The Transfiguration of Our Lord

"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain." 2 Peter 1:16-18

I have to confess that I’m not much of a Jim Carrey fan but I did like his 2001 movie, “The Majestic.” It is set in 1951 and tells the story of Peter Appleton (Carrey), a young Hollywood screenwriter, who lived a self-centered, selfish, dissolute life. After attending a communist party rally (only to impress a girl), he is pursued by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Deciding to flee town, and after having drowned his sorrows in a bar, he is involved in an automobile accident that leaves him with amnesia.

When he is found by some folks from the small town where he ended up, they discover that he looks exactly like a young man from their community who was believed to be lost in battle in WWII—a young man named Luke—and Peter is welcomed back as a long-lost hero. Luke was everything that Peter is not—good and decent and kind and brave—but as Peter takes Luke’s place in the community, as he learns more about who he thinks he should be as Luke—he too becomes those things—he is transformed by the life of another.

When the town lost Luke to the war—they lost their heart—but with his seeming return—hope returns as well—and the town is transformed. The townspeople rally around the man they believe has returned from the dead and they rebuild “The Majestic”—the old time movie theatre at the center of town—its newly refurbished glory a symbol of their return from the brink of despair.

When Peter, James, and John went with Jesus up on the Mount of Transfiguration, they were granted a glimpse of what we will one day see—the glorified Christ—and their lives were changed by it. The Transfiguration of Our Lord provided a “lens” through which to view what was to come in his suffering and death and resurrection—a glorious transformation, not only for Jesus, but for all who are part of him by faith-- and an eternity in the Majestic Glory of God Himself.

“A life transformed by the life of another”. That’s nice little summary of one of Jim Carrey’s best movies but more importantly it’s the story of our life with Christ—lives transformed for time and eternity by the crucified, risen, and glorified Savior.

Let us pray: O God, in the glorious transfiguration of your only-begotten Son, you once confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of the ancient fathers, and in the voice that came from the bright cloud your wondrously foreshowed our adoption by grace. Therefore mercifully make us coheirs with our King of his glory, and bring us to the fullness of our inheritance in heaven; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.