SPEAKER_00: Today we celebrate one of the greatest feasts of the church, the feast of the transfiguration of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Every year we hear the same gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus climbs a mountain with Peter, James, and John.
SPEAKER_00: His face shines like the sun, his clothes become dazzling white, Moses and Elijah appear beside him.
SPEAKER_00: A cloud overshadows them.
SPEAKER_00: The Father's voice speaks.
SPEAKER_00: This is my beloved son.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: It's a beautiful scene.
SPEAKER_00: But unless we understand why this is happening, we miss the whole point.
SPEAKER_00: The transfiguration was not a miracle for Jesus, it was a miracle for the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Think about where we are in the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Just a few days earlier, Jesus had told the disciples something they never wanted to hear.
SPEAKER_00: I must go to Jerusalem, I will suffer, I will be rejected, and I will be killed.
SPEAKER_00: Peter actually rebukes Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Cannot imagine a suffering Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: Disciples are discouraged, they're confused, and probably wondering whether they have made a mistake by following him.
SPEAKER_00: So what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, he takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, not to impress them, but to prepare them.
SPEAKER_00: For just a few moments he pulls back the veil.
SPEAKER_00: The glory that had always belonged to him shines through his humanity.
SPEAKER_00: For one brief moment they see not just the carpenter from Nazareth, they see the eternal Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: Because in a short time they will watch that same face be covered with blood.
SPEAKER_00: The same hands shining with glory will soon be nailed to a cross.
SPEAKER_00: The same disciples standing on Mount Tabor will run away on Good Friday.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives them this moment because he knows when suffering comes they will need something to remember.
SPEAKER_00: The transfiguration was meant to strengthen them before the passion, and that changes everything.
SPEAKER_00: Because isn't that exactly how God often works in our lives?
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Those are moments, those moments aren't the destination in itself.
SPEAKER_00: They are our preparation.
SPEAKER_00: God knows that sooner or later every one of us will have our own Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: And when it does come, he wants us to remember Mount Tabor.
SPEAKER_00: There's another detail that's easy to overlook.
SPEAKER_00: Why Moses and Elijah?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because together they represent the entire Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: Moses represents the law.
SPEAKER_00: Elijah represents the prophets.
SPEAKER_00: Their presence says something extraordinary.
SPEAKER_00: Everything the law promises, everything the prophets foretold, everything Israel had been waiting for, well, it finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Then comes the Father's voice.
SPEAKER_00: Notice he doesn't say, This is a great teacher, or this is an inspiring prophet.
SPEAKER_00: No, he says, This is my beloved son.
SPEAKER_00: And then with one command, he says, listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: Not admire him, not simply study him, listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: That's still the challenge today.
SPEAKER_00: Our world is filled with voices competing for our attention.
SPEAKER_00: Social media, the news, politics, advertising, endless opinions.
SPEAKER_00: The Father cuts through all the noise with one sentence.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to know the truth, listen to my son.
SPEAKER_00: And finally, I love Peter's reaction.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Lord, it is good that we're here.
SPEAKER_00: Of course it is.
SPEAKER_00: Who wouldn't want to stay on that mountain?
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus doesn't let them.
SPEAKER_00: Because Christianity isn't about living on mountaintops.
SPEAKER_00: It's about bringing what we've seen on the mountain into the valley below.
SPEAKER_00: The valley is where the sufferings are.
SPEAKER_00: The valley is where the sick are.
SPEAKER_00: Valley is where the cross awaits.
SPEAKER_00: The glory of Tabor was never meant to replace Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: It was meant to give meaning to Calvary.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why this feast day matters so much.
SPEAKER_00: Transfiguration reminds us that suffering is never the last chapter.
SPEAKER_00: Beyond every Good Friday, there's Easter Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: Beyond every cross, there's a resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: Beyond every trial awaits glory.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples saw the end of the story before they had to live through the hardest part.
SPEAKER_00: And so do we.
SPEAKER_00: Every time we come to this altar, heaven touches earth.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: The same Jesus who shone with divine glory on the mountain now comes to us in Holy Communion.
SPEAKER_00: His glory is hidden, but his presence is just as real.
SPEAKER_00: So when life becomes difficult, remember Mount Tabor.
SPEAKER_00: Remember that the disciples saw the glory before they carried the cross.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because the transfiguration was never only about showing us who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: It was always about showing us what by his grace we are called to become.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.