Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, 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 bright as light. 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 set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud 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 raised their eyes, 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.”
Today I’d like to talk about the Glory of God. What is the glory of God? Well like any 3rd grader stuck on a math problem, we know the answer is Jesus. Which, yes that is the answer, but yes in a different way. S. Ireneus, the 2nd century bishop would answer the question by saying “The glory of God is the human person fully alive” The Transfiguration is often associated with the revelation of Jesus’s divinity, which is right and obvious. Normal humans do not glow like that. Or if they do glow tell your family you love them, but from a safe distance. Jesus is a divine person, with 2 distinct natures, a divine nature and a human nature. Fully Human. Fully Divine. Id like to view the Transfiguration from the lens of Christ human nature. In the Transfiguration, the Glory of God is fully alive in the humanness of Jesus, and in him, the humanness of us.
I have generally felt weird about my body for most of my life. I'm at the point where that is beginning to change. I'm satisfied for the most part. A solid 7/10. I think many people have been in a similar place with their own body. Being trans and recently coming to terms with being disabled has often brought bodies to my mind, bodies and their limitations. I am someone who does not want nor need medical assistance to transition at this point in my life, but many I know do. Many trans people feel a certain limitation of their body in communicating who they are. For my own part I felt constricted by what was around my body or what I could or could not do. Pretransition, my clothes, mannerisms, hair, even my glasses and shoes did not communicate who I really was. It was not until I began to push what I perceived to be the limitations of my body that I began to feel like I could be me. I had always been myself, but until I transitioned it was as if I lived under a veil, hiding who I was.
And I wonder if Jesus ever felt the same way? I wonder if Jesus, God Incarnate, ever found he could not express who he fully was? The whole point of the Gospel is ultimately the Divinity of Jesus, but the Gospel is full of people not believing him or putting their own meaning on to him. The people Christ encounters have a preconceived notion of how God would act and and look like. Those who have this preconceived notion do not recognize him, but are afraid of who Jesus is and what changes he might bring. For this brief moment, the veil is lifted.
This lifted veil is a similar to the experience of many trans people. We are able to find out who we are and when we express that newly discovered reality, there is a glow of joy and euphoria as bright as the sun. When I wore my first skirt I felt whole, like I was finally fulfilling a desire I had since early childhood. I have seen the refulgent smiles of my family putting a new and affirming name to who they are. I have seen the serenity from chest bond, ears pierced, and nails painted for the first time. I have been graced in those moments to feel and know the “peace which surpasses all understanding”
I believe transness is a gift from God. Transitioning brings new life to a person. They fully embrace who they have discovered themselves to be, like I hope all people grow to do. Jesus, In showing who he truly is, manifests the glory of God in his physical body, and so it is for all those who are joined to the mystical body of Christ. This manifestation can be the loving acts done to your neighbor, the hymns of praise sung at church, the quiet prayers offered in the silence of our hearts, the blessing of enemies. But I see the mystery of the Transfiguration reflected most clearly to me when a person understands who they truly are and embraces it. For me that is a spiritual aspect of Transness. Christ liberates us, all of us, to be fully alive, just as we are, the Beloved of God who are to be listened to.
The Transfiguration, this manifestation of God in our lives to others, Transness, can cause a lot of reactions from others. The three disciples (characteristically) jump between the right and wrong response. Peter affirms “it is good we are here”, yet is struck with fear at the voice of God. (I'm not going to fault him too much here, that has to be terrifying). When the disciples fall down in fear, our Lord tells them “get up and do not be afraid” I was struck by John Wesley’s commentary on do not be after. “And doubtless the same moment he gave them courage and strength” The idea of Jesus giving the disciples the courage and strength needed to understand what they had seen moved me. This is allyship. To see the supposed strangeness, take the courage and strength Jesus offers to us all and say “it is good we are here”
To close let us reflect on what happens next. Jesus reveals himself, then goes to Jerusalem to begin his passion. This last Epiphany is to give his disciples the courage and strength needed to journey with him to Calvary. So it is with us. God has manifested himself to us, so we might manifest him in us. The Transfiguration event ends with the promise of the Resurrection, when Christ glory is then forever displayed. He now invites us to go down the mountain and prepare for Lent, not as we were but as those who have seen the glory of God in Christ and now reflect his glory to others.