transfiguration 2026
Transfiguration 2026
The Very Reverend Dr Paul Shackerley
Dean of Brecon
The only moment we ever inhabit is the present, not the past or the future
Many of us capture special moments in life through photographs and videos on phones these days. Taking photos or videos or playing a piece of music can be fun. It helps to re-live memories and cling to extra-ordinary experiences and moments in life. Capturing these moments, in themselves, can be good for us. But preservation of memory can also be a problem. Let’s take a modern-day parable to explain what I mean. The culture surrounding live concerts has shifted from being about the shared experience of the atmosphere and music, to chasing viral moments on social media. Audiences pay astronomical amounts to see their favourite band or artist perform live on stage. Although social media is a good outlet to help fans feel more connected to their favourite artists, it raises the question: is the excitement of being seen online worth losing the magic of simply being present to the experience of being at the performance, rather than through your mobile phone screen? It is a familiar sight to see musicians performing to a sea of mobile phones raised, flashing and recording. Indeed, some artists are now banning the use of mobile phone recordings at live gigs.
Truly this is the most baffling thing at concerts. Instead of experiencing and enjoying the performance you pay for in that moment, members of the audience are attempting to capture the moment and watching the performance through the screen on their phones. Problem is that since they are attempting to capture the moment, they end up missing being present in the excitement of the experience. So, then they have a recorded version of something that will never capture the energy of the real presence of being there. Not to mention that they can easily just jump on YouTube and watch the videos that other fools have wasted time capturing. Holding on to a memory can prevent us to forget to live the present moment, to enjoy the flavour of the present lived moment.
The only moment we ever inhabit is the present, not the past or the future. The Welsh poet R.S. Thomas captures this well in his poem ‘The Bright Field’, Thomas encourages us not to live in the ‘imagined past’ or ever ‘receding future’.
Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once but is the eternity that awaits you.
R.S. Thomas draws threads together with reference to Christ’s image of the field containing the pearl at great price, and God breaking into time and space to reveal himself in the present, like he did on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Bright Field speaks about those shining moments in life. Moments of grace, beauty, inspiration, and epiphany, where we fleetingly encounter the divine or feel a deep connection to the beauty of creation. Bright moments of grace are in fact moments where we are intensely present to enjoy an encounter. These are the moments we are most alive, and when we feel most connected to life, the universe, or God. The poem ends with the beautiful image of the burning bush from the story of Moses. Thomas tells us that life, and these moments, are about “turning/ like Moses to the miracle/ of the lit bush”. There is a real sense of intense presence in this image. I think the way the bright light, which is God, and grace, is described in the final lines is exquisite: though it had once seemed “as transitory as your youth”, it is in fact “the eternity that awaits you.”
In the story of the Transfiguration Peter wanted to build three booths in his desire to fossilise the moment, rather than enjoy what he is encountering in the present. Like the present-day poignant parable of audiences wanting to make the encounter and experience permanent but not enjoying the present moment. Transfiguration Sunday marks an in-between space — between Epiphany, which began with the journey of the magi, and Lent, which begins Jesus’ journey to the cross. Some call this in-between state a liminal space, from a word meaning “threshold.” A liminal state is characterized by an openness to the present where the human and divine meet. No wonder Peter didn’t know what to do! He wanted to build three dwellings, one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He wanted to hold this moment forever, to capture Jesus’ dazzling brightness and revelation of glory, to make sure Moses and Elijah didn’t get away.
Peter was missing the point by not living in that present moment to experience what was going on. He was already distracted by looking to the future to create monuments. When we do our best to live and experience in the moment, we realise it will have its own enjoyment and taste for what it is to live ‘now’ and ‘here’ in this time and place. God was with us yesterday, and promises to be with us tomorrow and always, but is also fully present to us in the present moment. We need to practice living and enjoying the present moment. While the past is pregnant with the future, we can only live in the now as the moment of freedom from the past or fear of the future. Bishop Ware quoting a Russian theologian wrote ‘The hour through which you are at present passing, the person whom you meet here and now, the tasks on which you are engaged at this very moment – these are always the most important in your life’
The Transfiguration then, provides a glimpse of Christs, and our Glory as we search and confront our deepest yearnings and questions, and stand on the threshold (the liminal places), between Christmas and Easter, between the mount of Transfiguration and the hill of Golgotha. What will become of us. Well, we become like Christ, and we should live our lives in the present more than regretting the past. Leo Tolstoy wrote a short parable entitled Three Questions. The story concerns a king who wanted to find the answers to what he considered the most three most important questions to life. 1. What is the most important moment? Answer: The most important moment is now, the past is gone, and the future does not exist yet. 2. Who is the most important person? Answer: The most important person is the person standing before you in this very moment. 3. What is the most important task? Answer: The most important task is to engage in what you are doing, here and now‘. ‘Life is not hurrying on to a receding future nor hankering after
an imagined past…. but is the eternity that awaits you.’
END
