Lectionary Reflection
Year A, Last Epiphany
Standard (Episcopal) Lectionary – Revised
Common Lectionary
Gospel
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Matthew 17: 1-9 (Standard
and RCL)
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Six
days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ,
the Son of the Living God, Jesus took with him Peter and
James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain,
by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and
his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling
white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah,
talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord,
it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make
three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly
a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a
voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him
I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples
heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome
by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get
up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up,
they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
As
they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them,
"Tell no one about the vision until after the Son
of Man has been raised from the dead."
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| New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989
by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Church of Christ in the
USA, and used by permission. |
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Reflection
on Matthew 17: 1-9
by the Rev Dcn Helen Hanten
When Moses went
up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone with the law
and the commandments, God spoke from a cloud and appeared like
a devouring fire. When Jesus and his three closest disciples
climbed a mountain, the three suddenly saw Jesus differently
– dazzling – and God's voice came from a cloud.
Mountain tops
are places we can see the farthest. We can sometimes see
in all directions. We see over the top of things nearby and
look to a horizon which is farther away than we see from the
ground. This describes a good place for a search for the divine.
We need to be able to see more than our own routine of places
to be and things to see. We need to be dazzled by the light
of some new understanding, a new way to envision who, what and
where God is. We listen, in prayer, for God to speak.
But even there,
in these accounts, God speaks from a cloud. Clouds keep us from
seeing clearly. Fog, a cloud on the ground, can keep us from
seeing much of anything. Flying above clouds prevents us from
seeing the earth beneath us. Reality is obscured. But the cloud,
as a metaphor for that which obscures our understanding of God,
also tells us that it is in ordinary things of creation that
we encounter the presence of the Creator. Those times that we
feel God's presence dazzling us, God's voice may be heard in
the gifts of creation.
NOTE:
This reflection ties the Gospel Reading together with the Hebrew
Scipture (Old Testament) Reading. Helens's reflection
for both readings is identical.
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The Rev Dcn Helen
Hanten is a retired deacon and was an active member of St.
Andrew's By-the-Lake Episcopal Church, Duluth, MN, when she
originally wrote this reflection in 2002. Helen and we welcome
your comments. Please address your comments or additional reflections
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Hanten or any MEESC
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