Today in the Spirit: Last Sunday in Epiphany (Transfiguration) C
To bring the season of Epiphany to a close, the liturgical Church focuses the attention of worshipers on the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. (Though 6 August is the official Feast of the Transfiguration, these propers afford us the opportunity of a Sunday observance). In each of the three years of the lectionary, we contemplate one of the three similar narratives of that great event in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), respectively. In Year C, we are assigned Luke 9:28-36. From that version, we will hear the familiar account, with just a few variations (see my commentary below), of Jesus taking his closest companions up onto a mountain where he is transfigured before them, the appearance of Moses and Elijah and the voice of the Father, saying, “‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’” (35).
The assigned OT reading from Exodus 34:29-35 marks the beginning of the narration of Moses’ return to the people after his third trip up Mount Sinai. In just a few parenthetical verses, the author explains to his readers what Moses does with the predicament of his face being radiant whenever he returns from the mountain of God. The reading contrasts with the Gospel reading—the fading radiance of Moses’ face, who has seen God before all the people, and the unfading brilliance of Jesus’ face, which is only seen by Peter, James, and John.
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Psalm 99 (appointed only at Last Epiphany A and C) calls forth awe from the worshiper. “The LORD is King; let the peoples tremble; he sits between the cherubim; let the earth shake” (1). We will think of God from his throne speaking to Moses on Sinai in one instance and to the disciples on the mount in another. The references in the psalm that draw these events together include “the cloudy pillar” and “the holy hill:” “O magnify the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy” (9, BCP, New Coverdale).
Having finished with the sequential reading of the last chapters of 1 Corinthians two weeks ago, the assigned NT reading from 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13 takes us back to the last bit of Paul’s teaching on the best practice for the use of spiritual gifts in congregational worship followed by the well-known “love” discourse in Chapter 13. A connection to the Transfiguration theme can be found at the end: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (12).
The assigned Collect provides our worship with a clear transition from mountain-top to the Cross, from Epiphany to Lent, with these words: “Grant that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Collect
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Moses Called to Them (Exodus 34:29-35)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34:29-35
There seems to me to be in this passage no small amount of true grit behind what looks like straightforward Hebrew storytelling: “Aaron and all the people…were afraid to come near [Moses]. But Moses called to them” (30-31). The people, including Aaron, are afraid of the radiance on Moses’ face.
Does Moses choose to hide his face at that point? Does he think to himself, “Let me make myself more approachable to the people that they might feel more comfortable with as I deliver the law”? No. “Moses talked with them” just as he was. The holy God would have his messenger deliver his law to them, and the messenger will insist that the holiness of God reflected on his face shine while he does so. Moses’ hesitation comes when he realizes the shekinah suntan fades over time. Then he puts on the veil until he returns to Sinai to speak with YHWH.
For those of us charged with delivering the Spirit-inspired word of God at any level, we must always, of course, remain humble, and there may be times for choosing to make ourselves as accessible as possible in our speech and manner. However, this must not come at the expense of the boldness the Holy Spirit builds in us to deliver gospel truth.
We need only turn to the various NT passages that refer to the boldness of Paul in his preaching: “He lived [in Rome] two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:30-31). And this passage in which he contrasts himself to Moses, but not his preaching: “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end” (2 Cor. 3:12).
Today, in the Spirit, registering in my heart the examples of Moses and Paul in the Scriptures, let me steel myself to be bold in delivering the word of God faithfully when assigned.
Forgiving God (Psalm 99)
1 The LORD is King; let the peoples tremble; *
Psalm 99
he sits between the cherubim; let the earth shake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion *
and high above all peoples.
3 They shall give thanks unto his Name, which is great and wonderful; *
holy is he and mighty, a King who loves justice.
4 You have established equity; *
you have executed judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
5 O magnify the Lord our God, *
and fall down before his footstool, for he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon the Lord, and he heard them.
7 He spoke to them out of the cloudy pillar, *
for they kept his testimonies and the law that he gave them.
8 You heard them, O Lord our God; *
you forgave them, O God, yet punished their evildoings.
9 O magnify the Lord our God, and worship him upon his holy hill,*
for the Lord our God is holy.
Our psalm this week is the last in a small group of psalms that begins with, or contains, the line “The LORD reigns” (1, also Pss. 93,96,97). One question to ask as we read these songs of praise is, how does God reign? In this psalm, there are two places where the singer abruptly switches from third to second person. In these “you” sections, we find the answer to the question: 1) “You have established equity; you have executed judgment and righteousness in Jacob” (4). YHWH reigns by bringing up the lowly while bringing down the arrogant. 2) “You heard [the priests acting on behalf of the whole people], O Lord our God; you forgave them, O God, yet punished their evildoings” (8). YHWH reigns with a heart always inclined toward mercy.
My Lord, you are a God who has established forgiveness through Christ as the currency of your reign in this world and over my life. Certain of this, as certain as the psalmist of old, I make my transactions—daily, hourly and moment by moment–with you: my humble confession of sin for your renewing forgiveness. Lord, the world cries out for equality and meritocracy, but I now know there is no real justice without you and no merit in this world except that of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. I have often tried to trade with you on what I believed to be my own good character and works. Rightly, you have chastised me so that I might come to know the truth. As much as it hurts, I plead for whatever correction is necessary, that I might see the fullness of Jesus’ face—and, like the disciples on the mount, see him there alone.
Today, Holy Spirit, build in me the joyful and complete dependence of the psalmist on “the forgiving God” who reigns over all.
Love (1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13)
12:27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13
Normally 1 Corinthians 13 is set off by itself. We don’t often hear the last section of Chapter 12 on “the body of Christ” as a preamble to the “love” treatise. But Paul writes one thing to follow the other, and we need to try and understand what he is doing here. Among other things, he is wrestling with the outworking of the paradox of things transitory coming into contact with things timeless–things concrete in the world, like the structures of the church (officers and gifts), and the love of God which is “the greatest” of all things that “abide” (13). Paul is desperate to communicate that the church body must focus on that which endures over that which will not (see 2 Cor. 4:18), and on that which truly gives life in and of itself over that which never can never be life-giving by itself.
Devotionally, we are led to ask always, is the love of God covering all that we have going in our churches? We have good order–yes, but is there kindness in how we administer it? We have success in ministry—yes, but is there a bearing with those who fail to get with the program? We put on a good event—yes, but is there sufficient attention given to the ones sitting in the far corners? Such questions can and must be raised not only by leaders of churches but also by parents of families and directors of businesses, any and all Christians who have a responsibility to care for others.
Today, Spirit of Love, give us equal compassion in our varied ministries as Christians for those who oppose and resist and sit quietly by.
These Sayings (Luke 9:28-36)
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.
Luke 9:28-36
Luke’s version begins, “Now about eight days after these sayings, [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray” (28). Unlike Matthew and Mark, Luke will draw our attention to the fact that it was for prayer that they went off and that the main focus of the prayer time would be the hard “sayings” Jesus delivered to them–those sayings about his own death and his followers dying to themselves (see 9:21-27). This means the Transfiguration of Jesus event was clearly carried out for the benefit of these disciples, and every disciple who would hear about it afterward, that they would be encouraged to follow the Son of God into a life of “death” and “resurrection” just like his.
Devotionally, we ask ourselves: how exactly does Jesus call me to lose my life so I might save it? Can I really do it? What does “seeing” the vision of the transfigured Lord in the company of Moses and Elijah mean for me as I ponder these questions? How does “hearing” the voice of the Father affirming for me, “This is my Son,” and commanding me, “listen to him,” mean for me as I take the first small step forward? Jesus in Luke says the true disciple must “take up his cross daily and follow me (9:23). What does that mean for me this day?
Today, Jesus, by your Spirit and only by your Spirit, I see your “altered” face and hear the voice of the Father, and I thank you for the courage it all gives me to do the next hard thing you want me to do.
Today in the Spirit
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