The transfiguration of Jesus Christ

It’s the second Sunday of Lent and the gospel today is about the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can read it in your Bible in Matt. 17: 1-9. Please take note that today’s scripture passage came just after Matt.16: 13-19 which is about Simon Peter’s confession about our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein the Lord handed him the keys of the Catholic Church and the kingdom of heaven, thus making Simon Peter the first Pope.

Yet after Peter’s confession, our Lord gave the first prediction of his passion and death. Just when Simon Peter got promoted to lead the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, then the Lord dropped the bad news that he would be handed over to the chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. Upon hearing this, Simon Peter said, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”

Then our Lord Jesus told Simon Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Of course, Simon Peter and the Apostles were obviously taken aback that finally when our Lord Jesus Christ told them that he would build his church, then the worse thing would happen to him. They didn’t even listen to the Lord when he said, “On the third day be raised.” Indeed, they were thinking the way as humans think…but not as God does. So let’s now read the gospel reading today on the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“1 Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” 8 And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

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I have written this story about the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ so many times already. But this is the first time I’m writing it since my pilgrimage tour to Israel last October, with the Del Mar Travels and Tours, where one of the famous Biblical sites that we first visited was in Mount Tabor, which is the traditional site that early Christians like St. Jerome identified as the “High Mountain” mentioned in scriptures. Another high mountain was Mt. Hermon, but the early Christians believed that Mt. Tabor was the site because it was closer to Galilee where our Lord had his ministry.

Yes, Mt. Tabor is a very high mountain (it must have taken the disciples a long time to climb that mountain near Nazareth) indeed and you can call our group lucky that when the tourist bus arrived at the foot of Mt. Tabor it was a cloudless day with a blue sky. But right on the top of Mt. Tabor was a solitary cloud, which many of us took photographs. For us who have faith, it was as if God himself had welcomed us to the high mountain. It was to be the last time that the voice of the Father was heard.

When our Lord Jesus was transfigured in Mt. Tabor, you will notice the similarity when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, which you can read in Exodus 34:29 which reads, “When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribe with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.”

Why did our Lord Jesus Christ only bring three of his disciples to the High Mountain? I really don’t know. But for sure, our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to give his three closest Apostles a preview of things to come — that despite his own prediction of his passion and horrible death by the chief priest and scribes, on the third day, he would be raised in all the glory of God. It was a way Our Lord strengthened and to prepared his disciples for his coming passion and death on the cross.

In fact, the last sentence in today’s gospel was a message from our Lord to Peter, James and John, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Now isn’t this statement by the Master reassuring enough that despite what suffering he would go through or endure…in the end, Our Lord Jesus Christ will be victorious? This is the message of Lent that while we commemorate the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the end, we celebrate his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. Someday we too will have our faces shining like Our Lord Jesus.

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