His Word Today: Transfiguration

Good morning everyone,

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  Saint Mark recounts the details of that wonderful day when Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves (Mk 9:2).  I've been up that mountain and I can attest to the fact that it's not an easy climb.  In fact, these days, tourists are transported aboard a series of mini buses to the top of that mountain and when you get there, you truly feel as though you are apart from everything else that is going on in the world.

On that mountaintop, those three disciples were witnesses to something truly extraordinary: Jesus was transfigured before them and his clothes became dazzling white ... then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses and they conversed with Jesus (Mk 9:3-4).  Miraculous things happened there: three human beings were able to gaze on eternal beings; the connection and continuity between the teachings of Elijah, Moses and Jesus were emphasized; and the disciples got a sneak peak at the glory of heaven.  Later, as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone about what they had seen there until the Son of Man had risen from the dead (cf Mk 9:10).

The details of the conversations that these three disciples must have had with their other companions are not recorded in the bible, but we can imagine how it all played out, perhaps in the Upper Room on the day of the Resurrection.  With the doors closed, they may have finally been able to tell the others about what they had heard and seen at the top of that mountain: how they had been filled with exceeding joy, how they had wanted to put up three tents (cf Mk 9:5) so that they could stay there for awhile, how they never wanted that moment to end.

Perhaps we too have experienced such mountaintop moments: as we have held a new-born baby, in the arms of a loved one or as we have witnessed the moment of physical death.  When we get glimpses of heaven, we never want them to end ... but they do come to an end because the task of one who has seen heaven in this way is to share the good news that we have learned so that others may come to believe.

Have a great day.