The Transfiguration of Jesus

Today's Reflections

The Transfiguration of Jesus

Mk 9:2-10

²Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. ⁴Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. ⁵Then 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.” ⁶He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. ⁷Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” ⁸Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

⁹As 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. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Reflection:
 

RABBI, IT IS GOOD THAT WE ARE HERE! The transfiguration of Jesus is a glimpse of his divine majesty. It reveals that the earthly life of Jesus will not end with his crucifixion and burial but with his resurrection—his final victory over sin and death. His unconditional obedience to the will of the Father will lead him to glory with the Father.

Jesus’ transfiguration shows what awaits us. Heaven is open to us and glorification with Jesus is our final goal. We will be like him, achieve what he has done, and receive what he has won for us. There, on the mountain, we have our representatives in Peter, James, and John. Still, our own time must come, and we have to climb and conquer our own mountains.

We are all invited to holiness, we are called to glory. We have moments when, pausing from our busy and hectic schedule to listen to God and to contemplate, like Peter, we tell Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here!” We hear the voice of God and want to prolong the glory. But after listening to God and discerning God’s will, like Peter and the apostles, we have to come down the mountain—go back to our everyday life and face the challenge of the cross.

To become more like Jesus,
“we have to put off the old self, pride, arrogance,
selfishness and whatever kept us
from reflecting the presence of Christ in us”
 

(Tertio Millennio Adveniente, n 36).