Transfiguration of Our Lord
29 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. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them.
In the Protestant lectionary, Transfiguration Sunday stands at the juncture between Epiphany and Lent, and as such, offers a glimpse forward to the Easter Season and the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.
Since the days of the early Christians, Jesus' transfiguration has been associated with Moses, who also stood before God, and the prophet Elijah. Why these two? One can guess, but a good possibility, as seen in a famous painting by Raphael, is as a representation of the traditions of the law and the prophets, with Jesus as the Gospel. These traditions are the bedrock of our faith and a good point of contemplation on the cusp of Lent.
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Beth Tanner
Assistant Professor of Old Testament
New Brunswick Theological Seminary
New Brunswick, NJ
1 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he! 4 Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!
I write these lines just after hanging up the telephone.
I admit to a frustrating situation. For more than two weeks now, I have been trying to get in contact with a minor local luminary to invite him to speak to a group of which I am a member. His dutiful secretary protects him: "He's out of town. He's been on vacation. I'm not allowed to give out his cell phone number."
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James Limburg
Professor Emeritus of Old Testament
Luther Seminary
St. Paul, MN
12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13 not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. 14 But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
Every second reading for Transfiguration from 2 Corinthians comes after the next.
Confusing? In an interesting coincidence, the lectionary for Transfiguration in Year B (February 22, 2009) and Year C (February 14, 2010), takes successive reading from 2 Corinthians, but in reverse order. Last Transfiguration, the reading was 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, and for this year it is 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:1. At first, this may not seem like something worth noting, but the connection between the two texts and the significance of reading them on Transfiguration are interesting.
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Karl Jacobson
Assistant Professor of Religion
Augsburg College
Minneapolis, MN
28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
In preparation for the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Year C, one has to make an obvious decision.
Should the preacher make use of the short text, relating the Transfiguration alone (9:28-36) or use the long text, telling not only the story of the Transfiguration but also relating the story of an exorcism (Luke 9:28-43)?
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Arland J. Hultgren
Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Professor of New Testament
Luther Seminary
St. Paul, MN