Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
The
Transfiguration of our Lord
Luke 9:28-36
Mathew Thomas
Horeb MTC of LA, CA
29 And
while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes
became dazzling white.
The Transfiguration account illustrates a meeting, an intersection, of the divine world with the earthly world. We get a rare glimpse of what Heavenly beings look like when crossing the breach into our world, at least as can be perceived by our frail human senses. The brilliance and true majesty of what the disciples were witnessing was far beyond their limited visual acuity. What the three disciples were witnessing was so far beyond their perceptions, they just saw brilliant white. Later on in the Bible, even John, while seeing a vision of the heavenly Christ while on the island of Patmos, had a similar description, writing, “The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire”. Christ’s transformation was not only in the outward visage, but in essence. Luke say’s “became as bright as a flash of lightning”. So it was as bright to him as looking into a light source, not just something of white color. Even in Exodus 34 it says of Moses, “that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.”
When the divine world enters into our world, we no longer recognize what we see. God’s Kingdom is beyond our senses and our comprehension. But it’s not only when God is directly in front of us on a mountain top where we can’t see him fully. Even when he is in our everyday midst, expanding the Kingdom of God here on earth, we still don’t see Him. When we just rely on what our limited senses tell us about the world, we will fail to see God at work each and every day right in front of us.
In Luke’s recounting of the Transfiguration, we learn something that the other gospels don’t share. We learn that Jesus went to the mountain to pray. Luke specifically mentions this, making a distinct connection between prayer and this supernatural transformation.
If we reach to God just as Jesus did in times of struggles, that communion and fellowship will enlighten our life and lead us to God's path. Divine presence always purifies us and that symbolizes the white color.
If we wish to see God’s presence in this life, we need to open our eyes wider. To see the supernatural divine presence of God, we need to come to Him in prayer each day to allow us to perceive more than just the visible wavelengths of light the world gives us, and to see Him more clearly.
The Transfiguration account illustrates a meeting, an intersection, of the divine world with the earthly world. We get a rare glimpse of what Heavenly beings look like when crossing the breach into our world, at least as can be perceived by our frail human senses. The brilliance and true majesty of what the disciples were witnessing was far beyond their limited visual acuity. What the three disciples were witnessing was so far beyond their perceptions, they just saw brilliant white. Later on in the Bible, even John, while seeing a vision of the heavenly Christ while on the island of Patmos, had a similar description, writing, “The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire”. Christ’s transformation was not only in the outward visage, but in essence. Luke say’s “became as bright as a flash of lightning”. So it was as bright to him as looking into a light source, not just something of white color. Even in Exodus 34 it says of Moses, “that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.”
When the divine world enters into our world, we no longer recognize what we see. God’s Kingdom is beyond our senses and our comprehension. But it’s not only when God is directly in front of us on a mountain top where we can’t see him fully. Even when he is in our everyday midst, expanding the Kingdom of God here on earth, we still don’t see Him. When we just rely on what our limited senses tell us about the world, we will fail to see God at work each and every day right in front of us.
In Luke’s recounting of the Transfiguration, we learn something that the other gospels don’t share. We learn that Jesus went to the mountain to pray. Luke specifically mentions this, making a distinct connection between prayer and this supernatural transformation.
If we reach to God just as Jesus did in times of struggles, that communion and fellowship will enlighten our life and lead us to God's path. Divine presence always purifies us and that symbolizes the white color.
If we wish to see God’s presence in this life, we need to open our eyes wider. To see the supernatural divine presence of God, we need to come to Him in prayer each day to allow us to perceive more than just the visible wavelengths of light the world gives us, and to see Him more clearly.