March 6, 2011
The Transfiguring Touch
- Matthew 17:1-9
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.
Two weeks ago I was boarding an AirTran flight for LaGuardia on my way to see my grandson.
Flying used to be fun, but now it is a necessary evil. Everyone is grumpy. I just want to get through the flight with as little drama as possible and get to New York- which is after the important thing.
I settled into my seat and took out my Kindle to read. Everyone around me was acting like people normally do on these flights. The young man beside me went to sleep. Across the aisle was a business man busy on his laptop. Two women in front of me were giving each other practice interview questions. The flight attendants were trying to squish over sized bags into undersized compartments and urging passengers to get into their seats. As the last passengers were boarding I suddenly heard one voice over the normal buzz of conversation.
“Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve…”
There was a boy- probably 7 or 8 years old coming down the aisle counting each seat.
“Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Here it is. This is mine. Sixteen C.”
He was giddy with excitement as he plopped into his seat.
Everything returned to normal until the plane took off. As soon as we were off the runway
the boy’s voice rang through the cabin- “Wow- is that cool or what?”
The business man looked up from his papers and smiled. The women practicing their interviews stopped and looked out the window.
For the rest of the flight- almost two hours- this young man was exclaiming his discoveries and delighting in the journey. The apple juice was absolutely delicious and it was even free. The bathroom had everything you needed in the size of a closet. You could see the snow on the ground from the window and cars and houses. With each comment and every observation the ordinarily disengaged passengers around this child began to smile and chuckle and even talk to him. When we touched down in New York the boy cheered hooray and the entire cabin broke out in applause.
This little boy changed a group of grumpy, jaded, weary individual passengers into a group of travelers enjoying a journey together. All it took was a 7 year old boy to help us disengage from our routine and look at the world with fresh eyes. Our journey was transfigured.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here…
Transfiguration by BR. Strahan
The alarm sinks its teeth
into my ear. I drag out
of our warm bed. Another
winter day breaks
in fragments of nightmare.
The sun hasn't shown,
afraid to face this growling wind
and the thousands of dreary
commuters going nowhere beyond
the dollar sign and grave marker.
I punch on the light and you
roll back over, "love you's"
exchanged ritually. Baby begins
to cry. I dash for his milk,
one arm in my coat, trailing
dismay, late, late as usual
and tired as this old house
with its peeling paint and cracked bricks.
You hold our son. He smiles, calls to me and you smile, that sweet uncertain way. The sun sends its first weak rays through this east facing room, catches, frames you just as I turn to leave. This narrow space opens; your honey curls, his cap of gold blaze—madonna and child.
suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
Human touch can banish fear. All of God’s hope for us is communicated in touch. This is the way God comes into the world-
A brilliant cloud.
A thundering voice.
A human touch on the shoulder saying “Don’t be afraid.”
Florence sits in her wheelchair in the hall of the health care center. Eyes vacant, face blank, spiritless. Her husband of 65 years walks down the hall, kneels in front of her chair and touches her hand. Her face lights up, her smile comes alive, there is a sparkle in her eyes. She is transfigured.
Bill struggles for each breath as his family sits around the hospice bed, watching, waiting. His body is slowly shutting down. His countenance is weary, exhausted, worn-out. His son reaches out and takes his father’s hand. “Don’t be afraid dad,” he whispers. The muscles loosen. The breathing stops. The struggle is gone. The face relaxes. He is transfigured.
Transfiguration.
It happens to us when we are taken out of our routine.
It happens to us when we open our eyes like a seven year old boy.
It happens to us when we see what we have seen so many times already in a new light.
It happens to us when we feel that touch on our shoulder and hear those words.
Jesus comes and touches us and says, "Rise, and have no fear."
Transfiguration means we have seen who Jesus really is and he has shown us that we do not need to be afraid.
Thanks be to God.
Amen