Exodus 34:29-35
2 Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2
Luke 9:28-36
“A Shine That Never Fades”
The biblical texts set in the lectionary for this “Transfiguration Sunday” are very strange. They invite us to hear about two mysterious spiritual experiences of encounters with God on mountain-tops, and then to consider what these stories may mean for us today.
Most of us have probably heard the New Testament story about the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain-top with his disciples. We usually read one version or another of that story every year on the Sunday just before the Season of Lent – Transfiguration Sunday.
This year, the story about Jesus on a mountain-top is paired with one from the Book of Exodus about Moses on a mountain-top. In both cases, God is present and meets with them. And both men are transformed physically by the experience, with their faces (and in Jesus’ case, his clothing too) beginning to shine.
Moses has been on a mountain-top to meet God before, of course. Back when God first called to him out of a “burning bush” and sent him on a mission to get the Hebrew People out of Egypt, that was on a mountain-top. And after Moses does actually lead the people … Read more »