Hic Nos Esse [We are here]

The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

06 August, 2014

WE ARE HERE, as was Peter, in the presence of the Lord. Peter clearly didn’t want to leave. And why would he? This was the most marvellous sight he had ever beheld and, indeed, would behold until his Lord stood in his resurrected body and ascended into heaven. For Peter, this witness “of his sovereign majesty” [2Pet.1:16] coming only a short while after his confession “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Mt.16:16] was a confirmation of his faith of momentous proportions. His master, the carpenter’s son, stood, not bathed in divine light but exuding it from every fibre of his being; talking with Moses and Elijah whose law and prophecy he had come to fulfil; and confirmed by the voice of God himself as his son, the Word, to whom all men are charged to listen. No, Peter didn’t want to leave that mountaintop or see the resplendent glory of his master fade. But fade it must, and, this, Peter could not understand, even now, that “the Son of man must suffer many things … and be killed, and on the third day be raised” [Lk.9:22]; that suffering must necessarily precede the illumination of his glory that he had with the Father since the beginning; and that Peter too would have to “deny himself and take up his cross” before he could climb again the mountain of the Lord and see once more the face of the God of Jacob.

It is easy for us to forget, just as Peter misunderstood, that the victory of Christ lies not on this mountaintop but on the hill of Golgotha. Just as Peter, seeing Christ’s glory there made manifest, thought it better that they remain there rather than proceed to Jerusalem, where his master would undoubtedly fall foul of the Jewish authorities, so too do we sometimes seek the refuge of Christ’s glory without first taking our share of his suffering. 

The Transfiguration was Christ’s revelation to his closest followers that although he has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth [Mt.28:18] all that was about to unfold is indeed his will, even though of his nature he should never be subjected to such scorn and debasement, torture and death. And for our part, as witnesses through the Gospels to the glory of Christ that night on the mountain, we must understand that the nature of our glory in Christ was wrought at a price; and that while each celebration of Mass is a celebration of his glory, it is also the living sacrifice of the cross – for neither can be separated one from the other. In the words of Pope St. Leo the Great:

"Thus, the Lord’s example calls on the faith of believers to understand that, no doubt against the promise of happiness, we must nevertheless, in the trials of this life, ask for patience before glory; the happiness of the kingdom can not, in fact, precede the time of suffering.” [Leo the Great, Sermon 38,4]

The Lord precedes us, his glory a lamp for our steps and a light for our path that in all things we should emulate his humility and service, his love and sacrifice, and so be led – as were Peter, James and John – up the mountain of his Transfiguration. The Psalmist asks, as should we of ourselves, “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?”. In his answer we find the lives we should lead, “The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things, who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbour.” We must endeavour to be unpolluted by the world of sin, both outwardly (in the action of our hands) and inwardly (in the desires of our hearts). We must seek not glory in worldly attachments but follow Christ in his path to glory through the cross. And we must keep our covenant with Christ, to love God and our neighbour, both, as we ourselves have been loved by God in Christ; for, “such are the men that seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob."

And how are we to achieve any of these things but through prayer? It is St. Luke who recounts that Jesus and the disciples went first up the mountain to pray [Lk.9:28].  And it is through prayer that the soul connects to the divine in praise of his name, to understand his will, and to offer ourselves in his service in the words of Jesus on another mount, “not my will, but thine, be done.” [Lk.23:42]. Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the “primacy of prayer” in the mystery of the Transfiguration in his final Angelus address:

"Meditating on this Gospel passage, we can draw a very important teaching from it. First of all, the primacy of prayer, without which the entire commitment of ministry and charity is reduced to activism. During Lent we learn to give the proper time to the prayer, both personal and communal, which gives breath to our spiritual life. In addition, prayer is not an isolation from the world and its contradictions, as Peter would have wanted on Mount Tabor. Instead, prayer leads to a path of action. The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from Him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.” [Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 24 February 2013].

It is indeed good for us to be here; for us to possess the gift of faith that makes our souls cry out that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; for us to be able to pray with him to our Father in heaven, for the divine will to be done and for the coming of his kingdom; for us to be able to walk in his footprints of humility, service and suffering with the strength he constantly provides through the Holy Spirit; and for us, one day, to be able to see the radiance of his face, the glory of God, in his kingdom for ever.