The Transfiguration - The Glory

Composed upon an evening of extraordinary beauty and splendour

By William Wordsworth

          HAD this effulgence disappeared

          With flying haste, I might have sent,

          Among the speechless clouds, a look

          Of blank astonishment;

          But 'tis endued with power to stay,

          And sanctify one closing day,

          That frail Mortality may see--

          What is?--ah no, but what 'can' be!

          Time was when field and watery cove

          With modulated echoes rang,

          While choirs of fervent Angels sang

          Their vespers in the grove;

          Or, crowning, star-like, each some sovereign height,

          Warbled, for heaven above and earth below,

          Strains suitable to both.--Such holy rite,

          Methinks, if audibly repeated now

          From hill or valley, could not move

          Sublimer transport, purer love,

          Than doth this silent spectacle--the gleam--

          The shadow--and the peace supreme!

For O Level English Literature in 1960 our poetry was that of William Wordsworth.   Ever since then I have loved his description of flora and fauna and other lovely subjects.   This first verse of his poem speaks of a lovely sunset.   We all love beautiful sunsets and we get some of the best in Anglesey where I live.   A perfect sunset is something glorious, something that lifts us to a very high place in our minds.   Wordsworth writes: “That frail Mortality may see – what is? Ah no, but what can be!”

Here, the poet catches the nature of the Transfiguration.   It could only be described as a vision of the glory of God.   As in the poem by Wordsworth, it was not a glimpse of glory but a good long look at it.   The three disciples saw and heard Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus.   It went on for some time.   And what were they discussing?   What is?   Ah no, but what “can” be!   The whole of the three years of ministry were about laying down a foundation of a church to last forever.   But in the case of the transfiguration the glory pointed in a very special way to the future.

The old religion of Israel was to change beyond recognition with the coming of the Messiah.   It still rested on the tradition treasured by the Jews, but it rose from that foundation to a much higher level that could make a difference to any man or woman regardless of status.   You might liken it to a topping out ceremony when a building has reached its full height but there is still much still to do before it can become what it was designed to be.

The Transfiguration is certainly a waypoint in Jesus’ journey to the Cross.   Many believe that if a Christian wishes to meditate on the Cross he/she might also consider a meditation on the Transfiguration too.   For a moment we might just look at this in a little depth.   Here, at the Transfiguration, Jesus is revealed in glory and at the Cross in shame. On the mountain top he keeps company with Moses and Elijah and on the cross he has two thieves for company.   Here his clothes shine but on the Cross his clothes have been stripped from him and the soldiers have gambled for them.   Here is a shining white cloud and at Calvary the sky is black.   Here Peter can’t contain himself and suggests they make a permanent memorial on the mountain whereas, when Jesus is on trial, he swears he does not know him.   Above the mountain is heard a voice affirming Jesus and below the cross a pagan soldier declares he really was God’s Son.

We therefore are able to see both highs and lows surrounding Jesus, the Messiah.   A complete picture of Jesus is seen in glory and shame, the two extremes that mark the two occasions.   There is, of course, the other time when Jesus came to John for baptism and on that occasion those present heard the voice of God saying, “This is my beloved son in whom I am pleased.”   On both occasions the moment is marked by the affirmation of Jesus.

I speak of the Transfiguration as a waypoint on the journey Jesus took to Jerusalem and the Cross.   Momentous though the Crucifixion is, could it too not also be regarded as a waypoint to another experience of glory in John’s vision of the new Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation?  

For me, the description of the New Jerusalem is glorious one.   As literature it is glorious too.   The words themselves have glory intrinsic.   Whilst I have doubts about the experience we shall have I am uplifted at the thought that this place is as beautiful as described.   Remembering that this was written to describe a vision or dream we need to allow for artistic licence.   Yet, we can be assured of one thing – this glory described will be of that magnificence, whatever form it takes.

The ministry of Jesus was thought to be the limit of his influence, and this was the intention of those who ensured he was disposed of in that way.   But the Cross was not the end and neither was the Resurrection the end of his ministry for he still ministers to us today where we are.   That journey of salvation for all men and women still continues in and through us.   God sent his Son as the catalyst, but afterwards he called many disciples to continue the work.   He still calls today.

In the transfiguration we have a picture of the power, love and beauty of God.   We see it too, expressed quite differently in the vision of Saul on the Damascus road.   Yet the Transfiguration and the Crucifixion are inextricably linked    Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about what to happen later on the Cross.   So, despite an experience of the amazing glory of God, the moment points very deliberately to that later experience when Jesus is to suffer the worst that human opposition can do.

Perhaps the best way to imagine the two scenes together is to set the Transfiguration in the background and the Crucifixion in the foreground.   This way, the brightness of the one throws the other into a backlit picture where the Crucifixion is appropriately black.   I am reminded of the last time I was an in-patient at Ysbyty Gwynedd.   It was December and the snow had fallen heavily on the peaks of Snowdonia.   Looking out of the ward window in the morning I saw black mountains backlit by the sun.   In the afternoon the sun was now on my side of the mountains and there was the most beautiful snow scene one could imagine.   So we see a glory behind our view of the Crucifixion.

Out of that vision of glory came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I take delight; listen to him.”   Those words to the disciples on that day are just the same today for us.   If you want to find the way, the way to God, the way to the Promised Land, you must listen to Jesus.