First Reading – Daniel 7: 9 – 10, 13 – 14;
Second Reading: – 2 Peter 1: 16 – 19;
Gospel – Matthew 17: 1 – 9
Christ’s Tabor radiance is a kind of mirror in which we glimpse the glory that God wills to give his friends. The resplendence of the Transfiguration reveals the fullness of life destined to be ours.
The transfiguration story as narrated in the Gospel; Jesus takes his three favourite apostles up a high mountain and the apostles were privileged to witness the inner life of Christ, when his splendour was revealed to them in this holy place. He is transfigured and glorified before their very eyes. In a short interval they become aware of the divinity of Jesus. They see Jesus in a new way that was humanly unimaginable and they want to stay there forever.
In today’s Gospel we are told of Jesus being transfigured before his three apostles on Mount Tabor. These Three were invited on three separate occasions into three privileged moments in the life of Jesus. They were handpicked each time personally by Our Lord.
The three whom he chose were Peter, James and John. They were present at the home of a synagogue official Jairus when his daughter was brought back to life. When Jairus first implored Our Lord to cure his daughter he went with his disciples but at the miracle time he chose these three only. Again they were with him in the agony of the garden. This was to be a preparation for that ordeal. Finally they were present at the mountain of transfiguration where Moses and Elijah were also present speaking with Jesus about his approaching death. In the presence of these two, Moses representing the law and Elijah representing the prophets, the voice of the Father was heard, “This is my beloved son listen to him.” Slowly, the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant was taking place.
For Jesus the Transfiguration was the turning point in his life. Until now all was onward and upward. He was captivating the people with his preaching and miracles. Now he must descend to the valley, to the road to Gethsemane and go to Calvary. The Transfiguration gave Jesus a foretaste of his glory, and in the strength of that joy he could endure the cross and despise the shame. But most of all the Transfiguration gave Jesus another affirmation of his Father’s love.
At His baptism in the River Jordan his Father had affirmed him as his beloved Son on whom his favour rests. Now they hear the words of the Father once again: “This is my beloved son, listen to him.” They have a task to listen attentively to his words and put them into practice.
For the apostles it was an awe-inspiring experience. They had never seen their master like this before. Peter, filled with consolation says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us erect three booths here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” They wanted to remain in this ecstasy forever. But it is not to be. This is only a preparation for things to come. With Jesus they must descend the mountain to the valley below and on to the garden of Gethsemane and Calvary. On Mount Tabor they didn’t want to leave. In the Garden of Gethsemane they didn’t want to stay. When Jesus was arrested they all fled. Here we can all identify with the apostles because in our mountain-top experiences of joy and consolation we also want to stay. We want them to go on forever. And then in the moments of trial we want to flee. We forget that our Lord did not promise us a rose garden, but a garden of olives filled with pain and a crown of thorns.
Moses and Elijah also appeared and spoke with Jesus. In the popular tradition they were the forerunners of the messiah. The high Mountain is the symbol of Sinai and Jesus is the new Moses who has reached the mountain. Moses received the Law from God on Mount Sinai and Elijah could be regarded as the greatest of the prophets, certainly here he is a representative of the prophets during Jesus’ transfiguration. So we have the Law and the Prophets, as the Old Testament was often called, with Jesus on the mountain. The Old Testament was pointing forward to Jesus as we heard in that beautiful prophecy of Jesus in our first reading from Daniel 7. Now two great figures of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, appeared on the mountain with Jesus transfigured, to confirm that Jesus is indeed the expected Messiah. The cloud stands for the Shekinah the symbol of God’s presence. God himself declares Jesus as his Son the beloved, the chosen person. The disciples have the task of listening to him.
The momentary vision of Christ was given in order to strengthen the three disciples to face the trials to their faith, namely the suffering and the crucifixion which Jesus would experience.
The Transfiguration was the mountain-top experience of the apostles which prepared them for their future trials.
The Mass is our mountain-top experience which prepares us for the trials of our day. The Mass is not a transfiguration but a transubstantiation, in which bread and wine are transformed into the glorious Risen Jesus. And in the joy and consolation of Communion we say with Peter, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” And we do not want to leave. But it is not to be. Soon we will hear the words, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” So we pick up our cross and leave to face the trials of the day. But having been to the top of the mountain we know that “nothing can separate us from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We must also be transformed by becoming more humble and selfless, sharing love, compassion and forgiveness with others. But in our everyday lives, we often fail to recognise Jesus when he appears to us “transfigured,” hidden in someone who is in some kind of need. Jesus will be comforted when we attend to his needs in that person. With the eyes of Faith, we must see Jesus in every one of our brothers and sisters, the children of God whom we come across each day and, by His grace, respond to Him in them with love and service.
We need these ‘mountain-top’ experiences in our own lives.