Reflection 6 March 2011 The Transfiguration

Hello again,

This week we have the celebration of the transfiguration. It is a time that confused Peter, James and John, but it revealed to them beyond any shadow of a doubt that Moses and Elijah, though they had died many years previously - they lived! and also that Jesus was no ordinary man - Jesus is God the son.

The reflection doesn't actually mention these points.... but they are also important to note as they have important implications for our lives and what we believe.

Bye for now,

Niki

Year A March 6 2011 Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 24: 12-18 Psalm 2 OR Psalm 99 2 Peter 1: 16-21 Matthew 17: 1-9

Exodus 24:15-16 “When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud.”

So many years ago there was an important event that took place, yet there are so many significant things about this event that we fail to understand. For a start, and most obviously, the law of God was given. So often we’ve heard the story that we may, in our familiarity, overlook the significance of this. Many years prior to this event God had given just one law and that one being, not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

It was on the 6th day that God made man and it was on the 7th day that He rested. At this point in history mankind knew God and lived in the garden of God where all was provided and there was no death or suffering. It was a place of rest and provision. I would imagine that on the 7th day God and mankind enjoyed their relationship. In our reading about Moses we read that for 6 days the cloud of the presence of God covered the mountain, and on the 7th day God called Moses. Moses then went up the mountain to receive the law of God.

Interestingly enough one of the laws that Moses came down the mountain with was to keep holy the 7th day, which technically is the Saturday- although it is not so much the name of the day that is important, but a message that God was trying to convey.

Matthew 17: 1-3 “ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

I think we can assume that after 6 days comes the 7th day... so it appears that Peter, James and John went up the mountain with Jesus on the 7th day.

We live on this earth and in many ways we live the days one through to six, but do we live the 7th day? We know that Moses gave the people the commandments from God and there was a very important one about keeping holy the Sabbath or 7th day – why was this so important to God?

Moses received the law of God and to many people they saw it as a bunch of rules, but we learn from the Psalms that the law of God is perfect and that it revives the soul and brings life. In fact the law of God reveals two things to us. It reveals God’s perfect character and it brings to light our inability to keep God’s law. We discover just how perfect God is and how imperfect we are.

When Moses went up the mountain not only was God’s law given, but God himself was revealed. God was revealed personally to Moses and, through the law, He was revealed to the nation. When Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain God was revealed. This was an encounter that enlightened and, through the witness of the event, the true nature of Jesus, God the son, has been revealed to many.

2 Peter 1:16-18 “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.”

Peter goes on to talk about the witness of the prophets and their writings. He tells his readers that these writings and the witness of themselves are reliable sources. It never ceases to amaze me how so many people itch to hear amazing revelations of God but look for these in places apart from the obvious. I was recently told of someone looking in other places for answers and heard what they thought was a great sermon that preached on the years of Jesus between the age of 12 and 30. There is nothing written about Jesus in this time and so the preaching was all theoretical and bordering on heresy. We need to be discerning about what to listen to. There are many books and theories that are “spiritual”. They contain some truth. But that is the essence of every good lie... a large dash of truth and just the tiny important aspect twisted.

We need a revelation of God for ourselves. We need to find our 7th day with God.... not just physically – but spiritually.... we need to encounter God and divinely receive his revelation.

We can see from history that people can strive to be the people of God trusting in the revelation of another and receiving the message second hand, but this often leads to falling away. The Israelites of Moses time were the recipients of many miracles and yet they continued to fall from faith in God.

The disciples following Jesus were about to encounter major persecution. They needed the personal encounter with God. They still failed – but they didn’t fall away – they were not lost. St. Paul was persecuting the church prior to his conversion. He was struck down blind and heard the voice from heaven. After this St. Paul could face stoning, imprisonment and persecution because his revelation of God was personal. Though not everyone has such a dramatic personal revelation, we each need to seek God for the personal revelation of His truth and love for us.

The 7th day is a time of resting in the relationship we have with God. It is a time for us to truly know God for who He is and it is a time of God’s provision and His empowerment for us. It is also a time of resting from our work. We need to remember that we are unable to perfectly keep His law, but because of our relationship with Him our lack has been paid for. It could be said that we actually live each day as the 7th day: resting, relying and trusting in the relationship with have with God.