THE SEVEN-STEP LADDER TO TRANSFIGURATION

Reflections on the Second Sunday of Lent: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 9:28b-36

From the desert of temptations (last Sunday’s gospel), the liturgy leads us today to the Mountain of Transfiguration (today’s gospel). We are invited to climb the Mount with Peter, James, and John to live this experience of “transfiguration”, which invites us to see beyond appearances and recognise the presence of Christ in everything and everyone. The liturgy provides us with a seven-step ladder to help us in this climb.

Step 1: Set apart, Look up! Biblically, mountains are more than mere geographical locations. They are places of revelation. Climbing a mountain, therefore, indicates that “something important is about to happen” and so we need to stand back (apart) and gain height (on a high mountain). The gospel says, “Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray”. The first reading adds, “The Lord God took Abram outside and said, Look up at the sky”. Our Lenten journey to transfiguration is a challenge to overcome mediocrity by setting some time ‘apart’ to ‘climb up’ the mountain to pray and ‘look up’ to God with eagerness.

Step 2: See! “Jesus was transfigured before them” and he appeared “in his glory”. Glory (doxa in Greek) could mean reputation or honour in common parlance. However, biblically it assumes a different meaning. Doxa (Kavod in Hebrew) is a reflection or translation of that which is lived inside. It is an exterior manifestation of the absolutely perfect inward excellence of Christ. In this perspective, transfiguration is all about seeing beyond appearances to be able to “see the invisible”. It invites us to take a fresh look and change how we see our lives, neighbours, society and the Church to discern Christ’s doxa everywhere and in everything.  

Step 3: Recognise! Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son”. Here is an interesting contrast. God’s presence is both veiled and unveiled. There is light but it shines from behind a curtain. The Father reveals himself and still maintains his ‘otherness’. He speaks! However, he speaks from a cloud. Is there a duality here? No! The cloud is also a sign of God’s presence. However, God’s glory is so great that it exceeds our comprehension and understanding. As the bible declares, “to see God is to die”. However, in Jesus, His chosen Son, what is hidden from our eyes is revealed in a manner that we can relate to. God therefore asks us to ‘see’ and ‘listen to’ this perfect revelation of God’s presence.

Step 4: Listen! Moses and Elijah appear alongside Jesus. The lives and missions of these two great biblical figures are crucial to the history of the People of God. Their individual histories are illuminated in the presence of the transfigured Christ. Moses represents the law and Elijah stands on behalf of the prophets. Both of them talk about their ‘exodus’ and they take on a new meaning in the light of Jesus’ ministry. The Father exhorts, “Listen to him” and immediately the two disappear. Jesus was found alone. The law and the prophets find their fulfilment in Christ. The Word becomes flesh again when we listen to him.

Step 5: Be present! Jesus does not say a word in the whole episode. Peter does. “Master, it is good that we are here”. He is overjoyed and wants to set up camps with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. This is no ordinary camping. The tent, biblically, is a place of God’s presence and translates to ‘tabernacle’. Nothing is more desirable than the mystery of God’s presence, revealed in truth and love. This intense experience makes Peter crave to be present with God. He wants to freeze the moment. Transfiguration challenges us to discern these possibilities in our concrete life situations. How can we live these moments of intense communion with God? These opportunities are not exclusively reserved in adoration chapels. They are also available in our marketplaces.

Step 6: Silence! At the end of the mountain experience, the disciples ‘fell silent’. In Matthew, however, Jesus commands them not to tell anyone about the vision until he is raised from the dead”. This command is not to silence them but to indicate that this mountain experience is so intense that they will understand its full meaning only in the light of Christ’s resurrection.  Perhaps, silence is one of the greatest fruits of the mountain experience. It is interesting to note that the words LISTEN and SILENT are anagrams (they contain the same letters). God speaks to us in the silence of our hearts and it is in silence that we can truly listen.

Step 7: Descend! Peter did not know what he was saying when we spoke about setting up camps. Transfiguration is not about an exclusive experience reserved for a few. He realises that it is now time to head back down to the plains. Their mountain experience will now continue in their mission fields walking with Jesus to cities and villages to proclaim the good news and heal every sickness. We need to become reflections of the doxa. We are all stained-glass windows and the light of Christ invades our hearts to give rise to a wide range of colours, each of which is rich and unique. May we shine this light that never fades, for we are its inexhaustible and beautiful reflections.