Transfiguration
Sunday 6 August 2023
Dl 7 :9-10.13-14
2 P 1 :7-29
Mt 17 :1-9
“In the beginning…the darkness was upon the face of the deep… And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.” (Gn 1.3-4) On the first day of creation, light was the very first creature. Life begins with light because it begins with Christ. “In the beginning was the Word… in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1:1.4-5) Light and life come from the one who is “the Word”, Christ Himself. He is the word of life who can say: “I am the light of the world; who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12).
In Jesus, the world gets connected again with the original light. He is the original Word through which the world was created. He is the Word sent into the world to bring about the definitive victory of light over darkness. Christmas is the dawning of salvation. Easter is the full light of Jesus our Saviour. The Transfiguration is a revelation of the light which saves us, the light which God is in Himself. “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 Jn 1:5)
Let us listen to this message of light attentively; not without, but within. Can you hear the voice of the light in your heart? You have been created in light and for the light. You belong to the light. Through Baptism, you have become children of light. In the darkness of this world, you long for light and life. The light of the Transfiguration is no stranger to your soul.
With the voice of the light in our hearts, let us follow Jesus and ascend a high mountain apart. When you climb up a mountain – or even the modest Downs of our Island – silence gets greater; it becomes easier to listen to the voice of the Word. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him”. It is by listening to the Son who is the light of life that we begin to see the light.
We see the light shining out from a face. Jesus is transfigured. His human flesh becomes like the sun. The light which He is manifests itself. It shines out forcefully. And in the light of Jesus’ face, other faces appear: Moses and Elijah are seen in glory, in a holy conversation where words of light are exchanged. Even the disciples are bathed in the same light which radiates from Jesus.
The time has now come not for the darkness but for the cloud. Have you noticed? The text speaks of a “bright cloud”. It is totally luminous. Its shade is luminous. It hides and at the same time it points towards the origin of the light. The sun of the face and the brightness of the cloud come from the same source which is not seen but heard. “A voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’”. This is the eternal voice, pronouncing the eternal Word and revealing the secret of life: “my beloved Son”. The light of life is God’s love for His Son and the Son’s love for His Father. The source of Jesus’ light is in His Father. Their common light, the light that God is, is their love.
Now, we can switch off. Back to normal. Jesus only is to be seen, in his usual appearance. The world appears again in its ordinary light. But the hearts who have been visited by the divine light see Jesus and the world in this very light. They see the present world bathed in the love of the Blessed Trinity. They see the face of Christ in every human face. They see the full reality. Truly, each creature is filled with light. Each human being is a candle to be lit with the fire of divine love. Each face is transfigured by the light of the Father which bestows on it an unfathomable beauty. And our hearts intone a canticle of praise, the canticle of all creatures in the light of the Father.