The Desire to be Amazed – 19 February 2023
Matthew 17:1–9
Christ's transfiguration also teaches us to understand the apparent contradictions of our own lives. Like Peter, we can never bask in the glorious presence of God. The valley of the shadow of death often lies before us, whether it is the loss of health, a broken relationship, or the actual death of a loved one. Peter would soon learn the difficult lesson that God's glory is often hidden under suffering.
Christ's face that was as bright as the sun would become pale with anguish. Christ's clothes that were once dazzling white would become stained crimson with his own blood, and yet, this did not change the fact that God's glory was in the person of Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son.
Are you now in the valley of the shadow of death yearning for the mountain of God's glorious presence? Look to Mount Calvary. Let your eyes of faith pierce through the gloom and see God's glorious love shining through Christ's pallid face and blood-stained clothes. See God's glory hidden in Jesus Christ. See there your own life as well, God's glory hidden in your own sufferings. –– John Paul Salay
2 Peter 1:16–21
“Mountaintop moments” are holy moments, spirit-filled moments, when all our senses seem alive with delight and adrenaline and joy. . . Some of us have had experiences like this in church! Those of us who were baptized as young people or adults may remember the moment of being submerged when we thought, just for a second, that we might drown. Later we couldn't really explain except to say that somehow, we could feel God with us.
Or perhaps there have been moments when we're receiving communion and have been caught by surprise because suddenly it wasn't just bread or wine or grape juice, but a holy meal of participation in something far greater than the simple elements we consumed.
Some of us have heard words or music in worship that touched something deep within us and we find ourselves feeling that we are not alone after all, but are surrounded by the love of God, and we notice that we are smiling—or weeping—before we even knew what is happening.
Whether these experiences occur in church or on the beach, when we find ourselves stopping what we're doing because we just have to say “Wow!” we are in the presence of God, and like the disciples with Jesus on the mountain, we want those experiences to last forever. . .
What might Holy Week be like this year if during the forty days of Lent we have conquered that mountain of lack of self-confidence or busyness or addiction or fear? –– Daphne Burt
Exodus 24:12–18
The LORD directs Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain,” where Moses experiences the presence of the Lord and receives the stone tablets on which were inscribed the commandments. The Exodus reading presents elements of a theophany—the LORD's glory, the cloud—that will also appear in the Gospel reading. –– Joseph McHugh
John Paul Salay is Loyola University’s Minister of Liturgy and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
Daphne L. Burt, an ELCA pastor, has served in church and college settings as pastor or chaplain in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, Illinois, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. She has a DMin from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.
Joseph McHugh is a freelance writer from New Jersey, and a former weekly newspaper columnist writing on lectionary readings and whose recent writing includes Explain That to Me!: Searching the Gospels for the Honest Truth about Jesus (ACTA Publications).
Homily Service 41, no. 1 (2007): 131–141.