2 Co 4

Today is the Transfiguration of the Lord. It’s the final Sunday before the beginning of Lent. On the church calendar, it’s the final Sunday of the first, brief, period of what’s called Ordinary Time. This period of time has sometimes been called the season of Epiphany, which begins right after the 12th Day of Christmas. One thing Epiphany and Transfiguration have in common is that they’re all about the light of Christ.

Still, just because I’ve said all that doesn’t mean that I understand Transfiguration. Spouting out some facts is one thing; taking it to heart is quite another. I find Transfiguration to be quite mysterious. I find mystery in a lot of things, but the event in Mark’s gospel doesn’t need any help from me in being mysterious!

One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation is one entitled, “Transfigurations.” Sometimes stories from our popular culture can help illuminate events and ideas like transfiguration. (You like that? “Illuminate” “transfiguration”—they both deal with light? Anyway, please bear with me as I describe the episode!)

The crew of the Enterprise discovers in the wreckage of a ship a seriously wounded humanoid. (They’ve never encountered his species.) It turns out that he has amnesia, so the chief Medical Officer, Dr. Beverly Crusher, refers to him as “John Doe.”

“John” makes astonishing progress in recovering from his injuries. But there’s something else about him. His body is undergoing some kind of transformation at the molecular level; every now and then, he convulses in pain. Still, one wouldn’t know it by his behavior. “John” has a very reassuring quality about him. He has a peaceful demeanor, a serenity that endears him to those who meet him.

And “John” has power. He heals a crew member with a dislocated shoulder, simply by placing his hand on it. And after accidentally causing the death of someone else, “John” is able to bring him back to life. (Just in case you’re wondering, it’s Worf, the Klingon officer, who he raises from the dead!)

Slowly, “John” begins to regain his memory. When he’s told by Capt. Jean-Luc Picard that they’ve figured out the location of his home world and plan to return him there, he’s gripped by fear and says that he can’t go back—but he still doesn’t know why. He only knows that he was trying to escape from his planet.

Eventually, we find out the reason. The Enterprise is stopped by a Zalkonian ship (“John” turns out to be a Zalkonian), the captain of which demands that “John” be turned over to him. Their government claims that he is an escaped prisoner, sentenced to death for subversive activities. When Capt. Picard dares to question the other ship’s captain, the Enterprise is hit with a field that causes everyone on board to become paralyzed—they can’t even breathe.

“John” touches a wall and sends a wave of light throughout the ship, healing the entire crew. In that moment, he loses all fear and attains perfect clarity. He knows who he is and why his government is terrified of him. He explains that his species is on the verge of a wondrous transformation. He is the first of his people to undergo this process.

And then, before everyone’s eyes, “John” is transfigured. His entire body begins to glow with intense light, until he is transformed into pure energy. He says there is now nothing anyone can do to prevent him from returning to his people and telling them that they, too, can embrace the transformation. No one can stop him from letting them know that they too can be transfigured.

Unlike “John,” the apostle Paul doesn’t promise his hearers that they will literally be transfigured, but he does come close. To the Ephesians he says that “once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light” (Ep 5:8). And in the chapter before today’s epistle reading, he tells the Corinthians that “all of us…are being transformed into the [image of the Lord] from one degree of glory to another” (3:18).

However, Paul brings another image from chapter 3 into today’s reading—an image that, by its very definition, speaks of mystery. (There’s that word again!) It’s the image of the veil.

Veils are used in many different ways. They’re used in covering objects…and also people. Women are veiled, sometimes with—and sometimes without—their consent. Works of art are often unveiled, with much fanfare, before an adoring public. Cars, as well, get similar treatment. Although, it seems that the women who do the unveiling at car shows themselves wear precious little that could be called a veil!

In 2 Corinthians 4, the apostle Paul refers to the gospel, the good news, of Christ as being veiled. He says that “it is veiled to those who are perishing” (v. 3). Those who are perishing: that’s a pretty grim assessment! He adds that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (v. 4).

As I indicated, he first mentions this idea of a veil in chapter 3. He’s thinking of the veil that Moses used to cover his face after meeting with God. We read in Exodus 34: “Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him” (vv. 29-30). Moses, realizing that he’s freaking people out, comes up with the solution of wearing a veil when he’s not in God’s presence.

Paul compares that with the veil that lies on people’s minds when they turn away from the Lord Jesus Christ. Just what is it that can blind someone to the light of the gospel? The apostle suggests that it is “the god of this world.” Who or what is that?

One quick answer would be, “Satan.” That’s probably a good answer, too. But it doesn’t go very far in explaining the ways people are blinded to the truth of the gospel. “The god of this world” can also be seen as the world itself. That is, it’s the world system—the way the world does things, as opposed to the way Christ does things. It’s very easy to get caught up in that and still believe that we’re following Jesus.

Paul underlines that very point in verse 5, when he says that “we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” That’s a powerful statement! Paul denies that he elevates himself.

There’s an undercurrent of discontent in the Corinthian church. Some of the people disregard Paul; they don’t like his personality. They don’t like his speaking ability or his style. They prefer others, who Paul dismisses later on in the letter as “these super-apostles” (11:5, 12:11). And when he points out problems with the “super-apostles,” some say he’s getting defensive and into self-promotion.

But Paul says that that’s exactly what the super-apostles do: they promote themselves. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? I mean, what was Jesus thinking when he told Peter, James, and John to not breathe a word about what they’d seen up on the mountain? What a botched PR move that was!

Contrary to his critics, Paul apparently thinks that the methods of Jesus and the methods of the self-promoters aren’t the same. Unfortunately, many people are too blind to see the difference. They’ve let themselves become blinded by the god that is this world.

The world offers a false, fleeting glory. Transfiguration is about an undying glory. In verse 6, the apostle calls it “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” That’s been called “a somewhat overloaded phrase.”[1] “Somewhat overloaded,” indeed! Words fail to describe how powerful a thing it is.

Still, right after that, Paul adds, “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us” (v. 7). He goes on “to acknowledge that this wonderful treasure is something potted up in earthen vessels like himself, which have all the frailties one would expect.”[2]

We aren’t superheroes, but just like “John” in the episode of Star Trek I described, nothing can stop us from unveiling the light. No one can keep us from unveiling the light of Christ. Well…maybe I spoke too soon. There is someone who can stop us. There is someone who can keep the light from shining. It’s the person we see in the mirror. Only we can prevent the unveiling!

We have to remember, though, that Transfiguration isn’t about us. What does verse 5 say? To promote ourselves is to stumble in the dark. To promote Christ and to act as slaves for our brothers and sisters in Christ is to walk in the light. It’s not about the person in the mirror. That person benefits only to the point that we are people for others…and that we are a church for others.

[1] wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/BEpTransfiguration.htm

[2] wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/BEpTransfiguration.htm