The Glory of God

An Epiphany Meditation on Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

Image by Valentin from Pixabay

MOMENTS OF TRANSCENDENCE

Before you read this article, pause for a few moments and connect with your deeper self. Think back on the last few hours or days and get in touch with what has been happening below the surface of your thoughts, words, activities, and relationships. You can do it now. I’ll be here when you get back.

With all the turbulence being thrown at us right now, it is easy to become so anxious and reactive that we lose our sense of self, our awareness of the miracle of our aliveness. But we cannot afford to allow the forces of confusion, chaos, and conflict to put us to sleep. We cannot give in to the overwhelm, anxiety, and paralysis. To do so is to lose both our humanity and our autonomy and become pawns in the games of those who sow disorder, division, and despair.

So now, I invite you to pause again and identify any recent moments of awe that have stopped you in your tracks. Feel again the catch of your breath, the widening of your eyes, the quickening of your heartbeat. Feel yourself getting lost in the simple, transcendent presence of Life. And then, once you’ve relived the experience, let your memory remind you of how you reentered the world. Notice the shift in your energy, your attitude, your sense of engagement with your environment and the other beings in it. And then simply notice the profound power of transcendence.

There is an immense power to experiences of awe and wonder. These moments when we witness something in the world we didn’t know existed open up a whole new way of seeing reality, ourselves, and what’s possible for us. It can be tempting to think that they are insignificant, that beauty and amazement are ’nice to have’ but not essential. We are too easily seduced into believing that what really matters is getting things done, meeting the deadline, being practical and realistic. But when we face life’s painful and difficult moments, what is practical and realistic can’t always help us.

When we have to endure chaos, turmoil, and pain, awe opens us to new possibilities. When the veil between heaven and earth falls away, our hope and courage are renewed and we can begin to see new possibilities; new ways through the storm. What we don’t always realise, though, is that transcendent experiences give us a glimpse of the face of God. It’s a powerful thing to experience God’s presence and glory in our lives and to know that God is with us, carrying us through the tough times. The great news is that God’s presence and glory are always seeking to break into our lives and we can encounter moments like this at any time. Perhaps they won’t all be dramatic or breathtaking, but they are enough to keep us connected with what brings us to life. As Anne Lamott writes:

When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere. It is so much more comfortable to think that we know what it all means, what to expect and how it all hangs together. When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it’s down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is “Wow,” that’s a prayer.^¹

THE GLORIFICATION OF JESUS

In the Gospels, the transfiguration is one of these transcendent moments that inspires and strengthens not just Jesus, but his disciples. At the start of his ministry, just before his wilderness temptations, Jesus experienced God’s glory shining on him, the Spirit filling him, and God’s voice affirming him (Luke 3:21-22). In the narrative of the writer of Luke’s Gospel, this moment of awe equipped Jesus for the coming temptations and the ministry that would follow. Now, immediately after Jesus’ first prediction of his death, he and his disciples experienced another divine encounter.²

For Jesus, this was the moment he began deliberately to journey toward Jerusalem and execution. I suspect that this may have been a second temptation experience—I would understand if he was wrestling with the need to run away. But as he was immersed in and filled with God’s glory, he was given an amazing gift: the power to face the suffering ahead. Somehow, as he saw the face of God and felt God’s glory radiating from his body, Jesus remembered that anything was possible. He was equipped to face the world’s worst because he had been touched by God’s best—and that meant that he could go on to reveal God’s face to the world in the most unlikely way—on the cross.

For the disciples, this was a moment when they saw Jesus in a whole new way. Peter had just declared Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 9:20) and, in Luke’s narrative, this glorious experience confirmed it to be true. Jesus’ transfiguration opened their eyes to God’s glory in human form. But in spite of this experience, they still didn’t understand. As the glory flashed around them, and Moses and Elijah appeared, they struggled not to fall asleep. Whether they were overwhelmed by terror at what they saw, or just didn’t grasp the significance of what was happening, the experience did not seem to impact them strongly enough to carry them through Jesus’ arrest and execution. Peter—never at a loss for words—wanted to cling to the glory and suggested building shelters or shrines (CEB) for Jesus, and the two prophets. He can be forgiven for not knowing what he was saying (Luke 9:33) and not yet being transformed by it because seeing God’s glory in a human being would have challenged everything he had been taught about God and the world. Later, when he experienced his own version of the transfiguration at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41), his response was completely different and it changed the rest of his life.

The writer of Luke does not settle for telling the transfiguration story as a mysterious and miraculous event. The next day, Jesus and his disciples were confronted with a demonised boy. The crowd were upset that the disciples (who hadn’t gone up the mountain) had been unable to liberate the child—even though Jesus had already given them authority to do so (Luke 9:1).³ It is almost as if the writer is giving us a glimpse forward in time. Jesus and his disciples would now be heading to Jerusalem and Jesus’ arrest, but despite everything they had witnessed, they would be unable to withstand the fear and temptations they would face. Jesus, on the other hand, was able to draw strength from his divine encounter and cast out not just this demon, but the evil that he confronted in his trial and execution. And, in showing Jesus’ power over the demonic, Luke affirmed not just that Jesus experienced God’s glory, but that he embodied it in himself.

THE GLORIFICATION OF US

If moments of encountering glory can empower us like this, how can we open ourselves to the new possibilities that God’s glory offers? Can we somehow find, in transcendent experiences, some sense of the glory within ourselves that Jesus did? The difference in Luke’s narrative between the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus is small but significant. At the baptism, God spoke to Jesus. At the transfiguration God spoke to the disciples—just three words: “Listen to him.” (Luke 9:35).