Beyond Our Grasp
The Transfiguration is a major feast days in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. We don’t do so much with it in the churches of the west, I suppose because we like things that are rational and definable. The Transfiguration, with it vision of Jesus’ altered appearance and the visit of two long dead heroes of the faith, is a mystery in both meaning and application to our lives.
Click here to read Luke’s telling.
If you feel like you’ve heard the story recently, we read of the Transfiguration at the end of the season of Epiphany (the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday and Lent). However, we normally only celebrate the actual Feast day (August 6) when it happens to fall on a Sunday, as it does this year.
Something we could learn from our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters is comfort with mystery. We do not need to rationalize, explain and describe everything. Just like people are sometimes a mystery and even creation is often a mystery, we should not be surprised or distressed that at the heart of how we experience God is mystery.
What does it tell us about Jesus that He is revealed in this way, at this time and with these others? We get some hints, but never a complete understanding.
It seems that there is far more to Jesus than can be seen in His human appearance. Peter, James and John had to grapple with the fact that Jesus was beyond their understanding — no longer just the wise teacher, challenging prophet or jovial friend. Have you grasped that Jesus is far beyond what you will ever be able to grasp?
The presence of Moses and Elijah is a bit less mysterious. Moses was the great law giver and Elijah the quintessential prophet, the two ways that God spoke to the people of Israel — the law and the prophets now point to Jesus. All that God has done among the people of Israel points to this moment. For the disciples, even though they didn’t grasp the implications, they saw beyond all doubt that Jesus is the fulcrum of God’s work.
So, if anything, the Transfiguration tells us that Jesus is the focal point of God’s work among us and if we are to make sense of this life, we do so through the lens of Jesus. And yet, this is a mystery. We won’t grasp it, control it, or know where it will take us. Is that OK with you? If not, how can you get OK with it?
This column appeared in the August 6, 2023 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
