2nd Sunday of Lent, Transfiguration

 

Jesus, Peter, James and John climbed a very high mountain and when they reached the top, they paused to sit down and rest. The three disciples took a short nap, but were suddenly awakened by a bright light that emanated from Jesus. Our Lord stood transfigured before them glowing brightly and with Him was Moses and Elijah.

But, how did they know who the two men were? Most likely it was a divine intuition from God. The Holy Spirit helped them to immediately recognize who they were. They also heard them speak to Jesus about His upcoming Passion and death and through the conversation they had with Jesus, the three Apostles understood who they were.

Mount Tabor is 1,929 feet from the bottom to the top. It’s shaped like a half sphere. Some say it's shaped like a soup bowl. It’s above the Jezreel Valley plain in lower Galilee. It’s about five miles east of Nazareth and eleven miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee. Scripture states the transfiguration took place six days after Peter’s confession of faith, when he declared to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” When He called Jesus, “the Christ”, he was stating Jesus is the Messiah.

At that time, Jesus also warned them about what was going to happen in the near future, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Tour guides at Mount Tabor will say that on August 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration, the sun shines directly through the window and onto the apse of the mural of the Transfiguration. On that day the sun will light up the mural, making the image of Lord shine brightly for all to see.

The tour guide pondered if the church was designed and the artwork created in such a way, that they knew the sun would shine directly on the image of the transfiguration, on the Feast of the Transfiguration or was it created through the inspiration of God’s Divine Providence without any foreknowledge of the designers. The incredible artistic masterpiece in the apse of the church is described as, “Within the building itself we are immediately struck by the skill of an architect who could seize on the essentials of a site a situation and a mystery, express its meaning in stone, mosaic and bronze, and illumine it all through alabaster with the light of the sun itself.”

Most likely, the walk up Mount Tabor caused the four to be tired, thirsty and out of breath. They certainly would need to sit down at the top to get their breath, rest and would have gazed upon the lower valley in awe. Today, it’s accessed by a narrow winding road.

In the transfiguration event, we get a glimpse into the divinity of Jesus and also a confirmation that He is the Messiah. Six days after predicting His death and resurrection, when Peter, James, and John climbed a high mountain, Jesus revealed His glory to them. It wasn’t during the night, but during the day, when His face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white.

In a flash, the disciples' eyes are opened. They can see who Jesus really is. He is more than a rabbi, a miraculous healer, or gifted preacher. He is greater than even Moses or Elijah! Jesus is the Messiah. He is God.

During this event, they saw Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the prophets. Jesus, as God and Messiah, represents the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.

By revealing His glory, Jesus showed them what it would be like after He rises from the dead. Seeing this gave the disciples strength for the future difficult time of Jesus’ suffering and death. By witnessing the transfiguration, they understood Jesus will come back in glory. Our bodies too will be glorified at the resurrection of the dead.

Jesus’s disciples didn’t fully grasp their mountaintop vision or how they would need to cling to it as Jesus headed toward the Cross. They didn’t know how their faith would be tested or how important it was that Jesus was more than a just man. They didn’t know what Jesus meant when He said He would die and rise again. But Jesus knew. That’s why He told them to keep the revelation to themselves until He had risen from the dead.

In His transfiguration, Jesus was giving His disciples a gift to sustain them for the day of His crucifixion. On that day there would not be three tents, but three crosses. Jesus would not stand between Moses and Elijah, rather He would hang between two thieves on a cross. On that day they would abandon their teacher and Lord to His cruel end. But Jesus’ transfiguration not only helped the disciples during His crucifixion. Even more, it foreshadowed a greater revelation of His divinity: the resurrection!

The transfiguration, when linked to the Eucharist, reveals the glory of God and His love for us.

Today, the tabernacle in every Catholic Church is the meeting place between God and man, because the Eucharistic Jesus is truly present in every tabernacle. The physical church is the new temple. At Mass the one sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross becomes present when bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus. At Mass, we are in God’s presence. We are in the presence of the sacrifice of Calvary and when the Host is elevated, in our mind’s eye, we can gaze upon the glory of the face of Christ.

Let us rejoice in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and may we look forward to see Him face to face in all His glory in heaven.