DIVINE GLORY

The Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-9) is theophany which means a revelation of His true identity. He is the New Moses but greater than Moses. He is the Beloved Son of God.  The transfiguration is the glimpse of His glory. It is the divine endorsement of His mission. He will experience eternal glory only through the Cross because the path of self-giving is the path of divine glory. It is on the Cross that Jesus reveals God’s infinite and extravagant love. It is on the Cross that God opens His heart to the world, a heart that contains a love beyond all expectation and imagination. The word transfigure is metamorphoo in Greek from which we get the word metamorphosis which means the change that occurs when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is a radical change from within. His face shone like the sun because He is the radiance of God himself. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory. His clothes became white as light because He is the perfect manifestation of the invisible God. He is the sign par excellence of God’s love. The image of the clothes becoming white as light points to our baptism. In baptism, we receive white garment which is our participation in the life of Christ. Baptism is our first regeneration which means rebirth because we receive the dignity of becoming adopted children of God. We receive the vocation to radiate the saving light of Christ into the world. Moreover, transfiguration is the sacrament of our second regeneration because we share in the resurrection of Christ through the Holy Spirit. He will change our lowly bodies to be like His glorious Body. Therefore, the  transfiguration of Jesus is also our  transfiguration. His glory is also our glory. We are called to imitate His total self giving love because that is the path of divine glory. We are called to listen to Him. To make His choices, values and vision our own. To listen to His Word because He is the way, the truth and the life. Heaven and earth will pass away but His Word will not pass away. To listen to Jesus is to hear what He says, to accept what He says, to make it our own and to identify with it fully. The Word of Jesus  just impact us to the core of our being so that we become His wholehearted disciples and that our lives are changed and we change the lives of others. When we do that, we glorify God.