The Still Point

A Time of Meditation and Reflection

The Transfiguration

 

... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...

 

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

            Peace on each one who comes in need; 

            Peace on each one who comes in joy. 

            Peace on each one who offers prayers; 

            Peace on each one who offers song. 

            Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son, 

            Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.

Opening Prayer

Loving creator of all, watch over us…and keep us in the light of your presence. May our praise continually blend with the song of all creation, until we come to those eternal joys which you promise in your love through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.

 

The Gospel                                                 Luke 9:28-36

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

 

Poem: “Of Gravity and Light”                                    by John Burnside (b. 1955)

What we need most, we learn from the menial tasks:
the novice raking sand in Buddhist texts,
or sweeping leaves, his hands chilled to the bone,
while understanding hovers out of reach;
the changeling in a folk tale, chopping logs,
poised at the dizzy edge of transformation;

 

and everything they do is gravity:
swaying above the darkness of the well
to haul the bucket in; guiding the broom;
finding the body's kinship with the earth
beneath their feet, the lattice of a world
where nothing turns or stands outside the whole;

 

and when the insight comes, they carry on
with what's at hand: the gravel path; the fire; 
knowing the soul is no more difficult
than water, or the fig tree by the well
that stood for decades, barren and inert,
till every branch was answered in the stars.

 Meditation

Today's Gospel marks the Feast of the Transfiguration, with all its splendor, glory, and awe.  This is the flip side of the incarnation of God made human - instead, we see humans made divine, an experience so powerful for the three witnesses that they "kept silent."  And yet, for most of us, perhaps the dazzle and glory don't resonate with our everyday lives.  A godly life, we might say, consists less in the dazzling moments and more in the habitual: in worship, in contemplation, and in acts of domestic and occupational duty that become holy if we consider them holy.  

 

John Burnside gives us the counterpoint to the transfiguration: moments of spiritual insight are still bookended by "the gravel path," "the broom," and "the well."  Or, perhaps the gospel provides us with the counterpoint: even in our routine lives, we can still find the dazzle of divine glory. 

 

Frederick Buechner put it this way: 

Even with us, something like that happens once in a while. The face of a man walking his child in the park, of a woman picking peas in the garden, of sometimes even the unlikeliest person listening to a concert, say, or standing barefoot in the sand watching the waves roll in, or just having a beer at a Saturday baseball game in July. Every once and so often, something so touching, so incandescent, so alive transfigures the human face that it's almost beyond bearing. 

Questions for Reflection

• What are the daily rituals and habits that give a holy rhythm to your life?  

• When have you been surprised by holy insight in your everyday life?

• Set an intention this week to look for moments of transfiguration around you.  How might that intention bear fruit this week?

Image for Reflection:

 Prayers  

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today 

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world 

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

 

Gracious God, you hear all our prayers: those we speak aloud, those we hold in our hearts, and those prayers for which we have no words. Hear the prayers of your people, and grant them as may be best for us, for the sake of your holy name. Amen.

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

 May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

 Reflections this month offered by: Matt Bentley