Quinquigesima

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?”

— Holy Righteous David the King (Psalm 27:1)

Remarkable about the contemporary French artist Macha Chmakoff’s depictions of the Transfiguration is her selection of a cool and even gray color palette to depict this scene from the life of Christ. This is, perhaps, most appropriate to our springtime consideration of the feast, which has been affixed to this moment on the calendar only by mid-20th C liturgical renewal. We remember Christ’s Transfiguration, not as a unique and particular mountaintop of glory, but as a foreshadowing of the Cross. Revisiting this moment at the beginning of Lent reminds us that this season of fasting is not about our self-discipline, but the centrality of the Cross in the life and ministry and teaching of Jesus.

With you is the Fountain of Life, and in your Light, we see light.

— Psalm 36:9

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Sunday before Lent - Quinquigesima

Texts for this Week

Prayer

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scriptures

• I Kings 19:9–18

• Psalm 27

• II Peter 1:13–21

• Mark 9:2–9

Transfiguration Vespers

J. J. Wright’s Transfiguration Vespers employs the improvisational rhythms and sounds of jazz to evoke meditation on that perplexing phenomenon we witness on Mount Tabor. Jazz is a compelling medium for meditation of this sort. Much as Jesus, whom we regarded as familiar, is suddenly seen in a new and richer light, Wright’s playful engagement with Scriptural and aesthetic tropes of the feast enable a new way of seeing and engaging with a familiar story. The Transfiguration Hymn below is the great climax of the service, but if you have the better part of an hour to print the lyrics and listen to the whole service, it is an act of prayer that rewards the time and effort.