Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

The Transfiguration: Theophany and Epiphany

~ Kelly Anderson, S.S.L., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biblical Studies for the Major Seminary, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary + Ambler, Pa.

The Church reads the Transfiguration every Second Sunday of Lent and pairs it with a reading of Abraham. Just as God’s call and covenant with Abraham brought about a new moment in human history, so too does the Transfiguration inaugurate a new moment for Jesus. 

The Transfiguration is a theophany of God, comparable to God’s theophany at Mount Sinai, and an epiphany of Christ’s deity. God, “hidden in flesh” (Deus in carne absconditus; cf. Isa 45:15) temporarily and powerfully radiates his pure light throughout Jesus’ human nature, thus momentarily transfiguring or “metamorphizing” him into God’s glory.

The voice of God declares Jesus to be his Son by quoting Psalm 2:7, a psalm of messianic enthronement, as he did at the baptism. And just as the baptism inaugurated Jesus’ public mission which began with his agonizing temptations in the desert, so now the does the Transfiguration inaugurate the establishment of Jesus’ messianic reign which will be accomplished through his passion, death, and resurrection, that is, his “exodus.”

The presence of Moses and Elijah may refer to the Law and Prophets, thus showing Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, but their presence may be because they, like Jesus, were rejected by the people, suffered greatly, but were victorious over death and vindicated by God (see Assumption of Moses). As such, they serve as precursors to Jesus and explicate his mission.

Peter recognizes that this is a divine encounter and wants to provide a proper place for all three to dwell with him, much as God dwelt with his people in the wilderness. But Peter needs to learn that Jesus is far greater than Moses and Elijah, and that Jesus will dwell permanently with his people as their messianic king, paradoxically, only after they have rejected him and put him to death.

Stand in God's Glory

~ Dennis M. Mueller

Saint Albert the Great Church + Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

I love hearing this story every year, but what always strikes me is the reaction of Peter, James, and John.   In Luke’s version of events, he implies that Peter and his companions were asleep at first when Jesus revealed himself in all his glory.  When I read that, I recall the times when the Lord tried to break through into my day to reveal his love and his presence to me, but I was too weary from work, worry, and a seemingly endless to-do list to even notice.  However, when I do take notice, when God does manage to catch my attention and insert his foot into the door of my heart, boy, do I become fully awake!

I can relate to the awe that overwhelmed Peter, James, and John in the moment because I experience a similar awe when I am aware that God is revealing himself to me.  Who am I, but a speck of dust in the grand scheme of the universe? And yet, I am a speck of dust that God finds worthy of his attention and infinite love.  To know that God is revealing himself to me in the kindness of a stranger, the love of my wife, the hug of my child, and most especially in the intimacy of the Eucharist is a humbling experience that moves me to want to build my own tent so that I can live in that moment with the Lord for as long as possible.

Jesus wanted his three closest friends to know who he truly was, and so he revealed himself in all his glory out of his love for them.  This Lent, I will fight the slumber so as to stand in awe of God’s glory and rest in his infinite love.