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The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14; 2 Peter 1:16–19; Matthew 17:1–9
Before Jesus led Peter, James, and John up the mountain, he had spoken to them about the cross.
He told them that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again.
This was hard for the disciples to accept.
They wanted a strong Messiah.
They wanted victory.
They wanted glory without suffering.
So Jesus took three of them up a high mountain.
There, before their eyes, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared with him. The great figures of the Law and the Prophets stood beside Jesus.
For a moment, the disciples saw who Jesus truly was.
Not only a teacher.
Not only a prophet.
Not only a miracle worker.
He is the beloved Son.
He is the one in whom the glory of God shines.
This vision was not given to them so that they could escape the cross. It was given so that they could face the cross without losing hope.
Soon they would see Jesus arrested.
They would see him mocked.
They would see him nailed to the cross.
They would see his face covered not with light, but with blood.
And when that dark hour came, they were meant to remember the mountain.
They were meant to remember the voice of the Father:
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
This is also the meaning of the Transfiguration for us.
There are moments when suffering becomes so heavy that we cannot see beyond it. Illness, failure, grief, betrayal, loneliness, and fear can make life look dark. We begin to wonder whether God sees us. We begin to ask whether pain has the final word.
The Transfiguration answers with light.
It tells us: suffering is real, but it is not final.
The cross is real, but it is not the end.
Death is real, but in Christ, death has been defeated.
Jesus does not save us by avoiding suffering. He enters it. He carries it. He passes through it. And by his resurrection, he opens for us a life stronger than death.
Moses and Elijah appear alive in God’s presence. They remind us that our life is not closed inside this world. We are made for God. We are made for resurrection. We are made for glory.
Today, when we pass through darkness, we are invited to remember the mountain.
Do not let suffering become your only interpreter of life.
Look again at Christ.
Listen again to the Father’s voice.
The one who goes to the cross is also the beloved Son.
And the one who shines on the mountain will one day share his glory with us.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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