The Feast of the Transfiguration

It's the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time and more importantly, it is the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. The tradition of the Catholic Church teaches us that the Transfiguration was presented to only three Apostles of our Lord; Peter, James, and John as a way of preparing them for the scandal of his brutal passion and death on the cross in Calvary. Why didn't our Lord bring all the Twelve Apostles with him to Mt. Tabor, there really isn't any logical explanation. Biblical scholars also say that our Lord Jesus Christ gave his Apostles a foretaste of God's divine glory. You can read this gospel reading in Matt.17: 1-9.

"17 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

* * *

I'm one of the lucky souls able to visit Mt. Tabor, the traditional site of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like what I wrote earlier, the Lord allowed three of his closest disciples to witness his Transfiguration so they would be given a foretaste of heaven in order to strengthen them for the horrors of his up and coming crucifixion which the Lord Jesus earlier prophesied.

Then Peter, James, and John saw the face of our Lord shine as bright as the sun and his clothes in dazzling white. Then they saw Moses appear with Elijah with Jesus in between them. As we all know, Moses is known in Judaism as the Giver of the Law, while Elijah represented all the prophets. All of them prophesied the coming of the Savior of the Lord and finally in one setting, they were found together in Mt. Tabor in the midst of the dazzling glory of God. What a spectacle!

What Peter saw during the Transfiguration was so overwhelming that he wanted to stay longer as he never thought that such a heavenly bliss existed. Hence he offered the Lord to erect three tents; one for Jesus, another for Moses, and one for Elijah. I'm sure that if we were also given a similar foretaste of God's heavenly glory, we too would like to stay there permanently.

What was significant in the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ was when the Shekinah Glory cloud hovered on top of them and a voice was heard saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"  If you recall during the Baptism of our Lord Jesus in the River Jordan by John the Baptist, a Shekinah Glory cloud appeared and a voice was heard saying, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." Here the voice of God was speaking directly to our Lord Jesus Christ.

But the voice of God during the Transfiguration of our Lord was clearly addressed to his disciples present. Indeed we who profess to be Catholics or Christians must learn to listen to the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ who is also the Good Shepherd. But look at Christianity today; everyone seems to be listening to his own interpretation of the words of our Lord. This is why Christian unity is a big joke. There are 33,000 Christian denominations or sects today, but only one universal or Catholic Church.

* * *

For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.