Peace and Grace to you!
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. In the first reading the prophet Daniel’s vision describes an experience of being present with God in heaven. The language and imagery he uses conveys the Holy Trinity. The Ancient One, the surging stream of fire and the Son of Man we all recognize as ways of referring to the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Son of God and Son of Man. On the event of the Transfiguration, the disciples described Jesus as transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. They would later recognize this event as a fulfillment of Daniel’s vision and a confirmation of Jesus’ identity as the written account in the Second Letter of Peter shows. There is also hard evidence of Jesus’ splendor shining through his humanity in the Shroud of Turin. Scientific analysis describes the imprint on the burial cloths of Jesus as not stains from natural elements such as blood or aloes and spices but rather from a brilliant flash of light. Like a photographic negative.
The message in the Gospel is clear and simple: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him. This statement and experience resonates with the event of Jesus’ baptism. We all know that this two-fold revelation is God’s way of emphasizing the importance of believing who Jesus is, receiving his instructions, and putting what he teaches into practice. Those who are baptized are also reminded of their own identity as God’s beloved Children. Through Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, God has gifted us with a share in his own divine life and we are his message to the world as Jesus was. It is expected that we always be mindful of this great gift and do our best to show God’s presence shining through our lives. We are also reminded that, although this miracle of glory is hidden from our sight now, when we come to heaven, we will shine with this same Glory and splendor of Jesus.
May God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter