TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD, YEAR A
6th August 2023
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14; Matthew 17:1-9.
The Mystery of the Transfiguration can be categorised as an encounter with God that enlightens us in the difficult moments of our lives. Most often the meaning is not readily available, but unfolds as life goes on. Jesus Christ gave the three apostles Peter, James and John the strict warning; Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. It must have been very difficult for the apostles to keep this secret away from the rest of the apostles. Who knows, the others may be demanding to know from the three of them what transpired on the mountain. Also the three apostles themselves may be trying to make meaning out of the encounter.
It was later on after the resurrection that Peter confessed in his second pastoral letter, about the encounter. He speaks of this encounter as ‘…a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds’. It was an encounter that guided the mind of Peter all through the ministry of Jesus Christ. The encounter revealed Jesus Christ to Peter. The experience gave him a lens through which to view the life of Jesus Christ.
Certain life experiences are often the lens through which to view the rest of our lives. Sometimes they define what life is to us. The transfiguration of Jesus Christ reveals to us that in the person of Jesus is the reconciliation of the law and the prophets. Obedience to Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the demands of the law and the prophets.
Fr Anthony Ekpunobi, CM
