The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ - 6th August 2026
In the midst of ‘Ordinary Time’ we come upon this extraordinary feast! I wondered why it ended up at this particular time and Wikipedia tells me that it was Pope Callixtus III who set this date to commemorate the raising of the siege of Belgrade in the 15th century, something that means nothing to us now. But here it is and regardless of how it came to be here it is a wonderful reminder of the glory of God in our midst, even in the most ordinary of times.
I have been particularly holding in my heart this past week the text from the Prologue of John’s gospel that we read at Sext: ‘The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.’ [Jn 1:14]. ‘We have seen his glory’ – I much prefer the older translation ‘We have BEHELD his glory’. I am with Maggie Ross who says that we need the word ‘behold’ to point to a deeper kind of seeing that sees beyond the surface appearances1.
The gospel goes on to unfold this glory in a series of signs performed by Jesus leading up to the culminating glory of his horrific death. In this gospel we do not find the specific event of the transfiguration on the mountain, but rather the glory revealed to those with eyes to see, eyes able to behold it, in all the events of Jesus’ life.
In our Vigils readings we have been working our way through this gospel and in recent days have been listening to the controversies of the central section. So many did NOT see his glory or maybe saw it but were threatened by what it might mean for them. There is the recounting of the restoration of sight to the man born blind, bringing into focus the theme of spiritual blindness and darkness. We might like to think that we would have seen God’s glory in the miracles of Jesus but at the time many did not. Why would we be any different?
So often our vision, our ability to simply behold what is before us, is blocked by all the clutter in our minds, the stories we spin to justify ourselves, our fears of not measuring up or of losing everything or whatever our particular obsessions are. The religious professionals of Jesus day were no doubt fearful of losing their status and their living if they recognised Jesus for who he was. We too must be alert to our professional religious status getting in the way of our authentic response to God.
The miracles of Jesus pointed beyond the everyday to a greater reality, the reality of a God who loves us ‘to the end’ [Jn 13:1] yet in that love calls us to a total giving of ourselves. John portrays the ultimate glorification of Jesus as his being ‘lifted up’ on the cross, giving himself up to a death that led to the new life of resurrection. In the farewell discourses [Jn 14-17] Jesus calls us to walk the same path of self-giving love so that we too may partake of God’s glory.
We live together in community as a way to practice that path, in giving ourselves in love to our sisters. We give but we also receive and if we can be open to one another in all our mess and our glory we find ourselves growing together into the likeness of Christ. It happens in the simplest of things, such as stepping aside so another can enjoy something we would have liked, or our acceptance of the irritating habits of others or whatever it is that pains us in our common life. We are blessed in that we are not currently called to risk our lives for our faith but these simple practices lay the foundations of letting go self should such a call come our way. They will also be a foundation as we face the inevitable decline and letting go of ageing and death.
If we can surrender our self-preoccupation we begin to behold the glory in all things, whether on the mountain top or amidst the rough and tumble of daily life. Our times of prayer, which are one of the great gifts of our life here, are to be cherished as opportunities to let go our own thoughts and open up to behold God’s presence in our lives. It is often just in brief glimpses but gradually as there is less self around our vision clears and we perceive more and more of the glory within and around us, even in the midst of suffering and difficulties. And even in the midst of the most ordinary of times.
Mother Anne - 6th August 2026
1"Silence: A User's Guide" – Volumes One and Two by Maggie Ross, Darton,Longman & Todd Ltd, 2014