Transfiguration Homily

Transfiguration is a feast for the eyes and for the ears. What the eyes see is awesome. Jesus suddenly changed. His face, shining like the sun! His clothes, dazzling in their whiteness! Glory beams in bright rays from his body. What the ears hear is the Father's voice proclaiming this glorified and shining person His beloved Son to whose words we must give our attention. Moses and Elijah, Lawgiver and Prophet, witness to His glory as the Only begotten Son of the Father.

Now, let's be clear: Jesus didn't get another body there on the mountain; it was his same Body, the very flesh that he'd received as his own in Blessed Mary's womb. That's what glistened and glittered on the mountaintop. It's very important to remember that, if we are to unlock the full joy of this feast today.

Because, you see, what Peter, James, and John witnessed, what they saw on the mountain, was a glimpse into their own future - and yours and mine too. "Beloved," wrote St. John to the community of the Baptized, "we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is!" (1 Jn 3:2) "When Christ, who is your life, is revealed" wrote St. Paul, "then you also will be revealed with him in glory!" (Col. 3:4) At the Second Coming of Jesus, all who have lived and died trusting in Him will be raised in bodies that will be like his, shining in glory. That's exactly what the angel told the prophet Daniel about the last day when those asleep in the dust of the earth awake - some to shame but some to everlasting glory: "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky!" (Dan. 12:3)

So on the Mountain Jesus gives the favored three (and us through them) a glimpse of what his finished work in us will look like! It was a vision meant to comfort and sustain them, to remind them of why Jesus was doing what he was getting ready to do. "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead" he orders, as he leaves one mountain behind and journeys toward another: Mount Calvary.

If the vision on top of the Mount of Transfiguration reveals what Jesus wants to accomplish in us, it is Calvary that reveals how he will do it. He will lift you to his glory by entering into your shame. He will clothe you in his brightness by letting his Father clothe him with your sin. He will gain access to the Father for you as beloved sons and daughters of God by being denied that access Himself - "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" And having accomplished the Father's will, having suffered for you and died for you, He was raised to life again, clothed once more in the divine glory that He has given you the right to share with Him forever, clothed in a glory that He will never again hide or take off. And in that we are given the pattern of God's work in our own lives.

You see, your moment of transfiguration happened on the day of your Baptism, when you were clothed with Christ. That, of course, is the day God looked at you and said: "This is my Child! This is the one I love and in whom I am delighted!" That your baptism is your transfiguration is also shown by the gift of the white garment. We don't do it here at St. Paul- we only give a white napkin - but many churches do actually clothe the newly baptized in a white robe. Your transfiguration robe! A confession that by Baptism into Jesus your life is headed for the everlasting glory He revealed on the mountain.

But after the transfiguration comes the journey to the other Mount. The journey toward death. For the final glorification of our bodies does not happen without death (except for that generation alive at our Lord's second coming). Suffering and death with Jesus come first; the glorification with Jesus comes afterward. But do you see how the promise of the glorification gives us the courage to face the inevitable deterioration of our bodies?

In our more sane moments we know that we can do nothing to stop our bodies from falling apart. Not the best diet, not the best exercise program in the world, not the finest clothes or the best makeup will be able to prevent the moment arriving when we can't do some of the things we always took for granted before, because our bodies are simply giving out on us. But when we remember that these decaying bodies of ours have been marked and tagged by the Redeemer with the promise and guarantee of sharing in his Resurrection glory, we can face our own physical demise and, yes, our deaths with a hope that cannot be quenched!

It's just like St. Paul wrote: "So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…. So we are always confident." (2 Cor. 4:16-5:1,6)

And as if the promise of our Father regarding Baptism were not enough, we have our Lord's promise: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day." (Jn 6:54) As often as that Table is spread before us, Christ strengthens and sustains the inner nature, and comforts us with the promise of the resurrection for the outer nature. What more could we ask?

Transfiguration - the feast of a glory that will be yours and mine! Let us keep our eyes trained on the vision of that future that we may walk unafraid and confident through the valley of death's shadow, until we stand shining with Christ on the mountain top, singing all the way: O Father, with the Eternal Son and Holy Spirit, three in one, We pray Thee, bring us by Thy grace to see Thy glory face to face. Amen!