On a bitterly cold afternoon freezing mist is vying with the fading winter sunshine for mastery of the snowy landscape. Bathed in syrupy golden light the delicate tracery-like branches of a willow appear to be lit from within. The colour of the light and that of the willow's delicate structure appear to be made and meant for each other. It is as though the whole tree seems transfigured in this moment of ethereal revelation, the sunshine calling forth a singularly vibrant celebration of the tree's being in defiance of the ever thickening shroud of mist.
This eye-catching spectacle cannot now be unseen and the vivid memory of it will inform, inspire and reframe all future seeing of this willow. Especially when the light has gone and the mist has enveloped the view impenetrably, or on a different day when the daylight is dull and flat and the sky gloomily overcast and threatening. It is then that the true value of this transfiguring vision will be understood through the recollected insight which discerns an undeniable and unforgettable truth that is not readily apparent in the here and now.
It is in our imagination that the 'once seen, never forgotten' paradigmatic power of transfiguration holds sway.
This is how it was for the disciples of Jesus. This is how it was for the prophets. This is how it is for us. The life of faith is framed and energised by moments of intense seeing and vivid insight. Powerful and precious moments of so clearly comprehending the presence of God that they completely transfigure our vision of the future and of the world in which we live. Such moments stay with us; these pivotal experiences endure within the reshaped imaginations they gift to us. Our view of the world is changed and so are we.
Nothing is ever the same again.
Once we have glimpsed and felt the tangible presence God's glory and our imaginations have been bathed in its golden light, our trust in Jesus Christ and our commitment to his way is all we need to enter into life in all its fullness. Not least when the freezing mists of real life encircle and envelop us, and the daylight is fading fast. For as the witness of the Bible makes so clear, it is precisely during such difficult times that the remembered power of transfiguring vision is especially precious.
The radiant presence that changed our outlook then is the same presence which holds us close now. Just like the sunlight and the willow tree, we are made and meant for each other.
2 comments:
This is lovely. The brilliance of willows and red twig dogwood during winter always catches my eye, and I love this image. We went with another theme for Feb. 19, but I'll keep this image for another year. Thank you so much. Becky C. in Minneapolis, MN, USA
You are very welcome Becky - and it is a source of joy to me to know that my material is used so widely across the good old USA! :-) Bless you.
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