The disciples in their early years of preaching must have spoken often about the experience that Peter, James and John had on the mountain when Jesus was praying. Fifty years later they were still telling the same story about the transfiguration when the three Gospels were written. The writers of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) all tell the same story with only a few minor variations, e.g. Luke is the only one who mentions that Peter, James and John fell asleep when Jesus started praying and then suddenly woke up to see the transfigured Jesus. It is no wonder they would have told this story again and again. Jesus had died such an ignominious death that they had to remind themselves often that God had not abandoned Jesus at the end of His life. Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about the death he would suffer and why it “had” to be so. And the Father confirmed that Jesus was indeed His Son no matter how much it didn’t look that way. Jesus was so taken up with this experience that He didn’t realize for that brief short time that He was transfigured. His divinity and His trust in God radiated not only in His face but in His entire being.
We, the followers of Jesus, are reminded every second Sunday of Lent that no matter how difficult things become for us, God is always with us. We will have inner moments of transfiguration, not visible to anyone else, but moments when we knew that God has confirmed His love for us. A feeling of peace and a trust in God settle within us. We cannot hold on to it, any more than Jesus was able to hold on to His experience of the transfiguration, but like the Apostles we have to remind ourselves of those moments when God confirmed the love He has for us. This can help us understand why so many martyrs went to their death singing the praises of God.
I have often seen people have this experience of transfiguration during a Retreat. But most dramatically I saw it in one person in London. Shortly after I arrived there in late 1998 I had a phone call from a friend. She wondered if I could come and visit her friend who was dying of motor neuron disease. She and her husband had been very active Catholics. I asked them when was the last time they could attend Mass. They said: six months ago. I asked them if they would like a Home Mass that afternoon. They had bread and wine, a candle and a bible in their home and so we had a Home Mass. Marge, the woman involved, cried throughout the Mass. We were able to communicate afterwards and she said that she was afraid of dying. And so we talked about the mystery of dying and our beginning to live our eternal life with God.
Three months later Marge’s husband phoned to tell me that Marge would probably not live out the week and he asked if I could come and celebrate a Home Mass with them again. When I got there I met their daughter and son. Marge was confined to a bed by that time, and so the bed became our altar. Her husband and children were touching and caressing Marge throughout the Mass. When I gave Marge Holy Communion. I could see that her face was brilliant. She lit up the whole room. There was no longer any pain or fear in her face. She was transfigured. It was as if she had already started living her eternal life with God. When I was leaving, I said to her: Marge, I am almost jealous of you. The joy and peace she felt at that moment was palpable to all of us. I wonder if that is what Jesus felt at that moment of His transfiguration.
We too are often offered by God such moments of transfiguration. We end up with a deep conviction of God’s love for us. That moment brings peace to our hearts. We cannot hold on to those moments of our transfiguration, but this Sunday in Lent reminds us of how important it is to remember those experiences. It was important for the disciples to never forget the transfiguration Jesus experienced. It is important for us never to forget our experiences of the transfigurations in our lives.