St. Luke's account of the Transfiguration is my personal favorite. In the course of relating this event, which is also told in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, St. Luke adds two details that always remind me of what this event means in my own personal life.
The first thing that St. Luke tells us is that this took place in the context of prayer. Jesus had gone to the mountain with Peter, James, and John to pray. So many important events that are recorded in this Gospel take place while Jesus or the other characters are at prayer. The very beginning of the Gospel records that Zechariah was in the Temple to offer incense, to pray, when the angel announced the birth of St. John the Baptist. When the parents of Jesus brought him to the Temple, they were met by Anna who was constantly in the Temple at prayer. When Jesus chose the Twelve he had been at prayer. Before his arrest and trial, Jesus is seen at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. There are so many references to Jesus at prayer in this Gospel that it is fondly referred to as the Gospel of Prayer. As I consider this event in Jesus' life, I am reminded that my own life will only be transfigured if I am consistent in prayer.
Secondly, when St. Luke introduces the characters of Moses and Elijah, he also tells us that they men were speaking of Jesus' "exodus," his passing over. While it is true that Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the prophets, it is also true that these two characters are the men who can speak with authority about this passage. Moses and Elijah are the two characters of the Hebrew Scriptures who also "passed over." Moses passed over the Red Sea. Elijah passed over the River Jordan right before he was carried to heaven in a fiery chariot. Remembering my own "exodus," my own passing over, reminds me of what lies in store for me if I persist in my attempts to transfigure the world in which I live through my pursuit of holiness. The world can be transfigured through my touch if I am holy.
This great feast also holds a very personal recollection for me as it was the day on which the retreat before my investiture with the Franciscan habit began. I still remember the first conference of that retreat as the novice master, substituting for a late retreat master, spoke to us of the Novitiate year in terms of God's creative energy and how God would help us to bring order to the chaos of our lives if we allowed the Creator access throughout our novitiate year. That was forty-six years ago. I pray that God is still bringing order to my chaos.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator