Transfiguration, Transformation, and Glory
Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration. Jesus climbed a mountain with Peter, James, and John. At the top of the mountain, possibly Mount Tabor, He was transformed and became radiant. It seems fair to say His divinity shone through for a moment. Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus and talked about what was coming. Christian tradition understands them as representatives of the Law and the Prophets, respectively, though of course Moses was himself also a prophet. The disciples heard a voice from heaven saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!" In Luke 9, this happens not long before Jesus "set his face to go to Jerusalem." The three synoptic gospels record this sign, though John leaves it out of his Gospel. Peter also references it in his second epistle. The Greek word which Matthew and Mark use is metamorphoo. It's the root of the word "metamorphosis." That Greek word appears four times in the New Testament, in the two Gospel accounts of t...