Feast of the Transfiguration of the
Lord [Mt 17:1-9]
06.08.2023
- Theme in brief:
Attaining
glory through the cross
- Focus Statement:
From the time of baptism we are
called to be transfigured into the image of Christ so that we may share his
glory after crossing over the valley of suffering, sacrifice and humiliation.
- Explanation of
the text
The main lesson Jesus wanted to teach his disciple through the vision of his Transfiguration seems to be that he would attain his glory only through suffering and sacrificial death on the cross. But this theme is not directly mentioned anywhere in today’s gospel text. Only an indirect reference is found where Jesus orders his disciples to keep secret about this vision on the mountain “until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead” (17:9). But this theme can very well be deduced from its context.
Today’s gospel text says that Jesus took Peter, James and John “six days” after this question (about his real identity) to a high mountain (17:1). And he was “transfigured before them” (17:2). Strikingly, Matthew as well as Mark and Luke place Transfiguration of Jesus immediately after the question of Jesus to his disciples at Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am” (Mt 16:15)? Peter had declared that he was the Messiah (Mt 16:16). But his notion of the Messiah was that of a worldly or political king. Jesus had already corrected this wrong notion by telling them that he was going to be a suffering Messiah (Mt 16:21). That conception must have shocked them. Hence, the purpose of Transfiguration seems to be fourfold: (1) to correct the wrong conception of the Messiah which his disciples had; (2) to teach them about the inevitability of the cross (that is, suffering and humiliation) to attain glory by giving them a glimpse of the future glory of his resurrection; (3) to get an assurance from the heavenly Father whether the path of suffering and crucifixion chosen by him was right or wrong; and (4) to strengthen their faith and prepare them to face the scandal of the cross.
Since
this vision happened on a mountain (tradition says that it was
The
appearance of two great figures of OT, namely Moses (representing the Law) and
Elijah (representing the prophets) indicates that Jesus is the fulfilment of
the messianic hopes of the OT. Though Matthew says that they were talking with
Jesus (17:3), he does not say what the subject-matter was. We come to know it
from Luke that they were speaking about his “departure” (a technical word for
his passage from death to life) which he was about to accomplish in
The overshadowing of the bright cloud (usually clouds are dark) indicates the presence of the Divine Light (= God). The voice of the Father declares Jesus as his beloved Son (17:5), which also means a beloved servant because of its connection with the suffering servant of Yahweh, in the Book of Isaiah (cf. 42:1). Jesus becomes the Father’s beloved Son and the Father is well pleased with him precisely because of his willingness to become his obedient servant unto death on the cross. The Father approves the path chosen by his Son. The disciples are asked to listen to Jesus (17:5), that is, obey him or imitate his way of attaining glory through humiliation and suffering.
Peter’s
reaction indicates his desire to prolong this tremendous experience and remain permanently on
the mountain of glory by erecting three tents or dwellings (17:4). Again he proposed
his short-cut
method of attaining glory by avoiding the cross. Jesus’ touch was meant to help them
overcome the fear
(both at the sight of dazzling glory of the Lord and the thought of suffering),
and reassure them
of his strength to face suffering (17:7). The secret about this vision had to
be kept till the resurrection (17:9) to avoid misunderstanding about the type of
Messiah Jesus was going to become.
- Application to
life
Transfiguration was a turning point or a key-moment in the life of Jesus. The voice of the Father that reassured him that he was his Beloved Son and that the path chosen by him to attain his glory through the way of the cross was right, gave him tremendous courage to remain faithful to God’s plan till the end. The disciples also got a lesson that confessing him as the Messiah would lead them to suffering and possibly death like him. Whenever we are discouraged, disappointed, weighed down by crosses in our life, the glory of the transfigured Lord with his “dazzling white clothes” (17:2) gives us the courage to face our ordeal. Yes, we all are marching towards that glory from the time of our baptism. Baptism was our first ‘transfiguration’ or transformation into the image of Christ. But this transfiguration must continue by our close imitation of Christ, or by becoming more and more like him, until the end when we shall be fully transfigured into his likeness. Our firm hope that Christ’s glory will be ours gives us the courage to face suffering and humiliation for his sake. Therefore, we should not hesitate to choose the path Jesus had chosen whoever there is a turning point in our life which requires from us a firm decision without knowing the future exactly. How serious are we in our struggle to be transfigured into the image and likeness of Christ day by day?
Secondly, today’s feast of Transfiguration of the Lord invites us to attain “the glory of Christ’s resurrection by his passion and cross,” as we pray every day during the Angelus. This is called “paschal mystery of Christ” in Christian theology – ‘pascha’ (a Hebrew word) referring to his passing or crossing over to glory through passion and death, and ‘mystery’ (a word used by St. Paul) referring to a hidden plan made by God (now revealed to the apostles through the Holy Spirit) to save us through the suffering and death of Jesus and not in any other way. The message of the Transfiguration is the same – we can reach the mountain of glory only after crossing over the valley of suffering. In short, the message is: there is no crown without a cross.
What is a cross? It is a symbol of (1) suffering because Jesus suffered terribly on it; (2) sacrifice because he sacrificed his life on it; and (3) humiliation because he died shameful death of a criminal on it. The crosses in our life can be persons, situations, places, work or job and responsibilities that give us a lot of pain, agony, physical and mental torture, discomfort, risk and humiliation. For example, an alcoholic husband is a cross to his wife, an unfaithful wife to her husband, a disobedient or delinquent child to its parents, and an enemy to his/her enemies. A serious illness (either one’s own or of others in the family) which does not get cured, a risky work or job, a heavy responsibility of family/ workplace/ institution/ organization, a dangerous and insecure place to live can become a cross. All the humiliations we get from our own family members, colleagues, companions and opponents are crosses. Feelings of failure, loss, loneliness, unrest, rejection and hopelessness are also other crosses. The cross daily reminds us to sacrifice our selfishness, security, power, comforts and even friends in order to share Christ’s glory. This sharing of his glory takes place to some extent when we experience peace and joy in this life after going through a lot of suffering and sacrifices. But this glory is only a glimpse of the everlasting glory of heaven. Compared to that glory, all the sufferings of this present life are not worth (cf. Rom 8:18). This hope of the glory to come sustains us when we walk through the valley of tears.
We are called to listen to or imitate Jesus in our moments of trials, temptation, sufferings, humiliation and rejection. In our hunger for power, position and ambitions, we are reminded to imitate him who rejected these worldly standards in obedience to God’s will. As God’s beloved sons/ daughters in whom he is well pleased, even in our failure and humiliation, we are called to walk in his footsteps, that is, walk the way of the cross. Listening to him also means following his footsteps by embracing the cross. Do we listen to Jesus; listen to his words? Whom do we follow: Jesus or the world? If we have listened to the world, it is time to undergo a transfiguration – a return to Jesus and his gospel-values.
Like
Peter, we have a tendency to prolong happiness and stay fixed on the mountain of
glory and escape
from the problems and hardships of life. We have a desire to attain glory and prolong
its joy by trying to evade crosses. As fathers of families we want to attain
unity and harmony in our families, but without sacrificing our time for guiding
our children; as husbands we want better understanding with our wives, but
without spending time for communicating mutual expectations; we want a
corruption-free society, but won’t mind giving bribe to avoid trouble and
inconveniences for us; we want children to obey us, but do not practice what we
preach to them; we want peace, but do not want to forgive or take steps for
reconciliation. This is the short-cut method to glory proposed by so many Peters all around
the world.
There are
also some other Peters who want to build only ‘tents’ (memorials, monuments, churches,
institutions, conduct novenas and establish healing centres), and forget about
the mission to the poor and the marginalized. Like Peter, they want to remain
comfortably fixed
in these and do not want to enter into human misery and problems below the
mountain. What a contrast: the disciples did not want to leave
The feast invites us to retrace our steps towards the path followed by Jesus. When we are frightened of trials and sufferings of life, Jesus touches us and gives us the strength to get up. He tells us to arise and live a life without fear during trials and difficulties of life, especially when we do good. He invites us to go to our ‘Tabor’ – to encounter God in prayer and solitude – with the intention of sending us to the valley of suffering to become beloved servants of God for his cause. He assures us of a crown beyond the crosses. Thus, the feast of Transfiguration is a feast of hope and encouragement for us in the midst of disappointment and despair, doubts of faith, pain and suffering. In these moments we need mountain-top experiences of God’s presence and healing touch. We need to hear his words of comfort: “You are my beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased.” We need the Father’s assurance that the course of action we choose in spite of opposition from anti-kingdom forces, is the right one according to his will.
- Response to God's Word
Do we
follow Christ in moments of failure and humiliation, or follow our own
impulses? Are we willing to climb down from the mountain of achievements, name
and fame, power and honour, and walk with Jesus up to
- A Prayer
Lord Jesus, give us the grace that we may be transfigured day by day into your own image and likeness and one day be brought to the glory of your resurrection through your passion and cross. Touch us and raise us up with your strength so that we do not run away from the cross or escape from sacrifices involved in fulfilling your mission. Grant that we may imitate your way of sacrificial love for the salvation of the world. Confirm us with an unwavering hope in your promises so that we may courageously face sufferings of this life with a firm hope of sharing your glory. Amen.
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