The Gospel Mark 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
After the Gospel:
It’s one of those gospels we like to hear …
we who feel called apart by Jesus to pray with Him in a special way,
who desire to dwell with Him in all His glory;
which is why monasteries are named “Transfiguration,”
or “Mount” St Benedict, even if they’re built in the flatlands.
We want to be up there with Peter, James, and John…
witnessing the glory of God’s kingdom shining out of Jesus.
But little did they suspect, following this resplendent experience,
that the day was coming when their faith would collapse and they would scatter like doves.
The Transfiguration was necessary as the spiritual shot in the arm that Peter, James, and John badly needed after a letdown that happened just a week before,
a conversation that took place after Jesus had finished praying with the disciples
and asked “Who do you say that I am?”
To which Peter correctly replied: “You are The Son of God.”
When Jesus went on to say He was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die,
and on the third day be raised….
Peter blurted out, “God forbid it, Lord! That must never happen to you!”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying: “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way!
These thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from man.”
They had to be mystified …
All this talk about suffering, dying, raised from the dead…
they chewed on it all week long…
So as they were coming down the mountain and Jesus charged them
not to repeat what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead,
once more, they got talking among themselves about what ‘rising from the dead’ meant.
It was only later, they could piece together:
that’s what Moses and Elijah were speaking about with Jesus — his departure, what he was to accomplish at Jerusalem,
that’s what the two disciples would later report when Jesus appeared to them on the road to Emmaus – He showed how the Scriptures pointed forward to the Messiah and his sufferings,
pointed to himself.
But all that would come later. For the moment they teetered between the discouraging thoughts of suffering and dying, and the magnificent vision of the Transfiguration.
The Catechism explains the link between them:
“Christ’s Transfiguration aims at strengthening the apostles’ faith in anticipation of his Passion: the ascent onto the ‘high mountain’ prepares them for the ascent to Calvary.” [CCC 568]
Which is probably why the Church gives us this gospel – this good news – early in Lent before we turn our attention to the passion and death of Jesus during Holy Week and Good Friday.
If we’re honest, our faith is no different from the disciples’.
It’s like a roller coaster, with ups and downs,
with high points and low points.
There are times when our faith burns bright, other times when it flickers and nearly goes out.
When we’re on a mountain, experiencing a high point,
our faith is strong and bright,
life is beautiful,
Jesus seems to speak to us,
we feel so close we can touch him,
we want to build tents and prolong the glory.
During low points,
nothing goes right,
we feel taken-advantage-of, misjudged, sinned against, out of place and lost.
We complain again that life is not easy.
Which makes our first reading a perfect fit: the example of Abraham’s faith.
After so many hopes and plans that all centered around Isaac,
just the thought of God asking him to sacrifice his only son,
had to be enough to make Abrahams’ faith flicker, almost fail.
It had to pain his heart and confuse his mind.
But Abraham remembered God’s promises, he trusted God to keep those promises,
and God didn’t let him down. Standing there on the Mount today, arrayed in all His glory, was Jesus – the Fruit of those promises.
Yes, the Transfiguration is God adding His affirmation,
but it’s also meant to strengthen our faith for the challenges yet to come.
It’s that sign we look for,
but it’s only temporary, not meant to be permanent, no need to build any tents.
It’s something for the road,
as we go down the mountain into the valley,
as we get closer to Calvary.
It’s just enough to paint in our memory an icon we can take with us:
God the Father, speaking from heaven;
God the Son, the One being transfigured,
and God the Holy Spirit, present in the form of a cloud.
Lord, it is good for us to be here!”