WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:06.160 Today we celebrate one of the greatest feasts of the church, the feast of the transfiguration of the Lord. 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:08.640 Every year we hear the same gospel. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.919 Jesus climbs a mountain with Peter, James, and John. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:19.359 His face shines like the sun, his clothes become dazzling white, Moses and Elijah appear beside him. 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:21.600 A cloud overshadows them. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:23.600 The Father's voice speaks. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:25.839 This is my beloved son. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:27.440 Listen to him. 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.679 It's a beautiful scene. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:34.399 But unless we understand why this is happening, we miss the whole point. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:40.000 The transfiguration was not a miracle for Jesus, it was a miracle for the disciples. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:42.880 Think about where we are in the gospel. 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:49.359 Just a few days earlier, Jesus had told the disciples something they never wanted to hear. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:56.399 I must go to Jerusalem, I will suffer, I will be rejected, and I will be killed. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:59.439 Peter actually rebukes Jesus. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:02.399 Cannot imagine a suffering Messiah. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:08.959 Disciples are discouraged, they're confused, and probably wondering whether they have made a mistake by following him. 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:11.040 So what does Jesus do? 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:18.239 Well, he takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, not to impress them, but to prepare them. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.159 For just a few moments he pulls back the veil. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.799 The glory that had always belonged to him shines through his humanity. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:34.560 For one brief moment they see not just the carpenter from Nazareth, they see the eternal Son of God. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:40.159 Because in a short time they will watch that same face be covered with blood. 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:45.760 The same hands shining with glory will soon be nailed to a cross. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:51.280 The same disciples standing on Mount Tabor will run away on Good Friday. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:58.159 Jesus gives them this moment because he knows when suffering comes they will need something to remember. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:04.799 The transfiguration was meant to strengthen them before the passion, and that changes everything. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.719 Because isn't that exactly how God often works in our lives? 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:25.599 He gives us moments to light before seasons of darkness, a retreat that renews our faith, a powerful experience in prayer, a moment at mass that deeply moves us, a conversation that changes our perspective. 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:29.680 Those are moments, those moments aren't the destination in itself. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.159 They are our preparation. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:37.280 God knows that sooner or later every one of us will have our own Calvary. 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:41.199 And when it does come, he wants us to remember Mount Tabor. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:44.960 There's another detail that's easy to overlook. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:47.039 Why Moses and Elijah? 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.719 Well, because together they represent the entire Old Testament. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.039 Moses represents the law. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:55.599 Elijah represents the prophets. 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.360 Their presence says something extraordinary. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:10.080 Everything the law promises, everything the prophets foretold, everything Israel had been waiting for, well, it finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:12.800 Then comes the Father's voice. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:19.360 Notice he doesn't say, This is a great teacher, or this is an inspiring prophet. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.479 No, he says, This is my beloved son. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:26.560 And then with one command, he says, listen to him. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:31.599 Not admire him, not simply study him, listen to him. 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:34.719 That's still the challenge today. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:38.639 Our world is filled with voices competing for our attention. 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:44.159 Social media, the news, politics, advertising, endless opinions. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:47.840 The Father cuts through all the noise with one sentence. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:51.919 If you want to know the truth, listen to my son. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:54.800 And finally, I love Peter's reaction. 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:57.840 He says, Lord, it is good that we're here. 00:03:58.080 --> 00:03:59.120 Of course it is. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.680 Who wouldn't want to stay on that mountain? 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:03.759 But Jesus doesn't let them. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:07.439 Because Christianity isn't about living on mountaintops. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:11.599 It's about bringing what we've seen on the mountain into the valley below. 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.240 The valley is where the sufferings are. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.399 The valley is where the sick are. 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:18.959 Valley is where the cross awaits. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:24.160 The glory of Tabor was never meant to replace Calvary. 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.839 It was meant to give meaning to Calvary. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:30.879 And that's why this feast day matters so much. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.600 Transfiguration reminds us that suffering is never the last chapter. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.360 Beyond every Good Friday, there's Easter Sunday. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:42.560 Beyond every cross, there's a resurrection. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.439 Beyond every trial awaits glory. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:51.120 The disciples saw the end of the story before they had to live through the hardest part. 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:52.720 And so do we. 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.639 Every time we come to this altar, heaven touches earth. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:05.120 Every time we receive the Eucharist, the glory hidden on Mount Tabor is hidden once again, this time under the appearance of bread and wine. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:11.680 The same Jesus who shone with divine glory on the mountain now comes to us in Holy Communion. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:16.160 His glory is hidden, but his presence is just as real. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:20.240 So when life becomes difficult, remember Mount Tabor. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.720 Remember that the disciples saw the glory before they carried the cross. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:33.759 And remember that if we remain faithful to Christ, the glory he revealed that day is also the glory he promises to every single one of us. 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:34.399 Why? 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:39.600 Because the transfiguration was never only about showing us who Jesus is. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:45.600 It was always about showing us what by his grace we are called to become. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:46.560 Amen.