Meditation on the lessons for Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-42; Luke 9:28-36
One of the questions that several folks at the United Church of Colchester have been asking lately is how we experience God in our lives. The lessons associated with Transfiguration Sunday point to one of the ways I answer this question.
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. (Exodus 34:29)
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. (Luke 6:28-29)
In the passages from Exodus and Luke, the encounter with the Holy on the mountaintop left Moses and Jesus with an extraordinary radiance on their faces. It was evident that both had been in the immediate presence of the Almighty.
Rooted in these two significant narratives, along with numerous others from cultures worldwide that feature mountains, the encounter with the divine, or the holy, has been termed a mountaintop experience.
If you've ever visited a mountaintop, you'll understand why that expression fits perfectly, particularly on a day or night when the sky is crystal clear. During the day, it feels like you can see endlessly, and at night, it seems as though you could reach out and touch the stars.
Thin Places
Mountaintop experiences illustrate thin places, environments that naturally seem to diminish the distance between us and the sacred, divine, or holy. However, such experiences aren't confined to mountain climbs. Various settings can serve as thin places. Many, like St. Francis, have discovered God in Nature. Others perceive holiness in a peaceful, secure spot, such as a rocking chair on the porch during the early morning or late evening. Still, others bridge the gap between us and God through meditation, visiting ancient holy sites, sitting in a church, or even running or walking.
The essential task is for each of us to seek out potential thin places where the gap between us and the Divine feels less daunting and more attainable. May you all be blessed with the discovery of your own thin places!
Thin Places
We
Seek,
We sometimes
Despair, for thin places
Where it seems that the distance
Between heaven and earth is less than normal
Places where we experience Presence profoundly
That
Is why
We seek
Mountaintops
And hear of mountaintop
Experiences throughout the Word
Thin
Places
Are those
Chosen by God
And often stumbled
Upon by humans whether
They are seeking or just existing
An exquisite sunset, a tranquil lake
A special room full of meaning or simply quiet
Places recognized as holy, sometimes, but more often
Made holy by becoming thin in the moment of Presence
You
May seek
You should seek
But more importantly
Simply be open to thinness
And be astounded at the greatness of God
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