Song of the Transfiguration (David Haas)

 To hear David Haas' Song of the Transfiguration, click here.

Transform us as you transfigured,

Stood apart at Tabor’s height.

Lead us up our sacred mountain;

Search us with revealing light.

Lift us from where we have fallen

Full of questions, filled with fright.

Transform us you transfigured,

Once spoke with those holy ones.

We, surrounded by the witness

Of those saints whose work is done,

Live in this world as your Body,

Chosen daughters, chosen sons.

Transform us as you transfigured,

Would not stay within a shrine.

Keep us from our great temptation –

Time and truth we quickly bind.

Lead us down those daily pathways,
                 Where our love is not confined.

Image source:  Gerard David, Transfiguration of Christ, ca. 1450-1460
Video source

Your "Tabor" Moments?

Your "Tabor" moments?

Have you recently had a “Tabor” moment?

In the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration on (tradition has it) Mt. Tabor, Jesus’ three disciples experience a theophany, a visible manifestation of the presence of God before them.  Although their progress is halting (Luke tells us they were frightened and silent), the experience does offer the disciples a glimpse of Jesus’ identity and his divine mission, giving them some perspective, and, perhaps also, strength for the journey.

Consider the last year, or maybe even the last few months.  Have you had a “Tabor” moment, a moment when  you felt God’s presence distinctly, clearly?  Did you listen to him?  Were you frightened and silent, or giddy and enthusiastic?  Were you alone, or with friends?  What happened once you came down from the mountain, so to speak, and how were you transformed by the experience?  How has God’s presence in your life touched you, moved you, renewed you?

Jesus’ disciples witness Jesus himself transformed, his face and clothes altered as outward signs of the divinity within -- and then everything ostensibly returned to normal.  Or did it?  Our radiance at any encounter with God is a sign of our penetration by the Spirit, a moment that touches us at our core.  Let us welcome the "Tabor" moments, allowing them to open us, to transform us, so that we can be that light for the world that Jesus intended.

This short reflection was inspired by a longer reflection by Basilian Father Thomas Rosica.

Photo source: Transfiguration Church, Mt. Tabor, Israel