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.
—Luke 9.30-31
The Transfiguration is a resurrection appearance.
Jesus, having given himself to death,
appears already in resurrection light
as he turns his face toward the cross,
toward his “departure”—
which in the Greek text is “exodus.”
Yes, resurrection is a departure.
As Moses leads his people out of Egypt
Jesus leads us out of lives we know
into the unknown. We sometimes look back.
The bad feelings are easily surrendered,
the habits more wrenching to give up,
but the part of yourself you thought was you,
the self of yourself abandoned to God,
that is the sorrowful departure
at the dark heart of exodus,
the shadow hidden in the light of resurrection.
If you plan to be raised from the dead,
plan to say goodbye,
to feel the hand slip from your hand,
to walk into darkness with only this Light,
to waken among strangers who don’t recognize you,
you who have departed
and become someone new.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net