A reading from the book of Genesis (15:5-12, 17-18)
Then taking Abram outside, he said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so will your descendants be,’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord and this was reckoned to him as righteousness.
He then said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to give you this country as your possession.’ Abram replied, ‘Lord God, how can I know that I shall possess it?’ He said to him, ‘Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these, split the animals down the middle and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide. And when birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, Abram drove them off.
Now, as the sun was on the point of setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and a deep, dark dread descended on him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passing between the animals’ pieces. That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram in these terms:
‘To your descendants I give this country,
from the River of Egypt to the Great River, the River Euphrates.’
This mysterious account signals the making of a covenant between God and Abram. The faith of Abram was apparent at the beginning of his story when he was willing to leave his home to travel to a new land. His faith is emphasised again here, as he trusts God’s promise of numerous descendants. This faith was considered as ‘righteousness’, and will be important for St Paul in his exploration of the nature of faith (Romans 4). The ancient ritual of sacrifice performed here was used to ratify covenants, and is referred to in Jeremiah 34. The atmosphere is dark and threatening as a ‘deep sleep’ falls on Abram and a ‘dark dread’. His vision of the ‘smoking firepot’ and the ‘flaming torch’ are symbols of the divine presence as God forges a covenant with him. The words of God again promise descendants and spell out the vast extensions of the land.
Psalm 27 (26) The psalm promises the gift of the Lord’s goodness ‘in the land of the living’.
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians (3:17-4:1)
Brothers and sisters, be united in imitating me. Look towards those who act according to the example you have from me. For there are many people of whom I have often warned you, and now I warn you again with tears, who behave as enemies of Christ’s cross. Their end is destruction; their god is the stomach; their glory is in their shame, since their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven and from there we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform this wretched body of ours into the mould of his glorious body, through the working of the power which he has, even to make all things subject to him.
So then, my brothers and sisters, dear friends whom I miss, my joy and my crown; hold firm in the Lord, dear friends, in this way.
St Paul had a particular affection for the Christians of Philippi. This was the first place he visited on crossing from Asia to Europe (Acts 16), and he founded the church in that place. Now however these Christians are faced with a choice, and Paul is profoundly upset by the situation. They are being lured by people called by Paul ‘the enemies of the cross of Christ’ to conform to the requirements of Judaism, circumcision in particular. Paul warns them against ‘earthly things’, and that they should not give up the freedom they have received. Christians have a different prospect, for their ‘citizenship is in heaven’. The Lord Jesus, at his coming, will transform ‘this wretched body of ours’ into a copy of ‘his glorious body’. The Christian relies entirely on the power of Christ.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (9:28-36)
Now about eight days after these sayings, taking Peter, John and James with him he went up the mountain to pray. And it happened that, as he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became dazzling white. And suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his departure which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah,’ not knowing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and as they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They themselves kept silence and, in those days, told no one what they had seen.
The account of the transfiguration takes place as Jesus prepares to journey to Jerusalem. Luke tells us that ‘the aspect of his face was changed’. He may well be alluding to the transformation in the face of Moses when he met the Lord (Exodus 34). Luke uniquely has Jesus in dialogue with Moses and Elijah about his ‘departure’ (exodos), which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Luke has Jesus solemnly begin this journey, his ‘being taken up’, later in the chapter, saying that he ‘resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem’. Luke also emphasises that the disciples saw the ‘glory’ of the Lord, an anticipation of his risen glory. Moses had been denied a vision of the glory of God (Exodus 33). In Luke’s account the cloud fills the disciples with fear, and the words of God call Jesus ‘son’ and also ‘chosen one’. Finally, Luke states that the disciples ‘kept silent’ about what they had seen, at least ‘in those days’.
The words of God ‘This is my Son’ at the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus mark the two parts of the gospel story: the preaching of the kingdom, and the road to the Passion.
For those whose journey to God is particularly difficult, let us pray.