|
The Transfiguration by Reverend Murray Spackman, Vicar. Sunday 6th Aug, 2006 Mk 9 2-8 61 years ago today an event happened which changed the course of the world. August 6th 1945 was the day on which the atom bomb took the heart out of Hiroshima. Eyewitnesses speak of the blinding light and the terrible heat. Two days later another atom bomb destroyed Nagasaki. In total, several hundreds of thousands of people perished in those two bombings. The effect, we know, was to bring to an end the second world war. Because of that day, 61 years ago, today is observed throughout the world as World Peace Day. We pray that nuclear weapons will never again be used . I remember reading of the devastating and horrific effects of the bombing on those cities. One example stands out in my memory, and I think still exists today, and that is the outline of a man’s body on a wall. When the bomb exploded, the man, who had been standing a little distance away from the epicenter of the explosion, was immediately vaporized, leaving just the vivid outline sharply and terribly defined on the wall. The present Anglican Bishop of Nagasaki, Joseph, was just a small boy at the time and by chance was visiting his uncle a mile or so away. They were having breakfast outside the house overlooking the beautiful harbour, filled to capacity with Japanese warships. His uncle asked him to take the rubbish down to the garbage site fifty yards away down the hillside. The bomb fell when he was at the tip. But because he was on the opposite side of the hill from where the bomb exploded he was shielded from the direct blast. Nevertheless he was flung to the ground and lay there for a long time stunned and overcome by the noise, the wind, and the smoke. Then came a terrible silence. He plucked up courage to return to the house. It was totally destroyed and of his uncle there was not a trace. But Joseph in a conversation some time later, used a phrase which brings together the Transfiguration of our Lord and that dreadful event on Transfiguration Sunday in Hiroshima in 1945. He said that some Nagasaki Christians used to speak of the terrible ‘glory’ of the bomb – because of the light that was brighter than the sun. Its easy when we think of the gospel account of the Transfiguration, to think that this story is about Jesus. But I would like to suggest that its primarily about Peter, James and John. To get the context of this passage we need to go back a few verses, and six days before, to the time when Jesus had manifested himself to them in a different way. He had asked them: “ Tell me, who do people say I am?” Peter had replied : ‘You are the Christ, the son of God.’ We call that event at Caesarea Philippi the Great Confession. Peter had nailed his colours to the mast – he had now become a Christ follower. And now, on a different mount, Jesus is transfigured before his disciples. The revelation confirms that he is Saviour and Lord. The light that blinds is also the light that reveals. You may have noticed from your own walk with God, as I have, that whenever we take a fresh step forward in the Christian life, some act of faith, some new commitment, then something new is also discovered of God and his love for us. I can think of a number of personal experiences when, through those moments, something more of God became real to me. When the brilliant French writer and playwright, Paul Claudell, found the meaning of Christianity for himself, it is said that he clung to a massive pillar in Notre Dame Cathedral and exclaimed: ‘O God, you have become for me a person.’ Those moments when we experience something new from God, - I think,- are moments of Transfiguration for us. It may have been in the midst of some special event in your life – the birth of your child; a sunset during a special holiday; a special service.., a hymn which suddenly spoke to you. There and then you experienced something new of God, and often, I have found, I wanted time to stand still. I just wanted to stay in that moment and press Pause. So there is something very authentic and natural about Peter’s reaction. No wonder they didn’t want to leave the mountain. They wanted to immortalize the moment; protect it; savour it; - and keep it to themselves. “Lord, let us make three tents , one for you ,one for Moses and one for Elijah..” And that’s the real relevance of the Transfiguration for us today, and the problem with all experiences – that if kept to ourselves they will freeze the experience rather than liberate it. So how do we maintain the freshness of discipleship in following Jesus so that it is an ongoing journey of discovery and a growing relationship with Jesus? My answer is to ‘expect moments of grace.’ In other words, to expect there to be moments when Christ will be transfigured for you. Quite often in my morning prayers I pray something like - “Lord, keep my eyes open today to see you in whatever situation I face today, or in whoever comes across my path.” It is the expectation of Jesus presence throughout the day, in unexpected ways which, among other things, keeps alive the personal experience for me today. Bishop Joseph of Nagasaki was once asked “Why is it, that, having endured such a terrible experience you did not reject God but carried on as a Christian, and went on to become ordained?” He replied :- “It made me a man of peace. I blamed no one for that bomb. It made me realize that war was a terrible thing and that Christ offered a better way.” And of course He does, doesn’t He? |
