Above: Icon of the Transfiguration of Jesus
Image in the Public Domain
The Glory of God
FEBRUARY 11, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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2 Kings 2:1-12a
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Mark 9:2-9
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Almighty God, on the mountain you showed your glory
in the transfiguration of your Son.
Give us the vision to see beyond the turmoil of our world
and to behold the king in all his glory;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 17
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O God, in the transfiguration of your Son you confirmed
the mysteries of faith by the witness of Moses and Elijah,
and in the voice from the bright cloud
you foreshadowed our adoption as your children.
Make us with the king heirs of your glory,
and bring us to enjoy its fullness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 17
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O God, in the glorious transfiguration of your only-begotten Son
once confirmed the mysteries of the faith
by the testimony of the ancient fathers,
and in the voice that came from the bright cloud
you wondrously foreshadowed 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, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 31
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I have been writing lectionary-based weblog posts for more than a decade. I have, therefore, written about the Transfiguration of Jesus–upon the occasions of August 6 and the Last Sunday After the Epiphany–already.
My comments from previous years, accessible at ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS and BLOGA THEOLOGICA, remain available for reading. I choose not to duplicate them in full here.
The glory of Christ, evident in one way at the Transfiguration, was usually evident in his faithful and compassionate service. Yet a visual demonstration–the fulfillment of Mark 9:1–was helpful.
Sometimes we mere mortals need the visual element to reinforce that of which we have heard. We, like apostles in the Gospel of Mark, may not understand despite the evidence we have seen. Then, after the spectacular show, we may still not understand as we should.
Psalm 50:1-6, with its imagery of fire, fits well with the First Reading. The psalm, as a whole, contains contrasts–the faithfulness of God, the fidelity of some, and the judgment of the faithless. I mention this for the sake of completeness, so that nobody may legitimately accuse me of cherry-picking verses in this matter of divine judgment and mercy. One may also recall that, in readings from the Hebrew Bible for the last two Sundays on this series, we have read of God forgiving faithless peoples for divine purposes. Yet we read this week, if we keep reading Psalm 50 past verse 6:
Understand this, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, with no one to save you.
–Verse 22, Robert Alter
Divine judgment and mercy exist in a perpetual balance I know I do not understand. May none of us begrudge divine mercy, upon which we depend. Some mercy is an example of divine glory.
May this glory shine in our lives as we deal with each other.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 14, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF FANNIE LOU HAMER, PROPHET OF FREEDOM
THE FEAST OF ALBERT LISTER PEACE, ORGANIST IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALISTS HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF NEHEMIAH GOREH, INDIAN ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENZINA CUSMANO, SUPERIOR OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR; AND HER BROTHER, SAINT GIACOMO CUSMANO, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR AND THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE POOR
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LEDDRA, BRITISH QUAKER MARTYR IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 1661
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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