Gn. 15: 5-12, 17, 18; Ps. 27: 1, 7-9, 13, 14; Phil. 3:17-4:1; Lk. 9: 28b-36
God is pure spirit, a voice in the cloud of unknowing Peter, John, and James find themselves frightened. The voice of God in the cloud is the proclamation of today, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him”. Today’s gospel reading is the Transfiguration of the Lord. What does this mean? Is it simply the outer appearance of his face changing and his clothes becoming “dazzling white” or is it a manifestation of something more profound? Since we believe all scripture is a revelation of God, his Son and the Spirit we can discern meaning and truth about Jesus beginning with Abram.
Abram prefigured Jesus in “righteousness” obedient to the Lord in offering the sacrifice God requested. Abram received the covenant with descendants beyond the count of the stars. The transfiguration is the new sign of Jesus the righteous one whose kingdom will reign forever. With Jesus appear Moses as a sign of obedience to the law and Elijah as a sign of fulfilling prophesies. What do they speak of? They “spoke of his exodus.”
The exodus is the coming of the Lord’s passion, death and ascension. This is the sacrifice of himself in atonement for our sins in which he becomes fulfillment of the covenant promise. Christians, followers of Christ are the descendants of the new covenant beyond the number of stars we can count and “our citizenship is in heaven.” We too must experience our “exodus” from this world and be transformed by our conversion into the image of Christ.
In the transfiguration is the glorified body to come for those who “stand firm in the Lord”. We see the victory over death in Moses and Elijah already in their glorified state. We receive the promise and he will “bring all things into subjection to himself.” By the power of Jesus we share in his glory but first we must learn the lesson of Jonah in Nineveh. “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.” So they repented, fasted, and they all prayed. Lent is our 40 days to repent, fast, and pray for conversion. It is a reminder sin has consequences. Forgiveness comes with conversion and God is merciful. “A heart contrite and humbled, O God you will not spurn.”
Our God is a God of mercy and justice. In mercy God grants us another chance at redemption if we turn away from our sinful ways and do what is right. Our sins are not who we were created to be but we own them by our decisions. We also have the opportunity to receive God’s grace if we seek forgiveness we will be cleansed and live. In justice we are responsible for our choices and if we turn away from God and do evil even our good works will not save us, we shall die.
For those who say “once saved always saved” read Ez. 18: 21-28 and receive the word of God. God does not “derive pleasure from the death of the wicked…but rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live”. Also true is “a virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil…he has broken faith and committed sin…because of this, he shall die.” Salvation is not cheap grace, it is sacrificial love.
Our lent is our time to focus on our conversion of heart and lasting change. It transcends beyond obedience to the law of God. It discerns the intent of our hearts in our behavior seeking true love, sacrificial love. This is change that liberates us from our temptations, sinful behavior, self-defeating thoughts, poor judgment, and weakness. Turn to the power of the name that sets us free.
In the name of Jesus we claim our victory our sin, fear, and evil that “prowls around the world seeking the ruins of souls” damaging our relationships and wounding our souls. This does not have to be if we but “Listen to him!” Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets and he brings us the good news of eternal life. We were born to live “Listen to him!” I believe, I trust, I pray, and I go forth not in fear but in faith.
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