Year A Last Epiphany 2026 God Leans In

 Year A Last Sunday after Epiphany, 15 February 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

Celtic Service “God Leans In”

Collect: O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us 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. Amen.

Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Tonight we see the height if the Epiphany, when we see Jesus revealed for who he truly is. Epiphany is all about that, and tonight’s Gospel looks at what we call the Transfiguration. And what a tale!

There is even a voice from heaven to make it clear who Jesus is. The Beloved. Ho Agapetos in the Greek. The word used here in the Transfiguration is the same word we hear from God at Jesus’ baptism. The Beloved.

And we know from where the story goes that we are the Beloved of Jesus, so much so that he gladly gave his life for any of us, for all of us. 

This story is told in three of the four Gospels. The synoptic Gospels, the three from the “same view.” Matthew, Mark and Luke. They follow the similar structure. Jesus asks his apostles, “Who do they say that I am?” And Peter, the loudmouth that speaks first and acts later declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Soon after this event, we reach the pinnacle of Jesus’ adoration, when he is recognized by God as being his Son, the Messiah, THE Beloved. 

Jesus took his intimates, Peter, James and John with him up the mountain to pray.  And notice, when he prays, God shows up. (Side note: I believe when any of us pray, God shows up. We just may not be attuned to what that looks like.) 

The Transfiguration is one of my favorite stories. It is a favorite for many reasons. It lifts up Jesus. He is more than a prophet; he is more than a Rabbi (teacher); he is more than a commentator on the Law (someone who does Midrash). He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Chosen One, the Beloved. In all of time and history it is abundantly clear that this is the pinnacle of what being a human can be. The title “the Son of Man” is exactly that, the Quintessential Human, the capital-H capital-O Human One as the Contemporary English Bible translates that title “Son of Man.” And as we prayed today, it was on this mount that we have his glory revealed. 

Now I am going to get a little science-y here for a minute, so stay with me if you would like. Or if you don’t want to get a little cross-eyed, check out for about thirty seconds, well to be honest,  two minutes. One thing that I hold onto, is that as we learn more and more about the nature of time in Physics, the Transfiguration makes more and more sense. Time is not a string, going from the beginning to the end, pulled taut and we are trapped in this tube that only travels in one direction. More and more in advanced physics we see that time is just another dimension just like height, width and depth, our normal 3. Time is the fourth dimension, and if we could see it, it is less like a taut string than it is bowl of spaghetti consisting of one REALLY LONG noodle.

When I read this story, I like to think that Jesus went up to pray, and God shows up. And Moses shows up. And Elijah shows up. Now if we read it in a traditional sense, Moses and Elijah come back from heaven to celebrate and uphold the Son. Symbolically this works well. Moses is the embodiment of the LAW, the Law Incarnate. And Elijah is the quintessential prophet, boldly declaring God’s word no matter the cost. And Jesus came to fulfill both the LAW and the PROPHETS, he even said as much. (Matthew 5:17) I see Jesus also as the embodiment of GRACE. Only Grace can fulfill both the Law and the Prophets. That is our traditional view. And I am fine with that view, too!

But what if we filter the Transfiguration through a different view. What if Jesus is praying and Moses and Elijah show up? And what if Moses was praying and Elijah and Jesus showed up? And what if Elijah was praying and Moses and Jesus showed up? In fact, we are given details about profound times of prayer of Moses on Sinai when he received the Commandments, and Elijah on Horeb after he took on the prophets of Baal and heard that still small voice. But they did not have witnesses to give the details. What if in these intense moments of prayer they were given a vision, Moses of the future of his people he helped deliver, how they would rebel, but that through them the whole world would be redeemed. Or Elijah, while fleeing Ahab and Jezebel, while hiding in the cave the still small voice pointed to where they came from, and though the times seem dark at the moment, where they will go. And Jesus, he gets to see the path of God from Law through Prophets to Grace, and was comforted and affirmed especially before he turns his face to Jerusalem and his imminent persecution, death, and resurrection. In fact, in the synoptics Gospels, it is after this that he begins the predictions of his passion.

If that was too science-fiction-y, I apologize, but I have always been fascinated by this story and its implications. But maybe I watched too much Star Trek growing up. But think on this. When you pray, see it as the Universe pausing and God shushing everything so that you can clearly be heard. Picture God leaning in to focus on you and what you pray for. I know I would pray differently with that in mind. Chew on that Beloved of God! Amen