From: Luke 9:28b-36
The Transfiguration
[28b] He (Jesus) took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up on the
mountain to pray. [29] And as He was praying, the appearance of His
countenance was altered, and His raiment became dazzling white. [30] And
behold, two men talked with Him, Moses and Elijah, [31] who appeared in
glory and spoke of His departure which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem.
[32] Now Peter and those who were with Him were heavy with sleep but kept
awake, and they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. [33] And
as the men were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well
that we are here; let us make three booths, one for You and one for Moses
and one for Elijah"--not knowing what He said. [34] As he said this, a
cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the
cloud. [35] And a voice came ou t of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My
Chosen; listen to Him!" [36] And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found
alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what
they had seen.
Commentary:
28-36. By His transfiguration Jesus strengthens His disciples' faith,
revealing a trace of the glory His body will have after the
Resurrection. He wants them to realize that His passion will not be
the end but rather the route He will take to reach His glorification.
"For a person to go straight along the road, he must have some
knowledge of the end--just as an archer will not shoot an arrow
straight unless he first sees the target [...]. This is particularly
necessary if the road is hard and rough, the going heavy, and the end
delightful" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", III, q. 45, a.
1).
Through th e miracle of the Transfiguration Jesus shows one of the
qualities of glorified bodies--brightness, "by which the bodies of the
saints shall shine like the sun, according to the words of our Lord
recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew: `The righteous will shine like
the sun in the Kingdom of their Father' (Matthew 13:43). To remove the
possibility of doubt on the subject, He exemplifies this in His
transfiguration. This quality the Apostle (St. Paul) sometimes calls
glory, sometimes brightness: `He will change our lowly body to be like
His glorious body' (Philippians 3:21); and again, `It is sown in
dishonor, it is raised in glory' (1 Corinthians 15:43). Of this glory
the Israelites beheld some image in the desert, when the face of Moses,
after he had enjoyed the presence and conversation of God, shone with
such luster that they could not look on it (Exodus 34:29; 2 Corinthians
3:7). This brightness is a sort of radi ance reflected by the body from
the supreme happiness of the soul. It is a participation in that bliss
which the soul enjoys [...]. This quality is not common to all in the
same degree. All the bodies of the saints will be equally impassible;
but the brightness of all will not be the same, for, according to the
Apostle, `There is one glory of the sun, and another of the moon, and
another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So it
is with the resurrection of the dead' (1 Corinthians 15:4f)" ("St. Pius
V Catechism", I, 12, 13). See also the notes on Matthew 17:1-13; 17:5;
17:10-13; and Mark 9:2-10; 9:7.
31. "And spoke of His departure": that is, His departure from this
world, in other words, His death. It can also be understood as meaning
our Lord's Ascension.
35. "Listen to Him!": everything God wishes to say to mankind He has
said through Christ, now that the fullness of time has come (cf.
Hebrews 1:1). "Therefore," St. John of the Cross explains, "if any now
should question God or desire a vision or revelation, not only would he
be acting foolishly but he would be committing an offense against God,
by not fixing his gaze on Christ with no desire for any new thing. For
God could reply to him in this way: `If I have spoken all things to you
in My Word, which is My Son, and I have no greater word, what answer
can I give you now, or what can I reveal to you that is greater than
this? Fix your eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have spoken and
revealed to you all things, and in Him you will find even more than
what you ask for and desire [...]. Hear Him, for I have no more faith
to reveal, nor have I any more things to declare'" ("Ascent of Mount
Carmel", Book 2, Chapter 22, 5).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
