The Living Face of God

I must admit when I saw the reading this weekend was the Gospel about the Transfiguration, I groaned. I have written about the Transfiguration several times and worry I have nothing more to say. I stayed with the reading and asked God to help me turn the prism of His Word so I could see what I may have been blind to.

The Transfiguration is the story of Jesus going up a mountain with Peter, James, and John. He is transfigured before them. They see him in glory. His clothes are dazzling white, and He speaks with Moses and Elijah. They fall to the ground in fear, wonder, and awe at the glory of the Lord.

A line from John’s Gospel keeps pulling at my soul. Jesus said to the Apostles, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)

The Transfiguration was a moment when the wonder of God in Jesus was revealed. The disciples saw Jesus as one with God. Jesus’ face was revealed as the face of God.

I have often written about the many times I have seen the face of God in the people I have met. And indeed, there are more stories like those to share. But the challenge of this reading today is much more dramatic and humbling than recounting the stories of God’s presence in people.

The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, when seen through Jesus’ statement that we are called to do even greater works than He did, is daunting.

Jesus is telling us that we, too, must be “transfigured.” We must become the face of God. Now the thought of that is humbling.

The most profound demands of our faith are easier to accept when we look at them through the lens of our weakness and imperfection. It is easier to believe when I dwell on my failings and call on the incredible mercy of God.

But, frankly, that is a cop-out. If I am always proclaiming my weakness and failings, I excuse myself from stepping up to the call of Jesus to do works even more significant than the ones He did. We readily excuse ourselves from the call of the Gospel to allow God’s Transfiguration of us. We look at our failings and don’t trust God enough to allow Him to place the wonder and magnificence of His own countenance on our simple, wrinkled, everyday faces.

Our faith in Jesus cannot stop at the door of complete union with Jesus. At mass, we receive Eucharist, and we say Amen. I believe. Eucharist is not meant to simply make us more reverent or holy. It is intended to transform us— to transfigure us —into the living Body of Christ.

The power of the Transfiguration is that it does not stop with Jesus. We are each individually called to be transfigured, so we wear the face of God. When people see us, they know by sight the face of God. 

We cannot allow ourselves to live out our lament, proclaiming, “O Lord, I am not worthy.” We believe Eucharist gives us the grace to be transfigured into the living face of God. Can we allow ourselves to be anything less?

When we truly embrace the Gospel, we believe, to the point, that we do the works that Jesus did and works more significant even than those.

When we truly embrace the Gospel, we stop beating our chests and moaning about all we aren’t because we are far too busy being the face of Christ Jesus for our wounded and suffering world.

When we truly embrace the Gospel, we are One with Christ, and our face is transfigured. Those who see us see and recognize the face of God.

Today we are called to put away our feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt and stand in awe of our God, who lives in and works through a face as ordinary as ours.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen