The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration

Second Sunday of Lent

Mt 17: 1 – 9

Intro

Today’s reading presents to us the Lord’s transfiguration. Here, Jesus is transfigured and appears alongside two great prophets: Moses and Elijah. Here too,  we hear the Father revealing Jesus as his own beloved son.

Gospel

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³ Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Reflection

Today is the second Sunday of Lent. Our reading today speaks of Jesus’ transfiguration on a mountain. It is interesting to see how this transfiguration has striking parallels with Old Testament imagery. 

First, the setting of the transfiguration is on a high mountain. Here Jesus is transfigured; his face shines like the sun; his clothes turn dazzling white. In the Old Testament, something similar happens to Moses. As Moses came down from Mount Sinai after speaking with God, the skin of his face began to shine  brightly; so bright was the radiance of his skin that he had to put a veil on his face so that people can approach him ( Exodus 34). The shine on Moses’ face apparently was the result of his face to face encounter with God who had such radiance that no one could possibly behold and survive. Similarly, the prophet Elijah encounters God also at Mount Sinai. There, he wraps his face in his mantle, in anticipation of seeing God face to face in all his resplendent glory and radiance (1Kgs 19). 

In the transfiguration, it is Jesus, however, who is transformed into the radiance of the sun. Like God himself who was pure radiant light, Jesus now becomes the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being ( Heb 1: 3). In the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah spoke to God face to face. Now, they encounter God face to face in Jesus who is himself, God’s radiance. 

The second imagery that has parallels also in the Old Testament is the image of the cloud descending upon the mountain. In the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that he will come to his people in a dense cloud so the people may hear him speak (Exod 19:9). In the transfiguration, a bright cloud overshadows all of those who were there, and from the cloud, a voice is heard, saying: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” Just like in the Old Testament, God makes his voice audible from a bright cloud.  This time, however, he speaks to testify to the identity of his son Jesus and commands everyone to listen to him. 

The two parallel imageries in the Old Testament that have been used in the transfiguration story lead us to conclude the following:

First, that Jesus is divine. He is the image of the invisible God. His radiance and glory reflect the radiance and splendor of God; the same God whom Moses and Elijah have encountered on Mount Sinai. 

Secondly, as God gave Moses the commandments in Mount Sinai to establish his covenant with Israel, so now God gives us this commandment to listen to Jesus his Son as a way of  establishing his new and enduring covenant; a covenant made possible only by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross. For us to listen to Jesus then becomes our part in this new and everlasting covenant. 

Thirdly, the vision of Jesus in full radiance becomes also a vision of what we shall be. Like Jesus, we too have become God’s beloved children who have been reborn in baptism. One day, we too shall share the glory and radiance of Jesus, who through his death on the cross has made it possible for us to inherit God’s kingdom, radiance and glory for ages to come. 

Finally, the transfiguration becomes a preview of things to come. While this Lenten season reminds us of the passion and death, the sorrow and pain of the Savior, it also allows us to look beyond these sufferings and see that at the end of all of these is our hope and the radiance of the resurrection which is the ultimate goal and destiny of everyone who has lived and died with Christ. 

Prayer

Jesus, radiance of the Father, be our light. Let your face shine on us so that we too can radiate your glory in our lives. Help us to see our life with your light so that we may look beyond the pain and suffering of this life and see our hope in the radiance of your resurrection. Amen.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Rom 8: 37