When the Sky Reveals What Was Always There

On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans drove hundreds of miles to stand in the path of totality. In Fredericksburg, Texas, a retired science teacher named Margaret Dawson set up her lawn chair in a church parking lot and waited. When the moon finally covered the sun, she gasped. The corona blazed outward — a ring of white fire she had only ever seen in photographs. For three minutes and forty-two seconds, the sky revealed what was always there but too bright to behold.

When the light returned, Margaret sat quietly while others packed up their eclipse glasses. "I taught astronomy for thirty years," she told a local reporter. "I knew exactly what would happen. But knowing and seeing are two different things."

Peter, James, and John had walked with Jesus for months. They had watched Him heal the sick and calm the sea. They believed He was the Messiah. But on that mountain, when His garments became dazzling white and the voice of the Most High thundered from the cloud — "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him" — knowing gave way to seeing. For one staggering moment, the veil thinned, and they glimpsed the full glory that had been walking beside them all along.

They came back down the mountain. The ordinary world was waiting. But they could never unsee what they had seen. And everything that followed — the cross, the tomb, the resurrection — would be lit by the radiance of that moment.