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And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Matthew 17:1-3
It was significant that Jesus went up the mountain and was transfigured with those three disciples prior to descending the mountain to head to Jerusalem where he’d suffer and die on the cross. It gave them a glimpse of the glory of Jesus Christ before they had to see his humiliation. It prepared them to believe in his divinity despite the suffering of his humanity. It was a reflection of the coming Resurrection.
Sometimes we need to have a vision of his glory (and, if we have experienced His goodness in the past, reflect on it) when we are entering a time of trial and suffering. We are about to enter another Lent which symbolizes a time when the Church historically fasted, denying itself and joining itself to Christ in His own self-denial. But we can’t do that without hope.
That hope comes from the glory of Christ we have seen in the past that was revealed to us and the promise of Resurrection in the future. That gets us through the “in between”.
In the same way that we, as individuals, engage with our own suffering in this way, the Church as a whole must continue to do the same.
The Global South and Gafcon are both in the midst of trial for various reasons, contending for the faith, struggling to keep themselves faithful despite external pressures to conform and to doubt. All this is in addition to the many ways that each church from both those structures suffer in their own ways: poverty, war, heresy.
The global Anglican Church must remember who Jesus Christ is, and if they can’t, they must ask Him for a vision of His glory in order to sustain them in the years ahead as both the Global South and Gafcon follow Jesus towards biblical faithfulness, and, ultimately, towards Resurrection life, no matter what it costs.
Let us pray, as we head into Transfiguration Sunday, to receive the Revelation of Christ that we need for the Lenten journey ahead.
The Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge
American Anglican Council, Acting CEO
