Mt. 17: 1-19
“Listen to Jesus and follow him that is the message of the transfiguration.” (Pope Francis) In the second Sunday of the season of lent, we are invited to mediate on the transfiguration experience of Jesus at mount Tabor. The moment we hear about the transfiguration, we recall to our mind the divine experience of Jesus wherein, Jesus was transfigured and apostles Peter, John and James witnessed the dazzling divine glory and beauty of Jesus. However, we also need to keep in mind that the message that Jesus received over there is about his own passion, death and resurrection. Though Jesus had glimpse of his own divine glory yet before re-entering into that glory he had to drink the chalice given by His Father.
We see a lot of parallelism between Jesus and Moses in this experience. In the Book of Exodus, we see Moses going to mount Sinai to meet the Lord and his face reflected a share of divine glory that he encountered over there. Jesus also goes to mount Tabor to encounter the Lord nevertheless, his face was shone like the Sun and clothes became dazzling white. It reveals the divinity of Christ. We also see the presence of Moses and Elijah. The significant people of the salvation history, the icons of both the law and the prophecy. Their presence would tell us that how all the laws and prophecies being fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
Having witnessed this experience of heaven on earth, peter tells Jesus that it is good to be there and he would prepare three tents each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. At that juncture Abba Father acknowledges the divine identity of his only begotten son: ‘This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased listen to him.’ By giving his unconditional fiat to the salvific plan of God which revealed to Jesus at that moment by Abba Father glorifies him by acknowledging that he is the beloved Son and the only way to enter into this divine glory by listening to him. At that moment, they were terrified and fall on their faces which is a common human expression whenever we encounter the inexplicable divine majesty. At that moment Jesus tells them that ‘rise and have no fear.’ It depicts the full control of Jesus over everything. Though he come to know his divine identity as the Son of God as much as his human intellect allowed him gradually, this was a moment of culmination wherein he is fully aware thar he is not merely a man but also the beloved Son of his Abba.
As we mediate the transfiguration account during this season of Lent, let us take home the message that before entering into the divine glory, we all need to encounter the mount Calvary in our lives. It can be our little hardships, sufferings that we face in our lives. We would be empowered to face these hardships by being with the Lord, enjoying his Eucharistic Presence like Peter, James and John. We feel the Lord telling in our dark moments ‘rise and have no fear. I am with you. I have conquered death.’ May the assurance of Jesus brighten our Lenten journey with hope.