Not just the beautiful events but also the sad happenings can be “Transfiguration.” Don’t throw away your transfiguration experience!

Today, we celebrate the feast of the transfiguration of our Lord. The Transfiguration is one of the major mysteries in the life of Jesus. In the transfiguration, Jesus achieved three things. 1. He proved to the disciples that he was on the right track to save humanity. 2. He revealed to them the glory and the kingdom that awaits those who suffer on his account. That his kingdom is not like an earthly kingdom built with authority and power but one that is built with self-giving and love. 3. The revelation of his glory gives us reason to believe, reason to hope, and reason to move on.

The word transfiguration itself is not so much in use in our everyday language, but what it means in common day English is some form of transformation. “A change in form or appearance; an exalting, glorifying, or spiritual change.”

The mystery of the transfiguration took place shortly after Jesus had disclosed to his disciples that he was going to suffer and die. They were totally confused after hearing this because they did not expect the messiah to die. Jesus needed to reassure them of the presence and power of God. In their confusion, He took them to a place where they could have a special encounter with God and be free from the many distractions of the world. He wanted them to take a break from a world where there were too many distractions, voices, and noises. In their moment of confusion, they witnessed something, and they had three different reactions. First, they were stunned or amazed. Second, they were silenced. A voice was heard. The father’s voice and the voice said, “This is my beloved son. Listen to Him.” And third, they could not understand what it was, so Peter said- Let us stay. We can look at the three words. Stunned. Silence. Stay. When we witness a beautiful event… We are stunned. We are awed in silence. And we want to stay like Peter. Peter had enjoyed this special encounter in God’s presence and, in his excitement, said: “It is good for us to be here.” This is what happens when we experience peace and joy in God’s presence or when we invite God into our lives. Peter wanted to remain on the mountaintop where he would be in contact with God alone, but Jesus did not allow him to remain there. Jesus wanted him to return to the valley, where he would encounter people and bear witness to what he experienced.

But it is not just the beautiful instances that leave us stunned and silent. Transfiguration with lessons to teach us is not always pleasant. Transfiguration with lessons to teach us is not always astounding. It is not always attractive. It is not always luminous. It is not always shiny. It is not always brilliant. Sometimes, transfiguration is not about the extent of greatness that we can reach. Sometimes transfiguration may be in the lowest that we want to go to but is not meant for us. And sometimes, God allows certain things to happen to us so that our eyes can open to behold certain deep truths we may not have known before. We experience transfigurations in different ways; events that bring us to our knees and increase our love and devotion to God.

What is your own transfiguration experience? What is that one thing that happened in the past that made you absolutely convinced that God is not some figment of the imagination but a real father who is there? It could be a prayer answered when you least expected it. It could be your survival from a near-death experience. It could be an apparition you saw. Whatever it is, know that God allowed it to happen for a purpose; to strengthen your faith against tough times which must surely come. Not just the beautiful events but also the sad happenings can be “Transfiguration”. Don’t throw away your transfiguration experience. Fall back to it often and often again, let it be your constant testimony so that you would always know that God exists and He cares for you.

We must not leave out the fact the transfiguration happened in the context of prayer. Prayer is a doorway towards another world, yes, prayer opens us up into deeper realms, and it practically lifts us out of our physical surroundings into the company of God’s presence. Our ‘mountain top experience’ is when, where and how we encounter God. Our moments of transformation could be spurred by a simple or spectacular experience that brought us closer to God or enabled us to see a glimpse of God’s glory more than we have ever experienced. We experience our own transfiguration when God transforms us by the power of his amazing grace.      

We all long to be transformed, but we know that transformation comes with suffering, like the pangs of childbirth. However, the result of the positive transformation is great. May we experience the peaceful and powerful presence of God in moments of crisis, when things are just not going well, and in moments when we are in the intersections of life, not knowing where to go or what to do.