Jesus just told His disciples that He would lead them to the cross.  He knew it would not be easy for them to follow a crucified Messiah, so He wanted to give them a glimpse of what awaited them on the other side of the cross.  The Transfiguration was an anticipation of the glory of Jesus which He would enter through His death and resurrection.  It was also an anticipation of the glory His disciples would experience if they walked the way of the cross with Him.

The dazzling white, the high mountain, the cloud, the voice from the cloud, were all images from the Old Testament that showed the glorious presence of God with His people.  The two central figures from the Old Testament were also there: Moses, as the great lawgiver, and  Elijah, representing all the prophets of old.  Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s plan, the one to whom both the law and the prophets pointed.

The voice of God speaks:  He identifies Jesus as His son and urges us to “listen to Him.”  We too can have our mountaintop experiences of God, times in which we are overwhelmed with awe and joy in God’s presence.  Yet we cannot depend on there brief experiences to last and sustain us.  We must listen to all the words of Jesus and move with Him in the way He leads us.

Praise the Father for making us His beloved sons and daughters.  Ask Him to strengthen us in our struggle with suffering and death.  Look with hope to our future transfiguration when God will raise us from the dead and take us into glory.

God Bless

Msgr. Powell