Worship - 2 March 2025

Summary of this week's theme

In biblical terms, mountains, or high places, are where special encounters occur. Moses received the Ten Commandments and was transformed, his face shining so brightly that others couldn’t look at him. He also encountered the burning bush there, engaging in his first serious conversation with the God who refused to be named. Elijah, too, stood on a mountainside, listening for God - not in fire or earthquake, but in sheer silence.

In Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem and the final chapter on a hill outside the city, there is a pivotal moment on another mountain, also involving words from God. Peter, James, and John share this experience - a spiritual high, we might call it - where they see Jesus flanked by Moses and Elijah. Jesus himself does not change, but their perception of him does; they see him in God’s light.

Fittingly, this weekend marks the Academy Awards, celebrating transformation through film. This year’s nominees all deal with transformation: Bob Dylan reshaping music, Anora shifting identity, Cardinals navigating change in Conclave, and Emilia Perez exploring transformation in an extreme way. Even Wicked alters our perception of the Wizard of Oz.

What connects these stories to the transfiguration of Jesus? Each reveals something that was there all along, but not fully seen. The disciples glimpsed Jesus as God saw him, just as film can sometimes illuminate deeper truths about people and the world.

Our challenge is to see one another as God sees us - without illusions, yet with the recognition of our potential.  Like Peter, we may want to hold on to moments of revelation, but God calls us not to stay on the mountain but to return to daily life, transformed by what we have seen.  The disciples’ vision of Jesus prepared them for what lay ahead, just as glimpses of God’s glory strengthen us for our own journeys.

Each Gospel writer records the transfiguration differently, reflecting their own experience of Jesus. Luke presents Jesus as one who gives responsibility - his conversation with Moses and Elijah marks a new Exodus, leading to his departure and the disciples’ commission. And the learning never stops. However we perceive Jesus, there is always more to see.

Like Moses and Paul, who were transformed by God’s gaze, we, too, are invited into a close conversation with God - risky because it may change us in ways we do not expect. And if we are changed, we must discern what to do about it. Just as the best films leave audiences altered, the presence of God transforms those who dare to listen. The real question is: are we ready to see, and be seen, in God’s light?