Saturday, Feb 18, 2023

Transfigured

Jesus was transfigured before them,

and his face shone like the sun,

and his clothes became dazzling white.

—Matthew 17:2

Sometimes someone changes and you get to see it.

And sometimes you finally see what was always there.

Maybe this is the real grace of transfiguration,

not that things change but that our seeing does,

that we see with eyes of wonder,

that we see divine presence in this world,

that we see resurrection in every death,

see the gleam that is each person, even the doomed,

that we see them beyond the limits of their flesh,

see them in company with saints, see them divine,

risen already from whatever deaths and disappointments

they will endure, still shining. We see with eyes of mercy.

Maybe the miracle is not in the light that enters our eyes

but the light that shines out from them.

Pray that by the grace of the God who shines

our eyes may be transfigured.