we too can be transfigured

Feast of the Transfiguration Matthew 17, 1-9 Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." Today we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration. This feast is always celebrated on the 6th of August and this year we have the blessing to celebrate the Feast on Sunday. We read the account of the Transfiguration on the second Sunday of Lent but today we are able to consider the feast not in relationship to Jesus’ impending death and resurrection but rather in and of its own sake. What does it mean to say that something is transfigured? The word is almost exactly the same in Spanish transfigurar. Words less common are almost always the same in Spanish and English. Words that we use every day, more common words are almost always different. We eat every day, eat is comer, we shower every day, banarse. But transfigure is a word that we rarely use, even in Church, we only use it twice a year. A more common word is transform, it means change. St. Alphonsus hall was transformed into a chapel for daily mass while the chapel of Perpetual Help is painted. The rain transformed the street into a river of water. Transform implies change and things can easily be transformed back to the way they were before. Transfigure, what does it mean to say that something is transfigured? The dictionary tells us it means to change the appearance of a person or thing very much in a positive and spiritual way. So, to transfigure something means to make it better, more spiritual and more beautiful. Now there is no way that Jesus could be transformed into something better or more positive, Jesus couldn’t even be made more beautiful so how could one say that Jesus was transfigured on Mt. Tabor. I don’t think that it was Jesus who was transformed that day on Mt. Tabor, no I think that it was the Apostles who were transfigured that day. They came to see Jesus for who he really was, they came to see that Jesus was the beloved Son of God, and even though they weren’t able to understand what that meant they were transfigured. They became more beautiful; they were transformed in a more positive and spiritual way because of their relationship with Jesus. Like the Apostles at Mt. Tabor, we too have the opportunity to be transfigured. Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the prophets. When we come together to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, we are able to hear God’s word, and this gives us the opportunity to be transfigured. We also encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus is present here in the bread and wine that becomes his body and blood. Our celebration here transfigures us because like the Peter, James and John we are in the presence of Jesus. We are in the presence of one another. Jesus didn’t need to be transfigured to be the Beloved Son of God. We need to be transfigured though. Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist we are transfigured. When we are in the presence of Jesus our faces became as bright as the sun, we began to dazzle in the presence of the divine and the same voice that proclaimed that Jesus was his beloved son with whom God was well pleased proclaims that we too are God’s beloved Sons and daughters and we know that God is well pleased with us.