The Transfiguration and Our Reason to Hope
Our Diocese has seen some major changes this summer! We saw widespread restructuring and an equally wide range of emotions.
In my cluster, several local churches came together to form a new parish. That new parish needed a new name to adopt its new identity, and the Holy Spirit chose the Parish of the Transfiguration.
Our women's group wanted to join the parish–wide initiative to dive into our new namesake, so that was the theme last Friday night.
Yours truly presented, so I took the back-door approach to understanding the supernatural sight the disciples witnessed on the mountaintop using C. S. Lewis's Transposition Essay.
But most of the questions that came up in our discussions were about the actual events that unfolded- ladies of our Magnify Women's Apostolate- this one is for you.
"Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone."
-Matthew 17:1-8
At women’s group last Friday, I spent most of the time talking about how the disciples beheld the Beatific Vision, and because that reality is so much greater than ours, they couldn't fully describe the Transfiguration.
But I want to focus on some of the details of the event.
One of the women asked a brilliant and thought-provoking question.
"Why couldn't Peter keep his big mouth shut? He just had to say something and ruin the moment!"
I love Peter...
I just laughed at her comment because it is so true! But after the fact, I dove in a little further to discover the significance behind Peter's interjection.
But let's take a step back even further. Why was Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah? Abraham was a pretty significant character, but he didn't make the cut. Neither did Adam, or Joseph, or King David, or any of the other patriarchs.
Church tradition teaches us that Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets.
By meeting these two heroes on the mountain, Jesus testifies that He Himself fulfills the Old Testament.
So then along comes Peter. He sees his Master through the Beatific Vision for the first time and is overwhelmed by His glory.
Peter’s heart is in the right place- he wanted to build the three tents or booths, to capture the glory of the moment and to have a permanent place to worship and remember the event.
But God, speaking through a loud voice in a cloud, cuts him off.
His desire to build three tents meant that Peter was placing Moses and Elijah at the same level of authority and honor as Jesus.
“This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him!”
And when the voice stops speaking, the other two are gone.
Jesus intentionally called Peter, James, and John to accompany Him to the mountaintop. He needed to deeply instill the theological virtue of hope in their hearts. They needed the graces of seeing Him in all His glory, because they were there too when Jesus was at His lowest.
Jesus asked these same three to be with Him in the garden, as He sweat blood in anguish of the horror He was about to experience. Only those that saw Him in all His glory could withstand seeing Him humbled in such a way.
So under this patronage, I say we have reason to hope.
Even when we are stuck in the darkness of the garden of the unknown, of hopelessness, of despair, of hurt, of sickness, of injustice, or whatever is weighing heavily upon us, we remember the Transfiguration.
The Church calls the moments in our lives when our hearts are moved toward Christ in a tangible way moments of consolation.
It could be a glorious miracle, a word of affirmation, or a calm stillness in our souls. These Transfiguration moments sustain us when we feel far from God; in our moments of desolation.
So, it is a great honor to say that I am a member of the Parish of the Transfiguration. I am choosing to move forward in hope. I am choosing to keep my eyes on the Transfigured Jesus on the mountaintop. I am choosing joy.
Until next time, your sister in Christ,
Leah
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