Mtr Taylor Devine

And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Luke 9:29

Dear Friend,

In the Gospel appointed for today we have Luke's portrait of the Transfiguration. The portrayal starts with the power of God shown by the Prophets gathering, Moses and Elijah, with Jesus. These prophets from across time converse about Jesus' "departure," his Exodus. The Glory and Presence of God is shown by the cloud, and hear God's voice, and we hear of the disciples suggesting they make three dwellings, so that the Prophets and Jesus can all remain.

Much has been made of their desire to stay, "it is good for us to be here," as a normal desire, to stay on the mountain, to stay with the known. But weren't they terrified? How were their hearts so tuned in, so trusting that they had the holy impulse to dwell there? They knew from the Hebrew Scripture that there were the three booths commemorating the Exodus. How did they make sense of this Exodus, how did they know that Jesus' Exodus - his death, resurrection and ascension at Jerusalem?

Jesus, on the way to his death, will be cast aside. The light that engulfs him in his Transfiguration, must be more than a brilliant display of power for the disciples, it must be a transformation.

"I have been cast aside but I sparkle in the darkness" is a line by Pauli Murray who a lawyer at the time (1969) but soon to be the e first African American woman who was ordained an Episcopal Priest (1977).
When she could not act, she wrote, and the holy risk-taking and fearlessness she showed is catalogued in her poems, sermons and life story. I wonder what transfiguring moment took her to the place where she wrote that line, knowing of her own future struggles? Knowing of the way God would be with her? How can we walk with God and God's people in a way that allows us to be transfigured, changed, in Christ?

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:2)

Taylor