Feast of the Transfiguration

 


FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION 


Imagine that you are reading an Ian Flemming novel. The main character has walked into a trap, and now the situation appears to be hopeless. You can’t help wondering if this might be the end for Agent 007, a.k.a. James Bond. Still, you can see there are additional chapters that will follow this particular chapter. Your curiosity compels you to look ahead, to take a “sneak peek” at one of the later chapters. Sure enough, Bond is still at it. He’s continuing to pursue his mission. So now you can go back to where it was that you left off. You commit yourself to the task of reading on. Yes, it’s a distressing point in the story. But you have this newfound sense of reassurance. You know that it’s just one chapter within a wider story. Bond would seem to be finished. Yet by peeking ahead, you come to recognize that it would be a mistake to write off a protagonist like James Bond. 


The disciples will begin to write off Jesus, when he undergoes his crucifixion. However, three of them have been granted a sneak-peek. Peter, James, and John were called upon to join Jesus on the top of Mt. Tabor. The vision on Tabor represents a preview of what is yet to come. Yes, they will witness something very distressing on the hill of Golgotha, outside of Jerusalem. They will look on helplessly as their Master suffers the agony of crucifixion. Our hope is that they will recall what was presented earlier on the peak of Mt. Tabor. They’ve been introduced to the crucified Messiah; now they need to prepare themselves so that they can be introduced to the triumphant Messiah—the Messiah who will shine in resurrection glory. 


Will it come across as a familiar experience? It should, given the fact that they caught a glimpse of this Messiah on Mt. Tabor. It was the equivalent of a sneak-peek. They were given the benefit of a sneak-peek because the Lord wanted them to be sustained. After all, the Calvary chapter was just around the corner. Calvary would spell absolute hopelessness—a hopelessness surpassing even what Flemming typically portrays in his fictional narratives. But the Calvary chapter is going to be followed by another chapter. The seemingly failed mission will take a miraculous turn. Despair will be transformed into joy. 


Should we call it an unanticipated joy? Let’s hope that it doesn’t rate as something completely unanticipated. Let’s hope that the Tabor event actually registered, at least to a degree. It was an act of compassion when Jesus provided this glimpse of glory. He wanted his original followers to be sustained as they struggled through the experience of their anguish. Similarly, he wants the same thing for those who follow him in this modern age. We face our own periods of anguish. Nevertheless, the Lord’s pattern has been outlined for us. It’s a pattern that speaks to the subject of hope. It needs to be understood as a particular kind of hope: a Gospel Hope, designed to sustain you as you face those inevitable episodes of anguish. 

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