On Monday we celebrate the Major Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. It's been observed in the East since the fourth century, and in the West since the Middle Ages. In this feast we recall when Heaven and Earth are met together in a single moment, and we look forward to the time when that will be more than a mere moment in time but will be for all people and all times. In the Episcopal Church, we also observe this event on the Last Sunday after Epiphany as well, making it possibly the only moment in Christ's life observed more than once in the church year except for the Resurrection itself, which we of course observe every Sunday on the first day of the week.
It's also the anniversary of the first and so far only use of the atomic bomb, by the United States, against Japan, when Hiroshima was destroyed by a single fission bomb on August 6, 1945.
O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world, may by faith behold the King in his beauty; who with you, O Father, and you, O Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
RFSJ
6 comments:
Please clarify the relevance of the bombing of Hiroshima to The major Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Upon which should we meditate?
Anything else happen on August 6th about which we should know?
Please clarify the relevance of the bombing of Hiroshima to The major Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Upon which should we meditate?
Perhaps we should meditate on the contrast between the two things? And perhaps we should commemorate the lives of 125,000 human beings who died on that day, the way we commemorate the lives of the people who died in New York on September 11? And all soldiers on Memorial Day? I don't know about you, but we have special commemoration for those days every year.
Trog,
At the Transfiguration, the face of Jesus was transfigured into that of God's glory. On 8/6/1945, we humans transfigured the face of the earth into a molten glass and radioactive waste. On the same day, we get a glimpse of the face of God, and of the face of evil.
RFSJ
Interesting.
Yes in 2 bombing raids the United States of America ultimately killed 210,000 inhabitants in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many feel it would have been wiser to invade the home islands of Japan, which almost certainly would have resulted in the destruction of the Japanese culture.
I wonder what you will commemorate on 13 December.
Troglodyteus
Trog,
December 13 is an open day in the Second Week of Advent. It's St. Lucy's Day in Scandinavia, and it is the winter solstice as well. Did you have something in particular in mind?
RFSJ
I am quite in favor of celebrating the Winter Solstice and the other three, also. Druid you agree?
Lectionary - 13 December 2007
Luke tells us of Christ’s preparation for the day of Unleavened Bread. In remembering His celebration of Passover and the sacrificial lamb I propose that we also remember the 70th Anniversary of The Rape of Nangking. In this event, brought to you by the Imperial Forces of Japan, 369,366 civilians and prisoners of war were slaughtered. Thousands of victims were beheaded, burned, bayoneted, buried alive, or disemboweled.
I am only offering this in case Luke can’t stand alone.
Troglodyteus
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