The Light That Transfigures

Preacher: Fr. Columba

Readings: Ex 34:29-35; Ps 99; 2 Pet 1:13-21; Lk 9:28-36

Today the Church celebrates the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ — one of the Twelve Great Feasts in the Eastern tradition and a theophany, a direct manifestation of God to His people. For many, this day passes quietly. We think first of Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost when we picture moments when God comes close to us. But in the Transfiguration, God not only comes close — He opens the veil for a moment so we can see His glory.

This feast is not an optional extra in the Christian life. It is a revelation of who Christ truly is, the meaning of the Old Testament, and the future that awaits us.

The Mountain and the Witnesses

Luke’s Gospel tells us that Jesus led Peter, James, and John up the mountain to pray. While praying, “His face changed, and His clothes became dazzling white.” Suddenly, Moses and Elijah stood with Him in heavenly glory. These two figures are not chosen at random. They are the living summary of the Scriptures: Moses, the great lawgiver who met God face to face and brought the Torah to Israel; and Elijah, the fiery prophet who called the people back to God and was taken into heaven in a whirlwind.

In Jewish thought at the time of Jesus, “the Law and the Prophets” was shorthand for the whole of God’s revealed word. By standing between Moses and Elijah, Jesus is shown to be the fulfillment of both. He does not abolish the Law or set aside the Prophets — He brings them to completion. Every covenant, every promise, every command, every prophecy finds its meaning in Him.

Luke tells us they spoke of His “departure” in Jerusalem. In the original Greek, the word is exodos. Just as Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus will lead all humanity out of slavery to sin and death. Where Moses gave the Law to one nation, Jesus will give the new covenant to all peoples.

Glory Revealed

The story echoes another moment of glory: when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face shone with reflected light from God’s presence. So bright was this light that Moses veiled his face when speaking to the people. Elijah, too, was caught up in glory when he was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. But on the mountain of Transfiguration, the light does not come from the outside. Jesus’ very being radiates with uncreated light. His clothes become dazzling white. This is no reflected glory — this is the divine glory of God the Son.

From the cloud comes the voice of the Father: “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.” The scene mirrors Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, another theophany where all three Persons of the Trinity are present — the Son in the water, the Spirit descending like a dove, the Father speaking from heaven.

Here, too, we meet the Trinity: the Father’s voice, the Son’s glory, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the cloud. We are reminded that the one speaking to us in the Gospels is no mere prophet or moral teacher. He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God — co-eternal and co-equal with the Father and the Spirit.

The Promise of Our Transformation

It would be easy to think of this event as something that belongs only to Jesus. But the Church teaches that this glimpse of glory is also a vision of our destiny. The Eastern tradition calls it theosis — our being drawn into the life of God until we shine with His likeness. In the Western tradition, the word sanctification speaks to the same reality: being made holy through the work of the Spirit in us.

The Transfiguration is not just a miracle to admire. It is a promise that we too will be changed. As St. Paul writes, Christ is “the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom. 8:29). What happened to Him on the mountain will happen to all who are in Him when the Kingdom comes in its fullness. We will be raised in glory, freed from the corruption of sin, and brought into perfect union with God.

Light in the Midst of Darkness

Right now, the world feels heavy with darkness — injustice, division, war, anxiety, loss. But the Transfiguration is a reminder that darkness does not get the last word. Christ is the lighthouse in the storm, guiding us through the night until the dawn of new creation. His light is not merely a comfort — it is the very fire that will consume death itself.

Until that day, we are called to be bearers of His light. This can feel like a small calling, but the smallest light can scatter a roomful of darkness. A kind word, an act of justice, a refusal to join in cruelty — these are ways we let His light shine in us. They are sparks of the same fire that blazed on the mountain.

The fire of God is not just warmth; it is a purifying fire. It is the flame that lit Moses’ face, transfigured Christ’s body, and descended upon the apostles at Pentecost. In a world burning with the wildfires of hatred and sin, we are called to set controlled fires of grace — small beacons that stop the spread of destruction and prepare the way for renewal.

Called to Shine

The Transfiguration is not meant to be left on the page of Scripture or in the memory of the liturgy. It is a call to live as people of the light here and now. To be awake, alert, ready for the Kingdom. To look for the light of Christ in the world and to reflect it in our own lives. To see every person, every moment, every place as a field where His glory can break through.

We leave the mountain today not to forget it, but to carry it with us — so that, by God’s grace, we might become living reminders of what the disciples saw that day: Jesus Christ, radiant in glory, the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased.