Transfigurations

Brief Audio Reflection "Transfigurations" on Matthew 17:1-9; The Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A

Well this is more like it. Brilliant lights and radiant garments, a voice from the clouds, Moses and Elijah in attendance… this is what the coming of the Messiah was meant to be. No wonder Peter is ready to set up shop right on top of the mountain. Let’s get some tents up here and start the kingdom right now.

Poor practical Peter, what else was he to do? In the face of the divine, his reaction is so very human. Jesus has come to redeem the world and build an eternal, heavenly kingdom. And Peter can only think about the trappings of an earthly kingdom. Jesus is operating on a completely different, elevated plane. And Peter is bound by the limits of his expectations, his experiences and his senses. Once again, Peter is our “every man.” He stands in for all of us in our trivial, human frailty before the face of God. How like us he is...

Transfiguration: that is the challenge of this Last Sunday after Epiphany and first Sunday before Lent. Live it right here, right now, with and in our dazzling, transfigured Savior. In the words of the Father: listen to him. Follow him to glory. God loves you no less than Moses or Elijah. Make loving, praising and thanking him the purpose of your day. And you will be transfigured, too