Sunday 19 February 2023

Psalm 99

Background

Songwriter Joni Mitchell famously sings of looking at clouds ‘from both sides now’, referencing both their beauty and their tendency to block our view. The story of the Transfiguration has the same ambiguity; clouds are signs of God’s presence and glory, but they also obscure our vision and confuse us. It’s this ambiguity that makes the transfiguration such a rich and rewarding part of the gospel narrative.

What becomes clear? What God is doing in and through Jesus is of a piece with what God has been doing through the long history of prophetic wisdom. Moses and Elijah were both rejected by their people but vindicated by God. Both conveyed something of God’s transcendent glory, a glory that now shines from the face of Jesus.

What is obscure? Peter, James and John are understandably disorientated, wanting to capture the moment by building shelters for Moses, Elijah and Jesus (the Greek work is similar to the one used in John 1.14 to talk about the Word ‘living among us’). They are afraid and (like Paul on the road to Damascus) they fall to the ground.

Here is a moment in the gospel story that sees perceptions changing. Jesus is seen in a new light. It doesn’t seem to matter that the disciples don’t entirely understand what is going on. They are still content to follow where Jesus leads.

To Ponder:

• Can you recall a moment when your perception of a person or a situation dramatically changed? What was it that changed your view?
• What is it about Jesus that you don’t understand? Does that make it more difficult to follow him?