GLIMPSES OF GLORY
Luke 9:18-23, 28-36
“they saw his glory.”
According to the Christian calendar, the Feast of the
Transfiguration is celebrated this coming Sunday as a prelude to Lent. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches it is one of
the greatest of the Christian festivals. The story is familiar to us all, but we
sometimes forget where it comes in the gospel narrative. According to Luke, the transfiguration
follows a few days after Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah. But clearly Peter and the other disciples had
a different understanding of what that meant to that of Jesus himself. For them, Jesus as the Messiah was the one
who would soon overthrow Roman rule, establish God’s kingdom in Jerusalem and,
so they hoped, they would reign with him in his glory. But Jesus knew, as he told them, that the
true Messiah would suffer, be rejected and killed, and that the coming kingdom
of God would be quite different to what the disciples imagined. So Jesus tells his disciples that if they
want to follow him further, they would have to take up the cross and go with
him to Jerusalem. This was shattering
news, dashing their hopes of an early triumph and victory, and an important
place in the coming kingdom of God soon to be established.
About eight days after this episode, so Luke tells us, Jesus
takes Peter, John and James, his closest companions, up the mountain in order
to pray for strength for the task ahead.
As he prayed “the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became
dazzling white.” Then the disciples saw
Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. Even
though they were exhausted, they were wide awake and, says Luke, they saw God’s
glory. It was truly a mountain-top
experience. No wonder they implored
Jesus to build some dwellings there so that they could stay longer and delay
the journey to Jerusalem and perhaps even avoid it altogether. But no sooner had they made their request
than a cloud engulfed them and, according to the story, they heard a voice
telling them that they had to listen to Jesus and follow him. A moment before they were basking in glory
anticipating triumph; now they were terrified. Jesus’ understanding of Messiah
had been confirmed. They had to listen
to him. There was no turning back, no
staying on the mountain. Soon they were
down again on the plain, continuing their journey to Jerusalem and the fateful
events of Jesus’ passion that awaited them.
They had glimpsed the glory of God; now they had to face the cross.
Religion can become a form of escape, a way of building
tents on the Mount of Transfiguration where we can bask in the glory. Or it can offer false promises and hopes, of
triumph without the cross, of personal glory without sharing in the struggle
for justice and peace in the world, or standing in solidarity with those who
suffer. But we cannot stay on the
mountain tops of religious experience if we are to follow Jesus. We have to come down to earth and face the
realities that daily confront us.
Our dear friend and teacher Midge was buried yesterday. Daily we receive news of other friends who
are suffering from cancer or who are going through very hard, difficult and
painful times. The situation in Syria
has become horrific, the conflict in Afghanistan continues, car bombings recur
daily in Iraq, there is war in Mali. Poverty
surrounds us, corruption thwarts service delivery, and violence against women
and children abounds. And we all have
our own personal challenges to face, relationships that need reconciliation,
afflictions that need healing. It is
perfectly understandable that we might want to find some way of escape from
facing the realities that confront us.
That is why people seek help through anti-depressants, take drugs, or drink
too much. We naturally want to turn back,
or stay on some emotional or spiritual high rather than go down into the valley
and onward to whatever Jerusalem faces us.
And, of course, there are some forms of religion that are attractive
precisely because they shield us from reality, whether the reality of a world
in need, or the reality of our own need of wholeness. Lent reminds us that we cannot celebrate the
victory of Easter without the journey to the cross, there is no shortcut, no
avoiding the road to Jerusalem and the inevitable confrontation with the powers
that seek to prevent and even crush the coming of God’s reign of justice and
peace. But as we set out on the journey
again as if for the first time, we are reminded of who Jesus really is as the
one who fulfills the prophets, the one who is truly God’s son, the true
Messiah. And, we are given a glimpse of Easter glory that will be
revealed.
We come to this sanctuary day by day and week by week to
glimpse the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we are soon back in the office to take
those phone calls that too often convey bad news, back to our homes to care for
those who are in need, back to the ordinary affairs of life seeking to make
ends meet. It is good to climb the
mountain and pray on its summit, good to meet Jesus, Moses, Elijah and all the company
of heaven surrounded as we are by a “great cloud of witnesses,” good to break
bread together. But we cannot stay
here. We cannot live in the sanctuary
any more than the disciples could stay on the mountain top. A glimpse of glory must suffice to sustain and
help us through those times when we are tempted to turn back from the cross,
wash our hands in despair or cynicism. So
we dare not miss those glimpses of God’s glory when they do break into our
lives in moments of transfiguration that change our perspective and give us
hope and courage for the long haul. Of
suffering triumphantly endured, of love transforming lives, of light breaking
into dark corners, of peace achieved in situations of conflict, of broken lives
made whole, of truth destroying lies, and beauty transfiguring ugliness. These glimpses of the coming kingdom of a
world transformed, glimpses of the victory of Easter, are sufficient for the
journey.
John de Gruchy
Volmoed 7 February
2013
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