The Solemnity of the Transfiguration
Dn 7,9-10, 13-14; 2 Pt 1,16-19; Mt 17,1-9
When we follow the news and all that is
happening around us, or sometimes, even if we attend to our own life stories,
we can very easily get discouraged and disheartened. Negative events tend to
attract our attention and interest more than positive ones and we can very
easily start losing hope. We can gradually start believing that change can
never happen in people we know, in the world, in ourselves. Perhaps what is happening to us is that we are losing sight of the truth of the Transfiguration and the newness of change that it can bring into our lives.
Expanding our imagination
Just a few weeks ago, as I was leafing
through the newspaper while having breakfast as I usually do, one of the comic strips attracted my
attention. It showed two dogs looking at a caterpillar. One of the dogs asks
it, “Hey Mr Caterpillar, what are you thinking of doing this summer?” The
caterpillar smiles and replies, “I am going to turn into a beautiful butterfly!”
Then the dog turns over to the other dog and say, “I wish I had that kind of
imagination!”
Childish as this comic strip might sound, it does contain a nugget of wisdom. It speaks of the need for us to broaden our
imagination, to start believing in change. By this I do not mean that we believe in things that do not exist. Rather, what I mean
is that we allow ourselves to see things as they really are even though they
challenge our normal way of seeing and understanding things. This involves
being sensitive to others and being able to see more than what hits the eye.
The three apostles transfigured
Today, together with Peter, James and John,
we witness Jesus change in front of our eyes in order to show us who he really
is, the Son of God in all his glory. However, as St John of Damascus writes, who
was a Syrian monk and priest who lived in the eighth century, Jesus never
changes, he is always the same, so they were the disciples who changed. There
on the mountain, their eyes were opened, and they had the
privilege of seeing Jesus as he really is and of recognizing him as the Son of
God.
The significance of the transfiguration
The whole context makes this clear: this
event occurs six days after the first time that Jesus foretells his passion, death
and resurrection. As you would recall, Peter chides Jesus, telling him that
no such thing would ever happen. As soon as they descend the Mount Tabor (or scholars now are saying that it might actually have been mt Hermon - see note under "location" here), Jesus foretells his passion death and resurrection a second time. Moreover, the
presence of Moses and Elijah points to Jesus as the Son of God. Moses, as we read in the book of Exodus had encountered God in the burning bush, on mount Horeb (Sinai). In today's Gospel, we see
Moses conversing with something much more resplendent than a burning bush:
Jesus himself. Similarly, Elijah, as we read in the Book of Kings, climbs mount Horeb and it is
there, in the still breeze that he experiences God. Now, however, we see him encountering
God not in silence and stillness but in the Word made flesh: Jesus himself.
A glimpse of who Jesus really is
The apostles are therefore changed by this
experience. Their previous misconceptions of who Jesus is, their mistaken
judgments and prejudices are blown way. What Jesus had told them about his
passion death and resurrection starts making sense because they widen their
imagination, not only about who Jesus is, but as a result, also about who they are
and who they can be.
Change becomes a possibility
When we allow ourselves to enter into the
mystery of the transfiguration, like the three apostles, even we are
transfigured. We develop a gaze that goes beyond what merely hits the eye. We
too can get over our misconceptions about others and about ourselves. Change
becomes a real possibility for ourselves, for others and for the whole world.
A sign of hope
This is why the event of the
transfiguration is also a message of hope. For Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El
Salvador, the feast of the transfiguration held a special significance, not
only because it happened to be the titular feast of El Salvador, but for its
deeper meaning. In fact, he would always issue his pastoral letters on the Feast of the Transfiguration. In the Transfiguration, he understood that change
was possible, tangible change, even in the midst of all the suffering that the people of El
Salvador were passing through. Archbishop Romero himself had his heart and his gaze transfigured from a fearful young priest to a courageous one, eager to become a sign of hope for those who needed it most.
Allowing ourselves to be transfigured by Christ
We have to allow ourselves to climb up the
mountain and to have our eyes be opened so that we may see Jesus as he really
is. We have to allow ourselves to be changed, to see ourselves as whom we really
can be. We must change our gaze in such a way that we might allow others to change
beyond our expectations and categories of our mind, a change that goes beyond
what I can see with my eyes or even beyond what I can hope for. And such a
change can start first and foremost with a change of heart.
"Minimum (system) requirements"
What is required of us to be able to engage
this this experience? In the second reading, Peter reminisces on the event of
the transfiguration and offers a hint: we need to be intent on listening to the voice of
God, he says, “as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” In other words, we need
to be sensitive to the faintest signs of hope in situations around us which
would otherwise spell darkness and despair. The voice of God, which in turn directs
us towards Jesus is easily lost in a world of other voices competing for our
attention and in a world of artificial lights which easily lure us towards what
is superficial.
Allowing moments of hope to seize us without us clutching to them
Peter has learnt his lesson that we cannot
grab hold of these moments of hope in our life and make them ours, as he wanted
to do by pitching three tents. These glimpses of hope in our life, be it a moment
of consolation during a retreat, a pleasant family gathering, must be treasured
in our heart and we must be able to return to them when we start getting
discouraged to remember how God has entered into our lives in concrete ways.
Contemplating the splendor of Jesus throughout our life
May we join Peter, James and John and climb up Mount Hermon to contemplate Christ transfigured. May we allow our hearts to be transfigured so
that we may see other and ourselves, indeed the whole of creation as it really
is and as it is meant to be, as we contemplate Jesus in all his splendor, and
as we listen to the words of God the Father, “This is my beloved Son with whom
I am well pleased.”
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