Reflection: The Transfiguration Collect

The Transfiguration of Our Lord is recorded in Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13 and Luke 9:28-36 but is among the feasts which are not observed in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It is now included in modern Prayer Books since 1928 in the US.

The collect for this feast in The Anglican Life of Prayer is from ACNA’s 2019 BCP which goes:

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 and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

What stood out to me in the collect is the part of asking God to deliver us from the disquietude of this world. When I first came across this collect during COVID-tide, there were so many changes and uncertainties which caused me a great deal of worry. When I read this collect, I realised it spoke to me in the middle of my anxiety, my disquietude, when my world and the whole world was turned upside down. This collect taught me to be still, follow God’s instruction to listen to Jesus, drown out the noise of the world and rest in the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. In that rest, God has guarded my heart and mind in the midst of turmoil and brought me through a rough season of life. Now, whenever I am anxious, this is one of my go-to collects as it reminds me of God’s goodness and faithfulness in the hope of finally beholding Christ the King in his holy beauty forever in the company of his saints.

One thought on “Reflection: The Transfiguration Collect”

  1. I liked the comment regarding this collect. It shows that there is quite a lot to be found in the collects but unfortunately many do not take the time to understand them.
    But I do have a correction to make about the inclusion of the observance of The Transfiguration of Our Lord. It is in the 1918 BCP (Canada). The draft of which came out in 1914. The collect is different though:
    O GOD, who on the holy mount didst reveal to chosen witnesses thy well-beloved Son wonderfully transfigured: Mercifully grant unto us such a vision of his divine majesty, that we, being- purified and strengthened by thy grace, may be transformed into his likeness from glory to glory; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

    Like

Leave a comment