When Napoleon captured Rome in the late Eighteenth Century he took the Raphael painting back to Paris where some over eager Frenchman carefully varnished it. By the time the painting was returned to Rome after Napoleon's defeat in 1816 the varnish had darkened considerably and continued to do so. So much so that the darker hues of the lower portion were rendered even more obscure. You can see how dark the lower portion has become in our window. This in turn led to doubts as to the authenticity of the lower scene. Surely it was not the master's work but that of one of his pupils. It was not until quite recently when a major restoration of the Raphael Transfiguration was carried out that the whole was revealed in all its glory. As with our restored Stations the careful cleaning revealed all sorts of detail and color that had become obscured over the centuries. The cleaning also swept away all doubts as to the authenticity of the lower scene. The whole was clearly by Raphael and a masterpiece.

But why the two scenes? Well the short answer is that Raphael knew his theology or at least his patrons did. Let's go back to the Transfiguration itself. We know the scene well: Jesus in glory on Mt Tabor with Moses and Elijah on either side with the Peter, James and John looking on incredulously. There it is in the high altar piece and you can see the Raphael version in the St Joseph’s Chapel. This incident is one of a series of theophanies (or divine showings) in the synoptic gospels. This one crowns the lot with the addition of Moses and Elijah representing the Law and the Prophets of the Old Covenant pointing forward to Jesus, God’s long promised Messiah. This pivotal scene, coming as it does mid-way in the gospel narrative, is placed carefully between two of Jesus’ predictions of his coming Passion. Luke highlights that even more, noting that Moses and Elijah “were speaking of his departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

It is precisely this juxtaposition of the Glory of God glimpsed in the Transfiguration and this talk of the Passion and Death of Jesus that Peter did not understand. Peter blurted out: “Master it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” to which Luke adds the comment “not knowing what he said.” Peter wanted the show to stop and to remain as it was. As if you can do such a thing. Life is not like that. Time moves on. You can look back nostalgically to some event or experience in a relationship or a spiritual experience but you cannot hold on to it or recreate it. Michael Ramsey comments “Peter was at one and the same time utterly right (of course it was good to be there) and wildly wrong”(you have to move on spiritually as well as physically and psychologically).

There followed the mysterious cloud indicating the divine presence out of which came the voice “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”, a voice heard previously at the Baptism of Jesus. After the cloud and the voice “Jesus was found alone”. The response to Peter’s desire to encapsulate the moment of glory is met with the clear focus on Jesus. In other words follow him; listen to him. That is the way forward. So it is they accompany Jesus down the mountain only to find confusion and debate over the unresponsiveness of the other disciples (without Jesus) to the plight of the boy with a demon. You can see the confusion in the faces in the lower portion of the Raphael window. As we say they are all over the place with people gesturing wildly while the boy’s eyes have a craziness about them.

This juxtaposition of events is dramatic in its contrast: from the mysterious beauty of the mountain scene to human life in all its messiness below. And the Raphael window picks up this contrast so well with its contrasting colors: from the pale blue of the sky to the billowing robes of the transfigured Christ to the murky browns and darker colors of the scene below. And it is contrast that illustrates where Peter was wildly wrong. His response to the Transfiguration was to assume that that was all there was. All he had to do was to remain on the mountain with Christ in glory. Why go any further? But the voice of God directed him to listen and to follow Jesus on his continuing journey. And that journey took Peter and the other two disciples to the foot of the mountain back into the midst of human life where they were confronted with chaos and evil. But Jesus entered that situation and once again revealed his divinity in the rebuke he gave the demon by which the boy was healed. Like at the stilling of the storm Jesus was revealed as Lord of creation; the one who brought order out of chaos; who overcame evil and death. God’s glory is not only revealed on the mountain top but also in his engagement with evil and chaos in all its forms bringing about peace and reconciliation and healing. It is this truth which is played out in the Passion and Death of Jesus followed by his Resurrection and Ascension. The Transfiguration did not provide a short cut to glory but rather was another indicator along the Way to the Cross and through the Cross to the Resurrection.

This contrast we see in the Raphael window and in the Gospel narrative reminds us of the paradox at the heart of our faith: that the path to Glory is by way of the cross. It is as we enter into the messiness of life; as we confront chaos and evil and suffering in all its forms; as we seek to be agents of God’s peace, healing, truth and justice; as we reach out in love to our neighbor; it is then that we begin to comprehend and experience the transfiguring love of God.

Father Houghton, our Founder, knew that paradox in his own life and faith. It is not by chance that he chose the Transfiguration as the dedication of this church, the first in the Anglican Communion, and as its motto, Fides Opera. For him faith and works went hand in hand. He was clearly concerned that God be worshipped in the beauty of holiness evidenced by the rich beauty of this church with its dignified worship, good music and daily round of services. But at the same time he reached out in a remarkable social ministry that touched the lives of the poor and the needy and the marginalized. The stories of his hospital visits to Bellevue; of his care and concern for the local African American population sometimes at risk to his own life; his generous hospitality to the theater community at a time when that was that was not the norm; his availability to those in need day or night; these stories are legion. It is not surprising then that the window he chose to go over the original high altar was the Raphael Transfiguration which contains this balanced understanding within it.