Reflection on the Feast of the Transfiguration

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. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Exodus 34:29-35


About eight days after Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection, 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 dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Luke 9:28-36


What great texts! What awesome readings!

I love these kinds of biblical readings, the kind offered today. They give me goose bumps as they reveal the glory of our triune God. These are great and awesome indeed, because they proclaim a glorious vision, a glorious vision of God.

Even though these readings speak of things we can never fully understand until God is all in all and even though the words on the pages of our sacred texts can never fully explain, fully paint the whole picture, fully reveal the truth behind these events, today we get a glimpse of God’s truth, God’s reality, and God’s plan and hope for us.

These are visions of the divine mystery in all its glory, of the heavenly reality in all its awesomeness, and of things to come for us as we let ourselves be drawn into this vision of God. It is a vision of life in abundance, of life lived, and of life loved. It is a vision of God’s life and love as it encompasses the heavenly realm, as it comes to us in Jesus Christ, and as it springs forth from Jesus to embrace the whole world, each one of us, whoever we are and wherever we find ourselves on the journey.

For this is the feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord. This is the feast that celebrates the heavenly glory that came to be with us. The feast that reveals the divine light as it shone forth from the hilltop in a forgotten province of the Roman Empire. It is a light brighter than the sun, that radiates throughout the cosmos piercing darkness, evil, and death, It is a light that announces the reign of our triune God. It is a glorious vision. It is an awesome light. It is the vision and the light of our God.

And I wish all creation would just recognize and trust this the divine light. But we know better, don’t we.

70 years ago, another light lit up the countryside of an unknown town in the Japanese Empire. It was also a light that shone brighter than the sun and that not even the Tenno, the Japanese Emperor, could contain. But it was a different light.

As the first atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima August 6, 1945, it didn’t bring life and love. It brought destruction and death. Hundreds of thousands were killed. Buildings collapsed, whether they were used for military or civilian purposes. Hospitals and schools were eradicated as much as houses, factories, and installations of the Japanese Imperial Army. The bomb didn’t discriminate. And to this day unnumbered are suffering from the effects of that one bomb dropped 61 years ago.

Now I know that there are still some, who will argue that the atomic bombs brought the Japanese Empire to its knees, sped up the war, and thus saved the lives of many Allied soldiers. But I have my doubts. Especially if I think of the second bomb that detonated three days later with that same bright light bringing about as much carnage in the city of Nagasaki. Was that bomb really necessary?

This does not mean that I do not acknowledge that the Japanese military committed horrendous atrocities throughout the Pacific Rim. I do not want to diminish the horror of the Japanese occupation in Asia. To this day, Koreans, Chinese and other nations are waiting for a formal and consorted reconciliatory effort by Japan. I am glad the Axis lost the war and I am grateful to all the Allied troops who sacrificed so much to end the terrors and evils of fascism and Nazism in order to liberate Europe and Asia.

However, we humans seem to not be able to bring about good without harming others, hurting innocents, and playing along with the devil and into the hands of death. Scripture might urge us to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21), but we do not heed its call. At the end of war, of any war, of any conflict between people for that matter, it is the devil who laughs and celebrates.

I do believe there are rare times when using military force is justified in this dying age. Yet, I equally hold that war is always a sign of our failure to follow our Saviour. It is sin. And I believe we will have to face the judgment of our Creator for the harm we have caused, even when we were pursuing good. God will have tears in God’s eyes as those come forward who vanished in Auschwitz, Dachau, Manila and Nanjing, but there will also be divine tears when God hears from those who died in Dresden, Coventry, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.

The light we bring about is light that pierces our hearts indeed, but it will pierce it with pain and death. The light that burned images of dying men and women into the walls of Hiroshima is a light that is full of destruction and death brought about by us. We forced that light on the people of Hiroshima, each and every one of them. They had no choice as the light of destruction and death brought about our will, our wants, and our needs.

Hiroshima points to how we light the cosmos. And we all know it hasn’t stopped. The light of Hiroshima still shines forth as bombs rain on Mosul, as rockets detonate in Haifa, as civilians die in Dornetsk, and as girls and women are treated like objects not only by militants in Nigeria. It is a light indeed full of power and full of might, but it is self-serving power, self-serving might; selfish power, selfish might; sinful power, sinful might.

And it is not the light of the Transfiguration.

Peter, James and John witness something so different from the human experience that they cannot grasp even as they long to hold on to it. For once the light of the world is outdone. For once, the light that shines forth is not a product of our greed and self-serving interests. For once, the reality of God’s reign of love, peace, and justice revealed its glory: a glory greater than our strive to outdo each other, a glory more beautiful than anything we can ever come up with, a glory mightier than the temptations of this world all around us, a glory that overcomes our injustices, our sins, our carelessness, and even our culture of death, a glory uncreated, eternal, and imperishable.

The light of the Transfiguration is a light that brings about life and love in ways that are self-less and that focuses only on our well-being. It radiated from Jesus for our sake, focusing on us, on you, and on me, and on everybody else. For us and for our sake, this light even went forth into the deepest pit of our human existence, into our darkness, destruction, and death. And the light pierced the darkness, taking away death’s sting and the power of sin for ever.

But this was not a one-time event. The light of the Transfiguration continues to shine forth in ways that are quite different from the lights we create. Every time we minister to and serve even the least of our sisters and brothers, God’s light shines forth brightly into the universe. Every time we bring about justice and peace, God’s light radiates from our actions. Every time we overcome evil with good and do not buy into the psychology of war and revenge, God’s light embraces our hearts. Every time we put the safety of the planet above the greed of our age, God’s light infuses every aspect of creation. Every time we walk into the divine mystery through prayer or the reading of scripture, God’s light engulfs us. Every time we baptize a child we bathe him or her into this life-giving light of God. Every time we break the bread and share the cup, God’s light makes a home in us and among us.

The light still shines and pierces any darkness. Today. And Always.

Stephanie MacGregor - a long overdue memorial

Stephanie MacGregor, member of St John’s,

Born 1911 in Kingston, Jamaica

Died 1936 in Edinburgh

I have to admit, it doesn’t happen every day that as a priest in the Church of God one receives a request to do a memorial service for somebody who died 79 years ago. In fact, in 16 years of ordained ministry, it was the first time, I had received such a request a few months ago. No wonder then, that it did raise an eyebrow, when I first heard about it. When I then realised that we Episcopalians don’t have a liturgy for such a celebration and I didn’t know where to turn to find proper formulary, panic struck…

But this was followed quickly with raising the other eyebrow, because my curiosity was tweaked. Why would somebody come from the United States to Scotland to organise such an unusual service for a Jamaican relative? What had happened? And what was it about the person to be remembered that justified such a celebration.

Of course, the last of these queries is a false question. In the end, I had to eat my own words: at every funeral I remind the congregation that God has not forgotten those, who have died and never will. No, they rest in God’s bosom, cherished and loved as before, but safe from any terror of the night, any pain and illness, any strife and tears. And one day, when our Lord Jesus will return in glory they will rise to new life on a new earth, where sin and death will be no more, where weeping and crying will be no more, and where we will be united with those we love, but see no more. So, yes, even 79 years on, Stephanie MacGregor is precious to God – and will remain precious to God forever more. Even without Stephanie’s curious and mind-blowing story, it is good to remember a precious and beloved child of God – whether they died 79 minutes, 79, days, 79 years, or 79 centuries ago. In God’s economy time plays no role. God’s love is stronger than death. Or to put it into the words of the Apostle Paul: Love never ends.

But, there is also Stephanie’s life-story.

And what a story it is. What a life well lived it was.

Stephanie must have been quite women to set sails from sunny Jamaica to come to rainy Scotland. In the end, it is probably what killed her. Her body, used to sun and warm Caribbean winds, could not deal with the coldness and dampness of a dreich Scottish winter.

She had come to Edinburgh in the early 1930s to study Medicine, to be helpful for people in pain and misery. Together with three other bright Jamaicans (all men!) she had been sent on a mission: As a daughter of her country she came to Edinburgh University to study, in order to serve the people of her island nations. Yet, she would never return, but find an eternal resting place at Piershill Cemetary.

And, still, despite of her untimely death, Jamaica can be proud of her. And not just Jamaica. Her academic achievements were outstanding and she was posthumously awarded her medical degree on 4 July 2015 – hence the request to do another memorial service.

I will leave the academic laudatio to people at the University, who are the experts in this field, but I would like to share a few thoughts why not just Jamaicans should be proud of Stephanie MacGregor.

First of all, Stephanie’s memorial on 3 July 2015 brought together people from the Jamaica, Scotland, England, the United States, and Germany. From far and not so-far people came together. This beautiful young woman at whose grave we stood bridged huge distances and gathered “rainbow people of God”, as another Anglican, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, would call it. And what a beautiful thing it was! It celebrated the strength of the human spirit that can overcome adversity and distance – and this was Stephanie’s gift for us. In her own live she probably had to do this over and over and over again - overcome adversity and distance, and she is even doing it in her death.

When Stephanie came to Scotland, the British Empire was still functioning quite well and race played a different role in the minds of people. Even in post-Enlightenment Scotland, black people’s place and also the place of women was not necessarily at the same, or even at an equal table as that of the white colonial masters… Slavery had been abolished in the British Empire for quite a while, yet, the legacy of that evil and the not-so-subtle injustice of colonial imperialism affected peoples’ life even in the 1930s. And I wonder how Stephanie was able to cope with it all. It is indeed a testament to her strength and her character – and a testament of her faith that good will conquer evil, that life is stronger than death, that injustice and oppression will be conquered, and that the God of love, who created us all in Her image regardless of our gender, race, nationality or other identity will have the final word. And we all have a part to play in establishing justice and equality for all, in ensuring that all have access to such basic rights as health services, and in working for an end to oppression and exploitation for those who come to our shores – even today.

St John’s, Stephanie’s chose congregation in Edinburgh, has for the past decades tried to claim all this. Advocacy on behalf of those who have no voice is very much at the centre of our identity and we now more than ever understand that justice is a Gospel-imperative.

But it’s not always been this way.

When St John’s was founded, large donations were given from people who had become rich in the African-Caribbean slave trade. It is an evil that sits at the foundation of our church-community.

One could argue that Stephanie’s membership at St John’s therefore was ironic. But I believe it was probably providential – and maybe it was even God’s plan to send Stephanie as a prophetic voice to the sometimes stuffy and ignorant establishment of Edinburgh of the time. She might have lived shortly, but she touched hearts and opened ears and eyes – and opened even minds and hearts.

And this is why commemorating her memory was indeed a good thing.

Barack Obama recently at the funeral of those martyred at Emanuel Church in Charleston, SC spoke a lot of “grace.” I believe that Stephanie was gifted with the kind of grace the U.S. President spoke about. It was grace the infused her life and that impacted the lives around her. She never made it back to the shores of her native land to be a servant to those in need. But I do not think that her life was wasted. It just impacted the people of Jamaica and many others differently.

Eternal Father bless Jamaica.
Guard her with Thy mighty hand
Keep her free from evil powers
Be her light through countless hours
To her leaders, Great Defender,
Grant true wisdom from above
Justice, truth be hers forever
Jamaica, land you love.
Amen

Adapted from words of the Jamaican national anthem