Readings:
Genesis 12:1-4; Matthew 17:1-9

Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation.‘
Genesis 12:1, 2

Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain… There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them… Then Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.’ When they heard this, the disciples fell on their faces, overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘do not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus.
Matthew 17:1-8

We read the Scriptures in order to find the God of Abraham and of Jesus in our own lives. God did not just give Abram orders from on high: God entered into an agreement with Abram, called a covenant. Nomadic peoples entered into covenants with one another for their mutual protection, promising that in future ‘my enemies will be your enemies, my friends will be your friends’. The contracting parties then dismembered an animal, laid it on the ground, walked between the dismembered parts and declared ‘if I am untrue to this covenant, may the same happen to me as has happened to this animal’! In Genesis 15, God tells Abram to take animals, cut them and leave a space between the halves. At night a firebrand appeared that went between the halves. ‘That day Yahweh made a Covenant with Abram’.

In Christian understanding, Jesus is the fulfilment of this covenant, because in him God has entered into the closest possible covenant with us. Jesus said, ‘The Father and I are one’ (John 10:30) but he also said ‘in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40). God and human beings are inseparably bonded, ‘The life you have’, Paul says, ‘is hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3). Our journey’s destination is God and we move towards him as we move towards one another in truth, in justice and in love. On the journey we meet with opposition not only from outside, but most of all from within ourselves, for the paths of untruth, injustice and violence offer us advancement, security against want and against our enemies, acclaim and popularity, while the paths of truth, justice and love can threaten our wealth, position, and even our lives, as Jesus was threatened. Just before the Transfiguration Jesus warns, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me’ (Luke 9:23).

The Transfiguration is a momentary revelation of the reality of Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, Emmanuel, God with us. The human experience of the holiness of God has been described as tremendum et fascinans, that is, it both attracts and frightens. Peter is attracted and wants the experience to be permanent, but he is also frightened, and falls to the ground. Jesus says ‘Don’t be afraid’ and the disciples see ‘only Jesus’.

This is a passage to be prayed imaginatively, begging God to give us a glimpse of the glory in which we are living. We are caught up in a drama which goes far beyond anything we can think or imagine, in which the whole of creation is involved. ‘From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth’ (Romans 8:22). Our minds form ideas and images of God as though God were outside, beyond, but God is also within us, enveloping us, delighting in and cherishing us. This is the reality. It is right that we should ask for a glimpse of this glory, so that afterwards, we may know that our present state of perception is distorted, that ‘we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror’ (1 Corinthians 13:12). In the Transfiguration the disciples glimpsed the reality: afterwards, when they saw ‘only Jesus’, the full reality was again hidden from them. Pray for an inner knowing, which is deeper than sensible feeling, or any neatly formulated thought, that our life really is ‘hidden with Christ in God’.

Prayer
Lord, give us a glimpse of the reality in which we are now living, enfolded in your goodness, and give us hope in the glory you have promised us. We ask you this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.