Above: Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor
Image Source = Library of Congress
Transfigurations
MARCH 3, 2019
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Exodus 34:29-35 (Richard Elliott Friedman, 2001):
And it was when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’s hand when he was coming down from the mountain. And Moses had not known that the skin of his face was transformed when He was speaking with him. And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses; and, here, the skin of his face was transformed, and they were afraid of going over to him. And Moses called to them. And Aaron and all the chiefs in the congregation came back to him, and he spoke to them. And after that all the children of Israel went over. And he commanded them everything that YHWH had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And Moses finished speaking with them, and he put a veil on his face. And when Moses would come in front of YHWH to speak with Him, he would turn away the veil until he would go out; and he would go out and speak to the children of Israel what had been commanded. And the children of Israel would see Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face was transformed, and Moses would put back the veil on his face until he would come to speak with Him.
Psalm 99 (New Revised Standard Version):
The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees,
and the statutes that he gave them.
O LORD our God, you answered them;
you were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy.
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6 (An American Translation):
So since I have such a hope, I speak with great frankness, not like Moses, who used to wear a veil over his face, to keep the Israelites from gazing at the fading of the splendor from it. Their minds were dulled. For to this day, the same veil remains unlifted, when the read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed. Why, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil hangs over their minds, but
whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
Now the Lord here means the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, reflecting the splendor of the Lord in our unveiled faces, aer being changed into likeness of him, from one degree of splendor to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart. I disown disgraceful, underhanded ways. I refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s message. It is by the open statement of truth that I would commend myself to every human conscience in the sight of God. If the meaning of my preaching of the good news is veiled at all, it is so only in the case of those who are on the way to destruction. In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them. For it is not myself but Christ Jesus that I am proclaiming as Lord; I am only a slave of yours for Jesus’ sake. For the God who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
has shone in my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, that is on the face of Christ.
Luke 9:28-42a (New Revised Standard Version):
About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus,
Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah
–not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!
When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted,
Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.
Jesus answered,
You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.
While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
The Collect:
O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us 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.
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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
Prayer of Confession:
Prayer of Dedication:
O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/o-wondrous-type-o-vision-fair/
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I like this Sunday, for its readings match up nicely. Exodus and 2 Corinthians refer to Moses wearing a veil after communing with God, a counterpart to the never veiled Jesus during the Transfiguration. This is a prime example of why lectionaries are useful.
The presentation of Yahweh in the Torah is awe-inspiring. One ought not look too closely, for to do so would be dangerous. And Moses had an incredibly shiny face from communing with God. (All Charlton Heston got was streaked hair!) But, for most people, there was a certain distance, and Moses found a veil necessary in public.
The Transfiguration revealed our Lord’s true nature. But notice that there was no veil in the area. Part of the meaning of the Incarnation is God’s approachability, indeed God’s approaching. There is always a mystery there, but it is one which seeks us out.
I suspect that there is much poetry–perhaps more than literal truth–in the Exodus and Luke accounts. This does not trouble me, for poetry and metaphor are frequently better at conveying deep truth than are any straight-forward reports. As we moderns read the Bible, may we not abandon religious imagination, often the most memorable and profound aspect of certain texts. In religious imagination we encounter God in beauty, something mere facts cannot convey. How will our encounters with God in such beauty change us and be obvious to others?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 14, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FULBERT OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHOP OF ARKANSAS, AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT, AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
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SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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