Love's True Form

Luke 9:28 - 36

Thinking about transfiguration I came across several transformations this week in the papers: Zebulon Dread, the Observatory-based cultural terrorist famed for his publication “Voetsek!” has become a Hare Krishna, trading in his dreadlocks for the shaven countenance of a pilgrim. This coming week hundreds of good looking guys will become fantastic, peacock Queens as Cape Town hosts the 7th annual Pride festival. In the near future Cape Town International may become La Guma International. Then I think of the changes that have happened in South Africa since 1994. We are accustomed to change in SA.

Like all these changes, the transfiguration generated a mixed response from the disciples: awe, fear, worship. Such an event demands attention, demands a response. The editorial page of most papers attests to South Africans’ response to changes in the last 13 years, but Jesus’ disciples keep silent. Strange.

Another strange thing about Jesus transfiguration is that it happens in the middle of the story. This is the kind of thing Hollywood would put at the end of the story – a dramatic, dazzling transformation of the hero of the story.

But the glory and climax of Jesus' story is still to come. Jesus' story upsets our ideas about how a story should be told. Like Peter and the other disciples we will be shocked at the awesome terror of Christ’s Cross: Christ’s true glory.

Sarah compares the transfiguration to two movies: “Beauty and the Beast” and “Shrek”. In “Beauty and the Beast” there is a transfiguration as we would expect to find it: the ugly hero of the story is transformed into a handsome prince. In Shrek, Princess Fiona is cursed and becomes an ogre every evening at sunset. In her transfiguration she is transformed into “loves true form” but this is an ogre, not a princess! Fiona’s transfiguration subverts our understanding of beauty but is entirely appropriate since Shrek, an ogre, loves her.

Jesus’ transfiguration is similar in that it too subverts our understanding of glory.

In this painting of the Transfiguration by Raphael, one can see some of the subversion intended by Luke. Jesus, Moses and Elijah are painted in typically heavenly fashion, but one’s eye is immediately drawn to the crowd below. A woman points to a crowd of people needing healing and attention. The nine remaining disciples seem reluctant to respond. One even seems to suggest that attention should be focussed on what is happening on the mountain.

In the telling of the story, Jesus too rushes back down the mountain to attend to the real business at hand.

The Transfiguration story has all the attributes one would expect in ancient literature when the protagonist is being held up as something special. Apart from the fantastic demonstration of light and wonder, there are the specific clues to Jesus’ authority within the Jewish tradition: Moses and Elijah.

But the story appears in the wider story like wayward punctuation. It is almost as if Luke is saying: “Here are the required heavenly rubber stamps, now let’s get on with the business of healing and transformation...”

The embrace of humanity is far more important to the Divine than the glory of heaven. Those who call themselves by his name would do well to adopt the same kind of worship.