Transfiguration of the Heart

A brilliant magician was performing on an ocean liner. But every time he did a trick, the Captain's parrot would yell, "It's a trick. He's a phony.That's not magic."
Then one evening during a storm, the ship sank while the magician was performing. The parrot and the magician ended up in the same lifeboat.
For several days they just glared at each other, neither saying a word to the other. Finally the parrot said,
"OK, I give up. What did you do with the ship?"The parrot couldn't explain that last trick! It was too much to comprehend, even for a smart parrot.
In todays Gospel passage….Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
Peter, perhaps like the Parrot, was frightened and confused. He said the first thing that poppedto into his head. He simply could not comprehend what was happening.
Awe does that to you. Mystery does that to you.
In today’s mountain stories, we explore the encounters of God & Humans. These include: Moses and Joshua in Exodus 24,
And Jesus with Peter, James and John in Matthew 17.
In Exodus 24:12-18, the story at Mount Sinai, Moses and Joshua find themselves in a cloud for six days before Moses is called by an unidentified voice (verse 14), the Voice of God. He then goes to the Summit by himself..
The mountain is covered by a cloud or “the glory of the Lord”. From afar, we are told the encounter appeared as a consuming fire — a fiery engagement on the mountain top.
We are not told what happens hidden in the cloud, leading us to ask: What is the nature of this human-divine, encounter?
Down below, in the valley….the people have fallen, the golden calf was created & worshipped.
Later, we discover that Moses was give the tablets… …the Law
In Matthew 17:1-9, we hear this profound tale of : Peter, James and John seeing Jesus with a glowing face and dazzling clothes. Jesus then encounters Moses and Elijah, and is instructed by these ancestors.
This then is the Epiphany!
The Light has come!
From 3 who came and affirmed the revelation of Christ at his Birth…(the Wise Ones)
To the Three who had Glory revealed to them at the Transfiguration… Peter, James & John
The Glory is Revealed.
The next big Revelation will be the three women at his Crucifixion & Resurrection…
But for today…we focus on the Mountain. On the one who transfigures the giving of the Law in Tablets, to the Law of Love.
For today, we focus on the Power & Mystery of the Summit & how we access the Power & Presence of the Divine in our midst today.
So, we must ask ourselves….
Where & How is God Revealed today? Where and how is God revealed to you? Where do you find revelation?
What mountain must we climb?
And, if we encounter such mystery…do we too try to grasp it, stake it down, try to hold on to it before it vanishes?
Unfortunately, mystery is illusive. It comes and goes before we are prepared.
An Episcopalian Priest named: Mary Foulke says…
“Mystery is not a club for the initiated but a challenge to those who think they know everything, know God."
Mystery invites us into the Silence, Into Awe.
This day, in the silence, in the Divine/Human encounter we call Communion, I invite us to embrace mystery, awe.
But, for me, this passage is also about something else…..
Randall C. Bailey says this…
“While these passages parallel Moses and Jesus, they get stuck on the law giver and not the liberator. Can we resist and transfigure these notions?”
In other words….
The Transfiguration is really about transforming the “rigidness of the Law” to the “righteousness of Love”
About ……
The Transfiguration of the;
“Tablets of Stone”, to the “Testimony of the Heart”
In other words…..Moses & Elijah are affirming & blessing this new way….
So that its no longer about following every jot & title of the law….but
Serving the God of Liberation & Love.
And the Good News is, we need not travel to the heights of a mountain top….we need only Be Still & Receive.
We need only say yes to the Love that has already Loved & Embraced us.