Exodus

 

Things are not always what they seem! The biblical reading that has cast its light on my path this week is the story of the miracle on the mountain when a few chosen disciples of Jesus saw him shining in glory and speaking with the great leaders of their history, Moses and Elijah, Luke 9:28-36.

We call the story the Transfiguration and we celebrate it on this Sunday, before we enter the season of Lent. It is a beautiful story layered with meaning. It is full of shining light and dazzling glory.

Just what we need before we enter the long and more somber church season of Lent. What catches my eye and holds my attention however is a particular word. Thatword seems to be the topic of conversation that the disciples overhear as Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus about the “departure” he is about to accomplish.

The term “departure” can mean a variety of things depending upon our context. When you are rushing through the airport looking for the schedule of your flight you might intently scan the departure screen to see where your departure gate is.

I remember getting on my flight as a youth to go and visit relatives in California. What an exciting departure that was. It was a journey of grand adventure, going to meet relatives I had never met before, traveling through the clouds, following the sun.

Years later another departure and another exciting journey. I can still feel the power of the memories of the day our flight took off for our missionary work in Japan.

The experience the disciples had on the mountain displays an inner consistency in the way of God. Things are not always what they seem. Just as the visual appearance of Jesus had been transfigured, so also would the experience of death. The word departure is at once a word that can evoke the feelings of longing and sadness of those who come to wave good-bye, but it conveys the excitement and anticipation for those whose journey is about to begin.

It is interesting that in the original Greek text the word translated as “departure” is significantly “exodus.”

For anyone familiar with the biblical history that word conveys the exit from captivity and limitation and a journey to freedom and promise.

In a similar way our Christian perspective on death and our trust in the resurrection to life understands death to be a journey to freedom and peace.

In the language of faith the departure of our death has been transfigured in the new reality of Christ. In some ways the term can seem to some people to be a mere euphemism, such as when we say someone has “passed away.”

But on the other hand, perhaps euphemisms are never mere figures of speech after all but in themselves communicate something of significant meaning. When Jesus was speaking with Elijah and Moses on the mountain about his departure/death/exodus he wasn’t speaking in a figure of speech as if he wanted to use colorful metaphors to avoid a painful reality. I believe he was redefining reality and chose the words that were appropriate to the new understanding.

This reading has cast its light on my path this week with this significant and powerful word because I have spoken recently to so many people who have experienced “departures” in their families and their circle of friends. Grief is that powerful experience of longing and sadness common to us all. My faith in Jesus Christ allows me to envision not only the departure from all of us who remain waving a tear-filled farewell, but also to trust that there are those on the other side who anxiously and joyfully await the arrival of our loved one. Through faith I can envision death as a beginning, a grand journey to be in communion with Jesus and the entire host he has gathered. And I hope that by faith in Jesus your experience may be transfigured as well.

Each month a member of the
Cook County Ministerium will
offer Spiritual Reflections. For
February, our contributor is
Reverend Mark Ditmanson of
Bethlehem Lutheran Church in
Grand Marais.