What's a Transfiguration?

Walking in the Truth of the Transfiguration

Today's Scripture

"About eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning."  Luke 9:28-29 *
* [For the full context, see Luke 9:28-36.]

Today's Devotional Thoughts

These first two verses kickoff one of my favorite scriptural accounts--the Transfiguration of Jesus. What is a "transfiguration?" I went to my standard, on-line dictionary source [dictionary.com] & got this definition:  "(1) act of transfiguring; (2) state of being transfigured; (3) supernatural & glorified change in the appearance of Jesus on the mountain." Word origin:  from the Latin "change of shape." [No, this does not imply that Jesus was a shape-shifter.]

I want to delve into the Transfiguration account over my next few devotions. For now, consider this:

• In the traditional church calendar. Transfiguration Sunday immediately precedes Ash Wednesday, which immediately precedes the 1st Sunday of Lent--that 40 day season before we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
• While most of us adore the pomp & celebration of Easter, not all of us enjoy the 40 days of "doom & gloom" that seem more representative of the Lenten season.
• Jesus' Transfiguration & the three disciples' experience on the mountain-top with him were anything but a "doom & gloom" experience.
• In fact, I'm pretty sure this experience is the source of our abstraction re:  a "mountain-top" experience.
• The Transfiguration preceded Jesus' final journey with His disciples to Jerusalem, where a cross awaited Him.

So, why a Transfiguration for Jesus? And why do these three disciples get a mountain-top experience? And finally, what mountain-top experiences have you experienced in your life?

Today's Prayer Thoughts

May the Holy Spirit open our minds to the reading of God's Word that our faith may be nurtured as we grow in the knowledge of His Truth.

A Reminder

Many of these devotions are adapted from the devotions I wrote for the Daily Announcements of Lutheran High Northeast (Norfolk, NE) during the 2014-2015 school year. Our chapel theme was "Walking in the Truth." My devotions re:  the Transfiguration, however, are original & not adaptations.