TRANSFIGURATION AND HOPE

To read and visualize the transfiguration of Christ is to enter its mystery and encounter its hope. Like the Gospel writers and the disciples who climbed the mountain with Jesus, we struggle to tell the story and explain its meaning. Yet this astounding event reveals Gods ultimate purpose in sending his Son--the complete restoration of humanity and all creation--our transfiguration in Christ. The light and glory of that moment reveal a destiny that is infinite and eternal, made possible by the power of grace. Transfiguration is the trajectory and goal of our spiritual journey. Across time and space, Christians have reflected on the mystery and hope epitomized in the transfiguration, yet their voices have been heard primarily within their own cultural and ecclesiastical contexts. This study gathers many of those voices from the panorama of Scripture and church history and finds in them the common theme of radical transformation in Christ. The point of this theological conversation is spiritual transfiguration and hope for each of us as we reach toward the future Christ has shown us in himself. Van Dussen has produced an easy-to-read but substantive book. The transfiguration of Jesus is treated as a symbol of hope for the Christians transformation into the likeness of Christ. While Van Dussen quotes widely from various Protestant and Catholic sources, he notes that transfiguration is at the forefront in Eastern Orthodoxy, which he cites most frequently alongside his own Wesleyan tradition. --Wayne McCown, President, Ashland Theological Seminary Van Dussens probing and provocative study of Jesus transfiguration reveals how much we are like Jesus disciples, who instead of seeing the Spirit shining through him, inside-out transfiguration, still focus on dazzling white robes and celestial visitors, outside-in transformation. Most importantly, Van Dussen shows on every page how much the world today needs transfiguration, not just transformation. --Leonard Sweet, bes