Second Sunday of Lent-C
Last week, we entered the desert with Jesus, and today, we are invited to the top of Mount Tabor to witness his glorious Transfiguration. We are reminded that Jesus took James, John, and Peter. A week before, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter’s reply was simple and direct: “The Messiah of God.”
Immediately after Peter’s confession, Jesus spoke only of suffering, rejection, and death, with passing reference to a rising on the third day. Eight days later, the disciples must have been confused. Instead of human destruction, there was a vision of glory that had never been seen by human eyes before. Two figures from the past—Moses and Elijah—were included in the supernatural experience.
Peter could not have been aware that God’s plan for salvation had begun long ago. Moses and Elijah’s presence on the mountain showed the disciples the continuity of the plan of redemption throughout the ages, climaxing in the person of Jesus Christ.
The leader of the exodus of God’s people from Egypt was given to Moses. God promised his people they would be saved from their slavery in Egypt, entering into the desert to suffer for forty years because the people had hardened their hearts and sinned often.
There is no doubt that St. Luke, in describing the Transfiguration, uses the Greek word “exodus,” which can also be translated as “death.” “And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” Jesus would lead his followers through his exodus and his death into the kingdom of heaven.
In his day, the prophet Elijah stood alone as his people’s champion. Jesus similarly will be alone in his suffering and death. He will be deserted by nearly all who have eagerly listened to his teaching and denied even by the man who has so confidently declared his Messiahship.
St. Luke further describes the scene in which Peter is bewildered and half asleep, wanting to erect tents, for his poor human nature could not comprehend the message of the Transfiguration. Later in his life, he would recall the experience on Mount Tabor with a greater awareness of its implications. For most people like Peter, the nexus between suffering death and glorification is a problematic principle to comprehend and accept. This is why Jesus showed a preview to his disciples: so that when his suffering and death happened, they would not be scandalized and would not be without hope.
Then, from a cloud of heaven, a voice said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” We heard the acclimation before Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, and the dove descended, and the words were heard, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” Again, Jesus is confirmed as the chosen one who will complete God’s saving plan once and for all. At that, everything returned to normal, for it had to be because Jesus had not yet suffered and died.
The Transfiguration of Jesus is a portal into God’s plan for saving his creatures. Even today, we can experience a visit to Mount Tabor through faith. Through faith, we have come to believe that Jesus rose from the dead and, in his glorious body, ascended to the right hand of the Father.
As followers of Christ, the Transfiguration gives us a glimpse of who Jesus was and our destiny. St. Paul urges, “The Lord Jesus will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body.” Lent is the time to reckon that our lives on earth are only transitory and that our true destiny is to be glorified in heaven with Christ. Let’s make every effort to walk on the right path this Lent, and if not, make the necessary adjustments.