The Feast of the Transfiguration

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord. That awesome moment that the three disciples Peter, James, and John, saw Jesus appearance change on Mount Tabor. Jesus being present there in all his heavenly glory. Not only that, also they saw the appearance of the great servant of God, Moses, and the great Prophet Elijah. The word explaining itself as coming from two words, change (trans) and appearance (figuration). This feast remembers the transformation of the Lord before the witnesses and so revealing his true nature. It also remembers the encounter with two great figures of Hebrew scriptures or the Old Testament (First Testament): Moses and the prophet Elijah. Moses led the Israelites from the land of Egypt to the promised land after the ten great plagues and so God freed the people from slavery. The Prophet Elijah was perhaps most known among the prophets of God. His many works are recorded throughout the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles. He worked hard to bring the people of the Northern kingdom to return to God and leave their wicked ways. He had a lot of hardship and trials during his ministry, including persecution from kings, nobles, priests and the people that refused to believe in God.  So, these two great servants of God symbolize the Law and the Prophets. Moses represents the law and Elijah the Prophets. Their appearance on symbolizes that Jesus was the fulfilment of God’s Law and the promises he made through the Prophets. 

It also symbolizes the New Covenant God was about to make, just like he did with Moses. Through Jesus, God would be reconciled with His people. Through Jesus, mankind would be reconciled with God, by the establishment of the New Covenant and the fulfillment of the Law. The Lord revealed His glory that day before the few witnesses. He would still have to suffer on the Altar of the Cross to enter his glory. That is how God ordained it. And in a way that is how we go to the hope of glory, through suffering and pain. After all we cannot come to the glory of Easter without the pain of Good Friday. It is through our shared humanity with Christ, that we will be united within his suffering and death, and so in his glorious resurrection. We are all brought into new life through the unity we have with Him. Through our baptism we become one with him in his suffering, and pain but also in his resurrection.  Our old self dies, and we rise into new life with him. We will be going from oppression and slavery into freedom. In the same way the Israelites have been freed from their slavery in Egypt.

So, the Lord’s Transfiguration is symbolic of what we will experience, when we will be reunited with God, when this live comes to an end. We will share in the glory of eternity and happiness with God. Then we will no longer be chained by sin and evil. The glorious Transfiguration of Christ is the revelation of what we will be. This Feast of the Transfiguration is also to some extent about our Transfiguration. The Lord has shown us what we are to experience when we are glorified in Gods eternal kingdom. We look forward to that glorious moment but must realize that that if we want to rise with Christ, we also must die with him. Let the hope of the Lord’s Transfiguration fill us with hope for the future. Even through the trials and difficulties that we have to endure. When we have faith in God then we will surely be rewarded and receive the promise given to us. May the Lord help us in our journey back home and find us worthy to share in His glorious kingdom and the covenant he made with every single one of us. Amen.