|
The Sunday immediately before Lent is an appropriate time to celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord, because this event marked a transition in Jesus' ministry in which he "set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51), where he would die. In his Transfiguration we are assured that Jesus is the hope of the ages, He is the One who fulfilled the Law given through Moses, the One dreamed of by prophets, of whom Elijah is the greatest. In celebrating this event, we rejoice in the divine majesty of Christ, whose glory shone even when confronted with the cross. It is given us for our journey through Lent toward the agony of the cross and the victory, of the empty tomb. We celebrate this mystery in order that our faith may be renewed. We are transformed into the new being in Christ as we join Christ in his death and resurrection in Lent and Easter.
From ancient times, the Feast of the Transfiguration has been important in Eastern Orthodox traditions. In 1457, it was adopted into the Western Church with its date of August 6th. in recent lectionary changes, it has been gaining greater prominence by giving it focus on a Sunday at the beginning of Lent. In recommending to the United Presbyterian General Assembly that this day be included in the liturgical calendar, the Advisory Council on Discipleship and Worship stated: "A renewal of an annual focus on this important revelatory event will nurture the faith and spiritual depth of our communion. In this era the sense of awe and wonder is often lacking in the worship of Western churches .... Yet the hunger for transcendent vision still fingers .... Not the miracles but the mysteries of our faith are most in need of illumination in our time. These alone will provide the inner dynamic to motivate and effect human transformation."
WHITE is the color for the Transfiguration, for is a festival of the Lord.
|
