Second Sunday of Lent—Transfiguration of the Lord , fe
In a visit to the Vatican Library one will find Raphael's beautiful painting entitled, "Transfiguration." The painting depicts Christ, in a beautiful cloud, standing between Moses and Elijah. Christ's countenance is changed, radiant in glory. The three apostles look on, Peter and James, caught by surprise and overwhelmed by the supernatural experience. The apostle John, the "beloved," has a different posture. John's right hand is pointing up toward the transfigured Christ and his left hand is pointing down toward the valley, the valley of Mageddo, a valley where for hundreds of years history recorded one battle after another.The symbolism here is easy to understand as portrayed both in the gospel and in Raphael's painting. Christ is changed. Christ is showing the glory of His coming resurrection. Christ is also portrayed as fulfilling the law and the prophets. He stands between Moses who gave the law, and Elijah who represents the guidance and anticipation of the prophets.
On this second Sunday in Lent we reflect on the transfiguration of Jesus. For the disciples the transfiguration was a discovery too. It was a discovery that revealed to them, first, who Jesus was, and second, who they were. Allow me to make some observations about the event. From a human perspective, although the transfiguration seems like a super natural experience it really exposes the human existence of Jesus. For example, the small detail that “Jesus took Peter, James and John and went up the mountain to pray,” is a very important piece of information. We can speculate, then, that Jesus had no premonition about what was going to happen on the mountain. “While he was praying,” Luke says again, Jesus was transfigured. We get a glimpse of the human Jesus spending time in intense prayer. There are other details that are important. Among all the holy people of the Old Testament, it was Moses and Elijah who appeared to Jesus. Luke even gives us details of the conversation – it was about “the exodus he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” Just like Moses led the exodus of his people from slavery to freedom, and just like the blood of the lamb saved them from death, Jesus would lead his people from eternal death to eternal life. The only difference was that Jesus himself would be the sacrificial lamb. And that is why, immediately after the transfiguration Jesus predicts his death to his disciples. Toward the end, from the clouds came a voice that said, “This is my beloved son…” As human beings we know that a little bit of love can work miracles. The task ahead for Jesus was in some ways inhuman and in other ways superhuman. The sin of the whole world since time began was going to be laid on His shoulders. Only His Father’s love could carry him through; “This is my “beloved” Son…” These details, once again, reveal the human side of Jesus. Like any other human person who takes life seriously or wants to live life meaningfully, Jesus spends time in prayer seeking God’s will. And it was in prayer that Jesus’ mission was revealed to him. In the confirmation from the Father, Jesus finds the strength to “accomplish” his mission. “Accomplish” in this context meant the death and resurrection. On the cross Jesus would say, “It is accomplished.” The transfiguration is also important from the perspective of the Peter, James, and John. These three would later become the pillars of the church in Jerusalem. The fate that awaited Jesus, awaited them as well. It was important for them to see the human Jesus’ divine identity. The voice asked them to “listen to him.” Listening is more than a function of the ear; it implies a close following of Jesus, his words and his life example. All in all, the intensity of Jesus’ experience at the transfiguration is proportional to the intensity of the task ahead.Three practical implications: 1. our one time existence on the earth is a very fragile experience. The most delicate task we must “accomplish” is to discover the purpose of our life. The lesson that Jesus teaches us is that we can only discover the purpose of our life in our relationship with God – in prayer. If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do you and I need to pray? Lent is a time set aside for this purpose. If we have not discovered that prayer is the most important thing in our life – today, God is inviting us into a deep relationship with him. 2. At the end of the transfiguration, the disciples who are mere human beings want to stay up on the top of the mountain; Jesus, who is divine, on the other hand, resolves to go down. Our prayer must be lived in the world not on the top of a mountain. The world is where the rubber hits the road. The world is where our faith is tested, lived, strengthened. 3. The transfiguration of Jesus helped the disciples to fix their vision on eternity. The crucial question for us is this – On the day that we die, like Christ, can we say to God, “It is accomplished!” And on the day that we die, will God say to us, “This is my beloved son/daughter.” I personally believe that if I cannot hear God say that to me, then I have wasted my entire life. Every Eucharistic celebration is a transfiguration experience. At every Eucharist, bread and wine is transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. Let us allow the transfigured Jesus to transform us. Amen.
