The transfiguration of the Lord

Some Notes on the Transfiguration of the Lord:

1. The Transfiguration of Jesus is the culminating point of his public life, as his Baptism is its starting point, and his Ascension its end. This glorious event has been related in detail in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt. 17:1-6; Mk. 9:1-8; Lk. 9:28-36). It is alluded to in 2 Pt. 1:16-18; Jn. 9:14.

2. About a week after his sojourn in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus takes with him Peter, James, John and leads them to a high mountain to pray. In prayer, Jesus becomes radiant with glory. He begins to shine with bright rays of light. He is “transfigured” before them, his face shining like the sun and his garments becoming white as the light.

3. St. Mark expresses this phenomenon as “metemorphothe,” “transfiguratus est” in the Latin Vulgate, expressive of Jesus in a state of glory. Luke says that the three Apostles “saw his glory.”

4. It was an interior shining of his Divinity. The Old Testament figures, Moses and Elijah, appear and Jesus speaks with them. They represent the Law and the Prophets, confirming that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the Hebrew bible. Thus, the messianic prophecy that Elijah would return again after his ascension is fulfilled. Elijah represents all the prophets who looked forward to the coming of the Messiah.

5. Wanting to keep Moses and Elijah, Peter asks Jesus if the disciples should make three tents. But then a bright cloud appears and a voice states, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” For the second time, God the Father proclaims Jesus as his only begotten and well-beloved Son. The Apostles fall to the ground in fear, but Jesus touches them, telling them not to be afraid.

6. The statement, “listen to him” identifies Jesus as the Father’s messenger, his mouthpiece. By virtue of his divinity and filial relationship with God, Jesus surpasses all other messengers such as Moses and Elijah. This faith-reality recalls his words before his ascension, “all authority is given to me in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:16-20).

7. We recall that Jesus had just foretold his Passion and Death (Mt. 16:21). At his Transfiguration, he speaks with Moses and Elijah of the trials that awaited him in Jerusalem. Luke states that they speak of Jesus’ “exodus.” By his Transfiguration, Jesus strengthened the faith of his three disciples, giving them a foretaste of the glory of heaven.

8. As Jesus and the three Apostles walk down the mountain, Jesus tells them not to tell anyone “the things they had seen” until the “Son of Man” has risen from the dead. The Apostles wonder what Jesus meant by “risen from the dead.” In the Middle Ages, commentators considered the Transfiguration a preview of the glorified body of Christ following his resurrection. Thus, Mary Magdalene and the disciples of Emmaus could not at first recognize the Risen Jesus, transformed as he was, not in nature, but in glory.

9. Tradition identified the mountain of Transfiguration with Mt. Thabor. Thus, Origen (3rd century), Sts. Cyril of Jerusalem and Jerome (4th century). In the 5th century, the Council of Constantinople established a See on Mt. Thabor. Mount Thabor is the setting where human nature meets God, the meeting place of the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus as both true Man and true God, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth.

Thomas Aquinas considered the Transfiguration as “the greatest miracle,” since it complemented Baptism and showed the perfection of life in heaven.

10. The feast of the Transfiguration was introduced into the Roman Calendar in 1457 to commemorate the victory over Islam in Belgrade. In 2002, St. Pope John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries in the Rosary, which includes the Transfiguration.

11. Prayer — O God, you confirmed in the glorious Transfiguration of your Only Begotten Son the mysteries of faith by the witness of the Fathers and wonderfully prefigured our full adoption to sonship. Grant to us, your servants, we pray, that listening to the voice of your beloved Son, we may merit to become co-heirs with Him, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!