What an amazing eyewitness account we have in the reading from Peter today. There were three men who witnessed the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John. This is recounted in Luke’s gospel today and in Matthew 17:1-8. It is also interesting to note that these same three men accompanied Jesus in the garden to pray on Holy Thursday (Matt 26:37). Jesus must have trusted these men a lot, but you have to wonder why not the other nine apostles who may or may not have been present. It shouldn’t surprise them too much after raising people from the dead and feeding loaves and fishes, but none of those miracles came with the voice of God. The other time the God’s voice was heard was when Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist. Luke says after the Transfiguration “They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.” I do not know that I could keep my mouth shut after that experience, but Jesus in Matthew 17:9 tells them not to tell anyone. They were good kids. They did what they were told.
This is amazing stuff. Peter says, “we have been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,’ This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased” and affirms that the Transfiguration is real not just a story or a myth. Daniel in the first reading had a vision of this transfiguration (Daniel 7:13-14)
“One like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.”
Here again the old testament reaffirms the new. Jesus is King!
I digress here because I often think how I would have loved to hear those words from my own father more often that he was pleased with me. He was a good dad and I loved him but he wasn’t very demonstrative with praise. This is a worldly relationship and like all such relationships are imperfect. There is, however, a parallel here. God the Father is our heavenly Father and one day if we transform our lives to be more like Jesus, then God the Father will say that He is pleased with us. This is why we are still in this world. It is our goal in life to hear these words from God the Father and be a light to the world around us.
I have no natural children of my own, but when I married by lovely bride, I became a father and a grandfather and over the last 16 years of our marriage, most of her children and grand children have lived with us for some period time. What’s one more plate for dinner? I love the chaos during the day and the peace as they sleep at night. To say I am pleased with all of our childrens choices would not be accurate. However, I love them as my own and pray that one day God would say that He is pleased with them. We cannot lead them by the nose, but we do need to pray for them daily and give witness to our relationship with Jesus. Who else will be in their corner if we don’t?
Peter brings his witness home when he says:
“Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
My prayer for whoever reads my words is that you become that lamp shining in a dark place and you continue to transform your life to a world that loves the dark and by the light of your witness become the dawning light of a new world transfigured to the heart of Jesus. We need to start in our families and then the world around us.
Our own personal transfiguration, starts in our hearts. As the hymn goes, “we are the light of the world, let our light shine before all”, but that light will not glow until our relationship with Jesus grows and develops. Don’t look now but you may already be transforming. You are searching and reading scripture and that effort will not go unrewarded. Peter is encouraging us to let our light shine and let our own personal relationship with Jesus shine out into the dark world around us. When I receive the Holy Eucharist, I ask Jesus how I can be a better light to the world around me. We all need to be that light to the world and transform ourselves and our heats to be more like Jesus.
“This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine”
God Bless!
Bob Burford
Readings: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 97:1-2,5-6,9; 2 Peter 1: 16-19; Luke 9: 28B – 36
