This week, we celebrate the Transfiguration--a moment when Jesus reveals something of his divine identity with dazzling clarity. Our scripture (linked above) tells the account: Jesus hikes up a mountain with three of the disciples, and suddenly appears in a brighter light than the disciples knew possible. Moses and Elijah appear with him, as if to clarify that Jesus belongs in their tradition, but is more than they were. Then a voice is heard--God speaking, claiming Jesus as a son.
Things that were true before were revealed suddenly, with new clarity.
Revelation and apocalypse, in their most literal definitions, are just that: an uncovering of what is truest. Sometimes, what is most real is hidden to our eyes--then in a moment, they are revealed. Jesus' image was transfigured, appearing differently and making the reality of his power clearer.
If revelation and apocalypse are about uncovering, in confess that they make me think of artists who do just the opposite: Christo and Jeanne-Claude are known for their large-scale works which often cover, wrap or obscure things. For instance, this installation in Switzerland, where they wrapped the trees in a park.
Funny how wrapping these trees up makes me much more aware of their beauty and the particularities of their shapes.
Knowing that God is present all around us, and that there are signs of the reality of God's kingdom all around us, I wonder what it would take for us (the church) to be better at revealing them?
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