Mrs. Eddy on the Transfiguration

[JPalmer]

6. Luke 9
28 And … he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.
33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.
34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

After reading about the Transfiguration in this week’s lesson, I found the following from Essays and Other Footprints, the red book, by Mary Baker Eddy, pages 115 to 116:

When the immaculate Jesus had so awakened the thought of his three most receptive students – Peter, James, and John – their consciousness arose out of material sense and ascended to the experience known as the transfiguration. Then it was shown to their startled vision, as it is ready to be shown to us of this hour, that the ‘beloved son’, the expression of the one Father, is only complete when it includes the tri-unity of the law, the spirit of prophecy, and their fulfillment, as this spiritual phenomenon appeared to the startled gaze of the awakened disciples.

This thought, that to truly understand the Christ as expressed in God’s idea requires us to see how they embody “the tri-unity of the law, the spirit of prophecy, and their fulfillment,” gives me greater gratitude to Plainfield for showing how Mrs. Eddy based Science and Health on the Bible, for how her revelation was prophecied in Revelation, and how she tirelessly worked to fulfill that revelation. How important that we learn to “discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3) as Christ Jesus spoke of.

Thank you for this lesson!

[JPalmer]

At the beginning of the chapter “The Millennium” in Addresses by Martha Wilcox, she says:

The fulfillment of prophecy always seems remote, just as it did in the days of the coming of Jesus. But if we had eyes to see, we would perceive that the fulfillment of prophecy is but the appearing in consciousness of that which is already in existence.

I am very grateful that the pure Christian Science taught in Plainfield allows us to grow spiritually to the point where the true importance of Mary Baker Eddy and Christ Jesus become at first faintly visible, and then clearer and clearer all the time.

I am also quite thankful for Mrs Eddy’s explanation, as it is a stark contrast to some branches of Christianity feeling it is Jesus showing off his deific power. Even Matthew Henry wrote, in his Concise Commentary on Luke 9:28: “Christ’s transfiguration was a specimen of that glory in which he will come to judge the world; and was an encouragement to his disciples to suffer for him.”

How much better to know that Jesus’ teaching allowed at least some of his students to gain the spiritual sense to witness more of “that which is already in existence.” I find this very comforting. Thank you!

[Author]

Posts