I love Transfiguration Sunday. It’s kind of a bittersweet day. We get to look upon Jesus in all His glory, but just for a moment. And we know the path He must take that begins with the season of Lent this coming Wednesday. Like His disciples, we wish to stay with Jesus on the mountain, to ignore everything else but His majesty. But, we know that it isn’t time yet, and so we must leave the peak, and return to our daily lives.

Yes, “‘Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here” is an obvious choice for today, but it’s my favorite Transfiguration hymn…especially the last lines of the last verse: “But since Thou bidst us leave the mount, Come with us to the plain.” This so perfectly states how the disciples, (and we), felt…if we can’t be with Jesus in His glory (yet) we beg Him to be with us in our weaknesses, which, of course, He always is!

‘Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.

‘Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy beauty to behold
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Thy messengers of old.

Fulfiller of the past
And hope of things to be,
We hail Thy body glorified
And our redemption see.

Before we taste of death,
We see Thy kingdom come;
We long to hold the vision bright
And make this hill our home.

‘Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But since Thou bidst us leave the mount,
Come with us to the plain. Lutheran Service Book #414