Glory Revealed

I recently learned that the Feast of the Transfiguration was celebrated first by the Eastern Orthodox Church beginning somewhere around the sixth century. However, in the Roman Catholic Church, regular and required observance of the Feast of the Transfiguration was not established until 1457 under Pope Calixtus III. While we could explore what this means about the differences between the Eastern and Western churches, what strikes me most is how this singular event recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels eventually became recognized by the worldwide church (even among Protestants in the centuries that followed) as fitting for a feast day, that is, a day of particular importance and celebration. Though we do not call them “feasts,” Christmas and Easter are feast days in the liturgical calendar shared by Christians across denominations, countries, languages, and cultures.

However, for the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Feast of the Transfiguration is a set date in August. So why do we United Methodists observe Transfiguration Sunday on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday? There are likely a number of reasons, some theological, some logistical, and others political, but I want to emphasize here the narrative and theological bridge that Transfiguration Sunday offers us into Lent. The Transfiguration is a foretaste of the glory of Resurrection, a revelation of Jesus’ divinity that has been hidden, yet is no less real. The Transfiguration does not erase Jesus’ humanity but demonstrates the union of full humanity and full divinity in the person of Jesus.

So, consider how to sing, preach, pray, and rejoice in the glory of God revealed in Christ this week. Sing “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” (United Methodist Hymnal 103). Declare the wonder, awe, and mystery that Christ’s glory calls us into. Perhaps even introduce your congregation to the meditations of Pseudo-Dionysius’s The Mystical Theology, in which the writer reflects on entering the clouds and the “unknowing” of who God is. Find ways to revel in the mystery of Christ’s glory and then descend back down the mountain to begin the journey to the cross, the tomb, and the Resurrection that will begin in just a few days.