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Transfiguration Sunday is Upon Us

Transfiguration Sunday, February 19, 2023.
Bright lights are shining in the shape of hearts; image courtesy of Design N Print via Pixabay.

Transfiguration Sunday is February 19, 2023. Can you imagine what might change if we could recognize God shining through ourselves and all our neighbors?

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Transfiguration Sunday is one of my favorite holy days. Hallmark and capitalism hasn’t figured out how to market it to consumers yet, so it remains a quiet holy day in the the liturgical year. Of course, most church folx don’t think much about Transfiguration Sunday, either.

I do. It’s a day in the Christian year to celebrate the dazzling light of God that shines through all of us. At any moment, anyone of us could be transfigured like Jesus was on that long-ago mountain top. At any moment, someone could see the bright light of Love glowing in and through us. It’s possible, because that light is within us all the time.

If you’re struggling with the cold greyness of winter, take a moment to imagine yourself and those you love filled with the brilliantly shiny light of God’s love filling your whole being. Now imagine the same for every one you meet. If you want to take it a bit further, imagine every living thing filled with this dazzling, shining Love.

We don’t spend much time thinking about the Divine within us. Maybe we should. Maybe we would treat ourselves and all our neighbors with more grace and mercy if we were more mindful of the Spirit that is within us all. Maybe this Transfiguration Sunday will serve as a reminder to seek out the dazzling presence of God within ourselves and everyone we meet.

It would be harder to hate someone if you pictured the brightness of Love leaking out of them. It would be harder to ignore someone’s plight if they left traces of grace sparkling on the sidewalk. It would be harder to neglect ourselves if we thought about the Love that lives inside of us and shineing through when we least expect it.

For just one day a year, we focus on the power of God’s presence contained in a human being. Most of us will say that we don’t contain so much Divine light, maybe a spark or two but not enough to dazzle anyone. That’s the funny thing, though. Where there is a spark, there is the full transfiguring dazzle.

May we have the courage to experience the dazzling, brilliant, shiny Light of Love shining in and through us, and in and through all our neighbors.

About Rachael Keefe

Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe is the pastor of Living Table United Church of Christ. She was called to Living Table in 2015 after serving in many varied ministry settings since her ordination in 1992. She holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Seminary at Yale (formerly Andover Newton Theological School). Her ministry and leadership often center around advocacy and accessibility. Her writing has been published by Chalice Press, The Christian Century, Red Letter Christians, Working Preacher, RevGalBlogPals, and others. She is grateful to be in ministry with Living Table today.

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4 thoughts on “Transfiguration Sunday is Upon Us”

  1. Among the “glitterati”–after church on Transfiguration Sunday, I met up with my husband and we went out to our favorite neighborhood restaurant–theStandish Cafe–for brunch. I’d forgotten about my glittery forehead, but our server commented on it right away. So I said, “Oh, we got ‘glittered’ at church–it’s to remind us that God shines in all of us.” (I mentioned the Transfiguration story, but she’s not a churchy person and hadn’t heard of it, so I spared her my theological discourse.) But then another server asked–and they knew what I was talking about; and then, the cafe owner came by, saw the sparkles and also asked. When I said about God/Spirit shining, she said, “I can use some of that,” and she reached out with her thumb and borrowed a little for herself. Who knew?

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