The Feast of the Transfiguration
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
In Jesus, the ancient hope of the people of Israel and indeed ours as Christians is fulfilled; therefore, He is the one we must listen to and in whom we place all our hope. Today’s liturgy of the transfiguration invites us to place all our hope in Jesus as the one through whom all the promises of God and His eternal design before time began are fulfilled.
The transfiguration of Jesus is a revelation of the heavenly kingdom mystery. In Jesus’ transfiguration today, he is revealed as the fulfilment God’s divine plan concerning us; a plan to save us not because of anything we have done but by his own purpose and grace as St Paul tells us in the second reading so that we too may share in his glory. Hence, Phil 2:31 tells us that he will transform our lowly bodies after the pattern his own glorious body, that moment when we completely and perfectly become that which we consume in the Eucharist
The appearance of Elijah and Moses in today’s Gospel signals a witness of the Law and the prophets to Jesus as the one to whom the former looked forward, the one who fulfils what they anticipated. Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promises to Abraham of an everlasting kingdom, the promise to be a source of blessing to all nations, thus, pleasing to the father. Isaiah foretold this in Isaiah 42:1 and spoke of the anointed one in whom God will be pleased. And because God is pleased in him, he is the one we must listen to if we are to be pleasing to God. Moses also foretold of him and said in Duet 18:15,18 that he is the prophet the people of Israel will listen to. (Jesus is the ga3e not our sins)
Thus in Jesus’ baptism a voice came from heaven and said, he is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And in today’s Gospel the same voice resounded from heaven, from the cloud and declares him, a Son in whom God is well pleased therefore listen to him. With this, Jesus is revealed as true Son of Abraham and David on whose counsel we must rely in our journey of faith, and by whose power we have been saved and called to life of Holiness.
However, like Peter, John and James we must keep awake and remain on the mountain of prayer. There will often be temptations to slumber and turn our gaze away from him. Sometimes, it would be simply the human frailty that stand in the way. The Gospel tells us that Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory. We too could be heavily laden by many things, but let us keep awake anyways. Slipping into Slumber could sometime seem like the only often and reasonable thing to do. But remember that the cost of spiritual slumber could never be compensated by the momentary and passing comfort. Therefore, we were told that even though St Peter and companions were heavy with sleep, they kept awake and as a result, they witnessed the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration. And this experience would later be a source of strength in their day to day Christian struggles. Hence, 1 John 1:1-3 says, “that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touch, this we proclaim concerning the word of life. A time comes when a Christian must draw from some personal experiences and conviction to keep going.
The transfiguration offers us that anchor and even much more.
But Jesus’ manifestation of his glory isn’t a thing of the past. Our Lord still manifests his glory in mysterious ways in our own time even in the height of our weaknesses. If we, despite our frailies, remain spiritually awake and not allowing ourselves to slip into a spiritual slumber, we too like St Peter and companions will see his glory in our lives and in the lives of our families. It is God’s will that we experience the glory of his only begotten son, Jesus so that we could see as in a mirror the glory that awaits us and so be strengthened in our faith in Jesus when trials and doubts come. So, that when that time comes we may draw strength from the experience of his glory and thus be able to stand firm against all opposition. It is my prayer that we experience his glory afresh and so declare with John I:14 that we have seen his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father full of grace and truth.
But then, in our times of weaknesses, his glory keeps us awake, warming our hearts to desire to spend more time in his presence.
The feast of the Lord’s transfiguration is indeed an assurance of our hope in Jesus. His word is faithful. He is the one we must listen to. Therefore, our souls are waiting for him as we place all our hope in Him. May we therefore fix our gaze on him the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2) and hope, Jesus in whom our glorious future as sons and daughters of God has been revealed. As we do that may our faith and hope be renewed again. We make our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord be with you
May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Go in peace and happy Feast