By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v29While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white. v30Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, v31who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God’s purpose by dying in Jerusalem… v34While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them. v35A voice said from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen—listen to him!” (Read: Luke 9:28-36)
We pray of you that these ashes to be placed on our
heads be signs of our mortality and of your judgment
on our sins, and for our resolve to turn to you in true repentance; that in this time of Lent, we may be purified and renewed, and rise to the newness of life through the power of the resurrection of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. (Imposition of Ashes, Book of Common Prayer)
In three days’ time we shall enter the holy season of Lent with the service of imposition of ashes popularly known as Ash Wednesday. The Season of Epiphany in the Christian Calendar ends this Sunday with the Transfiguration event as we read from the gospel of Saint Luke. These two events are connected as we contemplate on the Way – the path that will lead us to our Lord’s tranquil presence amidst the turbulence of life that confronts us constantly.
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“Wow padi, progreso a!” I was greeted by a lady family friend during our Diocesan Convention this Wednesday. Obviously, she was referring to my transfiguration or shall I say ‘dis-figuration’ in the middle. The bulge is a consequence of neglect of my physical exercise routine due to the infection of the virus three weeks ago. My daily quota was 10K steps but now I can only do a half of that. Transfiguration could be a transformation or change both in the physical and spiritual aspects of our beings.
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The Transfiguration scene of Jesus is located between the confession of Peter that Jesus is the Messiah of God, which had taken place eight days previously, and a story about Jesus and his followers meeting a man whose son was tragically possessed by demons. The event took place somewhere in the midst of Jesus earthly ministry. At that time, people were coming and going. They are seeking healing and to hear his new teachings about the Kingdom of God. They came to hear a message of hope amidst their suffering and bickering. They were seeking transfiguration of body and soul. They were seeking for change – real change!
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And that is just where the revelation of God’s glory fit in. Jesus did not take a mountaintop vacation to escape, to rest, to be renewed. Jesus was transfigured on the mountain to meet the challenge waiting for him back down in the valley. The transfiguration was not meant to be looked back on nostalgically as a “break” (like Facebook reminds us “a year ago” of a good vacation we had somewhere) from the suffering of the world, but to be seen as a gift in God’s grace impelling Jesus deeper and deeper into the pain and darkness of a suffering world – until that pain and darkness culminated in the cross. And the transfiguration is now translated to the whole world: from darkness into light, from death of sin into eternal life.
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Ash Wednesday reminds us of that much needed transfiguration. “Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return”, are the utterance that goes with the imposition of ashes in the form of a cross in one’s forehead during the service of Ash Wednesday. These words and symbols remind us of our sinfulness and mortality. The love of God accomplished in His Son shall transform us to be more Christ-like and worthy of His redeeming. “When we turned away from you and sinned, in righteous judgment you decreed that we should return to that dust from which you formed us. Yet, O merciful Father, you did not abandon us to death, but in your compassion sent Jesus Christ to save us. He took our mortal nature and bore our shame; he went down to the dust for our salvation. From the dust you raised him again to life, the first fruit and the pledge of a new and redeemed creation” (Imposition of Ashes, BCP).
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The imposition of ashes in Ash Wednesday is a very appropriate reminder of this wretched human condition: that we have “fallen short to the glory of God”. And that we can do nothing to alleviate this situation if we do not humbly submit and return to our God by admission of guilt, continual repentance and faith. Easy said than done but is a daily call which the ‘ashes of transfiguration’ reminds us as we receive it in the service. This is the solemn reminder and mode of the holy Season of Lent that starts on Wednesday.
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Peter, James and John could not understand on the mountain that God’s glory was not to be found apart from the suffering world in the valley. Peter wanted to build “booths” to stay on the mountain, to bask in the glory. But the blinding light on the mountaintop was a declaration of the presence of the glory of God in the world. That glory is not something you wait for, hope for, seek for – that glory of God is already present in the midst of a tired, aching world, wherever God’s people do God’s work. The transfiguration is not a vision of the way the world could be, it is a declaration of the way the world already is, when God’s people accept the promise and live out the vision.
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While our human nature seeks and loves to dwell on the happy and easy sides of life, God’s way for us is of balance. This means, that He wants us to be reminded of our human-ness, our true nature. God wants to put us to where we really belong: that we are fallen creatures needing to be saved even as we aspire for the best we think is. By the very power of God, we can be changed into the likeness of Christ — restored to unity with God and one another, united in God’s love. By the transforming, transfiguring power of God, humanity can turn its back on the intersection of hell on earth caused by calamities (natural or man-made) and pandemics. By the power of God, in all its dazzling whiteness of love, we can face a future of heaven on earth, listening to God’s chosen one and following him into the way of life.
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The glory of our own identities is that, through baptism, we are freed in Christ to be the beloved sons and daughters of God. That glory can manifest, or not, in the way we live. When we allow the grace of God’s statutes to be embodied in our relationships, and in every political and economic aspect of our societies, we show forth God’s transfiguring glory. When we persistently pray, speak, and act for justice and peace on earth, we mirror and reflect the radiance of God’s presence among humankind. The fullness of that glory cannot yet be seen or known, but under the bright light of the Transfiguration, we know that we are created and called to move ceaselessly from glory into glory
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We covet this transfiguration in the prayer for the ashes: “We pray you that these ashes to be placed on our heads be signs of our mortality and of your judgment on our sins, and for our resolve to turn to you in true repentance; that in this time of Lent, we may be purified and renewed, and rise to the newness of life through the power of the resurrection of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Let us pray.
O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect, Last Sunday After Epiphany, BCP)**
