Then a cloud came down and enveloped them; and from the cloud there came a voice – “This is my dearly loved son; listen to him.”
seeing the unexpected
forces the past upon us
stupefying our meaning center
into previous connectionsmoving from unexpected details
to no reference point
heightens every sudden sound
strains eyes to see anythingwhen we cloud-listen
it is old news and new possibility
wrapping world and self
in a protective cocoonthis this and this are G*D partnered
each each and every intimately intertwined
so we listen to ants and molehills
in turn a cherished talking-stick is heldI am deeply loved
you are deeply loved
all announces to each
each affirms an assurance amen
What we report comes from our expectations as much as from the details of the event itself. In this case it is important to wonder about what was remembered by people who were in awe and/or fearful.
Not only was there surprise when Jesus’ clothing is reported as glistening, there is surprise when a cloud blocks the sun. Disorientation upon disorientation.
Mark’s regular use of repetition and commitment to Jesus makes it easy to focus in on a reprise of the baptismal scene in chapter 1—“This is my Son, my Beloved”.
Is it at this point that Moses and Elijah are removed from the story or are they still present? If present, we might expect, “These are my Sons (to keep it in a patriarchal setting), my Beloveds”.
This helps us remember that G*D has made a covenant, a partnership, with a people, a community, not an individual. Even when it is put in the first person, a singular voice speaks as a communal voice. As Sabin-1126 puts it, “…the words “You are my Son,” addressed by the divine voice to Jesus; not as expressing a new and unique relationship between God and an individual but as signaling an ancient relationship in which Jesus stands for all God’s people.”
Rejoice! Covenants, Prophets, and Wisdom are your partners.