In today’s Gospel (Matthew 17:1-9) we hear of Jesus’ transfiguration where God gives humanity a glimpse of his true glory.  And through this transfiguration event, Jesus shows us how he would glorify His Father by way of his passion, death, and resurrection undertaken on behalf of the entire human race.

So we see that today, as every day, through His Word in Scripture, God reveals to us something about Himself, and something about ourselves.

Through the transfiguration, God reveals His glorious Divinity – a divinity that is glorious not simply due to God’s nature, but also due to His action – the great love and mercy that he bestows upon us. God gave us a glimpse of that divine glory through Christ’s sojourn on earth, most especially His journey to the cross, a journey taken for one reason, and one reason only – to redeem us and to restore our standing with God.  All done out of His great love and mercy for us, His children.

And through the transfiguration, God shows us that we also have a journey to take before we are glorified, a journey that might call for sacrifice and hardship that we must bear in the same way Jesus bore his burden – out of love, obedience and trust for His – and our Father.

And through this transfiguration event, where God’s dazzling light illuminates the darkness that surrounds us, we also are called to live our lives in a way where we allow God’s light to shine on others.  We are called to live our lives in a way where we allow God’s glory to manifest itself in the lives of others.  We are called to live our lives in a way where God’s glorious love and mercy is experienced by all those we encounter.