Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Celebrated By Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
on Sunday, 6th August, 2006, at 11.00am

Introduction

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the Beloved, reveals himself in heavenly glory to Peter, James and John. He is the only Son of the Father - our God who shows himself to us as he really is, to strengthen us for the trials and challenges of life.

We remember this as we celebrate the great feast of the Transfiguration.

As we call to mind our sins, let us keep our life firmly fixed on Jesus and his will for us as the only way to true peace.

Homily

“This is my Son, the Beloved, he enjoys my favour; listen to him.”
(Matthew 17:5)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we have an encounter with Jesus, who reveals a glimpse of his divinity to Peter, James and John to prepare them for the cross, which would precede his resurrection.

A number of times in our life we come to glimpse a scene of perfect beauty. Whether a sunset, a beautiful building, a work of art, a beautiful piece of music, a speech made by a great orator, or the goodness and sincerity of people, that glimpse sustains us over a long time.

William Bausch tells of the impact of beauty in a little story called ‘The Teacup’:

While shopping to find a gift for their granddaughter’s birthday an elderly couple came across a beautiful teacup. The grandmother said, this is perfect, it is beautiful. Suddenly the teacup spoke up, ‘Thank you for the compliment. I wasn’t always so lovely. Once I was a mere lump of clay, then a man with gnarled, wet hands set me on a wheel and spun me round and round until I became so sick that I begged him to stop. But the man with the wheel and the wet hands said not yet and he proceeded to punch and slap and poke me until I begged him to stop. Even then all he said was no, not yet. Then the process of firing in a blazing kiln, the long ordeal of being painted and glazed and another firing through the kiln.’ The teacup said, ‘When I had cooled completely, a very beautiful lady put me on a shelf beside a mirror. When I saw my reflection I was amazed. I was no longer a muddy lump of clay. I was beautiful, colourful, radiant and clean and I cried out for sheer joy.’

Saint Mark today describes Jesus’ face as dazzling like the sun, his clothes as radiant as light. As in today’s first Reading he is revealed as the Son of man given glory and kingship. He is the Son of the Father, deserving of glory, kingship and the loyal service of every race and nation on earth.

Yet, as in our simple story, before returning to the Father to take up the glory that is rightly his, Jesus was poked and prodded and tested, shamed and humiliated by human sin, purified; he would receive and take rejection of his brothers and sisters in the faith, would be mocked, scourged and spat upon, would eventually die on the cross. It was through suffering that he was revealed as the Son.

The challenge of the Transfiguration is to be like Jesus in submitting to the suffering in our journey and like the little cup to be fired in the crucible of obedience and suffering. Before we too can be beautiful to behold we have to submit to those sufferings which are inherent in belonging to Jesus: Faithfulness to God, to prayer; sincerity in living our family life; generosity in searching to be there for others; readiness to listen to Jesus as the Father’s only Son. In the modern idiom to stop, look and listen to Christ is the food for our earthly journey because he has entered the depths of human suffering and continues on the Father’s plan for him. Every one of us is invited to share in that plan, to be among the redeemed, to be instruments of the Redeemer, to witness to him in the world of today.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.