On Mount Tabor, something extraordinary happened that would forever change how we understand this divine mystery before us. Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus transformed before their very eyes; His face shining like the sun, His clothes becoming dazzling white. In that blessed moment, heaven touched earth, and the veil between the human and divine was pulled back to reveal the magnificent truth: this carpenter from Nazareth was indeed the Son of the living God. The Transfiguration wasn't just a display of God's power; it was God's tender gift to His beloved disciples, strengthening them for the difficult road ahead and confirming what their hearts had begun to believe.
Think about it: Moses and Elijah appearing alongside the transfigured Jesus speak to the breathtaking continuity of God's plan throughout history. The Law and the Prophets found their fulfillment on that mountaintop, as all of salvation history converged in this moment. When the Father's voice spoke to the disciples, "This is my beloved Son, listen to Him," it echoed the same divine endorsement given at Jesus' baptism, but now with an urgent call to discipleship. The disciples weren't merely witnesses to glory; they were being commissioned as apostles of that same transforming light. In Jesus, every promise God had ever made to His people was being fulfilled in ways more beautiful than they could have imagined.
Here's what makes this mystery so compelling for our hearts today: the Transfiguration reveals our own destiny as children of God. Jesus didn't reveal His divine glory to show us something foreign and unreachable, but to show us what we're all called to become through grace. Saint Paul reminds us that we're being transformed "from glory to glory" as we behold the Lord with unveiled faces. The light that shone from Jesus on Tabor is the same light that wants to shine through our lives when we open ourselves completely to His love. Every act of faith, every moment of prayer, every choice to love sacrificially moves us closer to that divine radiance that is our truest identity as beloved sons and daughters of the Father.
The disciples wanted to build tents and stay on the mountain, but Jesus led them back down to continue His mission of salvation. This teaches us that authentic encounters with God don't remove us from the world; they send us back into it as bearers of light and hope. For those who love praying the Rosary, the Transfiguration as the Fourth Luminous Mystery offers us a regular opportunity to contemplate this transforming encounter, with our Blessed Mother leading us deeper into the mystery of her Son's divine glory. The same Jesus who was transfigured in glory is present to us now in the Eucharist, in His Word, in the poor and suffering, and in the depths of our own hearts through grace. He invites each of us into this transforming relationship, not as distant admirers but as intimate friends who will share in His divine life. The Transfiguration isn't just a beautiful story in scripture; it's the promise of what God wants to do in and through every person who says yes to His love. In a world often shrouded in darkness, we're called to be living reflections of that same transfiguring light, drawing others to the One who alone can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.
©2025 James Dacey Jr.
