“An arresting and compelling glimpse”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, February 11, 2024
Mark 9:2-9 (Forward, p. 13) CEV p. 1038
Glimpses of what might be: that is the wonderful thing that exposing young people to new vistas, whether that be on stage or in film, or in the trades or the professions, make possible. A young person seeing someone like him or herself on stage or in film creates the vivid and exciting thought, ‘hey, I could do that.’ And likewise, meeting a successful astronaut or engineer or scientist and hearing about that person’s road to where they are now arouses similar sentiments. All those are ‘possibilities.’
In a sense, Jesus’ revelation of Himself in the Transfiguration does a similar thing. However, it is not just a possibility: it is a foretaste of something that will actually be a reality. It was a glimpse of Jesus’ eternal glory, one that He originally enjoyed with His heavenly Father, and one that He would one day resume. But, perhaps more than that, and even more exciting, is that it is a glimpse of what we, you and I, will become in Christ Jesus. And surely, knowing this, having this dream—though its far more than a dream, will inspire us, empower us, and keep us going when the going gets tough, as it invariably will.
For course, Isn’t that truly exciting, truly arresting and compelling, but there’s more than that. The Scripture says that we will be like Him, for we shall one day see Him as He is (as He is in heaven.) (see 1 John 3:2). And so, as John explains in verse 3, will, in the meantime, try to keep ourselves holy and ready for Him. Surely, we would want to be like Him, He who is our model and our exemplar.
Forward notes: “And [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could bleach them” (verses 2b-3).
Commemoration: Transfiguration Sunday
“This passage is one of the times that the disciples have unquestioning proof that Jesus is God’s son. God provides data that the disciples will understand: the linear progression from Moses to Elijah to Jesus. Even
before God speaks to them from the cloud, the disciples react with terror. Peter, in particular, resorts to good-intentioned babbling about tents and rest. God explains what they are seeing, then Jesus tells them not to tell anyone until after the resurrection.
“How can these disciples keep such a transformative experience bottled up? It seems to be that if this happens today, it would be best to make the transfiguration story go viral to create new followers of Jesus. But God’s timing is different—viral videos versus delayed gratification, sensational gossip versus steadfast faith. Peter, James, and John aren’t ready to tell the story yet because they haven’t experienced the resurrection of Christ. They are not yet the seasoned disciples we see in the book of Acts.”
Moving Forward: “Imagine a social media post about the Transfiguration. What would it say? Share it with us at #ForwardDaybyDay.”
A concluding note: our author is absolutely correct. As ‘seasoned’ disciples, as she puts it, they first needed to know the wider context of Jesus’ glory. They would need to know that Jesus’ passion and death had to proceed His entering into glory, that, without them, there would be no possibility of new life or freedom or forgiveness for any of us. Thanks be to God.