The Transfiguration of the Lord Year A
Daniel 7:9-10.13-14 2Peter1:16-19 Mat. 17:1b-9
Theme: The glory of God
On this 18th Sunday of the year in ordinary time, the church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration, a major feast of the Lord in the liturgical calendar. In the usual way of Jesus, he took Peter, James, and his brother John to Mount Tabor, where they had the privilege to experience the glory of God in a very special way. Jesus had to take them through this process of Transfiguration to strengthen their faith and prepare them for what awaits them in their journey to Jerusalem.
The voice from the cloud, also confirmed who Jesus is to his three Apostles that were present with him at the Transfiguration. The voice said, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him”. The experience was so overwhelming that Peter wanted them to remain there and volunteered to build three tents, one for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. The two great men that appeared at the Transfiguration represents two different things, Moses stands for the Law and Elijah for the prophets.
The Transfiguration experience is something we may have passed through at one point or the other in our lives. These are moments in our lives when we experience the love, power, glory, and blessings of God, in the events of our life. At such moments we are happy and overwhelmed just like Peter and we want the experience to remain permanent, and suddenly it comes to an end like the experience of the Apostles. However, just like in the case of the Apostles, it should strengthen our faith and prepare us for the times when things will not go according to our plans.
One of the reasons why Jesus took them to the mountain was to strengthen their faith and prepare them for Gethsemane. We are all encouraged today to draw strength from the Transfiguration experience in today’s gospel when we are faced with difficult and challenging moments in our journey of life. The glory of God is eternal and never comes to an end in the lives of his people. This should also be a source of great strength for all of us as children of God. He is faithful to his words and promises in our lives as his children.
In the 2nd reading of today, we see Peter reiterating the experience of Transfiguration as one who witnessed all that took place at the mountain top. He also reminds us about the voice of the Father in the cloud, confirming who Jesus is to all of us. We are all encouraged today to listen to Jesus according to the words of the Father. We should also have faith in times of difficulties and challenges of life, knowing fully well that it is a phase that will pass in our life. Our prayer today is that the glory of God will never depart from our lives, as we share it in our world, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.