Thoughts on...
February 22: Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday
Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:2-9.

Peter, James and John accompany Jesus up a high mountain where Jesus is in the presence of God the Father and in that is illumined, transfigured by a bright light. For Jesus it is a moment of recharging his battery, reconnecting with his Father. For Peter, James and John it is a terror inducing event. Having not seen this before, they were not present when Jesus was baptized and the heavens opened up and the Spirit descended upon him, this was a first, a sight too amazing to see or comprehend.

There were words spoken, from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; Listen to him!." In fact the disciples had heard many words about who Jesus was and how he was to experience both death and resurrection. But still they did not understand fully. Only in time would they "get it."

Like Peter, James and John, what we see and what we hear do not always align within our minds. One does not always enhance our understanding of the other. Like the blind men who are each put in front of different part of an elephant and asked to tell what an elephant is, we do not always acknowledge the different ways in which we experience Christ in every aspect of our life.