Table Talk Newsletter
Pastor’s Letter
Grace and peace to you in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Later this month will be Transfiguration of Our Lord Sunday, 15 February, Matthew 17:1-9.
I would like to begin with a question: Think for a moment, what do you see when you look at a rainbow?
Our eyes, one of our many senses, see the world around us. If we fix our eyes on a particular object, we may use words to describe its shape, color, size, form, composition, structure, location. We are able to do this because of light. The light that fills your location is refracted, absorbed by some things and reflected by others. Our eyes work because of light; without it we lose our sense of sight.
Energy in the form of light enables us to see. Our eyes see in what is referred to as the visible spectrum within the electromagnetic spectrum (EM); you may remember this from your science classes in school? The EM spectrum includes radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X- rays, gamma rays. The visible spectrum, the part our eyes are able to pickup is only a small part of the EM spectrum. Each color we see is a slightly different wavelength on the visible portion of the EM spectrum. Other animals have eyes that are tuned slightly different, enabling them to see better in low light situations or in shades of gray or with different resolution, but animals’ eyes are all mostly limited to a small portion of the EM spectrum.
God created light first. Without light, the rest of creation would have no definition or vibrancy for sighted creatures. Humans only see a small portion of the light God made, and if you are like me, tend to think that what we see exists and only what we see exists. You may recall the expression, “Out of sight, out of mind.” In other words, if I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
Jesus counters; Jesus negates this assumption of out-of-sight, out-of-mind when He ascends the Mountain with James and John and Peter. Jesus, in the moment of transfiguration, does not change shape and size, but He changes the disciples’ perception of His appearance. The disciples see Jesus as God sees Jesus – a dazzling white light. Jesus gives them the gift of seeing Him as God sees Him. Instead of Jesus reflecting blues and greens, reds and yellows, Jesus reflects God and shows Himself to be luminous.
In the Transfiguration text, Jesus shows us that God sees us, not through the limited visual spectrum like humans see, like when we look at a rainbow, but through shimmering expanse of the whole glorious spectrum. God sees us beyond the spectrum into who we are deep down inside. We see each other in blues, greens, reds, yellows, because we reflect and absorb various quantities of white light. And once in a while when we look at each other, we get a glimpse of something a little deeper. Once in a while we get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. God made us so that we can do much more . . . God made us to shine with radiance.
God offers us a gift of transfigured eyes in order that we may see with new eyes . . . that we may see as God sees us. When we think our brilliance may sometimes be dimming, we can pause and look at our lives. We can take a serious look at the grime and soot that may have accumulated over time and start stripping it away. With God’s help, only with God’s help, we can become radiant again. Alleluia . . . we do not remain or have to remain a lackluster being.
Siblings, God made us to shine like Jesus. And though we may not always shine as brightly as we would like, God, gracious and loving God, sees us as we really are, and loves us through and through. Amen.
Pastor Raymond