Among the events of Jesus’ life on earth, none was more revealing than his “Transfiguration” on the mountain. Jesus had returned with all of his disciples from Caesarea Philippi, after the great confession of Peter when he said of who Jesus was – “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16). Back in Israel, he took his disciples to Galilee, and then on to the south of Galilee near Mount Tabor. I have walked on Mount Tabor which is a small mountain that sticks out of the flat Galilean countryside like a sore thumb.
When they arrived, Jesus told nine
of his disciples to stay where they would camp, and he took Peter, James, and John
up the mountain. The three were probably
not prepared for what was to happen. The
scripture records the event:
“…after six days Jesus took with
him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by
themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the
sun, and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish,
I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah.”
He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and
a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased; listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were
terrified.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”
And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew
17:1-8).
The word “transfigured” comes from
the Greek word, “metamorphoō” – of which I’m sure you can see the English
word “metamorphosis”. While Peter had previously
said “You are the Christ”, he was speaking of Jesus as the human promise
of God to send the Messiah. What they
probably didn’t grasp is that Jesus was not only human but also divine! When
Jesus was transfigured in front of them, they saw what Jesus looked like when
he was in heaven, before coming to earth to be born of the virgin.
The transfiguration includes the
appearance of Moses and Elijah – the principal human agents of God’s Law and
the Prophets. Still, it’s the words that
the Father speaks that should draw our attention – “This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Previously the Father had spoken the
beginning words of “this is my beloved son” at Jesus’ baptism, but now adds the
words “listen to Him”.
In the 5th century, the
Church appointed a Bishop who became known as “Leo, the Great”. One of the more memorable things of his
Papacy over the Church is that he negotiated with Attila, the Hun, who was marauding
Europe and persuaded him to leave Rome alone.
He wrote countless treatises, sermons, and doctrinal material to maintain
the orthodox faith of the Church. One
such writing was on this event of the transfiguration of Christ Jesus.
“The Lord
reveals his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of
the rest of mankind, but he makes it shine with such splendor that his face
becomes like the sun in glory, and his garments as white as snow. The great reason for this transfiguration was
to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples and to
prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of
those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed.
With no less
forethought, he was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of the holy
Church. The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation
that it would receive as his gift. The members of that body were to look
forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.
The Lord had
himself spoken of this when he foretold the splendor of his coming: Then
the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Saint
Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: I
consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared with
the future glory that is to be revealed in us. In another place, he
says: You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in
glory.
There are several descriptions of
Christ Jesus in the scriptures, but the transfiguration reminds us of where he
came from, and where he was going.
Peace
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