Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 - Aug. 6 - The Transfiguration of the Lord
[Dan 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Pet 1:16-19; A: Matt 17:1-9 B: Mark 9:2-10 C: Luke 9:28b-36,685]Jesus took Peter, James and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them......[Matt]
The incident that we call the "Transfiguration" is included in all three of the synoptic gospels and has to be one of the most unusual events in the story of Jesus' ministry. Even though each of the three evangelists, Matthew-Mark-Luke, has a separate "agenda" in the way they tell the story, it remains part of the tradition. Our brothers and sisters of the Eastern churches have celebrated this event is greater depth than we of the West because they see the process of "divinization" as a goal for all Christians. Therefore Jesus simply reveals this possibility to his three closest collaborators.
We cannot isolate this story. It takes place between Peter's confession of faith and Jesus' first prediction of his passion. In Matthew, the "agenda" is to portray Jesus as a "New Moses," and we see all kinds of echoes of this. The scene occurs on a mountain. Jesus' face shines like Moses' did when he came down the mountain. He is shown conversing with Moses and Elijah, who are symbolic figures for the "law and the prophets," which Jesus has come to fulfill!
What we have in our own time is a description of a significant private event that was only recounted much later. It is a revelation of Jesus' identity and power, and not, as the second scripture for today reminds us, a "cleverly devised myth." From Peter's confession of faith to the Transfiguration to the prediction of the passion, we are being told all about Jesus. It may take us time to absorb, but it will be time well-spent if our desire is to know Jesus as fully as possible. AMEN