“Glimpses of glory”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Saturday, June 15, 2024

Matthew 17:1-13 (Forward, p. 48) CEV p. 1004

I hope that all of us have experienced some instance of incredible beauty or wonder or glory—perhaps something from the world of nature, a mountain vista, a seaside glimpse of the sky and sea, an untamed waterfall, or perhaps the splendid aurora borealis, the northern lights. Or perhaps, this ‘glimpse’ came from a more human source, as in the birth of a child. Or as been my experience a least a couple of times, to have been something more supernatural, more unworldly. Here I think especially of the graveside service for the Rev. Canon Danny Umpherville. Just as we were able to lower his casket into the ground, Cree elder pointed out to me that Danny’s casket—his head, to be precise—would be laid in the exact location of the altar of Danny’s first church! How very special that was. It was sort of spooky. It gave me shivers just to think of it.

Here, in today’s passage, the chosen three disciples, Peter, James and John, have their own experience of ‘spookyness’. They see Jesus transformed, transfigured, and speaking with two beyond-the grave figures, Moses and Elijah, and they experience a voice and the Shekinah cloud of God’s glory. It is for them a rather awesome and spooky, and somewhat frightening, business. It was a kind of harbinger of what was to come, a foretaste of the glory that Jesus used to enjoy and soon would enjoy again. And first, of course, had to come the utter degradation, horror, and pain of the Crucifixion. This glimpse of Jesus’ glory would come in handy as a kind of antidote for all that awfulness’, something they could fall back upon when it all seemed too much to bear.

My prayer is that each of us will have our own special moments, our tastes or glimpses of glory, something from God that we help us through our difficult or nasty times and give us hope of what is to come. God is indeed with us helping us through it, and so such times remind us of this glorious reality. Thanks be to God for such times.

Forward notes: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” (verse 5b)

“Brother Micah, the aged Franciscan monk, entered the prison in a simple robe and sat among 40 awestruck prison inmates and volunteers. I

thought, ‘Here is a holy man, a guru, the one to whom you climb a mountain top to discover the secret of life.’ The chaplain concluded Micah’s introduction with ‘Listen to him.’ Brother Micah closed his eyes and was silent for a long while. Just when I thought he had dozed off, Micah met the inmates’ eyes, ‘Have you ever been crushed, face down on the ground, afraid to look up?’ Most eyes cast to the floor, including mine. Brother Micah shared his brokenness, ‘Sometimes, I feel bruised, cast in a dark pit, forgotten, with no way out. That’s when I hear God’s voice. That’s when I listen to Jesus.’ Amens resonated through the chapel.

“Hearing Micah’s words, I felt this holy man had humbly and lovingly descended from the mountaintop to be among us. In a place where strength and bravado reigned, Brother Micah emptied himself and became a vulnerable, fragile human among us. Just like Jesus. Amen.”

MOVING FORWARD: “Today, take time to listen to Jesus.”