But it was not a glory, which the disciples at the time could fathom. No doubt they would have welcomed a glory on the mountain far away from the conflicts which had happened and the conflicts which were going to happen as Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. Yet it was these conflicts which Jesus took with Him to the mountain to be transfigured with Him. Thus It was the transfiguration of the whole Christ, from his first obedience in childhood right through to the final obedience of' Gethsemane and Calvary.
To Peter and John and James,your chosen disciples,
you showed today, Lord,
on Mount Tabor
the glory of your divine form.
For they saw your clothing
shine as the light,
and your face
more radiant than the sun.
They could not endure the sight
of your unbearable brightness,
and fell down on the ground,
quite unable to look up.
For they heard a voice,
hearing witness from above:
This is my beloved Son,
who has come into the world
to save mankind.
It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness or higher honour could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in His light? Therefore, since each of us who possesses God in our heart is being transformed into the divine image, we also should cry out with joy: 'It is good for us to be here' -- here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as he enters: 'Today salvation has come to this house.' With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of His eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in Him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the first fruits and the whole of' the world to come.
That glory which shone on the mountain top, we must remember also belongs to the plain. As we sing in a hymn for the Transfiguration,
'Tis good Lord to be here,
Yet we may not remain;
But since Lord you bid us leave the mount,
Come with us to the plain.
We are not allowed to linger there. We are bidden to journey on to Calvary and there learn of the darkness and the desolation which are the cost of glory. But from Calvary and Easter there comes the Christian hope of immense range: the hope of the transformation not only of mankind but of the cosmos too.
O God, who on the holy mount revealed to chosen witnesses your well beloved Son, wonderfully transfigured, in raiment white and glistening: Show us too the splendour of your beloved Son. As we listen to the voice of your Son, help us to become heirs to eternal life with Him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
