So it is with the Transfiguration. You can see it in the altarpiece and in the window in St Joseph’s Chapel based on the Raphael painting (at Transfiguration) and in the great apse mosaic(at St Bartholomew’s) by Hildreth Meiere under which I am preaching this evening. The use of light is one way of describing ultimate mystery or God or heaven. Think of the radiant light from heaven in Jacob’s Dream or the burning bush of Moses’ vision or the blinding light in Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road. Artists and poets throughout the ages also have been fascinated by the quality of light and used the imagery of light to convey mystery, divinity and otherness. I think of Dante’s Il Paradiso and the refulgent light coming from the white rose at the heart of paradise. I think also of the late paintings of the English early 19th century painter, Turner. From his early paintings of seascapes and mountains Turner became obsessed by the quality of light in landscape so much so that his last paintings the subject matter almost disappears in the radiant light of the canvass giving the pictures an ethereal, otherworldly aspect. Turner paved the way for the artists of the Impressionist school and their fascination with light. So it is with the Transfiguration. It places Jesus in a context which is heavenly, ethereal, mysterious and divine. This mysterious dimension in religion has come into its own as the old certainties fell foul to the trauma of the Civil War in this country, to the carnage of the First World War, to the Holocaust and to Hiroshima (the anniversary of which ironically falls on this day). In a post-modern world and indeed increasingly in science there is room once more for mystery, for not-knowing, for ambivalence and for doubt. In some ways the fortunes of the Feast of the Transfiguration in our own tradition speak of this.

The Transfiguration has always been an important feast day in the Christian East, in the lands of Orthodoxy. In Western theology, influenced by Augustine, Thomas Acquinas, Luther and Calvin, the emphasis has always been on Sin and Redemption: upon the Fall of Man and of Salvation through the Cross of Christ. In Orthodoxy by contrast there is a much greater emphasis on Creation and its goodness; of the place of mystery and glory in worship and theology; and upon the Resurrection as well as the Cross being the focus of our redemption. The Transfiguration fits much more naturally into the latter approach than into the former. Eventually the Transfiguration was given a feast day in the West in the 15th century. But in the eyes of the Anglican Reformers of the 16th century the Transfiguration smacked of all the wrong things. They were deeply suspicious of the element of mystery and of anything to do with the communion of saints. Furthermore they saw the Transfiguration as a medieval Roman accretion rather than a feast of the undivided church. So the Transfiguration was omitted from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer altogether and only got back into the 1662 Prayerbook as what is known as a black letter day (or a lesser feast) without Propers, that is Collect, Epistle and Gospel. What is interesting that the move to restore the Transfiguration to its proper place began in this country. This Church of the Transfiguration was the first church in the Anglican Communion to be so dedicated and it was in the 1892 revision of the American Book of Common Prayer that the feast was restored as a red letter day (or major feast with propers). It was not until the 20th century that the Church of England and other parts of the communion followed suit.

But what is it about the Transfiguration that is so important for all this attention?

One obvious but vital role played by the Transfiguration is to make a link between Old and New Testaments. There are so many features in this incident which link it to past events: the figures of Moses and Elijah are the most obvious speaking as they do both of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets as well as their presence heralding the Messianic era; the reference to the mountain recalls Moses of old ascending Sinai to talk to God as Jesus ascends the mountain (Tabor?) to pray to his Father. Both shine from their intimacy with the divine. In Luke Jesus speaks of his departure or his exodus looking forward to his death and resurrection and backward to the Exodus out of Egypt itself a victory of Freedom over Slavery, of life over death. And there is also the mysterious cloud and the voice coming out of the cloud recalling the shekinah, the cloud representing God’s presence resting on the Tabernacle in the wilderness. The effect of all this is to underline the fact that Jesus is part of the same process of Salvation reaching back to the opening of the Old Testament. Our God is consistent in his Saving Activity as he was in the Hebrew Scriptures and is in the person and work of Jesus.

The second thing to note about the Transfiguration is its physical placement in the gospel narrative. In Mark’s gospel in particular, generally agreed to by the earliest gospel, the Transfiguration is place dead center in the narrative and between the first and second Passion predictions. This is not by chance. What it provides is an interpretative device or lense for the Passion narrative to follow; it places the Passion in a broader context. The structure of Mark’s gospel is worth noting. It begins with the words “the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God” and climaxes after the crucifixion with the centurion saying “Truly this is the Son of God” with the Transfiguration revealing as it does the divinity of Jesus in the middle.

The third thing the Transfiguration does is again linked to the events of the Passion which is to come and for which the disciples and we as the readers are being prepared. Luke states clearly that the event took place “eight days after Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection” and as already mentioned that he spoke with Moses and Elijah of his departure or exodus. Peter’s response in wanting to enshrine the moment by building three shrines is wrong on two counts: first he wanted to treat all three figures alike which misses the point that Jesus is to be the fulfillment of Law and Prophecy; and second because you cannot hold onto or enshrine religious experience. It is the voice from the cloud which points the way forward: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him.” These words recalling the Baptism of Jesus remind Peter and the others that it is only in following Jesus that they will find true fulfillment. And then the vision gone “Jesus was found alone.” What the disciples learned was that the way ahead, a way that would lead to the Passion and Death of Jesus could not be short circuited. Jesus led them down the mountain into all the confusion of ministry; and of life and death.

But last by no means least the Transfiguration has within it a way of interpreting the Cross of Christ. If you visit the Pierpoint Morgan Library at present there is a small but exquisite exhibition of some of their impressive collection of Rembrandt prints and drawings. I notice the Metropolitan Museum is also mounting an exhibit of its collections this being the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth. In both exhibitions there are several states of the one engraving plate of “Christ crucified between two thieves”. What is fascinating to behold that while in the earlier states the whole scene is dark and foreboding the later states by comparison are suffused with light. This latter effect changes the interpretation of the scene. So much so that one is reminded of the theology of John’s gospel in which the Cross of Christ is the moment when the Christ is glorified, that the “glory of God is seen in the face of the Crucified Jesus.” The Transfiguration with Christ in glory at its heart is a foretaste of things to come.

And last but not least the Transfiguration provides us with a way of interpreting our own lives and our own destiny. See it as a process in which we are caught up into by our baptism and of which we are reminded at every eucharist: that by our faith and by our commitment the gospel values of love, peace and truth we are being transfigured “from glory to glory”.   Amen

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