Let the Light Shine Bright --- A Lectionary Reflection for Transfiguration Sunday, Year B (2 Corinthians 4)
2
Corinthians 4:3-6 New Revised Standard
Version
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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On Transfiguration Sunday we join
with Jesus as he climbs the mountain with three of his disciples. When they
arrived on that mountain top Jesus is joined by Moses and Elijah, the lawgiver
and the prophet. While these three conversed, Jesus was transfigured. Then a
voice from heaven called out “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
(Mark 9:2-10). The heavenly message was essentially the same as the one heard
by Jesus at his baptism. Mark’s description is of course spare in detail, but
we have enough to get a sense of the experience. And from Peter’s response to
the event, it’s clear that something dramatic has occurred. If we use Paul’s
words from 2 Corinthians as a guide, then what we have before us is an
unveiling of the light of God present in Jesus. As Vladimir Lossky notes, “In
so far as God reveals Himself, communicates himself and is able to be known, He
is Light. The divine light is not an allegorical or abstract thing; it is given
in mystical experience” [Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, p.
220]. Might the transfiguration be a moment of mystical experience where the
“light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” is
revealed to these three witnesses?
In the story of the transfiguration
event, we see the veil that kept the three disciples from fully perceiving that
light is lifted for a moment. However, according to Paul, the veil continues to
cover the eyes of those who to this point fail to see the light of Christ’s
glory. For Paul, that veil will be lifted as we come to understand the things
of God as they are revealed in Christ. So, if we participate in the life of Christ,
we can see the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, and thus experience
transformation through the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:12-18). What we see here in 2
Corinthians 4 is rooted in the conversation that begins in chapter 3 that takes
into consideration the revelation of God’s presence to Moses.
This brief reading for
Transfiguration Sunday stands as part of a larger conversation about Paul’s
ministry. Some have challenged his ministry and he seeks to defend that
ministry by speaking to the spiritual realities of his day. Part of his defense
includes a word about the “god of this world” who blinds the eyes of the
unbelievers. We moderns struggle with the idea that there are spiritual forces
that resist the ways of God. While we may have explanations unavailable to the
ancients about how the world works, it’s also possible that we are susceptible
to spiritual reductionism. We may have taken the process of demythologizing too
far and have thus clouded our minds from seeing deeper things. Perhaps it is
time to reimagine the spiritual realm. If so, might not the story of the
transfiguration be a good place to start? As we do this, we can ask the
question, what are the “things” that cause this veil to stay in place and how
might it be lifted? We know from Paul’s letters that there was all manner of
issues present in the Corinthian church that got in the way of their ability to
experience the full presence of God. So, what are the issues present in the
modern context?
A word of caution is necessary as we
approach this passage. The contrast present in this letter of Paul that seems
to pit Moses against Jesus lends itself to a supersessionist interpretation. As
Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us, in our context, “the proclamation of Christ’s
light does not require the debasement of Moses’s light. Those who are being
transformed by God’s shining presence can find far better ways to witness to
what they see in Jesus’ face.” [Feasting on the Word, p. 451]. So, be
careful if you attempt to contrast law and gospel.
While the glory of God that Jesus
embodies might be veiled to some, however, that veiling is understood, there
are moments when the veil is lifted. That is part of the message of the
Transfiguration. Something happens on the mountain, and the disciples of Jesus
see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.” As Jesus and his disciples
gather on the mountain top with Moses and Elijah, the disciples (Peter, James,
and John) appear to have a mystical experience in which the veil that covers
Jesus in his humanity is removed for a moment and they see Jesus in the fulness
of his glory. They see his divinity shine through for a moment.
Gregory Palamas, a medieval Orthodox
theologian, writes of the Transfiguration:
The light of the Lord’s transfiguration does not come into being or cease to be, nor is it circumscribed or perceptible to the senses, even though for a short time on the narrow mountain top it was seen by human eyes. Rather, at that moment the initiated disciples of the Lord “passed,” as we have been taught, “from flesh to spirit” by the transformation of their senses, which the Spirit wrought in them, and so they saw that ineffable light, when and as much as the Holy Spirit’s power granted them to do so. [Gregory Palamas, The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (p. 43). Mount Thabor Publishing. Kindle Edition].
Gregory
speaks of such mystical encounters coming as a result of contemplation:
Those who behold God in divine contemplation need no other light, for He alone is the light of those who live forever. What need is there for a second light when they have the greatest light of all? Thus, while He was praying, He became radiant and revealed this ineffable light in an indescribable way to the chosen disciples in the presence of the most excellent of the prophets, that He might show us that it is prayer which procures this blessed vision, and we might learn that this brilliance comes about and shines forth when we draw near to God through the virtues, and our minds are united with Him. It is given to all who unceasingly reach up towards God by means of perfect good works and fervent prayer, and is visible to them. Everything about the blessed divine nature is truly beautiful and desirable, and is visible only to those whose minds have been purified. Anyone who gazes at its brilliant rays and its graces, partakes of it to some extent, as though his own face were touched by dazzling light. That is why Moses’ countenance was glorified when he spoke with God (Exod. 34:29). [The Saving Work of Christ: Sermons by Saint Gregory Palamas (p. 44). Kindle Edition].
According to
Gregory, to have this experience one must put oneself in a position to
encounter the unveiled Christ so that we too might behold his glory. Something
similar is true for Paul as well, the light that shines in the darkness is
Christ as one beholds the face of Jesus.
Transfiguration Sunday serves as an
invitation to see Jesus with unveiled faces, to set aside the distractions of
this world, and to see, if only for a moment, a glimpse of Jesus’ full
divinity. As we do so we can participate in the divine energies, moving us
toward union with God in Christ. As Athanasius declared, God became human so
that humans might be God—not in the sense that we share the divine essence, but
through mystical experience of God’s light, we can experience union with God. In
this, may the light shine bright, bringing hope to our world.
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