What is transfiguration?
Last week, we asked “What is temptation?” This led us to reflect on the hierarchy of goods. Temptation arises when lower goods are presented as if they were higher goods. Sin occurs when we choose the lesser over the greater.
Last week, we saw how the devil tried to tempt Jesus with lower goods: satisfying his physical hunger (“Command that these stones become loaves of bread”); impressing people with works of wonder (“Throw yourself down from the parapet of the temple”); and indulging in worldly power (“All these kingdoms I shall give you, if you worship me”).
But Jesus did not sin.
He chose the higher goods: seeking fulfillment in God’s word (“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”); trusting in God’s presence without demanding proof (“You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test”); and embracing God's reign over his life (“The Lord, your God, shall you worship, and him alone shall you serve”).
This lens of lesser-versus-greater-goods is not limited to the shadows of temptation and sin; it also illuminates the brighter path of seeking God’s will.
In our First Reading today (Genesis 12:1-4), we find Abram in the “land of [his] kinsfolk,” in his “father’s house.” Is it good to be in your homeland? Yes. But God called him to “Go forth” to a foreign land, to a higher good. God’s command carried promises of blessing: “I will bless you” and “You will be a blessing.” However, this path also led Abram into perils he would face, moments when his faith needed proving, times when perseverance was demanded.
In our Gospel today (Matthew 17:1-9), Jesus brought Peter, James, and John up a mountain where he was transfigured before them: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” Peter then said, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” Yes, it was good to stay there. Peter even offered to make tents so they can dwell there—in glory. But there was a higher good: Going down the mountain to continue the mission where they would face peril, where their faith would need proof, where the disciples would fail to persevere. This was the journey to Jerusalem—agony.
Lent is often associated with agony. In the Church’s great wisdom, the Gospel of Jesus’ Transfiguration is always read on the second Sunday of Lent. This is to remind us of glory and strengthen us until Easter. But the mention of Peter, James, and John should make us recall that time when, before he was arrested, Jesus took his three closest friends to Gethsemane and said: “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here, and keep watch with me.” Peter was all too willing to remain on the mountain of glory. But how will he respond in the garden of agony? Remember this when you hear this story during Holy Week.
Glory cannot be separated from agony. Perhaps this is why, at the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus charges his disciples: “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” If they spread the word about Jesus’ glory during his Transfiguration, people might misunderstand. What must happen before the rising from the dead? Death… agony. You cannot claim the glory without passing through the agony. But it will not end with agony. There will be a rising from the dead. Glory.
In choosing the higher good, there will be both glory and agony. There will be times when we will hear the Father speaking clearly as he did from a bright cloud during Jesus’ Transfiguration. But there will also be times when there will be a shadow cast over us. Sometimes, the bright cloud and the shadow will come at the same time, as what happened in our Gospel today. During those times, may we also hear Jesus telling us, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”
What does it mean to be transfigured? I think that every time we seek the higher good, we are transfigured. We are changed. We may feel enveloped in light, or we may feel engulfed by shadow. There may be glory; there may be agony. But for certain, there will be the Father telling us, sometimes loudly, sometimes less audibly, “You are my beloved child.”
Your prayer assignment this week:
I think that we are always being called to a higher good. What is this higher good to which God wants to elevate you? What can be the glory waiting for us? What can be the agony?
To accompany your prayer, consider the Jackie Wilson hit from 1967, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.” There are two versions I would suggest. For when you are in glory, listen and dance to Bruce Springsteen’s version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKnvTjVlB1k.
But when you are in agony, Sonny’s cover may be more consoling:
The title and the refrain give us the reason and the power to go higher and higher:
Your love keeps lifting me
Lifting me higher and higher
Where I disagree with the lyrics is with the words:
Now, once I was downhearted
Disappointment was my closest friend
Then you came and he soon departed
Don't you know that he never ever showed his face again
Because while on this earth, we cannot separate glory and agony, disappointment will show his face time and again as we strive for what is higher. But to not even try to look for the higher good is to wallow in and never rise from disappointment.
Fr. Francis teaches Theology, Education and Scripture at both the Ateneo de Manila University and Loyola School of Theology. As a classroom teacher, he is first and foremost a student. As a professor, he sees himself primarily as a pastor.
