KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – Matthew 17:1-9
1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4Peter said to Jesus, “LORD, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
what’s going on here?
Only six days previously Jesus began telling his disciples he would be dragged before the scribes and the priests of the Temple; he would suffer greatly and then be put to death. Shocked as they were, perhaps the disciples did not hear the last part: that he would be raised from the dead on the third day.
How could they possibly comprehend this? That Jesus of Nazareth, their companion and Lord, the healer of the sick and the forgiver of sins was headed for torture and death? Certainly, Peter remonstrated strongly against Jesus but was swiftly put in his place with a “Get behind me Satan!”
How then were Peter, James and John impacted that six days later when they were led up to a high mountain, only to see Jesus “change into another form”. (The Greek word for Transfiguration is “metamorphoo” which is the origin of our word metamorphosis). Not only did the face of Jesus shine like the sun and his clothes become white as light, but there behold was Moses and Elijah talking to him! These were the two who epitomised the Law and the Prophets, the very foundation of their religion.
The mountain, reminiscent of Sinai. Moses the law giver. Elijah the forerunner. A voice from the bright cloud. Jesus the Son of Man, destined to fulfill the promises of ages. This was an epochal moment. The end of one epoch, the beginning of another.
Yet Jesus was to die first? Again, how could they possibly comprehend that? No doubt the reality of resurrection after death had not seeped into their mind, struggling as they were with the possibility of his death.
Centuries later in our own time there is so much we do not comprehend about what happened on the mountain. It was bringing the past ages of the Jewish people into one point in time and forecasting it into the future. It is upon each generation of Christians to grapple with the meaning of this event. It is now our turn.
How do we view our lives as Christians? It is possible we become myopic about our faith, seeing it closely through the lens of our daily lives with its routine and its sometimes grind. Or perhaps grind most of the time. We say our prayers, make our intercessions, seek God’s favour through Mary, complete our rituals either in the house or in the church.
In a moment of reflection and meditation we can allow the Spirit of Jesus to expand our consciousness of Christian faith, to truly transfigure the way we view our lives, to undergo a metamorphosis of our own.
We belong to a great march of history, dating back to the time that Moses climbed Mt Sinai out in the unforgiving desert and underwent his metamorphosis, contracted by God to lead his People to a Promised Land. We are connected to an ancient belief and ritual that has carved out the centuries, with prophets like Elijah restoring and carrying the flame forward until Jesus took hold of that flame of faith. It consumed him in death, restored him in resurrection and projected his Spirit into the future. To our time, to our lives, to our community.
As in times of old, the flame can be lost, people can lose their way, powers in the world and the church can seek to put the flame under a drum out of sight. But the flame can never be extinguished, it will find its way out of all the hurt and sin and misery of humankind, because the flame is the living Spirit of Jesus who is subject to no restriction.
The joy – and the burden – of carrying that flame is upon our shoulders as the whole world continues its stumbling way to being the Promised Land of the Father of Creation.
Being part of this ancient history is not summed up in our daily prayers, our intercessions for God’s help, our rituals of worship and penance. It is summed up in acting out the mission of Jesus by caring for our neighbour, those rejected by society – and by government; it is to make a safe way for the poor, those lonely and destitute, those oppressed and downtrodden.
We are called to be agents of the transfiguration of the world, to bring about a continual and continuing metamorphosis of our own lives and of our society.
Integral to this transfiguration is the demand to confront evil, to challenge the powers of government, of society and of church who seek to extinguish the path to the Promised Land. Concretely, who seek to oppress the poor and persecute any who challenge them.
Our faces may not shine like the sun and our clothes not be white as snow. But we can stand and proclaim that we know what’s going on here!
