Christ the Cornerstone

Let’s open our hearts and minds to the glory of God

“From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: ‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him’ ” (Mk 9:7).

The Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent (Mk 9:2-10) contains St. Mark’s version of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Jesus invites his closest friends, Peter, James and John, to travel with him upon a high mountain to pray. While they are there, St. Mark says simply that “he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on Earth could bleach them” (Mk 9:2-3).

The kind of exterior, physical transformation that is described here—clothes that are brilliantly white—is intended to reveal the interior, spiritual beauty of the man, Jesus, who is God’s beloved Son. His holiness is dazzling, pure and spotless beyond all description. His goodness and love are infinite, and he stands out among all the great figures of Israel as the anointed one, the long-awaited Messiah who is accompanied here by Moses the liberator and Elijah the prophet.

The three Apostles are witnesses to a great mystery, the glorious incarnation of the second person of the Holy Trinity.

During this moment of transfiguration, the Holy Spirit hovers over them in the form of a cloud. Then the Father speaks—commanding the Apostles (and all of us) to listen deeply to his Son’s words and to recognize the glory of the Lord that is being manifested in him.

This is no ordinary moment in the story of our salvation. It is an experience that transcends the daily lives of the three Apostles who have been called to “see” what is not normally visible to us human beings. They can see the Lord in his glorified state, which is another way of saying that they can recognize in him a level of spiritual depth and power that is quite simply divine. St. Peter’s response is typical of him:

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified (Mk 9:5-6).

As so often happens in the Gospels, Peter’s instincts are good, but he misses the point. In order to deal with his fear and astonishment, Peter wants to normalize the experience by setting up three tents. By designating this spot as a place where pilgrims can come to pray and commemorate this event, he hopes to make sense of what he has just witnessed. Jesus wants this moment of profound intimacy to remain a secret until after he has risen from the dead. Only then can its full meaning become clear.

The glory that is glimpsed in the transfiguration of the Lord can only be understood in the light of his passion, death and resurrection. Even then, a full revelation of God’s majestic beauty can only be seen in the life to come.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory “the beatific vision” (#1028).

For a brief moment, Peter, James and John are given the capacity to “see God” as he is manifested in his incarnate Son. Following the Lord’s resurrection, their experience is written down in the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration so that all of us can have a glimpse of the glory that was revealed that day.

We who have been baptized and have been blessed to participate in the sacramental and liturgical life of Christ’s body, the Church, share in witnessing the glory of the Lord. Every time we receive holy Communion, we are given the same kind of intimate encounter with the transfigured Jesus that his closest friends experienced on the high mountain. When we adore him in the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus invites us to see him as he really is—the holy one of God who has saved us from sin and death.

As we continue our observance of Lent in this time of the National Eucharistic Revival, let’s ask the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to help us open our eyes so that we can see God as he is. May we learn to listen to the Father’s beloved Son with open hearts and minds.

We have been blessed to see God with the eyes of faith. May the glimpses that we are given now prepare us for the ultimate joy of the beatific vision. That in all things God may be glorified. †