Infinite Glory

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Today the church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. One may ask what is the significance of this mysterious appearance which we celebrate today. In today's feast celebration, it revealed to us the true identity of our Lord as the Beloved Son of God, Light from Light, True God from True God. We get a glimpse of this when the disciples see Jesus transfigured on the mountain and His face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white (Mark 9:2-3).  

But this momentous event reveals something more! It reveals what is to become of us. The Transfiguration peels away the seemingly impenetrable veil that separates the world of the Invisible from our realm of the Visible. As we encounter the toils of our existence, the many tragedies that life brings, we need the light of the Transfiguration to keep us focused, strengthened, and faithful to the journey with Christ into the wilderness and along the Via Dolorosa of his Passion. We need to have before us the Transfiguration so that we may have a glimpse of the end of the story, the dawning glory of Easter, in order to be sustained in the midst the darkness, pain and isolation that we must endure not just in the forty days during Lent but also throughout our life long Lent. In the Transfiguration we taste the sweetness often hidden in the bitterness of failure, suffering and pain. In the Transfiguration we behold the beauty and glory often covered beneath layers of soot and the grime, concealed by the awful and scandalous experience of humanity’s suffering! In the Transfiguration, we finally receive the answer to the inexplicable mysteries concealed by death, an answer that can only be found in the Resurrection!