Be Open to the Grace of Knowing the Divinity and Humanity of Christ

Mount Tabor is the place where Peter, James and John saw Jesus in the brightness of his glory. They saw the divinity that was hidden by humanity. This day is the dawn of the faith of the apostles in who Jesus is, and his divine life. In his humanity and his total identity, he is the image of God. They recognised him because they knew him as a man. And then they heard the voice which said, ‘This is my beloved son’ (Matthew 17:5).

That voice had spoken before – at the baptism of Jesus. But then it was heard only by Jesus. Now Jesus is being revealed to his disciples as the Son of God. ‘This is my beloved son’. It’s interesting what follows. God then says, ‘listen to him’. Listening to the word of God is one of the most important graces of a Christian. At Mass, we bow to the place of the Word – it is Christ who is speaking in the reading of the Word – as we bow to the bread and wine on the altar. In word and sacrament, Jesus is speaking and present in the Church.

Jesus also spoke of the future, letting the apostles know that this day would be appreciated only when he was raised from the dead. Then they would grasp the full meaning of the Transfiguration and could allow themselves for some time to wonder what ‘rising from the dead’ would mean.

Peter, James and John would remember this day forever. In fact, Peter wrote about it in his first letter. We can open ourselves to this grace of knowing the divinity and humanity of Christ and of believing deep down in our hearts that one day we will be transfigured, so that our mortal bodies will be like his.

Donal Neary SJ, The Sacred Heart Messenger, August 2024