06/08/2026
Today the Holy Church celebrates the Transfiguration.
Jesus takes Peter and James and John up a high mountain. In the midst of all the cares and concerns of their life and ministry, something remarkable happens. They aren't just being led on a hike, nor is it simply a prayerful retreat...
There, before the eyes of the disciples, Moses and Elijah appear, and Jesus himself is transfigured. Jesus's face shines like the sun and his clothes become brilliant white. Peter, James and John glimpse the divinity of Jesus, as well as the awesome power of God over death and even time itself. The law and the prophets both present as witness.
But Peter doesn't quite get it. He sees, and he tries to capture the moment, to normalise it almost. He offers to make three tents, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. No sooner than the words leave his mouth than the Father speaks "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him."
Wherever we are at in life today there will be challenges, there will be distractions. Sometimes things will go great, and sometimes things will go very badly. The temptation is for our faith to take a back seat - we try to quantify it and confine it. Turn it into something we can control and understand.
The transfiguration reminds us that no matter how big we make our boxes (or our tents) God's glory exists in a magnitude so far beyond our comprehension. Sometimes that can be frightening, we can fear a loss of control... but what Jesus offers us is infinitely more than that: conversion of life. A chance to stop endlessly wrestling with the world and ourselves, and to simply trust in the one who made us. A chance not only to glimpse his divinity, but for we ourselves to be transformed by it.
And what does God call us to do in turn? Acknowledge Jesus, His beloved son, and listen to him. 🙏♥️⛪
