11th Sunday After Pentecost-- Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ

Brothers and sisters in Christ—

     In the Mystery of the Transfiguration, the Lord shows to His chosen disciples “as much of His Divine Glory as they could possibly bear.” In the meantime, Moses and Elijah appear with the Lord, and discuss with the Lord Jesus all the things that would take place in Jerusalem.  Moses represents the Law of God, for he wrote the five books of the Law, which governed the people of Israel.  The Prophet Elijah represents the prophets, those revelations that were given to Israel after Moses’ time, which gave Israel hope in the Messiah and in the age to come.

     The Holy Apostles Peter, James and John, who were with the Lord Jesus on Mount Tabor during the Transfiguration, were told not to tell anyone about the vision until “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” After the Resurrection, the Apostles reflected on the strange event.  In the Holy Apostle Peter’s second letter, he writes: “His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. …We had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain.” The Apostles’ reflection on the Transfiguration brought them to a knowledge of the point of our faith—our hope that we can become uncreated; we can share the Life of God through communion with Him.

     Our personal share in the Transfiguration of the Lord is our own conversion to the voice of the Law and the Prophets, to the prophetic voice of the Church.  It is our own interior conversion to God, which makes it possible for us to share in the Divine Majesty and Glory revealed on Mount Tabor.  In fact, the Lord Jesus Himself tells us that such a conversion to God creates exceedingly great joy in heaven, among the angels.