4th Trinity I, 2021, A Brightness

 

February Trinity I

(5^th Sunday before Easter)

Matthew 17:1-9

After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, and led them together up a high mountain apart from the others.

There, his appearance was transformed before them.

Fra Angelico

His face shone as bright as the sun, and his garments became white, shining bright as the light. And behold, there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, conversing in the spirit with Jesus.

And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be in this place. If you wish, I will build here three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly, they heard a voice from the cloud that said, "This is my son, whom I love. In him, I am revealed. Hear him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces to the ground in awe and terror. And Jesus approached them, and touching them, said, "Rise, and do not fear." And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Tell no one what you have seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

 4^th Feb Trinity

February 28, 2021

Matthew 17:1-13

Looking across a large body of water on
a sunny day, we can see the sunlight reflected on the surface. Sometimes that reflected light is so intense that we may wonder how we are not blinded. It is almost like looking at the sun itself.

In last week's Gospel reading, we heard how Christ overcame the temptations that beset all of us living in human bodies. The working of the adversary through the body had darkened the human spirit's radiance. But Christ did not allow that darkness to reside in His body.

In today's reading, we hear the results. Having cleared away the adversary's influence, Christ begins to shine like the sun. His transfiguration is a reflection of this. He radiates warmth and light. He has cleansed Himself of any potential for egotism or personal gain and can work on a higher level for the good of all humankind. He could be seen conversing together with His people's great spiritual leaders, with Moses, the leader from the past, and Elijah, the prophet of the future, Likely they are discussing his next task: to bring His light into every moment, even into death.

The poet R. S. Thomas speaks of the importance of this moment:

 

I have seen the sun break through

to illuminate a small field

for a while, and gone my way

and forgotten it. But that was the pearl

of great price, the one field that had

treasure in it. I realize now

that I must give all that I have

to possess it. Life is not hurrying

 

on to a receding future, nor hankering after

an imagined past. It is the turning

aside like Moses to the miracle

of the lit bush, to a brightness

that seemed as transitory as your youth

once, but is the eternity that awaits you.*

 

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* R. S. Thomas, “The Bright Field”, in Soul Food: Nourishing Poems for Starved Minds, ed. by Neil Astley and Pamela Robertson-Pearce