Psalm 125 • Malachi 3:16-4:6 • Mark 9:9-13
Mountain top experiences can happen anywhere. The only requirement is revelation. When God pierces the murkiness of our existence and appears—undeniable– and breathtakingly bright. When, from out of clouded mysteries, the voice of God declares: I am real. You are my beloved. Listen.
And then in a flash, that glory vanishes. And we wonder, did that really happen?
In today’s reading from Mark’s gospel, Peter, James and John, descend the mountain of their own divine encounter. The transfiguration. They know, now, that Jesus is the Messiah. His Way of Love the salvation of the world. But Jesus is not what they expected. “What about Elijah?” they ask. “This isn’t happening the way we thought it would.”
For the disciples, the journey from the mountain top to Easter morning will be difficult. They will continue to question the truth of their divine encounter. For Jesus’s Way of Love, the way of sacrifice and forgiveness, the way of death and resurrection, isn’t easy or obvious. But for them and for us, it is salvation.
In these murky times, we may also question what God has revealed to us. Life isn’t happening the way we thought it would. Let us hold fast, as best we can, to the breathtaking brightness of God. And hear again God’s voice: I am real. You are my beloved. Listen.
Gracious God, may we behold by faith the breathtaking bright-
ness of Jesus, and walk his Way of Love, now and always. Amen.
The Rev. Canon Kathy Rock Pfister
MDiv Class of 2010
Canon Vicor
Christ Church Cathedral
Diocese of Texas
Kathy Pfister was called to serve as the Canon Vicar in June of 2020. Prior to her ministry at Christ Church Cathedral, Kathy served The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin, Texas, for ten years; first as an associate on the Windsor Campus, and subsequently as the founding Vicar of The Hill, Good Shepherd’s second campus. Before serving the Episcopal church as a priest, Kathy worked as lay youth minister at Trinity Church in New Orleans, and as the Missioner for Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina.
Kathy was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, earned her BS in Psychology from The American University in Washington DC, and ultimately landed in Texas to attend Seminary of the Southwest where she received her Masters of Divinity. She recently completed The Deep Calls to Deep fellowship in preaching at Virginia Theological Seminary. Kathy and her husband, Phil, have two nearly grown children, Charles and Camille. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, creating, laughing, and listening to music.
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