
The Transfiguration is a beautiful feast. It gives us an insight into the mystery of God. It shows us how God’s glory can break through into our ordinary lives, transforming them and enabling us to see them in a new light. Yet it’s also full of challenge.
Like Peter, when we glimpse that glory we want to stay with it. We long to be held in the shelter of God’s presence, protected from the storms and hardships of our lives. Tempting as that is, it misses the point of the Transfiguration. Those moments of intense encounter with God are not places to hide away but ones to draw courage from so that we can face the turmoil of the challenging lives and times we live in.
It seems to me that the key to the Transfiguration is in these words spoken from the cloud:
“This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”
It’s a call to listen to Jesus that requires we are open to those intense moments of transformation, but are also willing to move on from them. It’s a call not only to listen, but to respond to his words, allowing them to shape our actions and encounters.
It’s a call to leave the places where we feel safe and comfortable and follow him whatever challenges life presents, and to learn to respond to those challenges with love, kindness and compassion.
Where are you being called to listen to Christ in your life today?