Luke 9:28b-36

Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim across the English Channel both ways. Back in 1952, she set out to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the mainland of California, a swim of over 20 miles. She stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean on a foggy, chilly day, determined to accomplish her goal. She swam for more than fifteen hours, in a fog so dense she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. But after fifteen hours, she was ready to quit. She asked to be taken out of the water. Her mother, in a boat alongside her, told her she was close, and assured her that she could make it. But Florence was physically and emotionally exhausted. She stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn't until she was on the boat that she realized that the shore was less than half a mile away. At a news conference the next day, Florence said, 'All I could see was the fog … I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.'

It's amazing what we can endure when we know it will end, when we know for sure how much longer it will be. Seeing the shore can be the difference between swimming on and giving up.

Jesus' Transfiguration shows us the shore. It reminds us of the day when we will all be transfigured into heavenly glory. At this point of Lent, we are offered a glimpse of Easter. And it can give us the courage to face our sins and to face the cross, just as it did for Jesus and his closest disciples.