In
the 19th chapter of Exodus we find that Moses and God have been conversing on
Mount Sinai. Now God tells Moses to
prepare the people for a great revelation of God's self "on the third
day." How did the writer of Exodus
describe that revelation? "Now Mount
Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended up on it in fire; the
smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln while the whole mountain shook violently
. . " God consented to have Aaron
join Moses in ascending to the top of the mountain and entering the cloud. To them God spoke words of commandment. The last verses of chapter 20 give a slightly
different view of the context where the author says the people were afraid of
having God speak to them directly--rather than God telling Moses to keep the
people away--and asked Moses to be the go-between. So Moses alone "drew near to the thick
darkness where God was."
If
we compare the story of the giving of the Law from Exodus with the story of the
Transfiguration from Matthew's gospel, we will be struck by the similarities:
it takes place on a mountain, the vision of God is in a cloud and the observers
show fear at God's revelation. Another
similarity also strikes us: the people who know what has happened are expected
to listen to the one through whom the words of God are conveyed. What's happening then? As a seminary professor said of this passage,
"This is God being God."
Christians
over the centuries have interpreted this passage as Jesus' being identified as
the one whose message will supersede the Hebrew Scriptures containing the Law
and the prophetic writing (Moses and Elijah).
But it may be more fruitful to see the Transfiguration--called "a
luminous story of a mystical encounter" by Barbara Brown Taylor--as God's
continuing revelation in which all parts of this revelation are important for
us. Jesus came to live in the context of
God's continuing revelation. He said he did not come to change the Law of the
Hebrew Scriptures in any way, but to fulfill it.
We
have three different versions of this mystical encounter. Matthew, Mark and Luke describe it in slightly different ways--so we
hear each version once in the three year cycle of readings. One detail that distinguishes Matthew from
the other two versions is the cloud.
Mark and Luke refer to a cloud as overshadowing Peter, James and
John. Going even further, Luke describes
the overshadowing cloud as engulfing the disciples: "and they were
terrified as they entered the cloud." But Matthew calls it a bright cloud. So it appears that scripture offers these two
visions of God's revealing God's self: dark cloud and bright cloud.
For
an anonymous English writer in the Middle Ages, this dark cloud was the
"Cloud of Unknowing." This
cloud was what keeps us from experiencing God.
This writer, usually just called The Cloud, describes three stages of
Christian living. In the first stage
our love of God can be seen in "corporal works of mercy." In the second will be characterized by our
meditating on our "own sinfulness, the Passion of Christ, and the joys of
eternity." This may happen during
our time of corporate worship, meditative reading of scripture and in our
private prayers for others and for ourselves.
The final stage is described by The Cloud this way: "a person
enters the dark cloud of unknowing where in secret and alone he [or she]
centers all his [or her] love on God."
The Cloud says our prayer without words send arrows of love for God into
the cloud and--on occasion--God shows God's self as the cloud separates
momentarily. He described this
"unoccupied" prayer, this prayer without words, this contemplative
prayer as the highest form of spiritual practice. Yet he also says God may or may not respond
with revelation. God chooses when to
reveal God's self--we do not earn this grace.
Yet
Matthew describes the cloud from which God speaks as bright, not
concealing. The brightness causes just
as much consternation and fear as the enveloping cloud did. The disciples fall to the ground overcome by
their vision of glory and by the voice from the cloud. For me, and perhaps for you as well, this
bright cloud explains how I understand God.
God's glory is apparent; the light of God will illuminate the dark
corners of my world. It could very well frighten me, but I also find comfort in
the clarity of such a revelation.
Barbara
Brown Taylor describes it this way: "Most of us are allowed at least one
direct experience of God (within bounds)--something that knocks us for a loop,
blows our circuits, calls all our old certainties into question."
Calling
"all our old certainties into question"--that could describe God's
purpose in the Transfiguration and the words from the cloud--dark or bright as
it may be. Peter's certainty appears to have been this: if you encounter God
and no place for God to dwell, build one so God will hang around. Peter's new
understanding: God will not be contained or kept just for us.
What
certainties do we cling to? In ways less
dramatic than the Transfiguration vision, is God calling us to see things with
new eyes? Might God be calling us to a
deeper understanding of God's will?
Might God be calling us to be less fixed in our beliefs and more open to
what others have to say? Might God be
calling us "to respect the dignity of every human being" in ways
which we are just now beginning to understand?
The
Transfiguration vision continues a long tradition of "God being
God." Let us be aware of such
moments in our lives-- transformative moments when we discover a new way of
seeing, a new understanding, a new openness.
I believe God creates these moments for us. Then God uses them to help us become more
faithful followers of Jesus. Look out for these moments--be ready to be
changed!
Barbara Brown Taylor quotes from "The Bright Cloud of Unknowing," a sermon published on Day1.org - for March 2, 2014 on Matthew 17: 1-9.
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