Exodus 34:29-35, Luke 9:28-36
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
I’ve heard it said and many times; in fact, I remember it being said to Cathy, when she was expecting Cathy Zoe and then Paul; friends and family would come up to her and say that she was glowing. All I saw was Cathy. Actually, there was a difference; I wouldn’t say that she was glowing, but for a lot of the time her smile was a little bit bigger and she was a little bit happier, not always with me, but still a little bit happier. Being pregnant is one of those times when there is a visible sign that something special, something good is taking place. There are other times; I often see this kind of look on the faces of brides, sometimes also on the faces of grooms. And there are other times; we sometimes describe people as starstruck; fans and groupies, sometimes, when they meet a famous musician, actor, politician or sports figure get an almost silly grin on their faces. They sometimes get tongue-tied, but they almost always have a big smile on their faces; they don’t “glow” but they are happy.
What is being described in today’s readings is a bit different from the glow of a pregnant woman or the happy expression of a fan. When our reading in Exodus described Moses, that the skin on his face shone, they were not talking about a big smile. This was something physically different, like a sunburn maybe, or something similar to the glow (people joke about) when a person is thought to come into close proximity with radiation. In truth, what our readings talk about, is not like anything that I’ve ever seen; I’m really not sure how I would react to seeing someone whose face shone; it kind of shook-up the people of Israel; we are told that, at least at first, they were afraid to come near to Moses. The reaction was such that Moses began to wear a veil over his face, though it is not clear whether he was concealing the shine from the people or covering up the fading of the glow.
In the story of the Transfiguration, the glow around Jesus, seemed to be different, though maybe related to that of Moses. But, it’s interesting that Peter, James and John, who were also in the proximity to the Holy, to God, standing on the mountain top with Jesus and with Moses and Elijah, did not themselves pick up the glow or shine. In our Old Testament reading Moses’ glow, it is believed, came about by his being in the presence of God, so why were not Peter, James and John similarly effected? We may never know. But again, Jesus’ glow was different even from that of Moses; our understanding of Jesus’ glow is not necessarily due to his being in the presence of God; just as the glow seen in a pregnant woman comes from within, it may have been, that for a time, Jesus’ divine nature was shining out from within and so effecting the appearance of his human nature. And, unlike with Moses, Jesus’ glow was visible only for the period of time that he was speaking with Moses, Elijah and God and after the cloud came over them there was no more mention of Jesus’ glow; it didn’t seem to stay with him as he went down the mountain.
It is hard for us to know the impact on Peter, James and John, in seeing Jesus such; since they were instructed not to share the story of these events until after Jesus’ death and resurrection and Peter, James and John, because they were so often with Jesus, almost as an inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, they may have had other similar experiences not recorded, and so did not give much meaning to the event. There was an initial awkwardness about the Transfiguration of Jesus and the visit of Moses and Elijah; Peter offered to build for them three houses. Peter apparently wanted to preserve the experience.
Making sense of Moses and Elijah and Jesus together with God on the mountain top is still a problem; we are still not sure of the meaning of the event. But believing it to have been important, a special day has been set aside to remember the Transfiguration. In the reading from Luke, we were told that Jesus, Moses and Elijah were discussing Jesus’ impending death, but what they said is not recorded. We could deduce that it was important for Peter, James and John to be there, to hear the discussion and to see Jesus in his glory, so that they could later tell the others, so Jesus in his glory would not be overlooked. The image of Jesus with a halo has become synonymous with our image of Jesus; artists have taken the transfiguration experience of Jesus to heart and have very often painted Jesus with a halo around his head. Today we almost don’t notice it, it has become so much a part of the image of Jesus.
While for Moses the glow came from being in a close proximity to the Holy, Jesus’ glow came not from the outside, but was an expression of the Holy that he was. Some Biblical scholars suggest that the Transfiguration was not an event that took place just before his arrest, but rather after the resurrection. For us, it could be said, that the timing doesn’t really matter. What is important is that we recognize in Jesus, not the effects of being in proximity to the Holy, but rather that he himself is of the Holy. Jesus was not just another Messiah; he was not just another prophet sent by God; Jesus was God’s Son, divine and human, able to light himself up, displaying the glory of God that was in him.
Peter, James and John, witnessed to this event and shared it with the people to whom they proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ and that witness was shared with others and in time was put to paper (more likely papyrus) and in a later time became a part of the Gospel of Luke. It has been shared time and again so that people, like you and me, might come to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, our Lord and Savior. Today we are called upon (all of us) to share, not just the story of the Transfiguration, but the whole story of Jesus life, his death for us, for our forgiveness and his resurrection, given us so we will all know what will become of us after our earthly lives come to an end. The glory of the Lord was shown for the benefit of the Disciples, through their witness it has shined on you and me and through our witness it shines into the world.