Transfiguration Sunday (Year B)
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain where they were alone. He was transformed in front of them, 3and his clothes were amazingly bright, brighter than if they had been bleached white. 4Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus. 5Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s make three shrines—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6He said this because he didn’t know how to respond, for the three of them were terrified.
7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, “This is my [Beloved], whom I dearly love. Listen to him!” 8Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Human One had risen from the dead.
Other Readings: 2 Kings 2.1-12; Psalm 50.1-6; 2 Corinthians 4.3-6
Gathering Prayer:
God of life and glory, your Beloved One was revealed in splendour before he suffered death upon the cross; grant that we, beholding Christ’s majesty, may be strengthened to follow him and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
A New Zealand Prayer Book
The Doctor is handcuffed to a radiator at the end of an upstairs landing. Amy Pond, dressed as a policewoman (or is that a kiss-o-gram?) is standing beside him.
THE DOCTOR
I need to speak to whoever lives in this house right now.
AMY
I live here.
THE DOCTOR
But you’re the police.
AMY
Yes, and this is where I live. Have you got a problem with that?
THE DOCTOR
How many rooms?
AMY
I’m sorry, what?
THE DOCTOR
On this floor. How many rooms on this floor? Count them for me now.
AMY
Why?
THE DOCTOR
Because it will change your life.
AMY
Five. One, two, three, four, five.
THE DOCTOR
Six.
AMY
Six?
THE DOCTOR
Look.
AMY
Look where?
THE DOCTOR
Exactly where you don’t want to look. Where you never want to look. The corner of your eye. Look behind you.
AMY
That’s … that’s not possible. How’s that possible?
THE DOCTOR
There’s a perception filter all round the door. Sensed it the last time I was here. Should’ve seen it.
AMY
But that’s a whole room. That’s a whole room I’ve never even noticed.
THE DOCTOR
The filter stops you noticing.
This scene is from The Eleventh Hour, one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. It’s the first full episode we have with Matt Smith, the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, and Karen Gillen as Amy Pond.[2] And while Doctor Who is considered a science fiction show, it generally taps into some very non-fiction elements. And that comment about some sort of perception filter preventing people from seeing is something I completely get. In fact, if I may be so bold, I believe the perception filter is taught. That is, we’ve been conditioned not to “see” certain things within our world. As I’ve explained elsewhere, from the evening news to cynical statements of others — whether they’re “intellectuals” or “down to earth” — we’ve been trained to watch the misdirect of a clever illusionist instead of seeing what’s really happening. We’ve learned to trust the perception filter.
The transfiguration story is a very strange story — I’m not suggesting it’s not. But, since we have PhD’s in “Perception Filter” we’ll say something like, “This is a made up story to ‘prove’ Jesus’ divinity and obviously can’t be understood as fact.” And yet, the biblical witness claims this actually happened (2 Peter 1.16-18; cf., Matthew 17.1-8; Luke 9.28-36). We shouldn’t be bullied into thinking that stuff like this “doesn’t really happen” and, therefore, it isn’t real and we’re naïve to think otherwise.[3]
While this is a historic event, it’s neither a glimpse into Jesus’ deity nor is it the fulfillment of Jesus’ coming before the death of some of the disciples, as we’re often told (Mark 8.34-9.1). The truth is, we often don’t know what to make of stories like this. Oh, some may chalk it up as a “miracle” but that doesn’t really tell us what’s going on.
The Transfiguration of Jesus gives us a glimpse into the reality of God’s Realm interwoven within our own. It pulls back the gossamer veil that separates God’s Realm from our own — the Light behind all light, the Life behind all life, the Form behind all forms.
This idea of God’s Realm intertwined with our own realm is seen in several places within the biblical story most notably within the language of poets and prophets (e.g., Genesis 1-2; Psalm 18; 104; Ezekiel; Revelation; etc.). But that’s not the only place. In the stories from the ancient Celts, we see this interweaving of the two realms — God’s Realm and our own — symbolized in their intricate knotwork. In his series, The Song of Albion, author Stephen Lawhead explains the Celtic knot this way—
“I use this term (endless knot — jack+) to describe the interconnected nature of the spiritual and material world — or, within the context of these books, the manifest world and Otherworld — as expressed in Celtic knot-work patterns. There is a classic knotwork patterns on the cover of these editions, and a smaller triquetra (three-fold knot) within the body of the text.
“At first glance, these may appear to be simply pleasing swirls or interlaced lines. A closer examination will reveal that all the lines are continuous, that they follow a strict over-and-under path, and that eventually they return to themselves — an endless knot.”[4]
In the first book, The Paradise War, Professor Nettles explains how the ancient Celts understood this “interconnected nature”—
“As I understand it,” Lewis commented, “the Celts venerated all sorts of plexus-type things: the seashore, dawn, dusk, the edge of the forest — anything that was neither here nor there, so to speak.”
Nettles nodded approvingly. “Quite right. Still, we have been speaking of the Otherworld and the manifest world as quite separate places. The ancient Celts, however, made no such distinction; nor did they distinguish between the ‘real’ and the ‘imaginary.’ The material and the spiritual were not separate or self-limited states: both were equally manifest at all times.
“For example, an oak grove might be an oak grove, or it might be the home of a god—or both simultaneously. Such was their way of looking at the universe. And it inspired a great appreciation and respect for all created things. A respect born of a deep and abiding belief. The concept of one object or entity being somehow more real, simply because it possessed a material presence, would not have occurred to them.”[5]
That’s what happened in our Lesson today; Peter, James, and John experienced a “plexus” or thin place, a connecting point where the interwoven reality of our space and God’s space was revealed. The transformation of Jesus, along with the appearance of Moses and Elijah, is where the veil between God’s Realm and our realm is pulled aside and we catch a glimpse of the interconnectedness which is present “at all times.”
But, like I said, we’ve been taught not to notice it. Professor Nettles continues—
“Interestingly, it is only modern man who makes such rash distinctions. And having made the distinction, he then calls the nonmaterial universe ‘unreal’ and therefore unimportant and unworthy of his regard. Children, on the other hand, do not discriminate between the material and the nonmaterial in this way. They can tell the difference, of course, but do not feel the need to assign relative value to one over against the other. Much like the Celts of old, children simply accept the existence of both realms—opposite sides of the selfsame coin, you see?”[6]
This is why Jesus said we must become like little children (Matthew 18.3; Mark 10.14). What he meant by that is we have to unlearn our current way of seeing the world and be retrained to see the interwoven connectedness of God’s realm and our realm. In Paul’s words, we have to renew our minds (Romans 12.2) to this way of seeing. But it’s not a simple switch. Paul states that it’s a process of “taking off” the old way of being and putting on the new way of being “which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. In this image there’s neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people” (Colossians 3.10-11; CEB).
Does this mean I think things that happened in the Lesson are everyday occurrences? Certainly not. What I’m saying is that we have to unlearn the cynicism of our day — take off the old way of being — and relearn the childlike faith of accepting “the existence of both realms.” Of realizing that this realm and God’s Realm are interconnected, woven together. Sometimes, like in our Lesson today, God’s Realm is revealed. And like Peter, James, and John we must have the faith of children to actually see it.
~~~
In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
_________
[1] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible. Used by permission.
[2] She also stars in the Jumanji franchise as Martha Karpy / Ruby Roundhouse and Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
[3] I purposefully didn’t use the word “true” because even fictional stories can have truth to them.
[4] Lawhead, S. R., (2014). The Song of Albion Collection: The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot [Kindle Edition]. Retrieved from Amazon.com.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
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