Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Lectionary: 614

A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened and the books were opened. on the clouds of heaven;
As the visions during the night continued, I saw: One like a Son of man coming....

Recently I am rereading Retrieving Nicea, an account of the fourth century struggle to clarify of our beliefs about God. The "Fathers of the Church" -- that is, the bishops of that remarkable age -- knew that it matters what we believe and how we speak of God. 

They also knew that no one has a choice as to what they want to believe. Either we accept the authority and teachings of the Church as we have received them from God through the Scriptures and the Tradition, or we wander off into a lala land of our own opinions. If God is not leading us through the Church, then there is certainly no other authority in this world to speak of truth or God.  

The skeptical attitude of believing whatever one chooses to believe is neither religious nor scientific. It plants no seeds and bears no fruit since it's easier to alter one's opinions than to make costly sacrifices. Faced with a hard choice about real costs, I can always change my mind. That skepticism splits into thousands of competing, barren churches. 

So early bishops, priests, deacons, and many lay folks struggled to say precisely what we believe, nor did they hesitate to play hardball. They argued with all the ferocity of today's politicians.

How should we speak of God in the light of our knowledge, history, and experience of Jesus Christ? What do our scriptures and prayers teach us? 

Jewish belief in one supreme God made sense to most people. It was not a new idea. Long before Moses, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten and defied Egyptian tradition by establishing a new religion that believed that there is but one god; the sun god Aten. 

Monotheism made sense to empires and kingdoms who wanted one dynast to have complete authority over every dimension of life. Some heretical theologians insisted that Jesus could not be the equal of the God the Father because that would compromise the ultimate authority of the One God. Eusebius, the historian and political hack, posited that all authority was given to the Emperor Constantine through Jesus from the Father.

Today's first reading from Daniel describes the pomp and glory of the One and Only God:

Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,

and myriads upon myriads attended him. 

The Church enthusiastically amened that Jewish teaching. There is no doubt that our God should be worshipped as the only God. 

Saint Alexander of Alexandria, mentor of Saint Athanasius, certainly endorsed that doctrine in his struggle with the heretic Arius; but he saw the awful mystery of our salvation not in the One Supreme God but in the relationship of the Father and the Son. Anyone can be awed by demonstrations of power, and any two-bit autocrat can overwhelm his opponents with his authority, but the Christian is not so easily impressed. 

We have seen something more wonderful; and that is the infinite, compassionate, merciful, sacrificial love of God for Jesus, and Jesus's love for God. We saw it most clearly when Jesus was crucified. Even a jaded centurion could declare, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" 

This is why there is a crucifix on prominent display over the altar of every Catholic church. We see the beauty and goodness of God in the love of Jesus for his God. Seeing that any one of us might collapse like Isaiah, saying, 

“Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

 Or we might echo Saint Peter, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." 

The photo for this page, with the collect which is today's prayer, represents fireworks. People like to be impressed by their booming sounds and brilliant lights in the night sky. The majesty of God's love for us may be subtler than fireworks; but it humbles the proudest and exalts the lowliest. We thank God for the privilege of being present on that high mountain when Jesus is transfigured.