency follow. “Hope” is so valuable and attractive that we sometimes slip into the habit of talking about it as if it is self-standing rather than asking ourselves what/who we are hoping in and what we are hoping for.

How often, if at all, do we even think about the hope of everlasting life? When you have toothache, it is hard to think about anything other than the tooth that is aching. When all news channels are saturated by the coverage of the pandemic and our day to day life is forced into strange patterns, it requires a deliberate effort to make ourselves think past the virus and focus upon the hope of everlasting life. This is a very timely prayer. What are we hoping for? If our hope is in economic success or enduring good health then the pandemic must surely make us think twice. But what if our hope is ultimately in what comes after this life? What sort of re-orientation of our thoughts is needed to allow us to give pre-eminence to this hope?

The second thing that caught me by surprise in this prayer is the word ‘patience’. What has that got to do with the reading of scripture and holding onto the hope of everlasting life? Quite a lot, I realise, once it has been pointed out to me. Cranmer’s prayer is targeted at the way in which we read scripture […help us so to hear them…]. This is addressing not so much our method of reading scripture as our attitude towards the scriptures. I sometimes read scripture attentively, distractedly, casually, critically, carelessly, carefully etc but never would I have thought of describing myself as reading scripture ‘patiently’. Patience is required; I see that now. There is so much that is not immediately apparent. There is so much that is a mystery. There are so many truths that slowly unfold so that patience is indeed needed. One of today’s appointed readings is Psalm 119:9-16 which includes these words

“11  I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you…..

15  I will meditate on your precepts

and fix my eyes on your ways.

16  I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.”

This suggests that David was in the habit of bringing scripture to mind and letting it permeate his thinking. It suggests a patience with scripture; a willingness to accept that it might not be immediately clear how it is intended to be interpreted and applied by us in 2020 and that we should not be too hasty in applying the parts we think we understand or too hasty in ignoring the parts we don’t presently understand.

The third and final item to fall out of this suitcase addresses the question of who we place our hope in. This prayer includes all three members of the Trinity. It is addressed to God the Father and its grounds for hope rest upon the person of Jesus Christ and the author’s certainty that He is alive, that He reigns and that He, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is eternal—i.e. unchanging, come what may.

This prayer may be antiquated but remains potent.

 

Verified by ExactMetrics