God shares glory—Transfiguration of Jesus, Year C (10 February, 2013)

Readings
Exodus 34.29–35
2 Corinthians 3.12–4.2
Luke 9.28–43

If you look on the inside of my office door, you’ll see a piece of paper with something written on it. It was put there during the time of the previous minister; I’ve kept it because I love it. It’s a wonderful saying that has been handed down through the centuries to us, first uttered by St Irenaeus, who lived in the second century AD (that is, in the 100s). He was bishop of the town we know today as Lyons, in France.

So what does this piece of paper say? This:

The Glory of God is
for a human to be
fully alive!

The glory of God is a human being fully alive. The strange story of the Transfiguration shows us a human being who is fully alive.

Jesus takes three disciples, Peter, James and John up a mountain to pray. (Traditionally, it is usually assumed to be Mt Tabor.) They don’t know what they’re in for! Jesus is changed, his clothes dazzle them, Moses and Elijah are there(!?) and a cloud descends. From the cloud, God tells them

This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!

And then the cloud lifts and Moses and Elijah are gone. And some commentators wonder why the disciples told no one about this. I don’t!

This story is told by Matthew, Mark and Luke; a couple of other parts of the New Testament may refer to it as well. John 1.14 is a possibility:

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

It’s just possible that “we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son” is a memory of the Transfiguration.

It’s much more likely that 2 Peter 1.16–18 refers to the Transfiguration:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.

The word that occurs in both passages is “glory”. God is “the Majestic Glory”, and Christ is clothed in glory: “we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son”.

I want to emphasise one thing today: God is generous with glory. God shares glory with us through his Son Jesus Christ.