“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12: 1-4
Jesus took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain…And he was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And, behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Matthew 17: 1-9
It is only in relatively recent, revised translations of the Bible that the above quotation from chapter 17 of Matthew’s Gospel appears. A key word to assist us in understanding the account of the transfiguration of Jesus is “behold”, a word that is omitted in many earlier translations. It does appear in the New American Bible and in the New Revised Standard Bible. “Behold” is a forceful invitation to readers to look closely at the fact that Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus. So, I suggest that we look again at the quotation above and ask ourselves why the transfiguration event included Moses and Elijah in conversation with Jesus. What on earth might they have been talking about?
It was Moses who had led God’s Chosen People from slavery in Egypt through a 40-long-year trek through the desert to the very edge of settlement in the Promised Land. There was none greater than he as a leader and a law-giver in the history of his people. And there was no greater prophet than Elijah, whose transition to heaven was witnessed by his successor Elisha. Elijah had spoken with Elisha of the impending end to his earthly existence and while they were talking about what Elijah might bequeath to Elisha, they were separated by a fiery chariot and Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. (2 kings 2: 1-12) As for Moses, his death is recorded in the final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy with these cryptic words: “There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of God died as God decreed; he (God?) buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-Peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave.” (Deuteronomy 34: 5-6) Tradition now has it that Moses’ body was taken by God directly into heaven. It seems clear that the vision of Moses and Elijah in conversation with Jesus was to underline the message that Jesus was firmly rooted in the company of the giants of Israel’s tradition. He was not merely a fly-by-night visitor. Moreover, as there is no record of anyone’s having witnessed the death of either Elijah or Moses, it is surely not just coincidental that they would be seen in conversation with the one for whose coming they had longed and the one who would conquer death on Calvary.
This transfiguration event also includes symbols that were integral to Israel’s history. From the moment that Moses led his people out of Egypt, God had been present to them guiding them by day (“in the form of a pillar of cloud to show them the way and by night in the form of a pillar of fire to give them light;” (Exodus13: 21-22). Again, it was not coincidental that Peter’s impetuous proposal to commemorate the experience with a three-fold monument was interrupted with the descent on them of “a bright cloud” accompanied by a voice identifying Jesus: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17: 5-6) That served as an invitation to Peter, James and John to step into an unknown future with trust in both God and God’s Son, Jesus. They had just experienced a revelation that was life changing. After reassuring them by urging them that there was no need to be afraid, Jesus addressed their question about a prevailing belief concerning the reincarnation and return of Elijah by stating that Elijah had already come and gone and had been ignored, just as he, too, would be. He continued by alluding to his own future of being made to suffer at the hands of those who would fail to recognise and accept him for who he really was. Before the conclusion of this chapter, Matthew would record a second prediction of the violent death that Jesus knew awaited him, resonating with the conversation he had seemingly had with Elijah and Moses in the recent transfiguration event: “The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised to life again.” (Matthew 17: 22-23)
To understand what all this has to do with us, we need to look at the context in which Matthew has placed the transfiguration story that reveals Jesus’ true identity. Midway through the previous chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say I am?” Most of them stood back and allowed Peter to speak on their behalf. Peter rightly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ of God. What followed undermined the disciples’ expectations that the Messiah would bring them power and success. Instead, Jesus predicted the violent death that awaited him but voiced confidently his belief that God would raise him from death. The transfiguration was a clear statement that divine status and stunning light did not guarantee freedom from violence, humiliation and painful death. It gave three of Jesus’ close friends an experience that was profound and life-changing. It was a startling demonstration of the truth that God’s goodness, love and glory are to be found all around us, if only we could comprehend. Not even Peter, James and John could understand what they had experienced. It was only in retrospect that the truth dawned on them. And it was only in retrospect that they discovered that, like Jesus, they would know persecution, rejection, humiliation, suffering and death. That would be the cost of discipleship. The voice from heaven in the transfiguration account was very similar to the words addressed to Jesus at the time of his baptism by John in the Jordan: “And a voice spoke from heaven: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’” (Matthew 3: 17). The voice from heaven during the transfiguration was identical, except for three additional words: “Listen to him!” The two things about the transfiguration that we still need to absorb are: In our world, there is much more evidence of the beauty, love, compassion and mercy of God than we are able to see and appreciate. Surely, we need to sharpen our vision to recognise and take that in. Secondly, today’s gospel-reading invites us to sharpen our hearing, too, and attend to how Jesus in the Gospels speaks to us and how the voice of God’s Spirit speaks to us every day of our lives. “Listen to him” is a direction we ignore at our own risk. And, just in case you’re wondering, Abraham also must have had a profound experience of God in today’s first reading! Otherwise he would not have ventured in faith into the unknown.