Saturday, March 7

Mark 9:2-9

Did “The Transfiguration of Jesus” really happen? Not literally. It’s part of the Gospels’ portrayal of what Marcus Borg calls the post-Easter or canonical Jesus, as contrasted with the pre-Easter (historical) Jesus. The story was written when the Roman Empire had re-conquered Jerusalem and was enforcing its terrifying power over the Hebrew people – including the followers of Jesus. As they remembered or learned about how and why Jesus had been executed, those followers needed a Transfiguration story as a stone in the foundation for building their church. That foundation, that stone – they’re with us today as we are Planting Seeds of Faith.

Compared to Mark’s story, the transfiguration of Jesus in my own experience is taking longer and appears to go the opposite direction. One Sunday morning, I saw an easeled portrait in our sanctuary. My childhood Jesus image – long blond hair, golden-fair skin, blue eyes – was long gone, along with the giant grey-bearded face of God ruling from Heaven. The picture here showed how some Bible scholar(s) thought Jesus had probably looked. This man had dark eyes, olive complexion, unruly dark hair – not unpleasant, and unremarkable-looking. What a relief to see how Jesus might have appeared as I was meeting him again for the first time.