for August 6
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a gospel story also heard every year on the second Sunday of Lent. The first reading refers to God as the Ancient One, though the description of him and his throne is hardly meant to be taken literally. The thousands described as ministering to him are sometimes called the heavenly court though they could also refer to the souls of the just. I do wonder if the reason for the selection of this text for the feast is the comparison between God described with clothing bright as snow and Jesus in the gospel described with clothing white as light.

The second half of the reading is of great biblical significance, even if only tangentially related to the gospel. Jesus often spoke about himself in the third person as the son of man, an Aramaic expression equivalent to a human being. But would his hearers who knew their scripture have seen an allusion to the passage in Daniel about one like a son of man whom all peoples serve and whose dominion and kingship are everlasting?

The gospel begins with Jesus and three disciples up a high mountain and in the bible important things almost always happen when someone is up a mountain. The presence of Moses and Elijah is sometimes overlooked. They symbolize the Law and the Prophets, the way the Jewish people back then referred to their scripture, and thus Jesus is seen as the fulfillment of what we call the Old Testament.

Some would deride Peter about wanting to put up tents but recognizing that it is good for the disciples to be there, is he not just wanting to extend the experience? Can you imagine how wonderfully special it would be to listen to Jesus and Moses and Elijah conversing with one another? On the other hand, it is not surprising that the divine voice frightens them and renders them prostrate.

If you have heard me preach on the second Sunday of Lent, I probably suggested that just as Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, so we should pray to be transformed during Lent. But since this not the season of Lent, do we need a different prayer? In the story the disciples are afraid when they hear the divine voice, but they fall prostrate when they hear the message: Listen to him. In the second reading where Peter mentions his presence at the transfiguration on the mountain, his conclusion is to be attentive to the message. We are thus invited and challenged to be open to what our ever-present Jesus is asking of us as individuals and as the Church.

In a similar way this is how Saint Anastasius of Sinai, an eighth century bishop in Egypt, concluded his sermon on the feast of the Lord’s Transfiguration:

Therefore, since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into the divine image, we also should cry out with joy: It is good for us to be here—here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode.

—Edward T. O’Donnell SJ

Today’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website.