The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Gospel Reflection for August 6, 2023 - Matthew 17:1-9

And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart:

And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow.

And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him.

And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.

And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid.

And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, Arise, and fear not.

And they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus.

And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead. (Matthew 17:1-9 DRA)

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, one of the greatest holy days of the Church in the East and West and named by Pope St. John Paul II as a Luminous Mystery of the rosary. In March, on the second Sunday of Lent, I reflected on this same reading, focusing on the intrinsic connection between the sacrificial love of the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection, of which the Transfiguration is a precursor. Today, I would like to examine another of the infinite ways to approach the mystery of this revelation of Christ’s divinity, namely His fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecy as given in our first reading from Daniel and other passages.

As Dr. Brant Pitre has explained, the Old Testament and Jewish tradition looked forward to a Messiah who would be a new Moses and who would accomplish a new Exodus, one not from earthly slavery into an earthly promised land but from sin into Heaven. (Dt 18:15-18, Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:28) Like Moses, Christ gave a new Law (the Gospel), He became a new manna from Heaven (the Eucharist) and He rode on a donkey into Jerusalem (just as Moses rode a donkey out of Egypt), fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The Transfiguration is also a typological fulfillment of Christ’s role as the new Moses, a point which St. Luke’s account makes more explicit: “And behold two men were talking with him. And they were Moses and Elias, Appearing in majesty. And they spoke of his decease (Gk. exodos) that he should accomplish in Jerusalem.” (Lk 9:30-31) In this way, Luke indicates that Christ’s new Exodus from sin will be consummated in Jerusalem, when His sacrifice on the Cross will open up Heaven through the new Passover in His blood.

Dr. Pitre also points out that at the Transfiguration, when like Moses Christ revealed the presence of God in the divine cloud and His face shone like the Sun, unlike in the first Exodus when God calls Israel His firstborn son, (Ex 4:22) now Christ is revealed to be the true Son of God. In this way, as with all New Testament typological and prophetic fulfillment, Christ is not simply a copy of Moses but greatly exceeds him. Christ is also the new Israel, leading His chosen people out of slavery to sin into the new promised land which is the new Creation or regeneration of all things. (Mt 19:28)

This prophetic fulfillment is further revealed in our first reading from the prophet Daniel. While some Hebrews, including the Essenes at the time of Jesus, anticipated two Messiahs, Christ revealed that He is both the Son of man and the Son of God. The Transfiguration is thus a revelation of the Holy Trinity: the Father, whom Daniel calls the Ancient One, bestows dominion onto His Son, who has taken on human nature in the Incarnation and divinized it as the instrument of His salvation, through whose participation humans can receive salvation. Speaking in the Holy Ghost, the divine cloud or shekinah which also appeared to Moses, (Ex 24:15-16) the Father’s divinity is not merely reflected onto the Son, as with Moses, (Ex 34:29-30) but shines from within Christ Himself, whose own divinity He shares with the Ancient One and whose appearance He mirrors; this is thus a divine light, an eschatological anticipation of heavenly glory as seen by St. Paul at his conversion. For this reason, Daniel prophecies that the Son of man will come on the clouds of Heaven, indicating His divinity even as it is concealed in humanity, a point which was not lost on the Jewish authorities who accused Christ of blasphemy when He referred this prophecy to Himself. (Mt 26:64-65)

As Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament typology and prophecy, He chose to appear with Moses and Elias as representatives of the Law and the prophets. Yet even St. Peter fails to recognize at the time the singular revelation of Christ’s divinity, as Luke remarks. (Lk 9:33) Instead of building three tabernacles, they should have known that Christ’s true Tabernacle is in Heaven, one not made by hands, (Heb 8:2) where He sits on one of the thrones mentioned by Daniel at the right hand of the Ancient One, His Father:

Think not of three tabernacles, when there is but one tabernacle of the Gospel in which both Law and Prophets are to be repeated. But if thou wilt have three tabernacles, set not the servants equal with their Lord, but make three tabernacles, yea make one for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that They whose divinity is one, may have but one tabernacle, in thy bosom. (St. Jerome, Catena Aurea)

Only after the Resurrection did Peter and the other apostles come to truly understand the incredible mystery of the Transfiguration, as seen in his epistle reading today.

For those who have been Catholics for many years, or any Christians who hear the account of the Transfiguration repeatedly, its true wonder and power can become familiarized. This Sunday, allow the glory of Christ and the shock of the apostles which caused them to fall prostrate in adoration before Him to penetrate your familiarity. See in the presence of Christ reserved in the Christian tabernacle, which like the Hebrew tabernacle is made after the pattern of the true Tabernacle in Heaven, (Ex 25:40) a window into the Transfiguration, where we stand with the apostles in amazement and humble joy before the salvific mission of the Divine Messiah, whose divinization of human nature signals the redemption of the whole world and the invincibility of His eternal victory over Satan, sin and death. Even amidst all the tragedies, persecutions and evils we experience in the world today, may this constant reminder of God’s love remain, “whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts”. (2 Pt 1:19)

O wondrous type, O vision fair

of glory that the Church shall share

Which Christ upon the mountain shows

where brighter than the sun He glows

With shining face and bright array

Christ deigns to manifest today

What glory shall be theirs above

who joy in God with perfect love.

(15^th-century hymn Coelestis formam gloriae)