Friends,
today’s Gospel presents the Transfiguration of Christ. What is the
Transfiguration itself? Mark speaks literally of a metamorphosis, a
going beyond the form that he had. If I could use Paul’s language, it is
“the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.” In and
through his humble humanity, his divinity shines forth. The proximity
of his divinity in no way compromises the integrity of his humanity, but
rather makes it shine in greater beauty. This is the New Testament
version of the burning bush.
The
Jesus who is both divine and human is the Jesus who is evangelically
compelling. If he is only divine, then he doesn’t touch us; if he is
only human, he can’t save us. His splendor consists in the coming
together of the two natures, without mixing, mingling, or confusion.
Note
how this same Jesus then accompanies his disciples back down the
mountain and walks with them in the ordinary rhythms of their lives.
This is the Christ who wants to reign as Lord of our lives in every
detail. If we forget about this dimension, then Jesus becomes a distant
memory, nothing more than a figure from the past.
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