Year B: Transfiguration Sunday
No Glory Without the Cross
The Transfiguration manifests the kind of consciousness that Jesus enjoyed, which was not bound by the three-dimensional world. The spacious world of unity with the Ultimate Reality enabled him to be in direct contact with all creation, past, present and future.1 —Thomas Keating
The Transfiguration of Jesus is the crown of Epiphany. The miracles, deeds, and conversations Jesus had in the opening chapters of Mark told us a lot about who he is, but it is the Transfiguration which shows us that Jesus was more than just a prophet from God—he was totally united with God, but the story of the Transfiguration shocks the senses of conventional wisdom when Jesus gives his disciples a strange command…
Year B, Transfiguration Sunday, February 11th, 2024
This is my penance for not preaching on the Transfiguration for Transfiguration Sunday.
First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm: Psalm 50:1-6
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Gospel: Mark 9:2-9
Sermon - No Glory Without the Cross
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. Mark 9:2–9
Can you imagine witnessing the glory of the Transfiguration? What would it have been like to witness Jesus speak with Moses and Elijah? And how would we have reacted when that voice sounded from heaven?
To Peter, Jesus’s transfiguration was a picture of his second coming. He wrote,
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. 2 Peter 1:16–18
Majesty. Glory. Honor.
These words call themes of royalty and kingship to our attention. A faithful follower of any would be leader would shout these words from the hills, but Jesus did not want them to tell of these events until after Jesus was risen from the dead.
Which means, of course, that Jesus had to die. You can’t have resurrection without death.
How easy would it have been for Jesus to reveal his divine nature to all of his kinsfolk? How easy would it have been for Jesus to reveal his divine nature to Judas—the one who would betray him?
Yet, Jesus knew that the path to true glory would only come through the Cross. That’s one major reason Jesus told the demons and those whom he healed to not speak of what happened: he knew the cross was a necessary step towards the glory of the Davidic kingdom.
It is human nature to want to take the path of least resistance. We want to be able to play solos like Jimi Hendrix without putting in the hours. We want to be able to shoot free throws like Larry Bird without stepping into the gym. We want the glory, but we don’t want to put in the effort.
In a world of instant gratification, we wish that everything would come easy to us—just like two-day shipping.
For Jesus, this wasn't an option. He knew that his program of radical forgiveness and turning over tables could only lead one place: the cross. And while he wished for another way (“let this cup pass from me”), he knew it was only through the cross that he could reveal the foolishness of violence, the futility of repetitious sacrifice, and the cult of self-righteousness that exists in varying ways in every human tribe throughout time.
Yet, the whole time, the potential that was revealed in the Transfiguration was present within Jesus. Have we considered that it is present within us as well? Being made in God’s image and called God’s children, are we aware of what glory, and crosses, might await us?
As Peter also said in 2 Peter, we are partakers of the divine nature in Christ (2 Peter 1:4). We too can be in constant communion with the divine; we just have to live life with transfiguration eyes.
Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.