Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Today’s readings: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Matthew 17:1-9
“Fear change? Leave it here!” I once spotted this clever pun on the jar for tips of a street vendor and it got me thinking about change. Some hate it; others believe true change cannot even happen.
When faced with hardship and misery it is hard to believe that things can ever change. Those who live in poverty, domestic abuse or endure other experiences of grave injustice often find it hard to believe that tables can ever turn. The same can be said of us all who are mired in sin, and indeed, for the whole of creation, scourged and scarred, abused and bruised because of selfishness and greed.
Yet change has become something of a buzzword nowadays. Political parties use it as their hallowed word. Even popular culture constantly encourages us to change: our car; our kitchen; our looks. Is the intention behind these calls for change a desire to help us find our true selves or is profit the only driving force?
Jesus’s transfiguration in front of the disciples serves to inspire in us the hope and the conviction that true, radical transformation is indeed possible because it is not something we can achieve through our own means. Rather, the restoration of ourselves, of society and of the whole of creation has already been achieved for us by Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, like an energy that pervades all that exists.
This gospel passage is not to be approached as if we were reading a news item recounting a 2,000-year-old event but as though we are contemplating an icon, or perhaps, visiting a museum of contemporary art. Underlying every image and every word is a metaphor waiting to be unpacked and which connects us to a truth deeper than that which can be conveyed with simple language. Each word we encounter in this text is meant to initiate transformation within us.
We too are called to such a transfiguration, so that we, in turn, may bring about the radical change that is needed in so many spheres of life today
Jesus turns radiant in front of his three closest friends to give them a foretaste of his victory over death and sin. He is showing them that the reality to which they were advancing, that is, the reality of the cross, does not have the last word.
The Transfiguration played a central role in the life of Óscar Romero, the bishop of El Salvador, who was martyred for having defended the rights of the oppressed. Romero himself is known to have passed through a radical transformation, most definitely inspired by the Transfiguration. After having witnessed first-hand the suffering of the poor, Romero underwent a change of heart, from a priest who feared rocking the boat to one who spoke out fearlessly on behalf of the oppressed, spurred by faith. He was convinced that what he believed in faith must be lived out in life. Writing to his flock in 1980, Romero asserted: “The road of redemption passes through the cross and through Calvary, but that the goal of Christians is beyond history… From the day of Christ’s resurrection there remained burning in the same history of time a torch of eternity.”
Romero’s point was that the dynamic of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection is constantly at work throughout history, and the renewal cannot come about without our efforts, which also involve suffering in Christ himself. In some mysterious way, even the suffering experienced radiates the resurrection.
Peter of Damascus, an ancient writer of the Greek Orthodox tradition, commented that it was not Jesus who was transfigured, for he was always glorious. It was the apostles’ hearts that were transfigured, even for just a few brief moments, as they saw Christ as he really was.
Underlying this dim reality is a bright light waiting to shine through. We too are called to such a transfiguration, so that we, in turn, may bring about the radical change that is needed in so many spheres of life today.