The Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus commemorates a singular event in His life when his disciples came to know who this Jesus really is. What the gospel authors describe for us with the appearance of Moses and Elijah and the dazzling white garment are not things that the Father does to change Jesus but rather to reveal who Jesus is “on the inside,” at the depth of his being. In other words, the transfiguration of Jesus is not something that gets added to who Jesus is but rather shows us who he is. And that was important for the disciples who were having to come to grips with the fact that Jesus would soon die. They needed a word of hope and encouragement to get them through the difficult time ahead.
In the transfiguration of Christ, what God was saying to Peter, James and John was that they should not be deceived by their apparently human rabbi, nor by his impending trial and execution. “Don’t judge this book by its cover,” God seems to be saying to the disciples. “See a deeper reality that is nothing less than God among you, salvation happening before you.” The voice from the cloud in today’s gospel tells them and us: “This is my Son, my chosen one, listen to him.”
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