Thoughts on the Transfiguration

The Transfiguration story is one of my favorite. It was nearing the end of Jesus' ministry, when he took three of his disciples, Peter, John and James, up to the mountain to pray. His journey up the mountain and the prayers he said remind us that there is a physical, concrete part of ministry. But his transfiguration may have been designed to remind us with great emphasis that there is also a powerful spiritual force at work as well.

These are two aspects of the Church (the physical and the spiritual) work together, each one contributing to the final goal of bringing every person back into a relationship with Our Father. There is the earthly part, the institution of the Church brought to us by Christ and embodied in him, that gradually developed into the beautiful and mystical rites, celebrations, canons, trappings and ornaments that guide us in worship and praise. This part, while greatly filled with the energy and Spirit of God, is more physical and concrete to us initially. We often see these things before we understand them. It is more of an outside-in type movement. Sometimes we never understand that these things are supposed to work closely with the other part, or we lose sight of this fact along the way.

The other part is sometimes referred to as the pneumanistic part, or the part that is driven by the Holy Spirit, the Breath, as she extends inspiration, hope and yearnings of the heart that gradually move people to Christ. This part usually happens from the inside out -- we often feel it long before we see its results as changed behavior or an outward act of service.

The two parts start from different places, but both head in the same direction, and are greatly intertwined. Together these two parts are supposed to work as a team, totally integrated with each other and quite inseparable.

The physical part of the church, the Rites, vestments, canons, hierarchy and constitutions, sometimes tend to be more attractive because we more easily identify with them since we also have a physical nature as they do. We sometimes lose ourselves in this physical nature which seeks identity in the physical world. Sometimes this gets strong enough that we use the physical aspects to protect what we think is the Church. What Christ designed to be inclusive, we begin to set boundaries that gradually build the walls of an exclusive club. We may insist that someone must be a member of the club before he or she can become a member. We forget that Christ came to serve the unchurched through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and didn't only come to serve the 'Righteous.' We refuse to use the tools we have to go into the streets to find and help the broken because that might be conforming to the world's standards. God forbid!

When Peter experienced the Transfiguration, he wanted to build three altars (physical aspects of the Church). Instead, Jesus took them down from the mountain and back into the crowds below to teach and heal (spiritual).

The transfiguration is a reminder for me to seek that powerful balance between the physical and the spiritual arms of the Church. These two were designed to work together to build the Church he meant to build -- a family that included every one of his children.