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Luminous Mysteries: The Transfiguration
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Have you ever wanted to grow in your understanding and devotion to the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary? Join Dr. Ben Akers and Dr. Elizabeth Klein as they walk through these Biblical mysteries and seek to grow in understanding and love for Christ through them. This episode on the Transfiguration is the fourth episode of a five part series on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
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- [00:00]
A
Hello and welcome to Form. Now welcome to part four of our five part series on the luminous mysteries. We're doing a Bible study and we're going through each of the luminous mysteries. My name is Ben Akers. I'm the executive director of Formed and joining me today is Dr. Elizabeth Klein, who's a professor at the graduate school here at the Augusta Institute. And we're able to have conversations like this because of your support of the mission circle. So thank you for your monthly donations that help us do shows like this to the work of the graduate school, to have students study the graduate theology and to go out into the mission field and preach the gospel. So we're in the luminous mysteries. These luminous mysteries were proclaimed by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002 when he wrote an apostolic letter. And he says, we have mysteries on the infancy of Christ's life. We have mysteries related to the passion of Christ, we have mysteries related to Christ's resurrection and his mother's glorification, but we don't have mysteries related to the public mystery of Christ. And so he said, I want to focus in on those. And I'm going to pick five of those. The first one is the baptism of the Lord. The second is the wedding of Cana, the third, the proclamation of the kingdom. And this fourth mystery is the mystery of light called the Transfiguration, which is the scene where Jesus goes up on the mountain. We're actually going to be talking about that. But he says of this mystery, this is the mystery of light par excellence. So there's light's going to be a key theme for us to look at. Liz, which passage you want to go through in Scripture? We're doing a Bible study on these mysteries. Which, which of the gospels do you want to go through for the transfiguration?
- [01:26]
B
With transfiguration, I'm looking here at Matthew 17. So I thought we would look at what Matthew's Gospel has to say about the transfiguration. And I like that you introduced it as the kind of luminous mystery parks. Long as we think of luminous, you think of light, but this is actually the only of the luminous mysteries where light is featured. But something that's kind of interesting, I think about the light in the transfiguration is it's the light that reveals Christ to us, but there's also a light that hides God from us in a sense. And you know, when you, we think about the scene right when where they're speaking to Jesus, they see Moses and Elijah, but while he was still Speaking. Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And a voice from the cloud said, this is my beloved son. And so idea of a bright cloud is kind of confusing. Like, I don't. Have you seen a bright cloud?
- [02:15]
A
No, I don't know what the bright cloud is. Right. Is it the sun coming behind the cloud? Is that. Where is the cloud shining in itself? No, it is kind of. It's a mystery.
- [02:21]
B
It's a mystery, a luminous mystery. But the idea of this, the cloud, you know, we know that the cloud from the Old Testament is frequently indicates the presence of God. And we think of it as a presence. But in a way, the cloud is a kind of an absence or, you know, a kind of veiling of God. And in fact, some scholars think that the incense in the temple are supposed to recreate this kind of cloud.
- [02:41]
A
And so which cloud of the Old Testament are you referring to? So if I'm thinking of, you know, so I'm a viewer at home, I got my Bible open to Matthew 17. And as we've seen in the other mysteries, that there are lots of echoes to the Old Testament stories. Is there any particular story you have in mind?
- [02:55]
B
Right. So I'm thinking about in the book of Exodus, where you have the cloud coming and going and telling the Israelites whether the presence of God is sort of ready to go on the move or wants to set up shop for a while. And the sort of setting up shop for a while is also happening in this story. So there's a kind of kind of parallel there. But I think it's interesting that this idea of cloud indicates to us, you know, that as you said, that they really are mysteries, that on the one hand, the transfiguration is this great moment where we're contemplating the shining face of the Lord and he's revealing his divinity to those with Him. But on the other hand, there's kind of a distance still, or we're not yet at a full vision. There's something yet to be disclosed because we still have this cloud that comes and we don't see the Father, we just hear his voice. And so we're almost at a kind of transitional phase between, you know, the Old Testament, you know, theophanies. In other words, that's for appearance of God and then sort of the full disclosure at the resurrection here at the transfiguration.
- [03:47]
A
Well, and we're not the only ones confused at the scene, as we go to the scene, who Jesus has with them of the apostles, they also seem confused. So if you're looking at the story it's not Jesus and all 12 apostles, but he picks three in particular. Peter, James and John. Any significance there?
- [04:01]
B
Yeah, well, I think in other passages you can see Peter, James and John are kind of like Jesus's inner circle. And this is something interesting too, with kind of the intimacy of God and having Moses and Elijah. There is that there are different, different people who have different, different experiences with God and are placed in different circles of God's company. And, you know, in the rosary, in these mysteries, we're invited to stand with the very closest, but we have to reflect on maybe why these three or their response. And so do you have any thoughts about these three in particular?
- [04:32]
A
Well, for me, I remember reading St. Thomas Aquinas and he reflects on these three and his answer made sense to me. And he talks about Peter, James and John. These are the closest friends of Christ. And that Peter, he picks because he's the leader of the church. So he needs to strengthen him because Peter's role is to strengthen the other apostles. For James, James is going to be the first apostle to shed his blood as a martyr. So James is going to be the first to witness through his blood. And so he needs to be strengthened in this moment. And then John is the beloved disciple and the closest to Christ. And so as a, you know, having his closest friend, his best friend there is why John is chosen by tradition.
- [05:09]
B
By tradition. The longest lived apostle too. So, I mean, he's got the one who's going to live the least long and the one who's going to give a lot.
- [05:14]
A
That's right. And it's interesting that the brothers James and John, the sons of thunder, bookend the apostles in their death. So James is the first to die and John's the last to die of the 12.
- [05:22]
B
Yeah, that's a good. Thank you, Thomas Aquinas.
- [05:24]
A
Yes, thank you, St. Thomas Aquinas. Well, and that's right. So we have Peter, James and John. So they are. It looks like they hike up this mountain. Do we know which mountain this is?
- [05:33]
B
I don't know.
- [05:34]
A
I think in scripture there's a debate actually, because it's not listed, but most scholars believe it's Mount Tabor, which kind of stands above the other, you know, out of the plains. And you can you go up to the mountain? So I can see why they're tired, they're kind of laying down. And he's transfigured. So I'm in Matthew, chapter 17, verse 2, he was transfigured before them. His face became like the sun and his garment became white as light. So another reference to light that, you know, in another passage of Scripture says, brighter than any fuller could actually make a garment was how bright his garments. So we have a bright cloud, we have bright garments of Christ. And then we see two other people that are joining him, Moses and Elijah.
- [06:12]
B
Right.
- [06:12]
A
What's their sign? I may know they're from the Old Testament. But what's. Did they represent Something.
- [06:16]
B
Right. So I think there's debate about why these particular two, to my mind, this represents the law and the prophets.
- [06:22]
A
Okay, Right.
- [06:23]
B
So Moses representing the law and Elijah representing the prophets. And why that would be significant is Jesus in his ministry and in this public proclamation, something we're meditating on through the luminous mysteries that he's claiming to fulfill the law and that he's claiming to know what all the law and the prophets point to, namely himself. And so to have these two speaking with Jesus and pointing towards him really is kind of a visual fulfillment of that reality. And it's also a wonderful fulfillment of this idea of Moses and the other prophets looking forward to seeing God face to face. Because here we have this evocation of Christ as divine, right? He shines like the sun. You know, they fall down and worship him. The God says, this is my beloved Son. But now we see, you know, Moses, who had to talk to God through the cloud, does see God face to face in Jesus Christ. And so the disciples are all of a sudden in this moment where of, you know, extreme intimacy with God. And that's, you know, this. The surprise and confusion that follows is kind of natural.
- [07:24]
A
I've always loved that, going to the Old Testament and you look at the Moses, and Moses is a friend of God. He has talks to God as a friend, face to face. And then all of a sudden in, you know, he's not allowed to go to the Holy Land. And he wants to see. He said, lord, show me your glory. And because he identifies with the sinful people, he can no longer talk to God face to face, as he used to do. He has to see him in a cloud behind, you know, kind of the backside of God. And so there's two prayers. You think like, Moses got the short end of the stick. I mean, this guy was leading, you know, 2 million people through the desert, and they're constantly complaining, are we there? Yet this, you know, and yet he can't go into the promised land and he can't see God's face, and that's all he wants. And you have these unfulfilled prayers of Moses until You get to this moment in salvation history, and what I love to reflect on that is that sometimes the answer to our prayers is no, not ever. But it's a no, not yet. So when Moses prayers were true and authentic prayers, but God said, I'm going to answer those in a way that you could never imagine. I'm going to. Next time you're going to show up in salvation history, you're in the promised land on Mount Tabor, looking at my glory revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.
- [08:32]
B
And that's. I mean, like you said, answering in prayer in a way you don't expect too. Because all of this pointing to the Incarnation and the invitation, how is God going to finally reveal himself to his people? How is he going to be finally among us? How are we going to be invited in? Well, the birth of a little tiny baby and his death on the cross may not be the way that you were expecting to be invited in. And as you talked about this being those three kind of being strengthened for what's coming. Right. The sort of context of this proximately is the crucifixion. Jesus is foretelling his crucifixion in Mark's gospel as well. That's the kind of context. And so, you know, this is in Mark's gospel, too. Peter is really surprised by this, right? Jesus shows them their glory. Okay, look, check it out. I'm God. I'm transfigured to see all my glory. Oh, and also I'm gonna. I'm gonna die. Like, what? Wait, no, wait. No, no, no.
- [09:22]
A
Let's stay here. Let's set up three booths. I want to stay in this moment of glory. And I love that image of you have Jesus in the middle and you have Moses and Elijah, you know, talking to him. And because the light is actually coming from Christ, so we actually see that Christ is illuminating both the law and the prophets represented by Moses and Elijah there, that he's visually in the center, and he's actually visually illuminating them.
- [09:45]
B
And then with that. But with this great revelation comes great responsibility, because you do have that idea that Peter, head of the church, who wants to set up an institution on the top of the mountain right there and just get started, is told, no, right? You have to come down off the mountain. And in fact, the way to the full revelation of Jesus is through the cross. And so we have this reading in the liturgical year as well, in Lent. And I like to think there's kind of a parallel there where, you know, we have this. This glimpse of Light, this glimpse of who Jesus is. But we still need our vision purified by the cross. We can't fully understand what we saw on the mountain until, you know, Christ goes in the grave and comes out the other. The other side, so to speak. And so that's what. That's what Peter needs to know. And so it's our sort of bread for the journey during Lent, too, but then also pointing us towards finishing the race, so to speak.
- [10:33]
A
And you'll see sometimes this in art where you'll have Jesus above the mountain. So Jesus on a mountain, there's two people, Moses, Elijah, on other side of him, and then you have the three apostles below him. And so it makes the transfiguration, as you said, almost like a photo negative of the crucifixion. Because we're going to have Christ when we get to the crucifixion, Christ will be in the center, crucified between two thieves, one on the right, one on the left, and then with the faithful disciples at his feet. And so it is. It points visually also towards the crucifixion.
- [11:05]
B
And that really ties back to what I was saying at the beginning about this being a moment of great revelation, but also a moment of darkness where we have this revelation of Jesus as God, but then we have the cloud come over him. Because our idea of divinity isn't the cross. You know, our idea of love and power isn't the cross. And so this sort of revelation of who Jesus is isn't really complete without the cross. And I love that you pointed out how similar the composition is often of images of the transfiguration, icons of the transfiguration, and icons of this crucifixion. Because do you see the one and the other, or do you see the connection? And if you don't, then maybe you're like Peter and want to set up some tents and just hang out on.
- [11:46]
A
The top of the mountain, stay up on the mountain, stay on the mountain forever. Well, and the cross comes quickly, not only in Jesus's words in the story, but the very next story in the Gospels is where Jesus meets a demoniac, where the apostles, the other nine apostles at the bottom of the hill are trying to cast out a demon, and they can't. And Jesus says some of these can only be done by some demons, can only cast out by prayer and fasting. But it's an interesting juxtaposition. And Raphael does this in his transfiguration, the famous image of the transfiguration. He has the, you know, the true Son of the Father up on the mountain, you know, this is in whom God is well pleased. Filled with the spirit. At the bottom of the mountain, you have the beloved son of a father who's filled with the evil spirit. And it's only, you know, Jesus who can actually come and cast that demon out.
- [12:33]
B
And one thing I love about that image is that the demoniac child in it is actually pointing up to the top register to where Jesus is. And so this, the idea that the disciples aren't able to heal the boy, it's telling us, right, that the healing miracles are supposed to point to something, right? It's not just the sign of power. And you can understand how the disciples or anyone who has this kind of great grace of gift of God to heal and to preach the word of God. I mean, the temptation is always to point to yourself and to think you have this power to do these things and to forget your religious practice, forget to pray, forget to always be giving the glory to God. And so in that scene, it's like, why can't. You know, in the Raphael scene, he's like, of course you can't heal me. It's about Jesus. What are you doing? You know, look at the top of the mountain. Stop looking around here for some, like, magical tools to heal me. You know, this is about prayer and it's about Christ.
- [13:26]
A
So we have Peter, James and John. We have Moses and Elijah. And then we have Jesus in the center, we have the voice of the Father. And I know also tradition says that the cloud represents the Holy Spirit. So we have the Trinity present as well.
- [13:40]
B
Which is.
- [13:41]
A
Makes sense that when Christ comes to reveal, he comes to reveal that there's a Father and a Spirit, that there's a Trinity.
- [13:47]
B
And it's really interesting in this scene how that is all centered on Christ, that revelation, because the disciples are terrified. They fell on their faces. But when Jesus came and touched them, saying, rise and have no fear. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And so you can have this spiritual understanding that. That even though we're seeing Jesus, only the other persons of the Trinity are right there with him. And so what's sort of disclosed in this dramatic visual way in the transfiguration, Jesus can say, you know, he who see me has seen the Father. And that's kind of also reflected in the transfiguration scene as well.
- [14:22]
A
That's beautiful. One of the other things when we look at this scene is that we. We hear the voice of the Father and We look at the New Testament where the other places that we hear the voice of the Father and we. The first luminous mystery we talked about with the baptism of Christ, that the voice of the Father from, you know, the Holy Spirit under the form of a dove comes down and we hear, this is my beloved Son, and we hear something similar here. And then another time that we hear the voice of the Father is right before the Passion. So it seems to be a connection between baptism, transfiguration, passion.
- [14:52]
B
Yeah, I was just thinking, as you were talking, I was just then thinking about that point you made about art and how often, you know, you could probably line up icon of the baptism, icon of the transfiguration and icon of the Passion and really see that connection. And I think that's so beautiful because what's being disclosed, I mean, what did Jesus come to show us? He came to show us the way to the Father. He came to show us the love of God. And that's what he's showing us repeatedly over and over again. He's showing that in the baptism, he's showing that at the transfiguration, he's showing that on the cross. But we need the eyes to see how all of those moments are moments of self disclosure and moments of God's power and moments of God's mercy and love and how the thread goes through. And so one way I like to think about that vis a vis baptism is, you know, right at the moment that's his, the first moment of public ministry. Right at that moment, we know that Jesus is sort of pleased to be counted among sinners and hang out with them and to give himself fully to them, even to, you know, not even be seen for who he truly is by a lot of people. And that's echoed here in the Transfiguration where it's only a few people who see his glory, and there's very few people who then are able to continue to see that glory on the cross.
- [16:00]
A
And where he's numbered among sinners as well here with Peter, James and John, and also with, with the thieves at the cross. Another connection, I think that we get in the, in the Passion here or, you know, connected to the Passion. As we look through this text, we have Moses and Elijah. Moses dies, Elijah gets taken up into heaven. Why do you think there's any significance there with the Moses and Elijah, that one has died and one is taken up in glory?
- [16:31]
B
I feel like you have some kind of idea.
- [16:32]
A
No, I don't. I just wanted.
- [16:36]
B
No, I mean, I mean, I suppose There is a kind of, a kind of idea that like all of salvation history is, is there with Jesus, right? What's going on in the present, the future of the church? Peter sort of that's being what's going to happen in the future and what's happened in the past. And also the sort of all encompassing nature of human experience with Moses dying and Elijah not. You could think about the whole company of the church being there and represented by those people.
- [17:04]
A
One of the things that strikes me that is applicable for us in our own time of prayer and time of meditating, if we pray these mysteries of the rosary, is that the line of the Father from heaven, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him. That this command of the Father is, you know, put putting forward his Son. And you know, God so loves the world that he sent his only Son, that this is a moment of love, this is a moment of revelation and we're being invited to listen to him. And that's what we get to do in prayer, where we actually get to to tell God our problems and what's on our heart. But we also need to listen to what he wants to tell us.
- [17:40]
B
But it's also terrifying.
- [17:41]
A
It's also terrifying and mysterious and that's a little terrifying. And that's okay because that's what prayer we get to be alone with our Lord, with the one who loves us, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who if, when the saved grace is dwelling within us, the Spirit dwelling within us and bringing with him the Son and the Father. And so hopefully this, this discussion that we've had on the fourth luminous mystery on the transfiguration of Christ has given you some things to think about and things to pray about as you pray this luminous mysteries. So this is again part four of five. Next week we'll talk about the fifth luminous mystery, which is the institution of the Eucharist. Thank you and God bless.