6 August 2020: Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

(Liturgical Color: White)

Reflection on the Gospel

(Suggested short meditation on the Word of God for lay people, from nickisip.blogspot.com)

Cycle A - Year II

Readings:

First Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-19

Gospel: Please Read Matthew 17:1-9

"The Lord's Transfiguration: a glimpse of Jesus' divinity!"

The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is celebrated 6 August, which falls on Thursday this year. The Feast prefigures the glory of the resurrection of Jesus and assures us that one day we shall share His glory.

This is a major feast day and commemorates the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor before the apostles Peter, James, and John. During this event, the apostles are given a glimpse of Jesus' divine nature and see Him talking with Elijah and Moses.

All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36) With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus' first prediction of His passion and death.

In the Gospel narrative, as Jesus and His disciples were travelling to Jerusalem, their journey was briefly interrupted by an experience of Jesus' transfiguration upon a mountain. There, Jesus appeared in glory with Moses, the great lawgiver of Israel, and with Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, in the presence of three of His beloved apostles, Peter, John and James. St. Matthew's account tells us that Jesus' "face shone like the sun and his clothes become white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him."

The Transfiguration was a unique display of Jesus' divine character and a glimpse of the glory which Jesus had before He came down on earth in human form. In theological language, the Transfiguration is an experience of "the already of the not yet" for the beloved disciples, so that the "inner circle" of Jesus' disciples could gain a greater understanding of who Jesus really is. Thus, the disciples who had only known Jesus in His human body, now had a greater realization of the deity of Christ, even when perhaps they could not fully comprehend it at that time. Nevertheless, the experience gave them the reassurance they needed, and the strength of faith to sustain them, when later on they would hear the shocking news of Jesus' coming death.

The three apostles with Jesus in that sacred mountain never forgot what happened that day on the mountain. They bore witness to it to other disciples and to countless millions down through the centuries. In the second reading, Peter recounts the experience: "We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have been eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Peter 1:16)

For Matthew's readers, the account of the transfiguration confirmed that Jesus indeed is the Son of God and pointed to the fulfillment of the prediction that He will come in His Father's glory at the end of age.

In other words, the transfiguration foretells the glory of the Lord as God, and His ascension into heaven. It anticipates the glory of heaven where we shall see God face to face. And even now, through grace, we already share in the divine promise of eternal life.

So in sum, the message of the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ is that God wants to share His glory with us. And so with the eyes of faith we, too, experience the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist at Mass. When we actually receive Him in the Holy Eucharist, He gives us the grace to sustain us in our difficult and challenging journey through this life. Jesus in the Holy Eucharist makes light our way of the cross in this life. So receiving Jesus frequently in the Holy Eucharist is a foretaste of His resurrection, like our own experience of the "already of the not yet" in our time. It is our assurance of God's ultimate victory over sin and evil, at the end of time.

A blessed Feast of the Transfiguration to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!