Every year on the 2nd Sunday of Lent we always hear concerning the Transfiguration of the Lord. The Greek word for Transfiguration is metamorphosis. Metamorphosis translates, "to be changed in form" or "to be transformed." The Greek metamorphosis used in this context describes a change in appearance and not a change in essence.
Such a transformation was true of our Lord on Mount Tabor. Here He did not change in nature, but a veil was pulled back to reveal who He had been all along. On this mount His humanity did not change into divinity, but His divinity which was hidden was allowed to shine through. Through such a glimpse His clothing became “white as light.”
Lent is the path which leads us towards Holy Week and the crucifixion. Through such a glimpse we are given a reminder of His divine glory which serves as the hope of the Resurrection in the midst of all the darkness that we must sustain. Through such a glimpse we are allotted courage to continue to move forward day by day just like the Apostles.
We are only in the second week of Lent, but maybe we are already growing weary when it pertains to our Lenten resolves which started out so passionately. Through such a glimpse into the Lord’s Divinity we should realize the purpose of why we do what we do and continue to do it with the Lord’s help.
As Saint Thomas Aquinas put it, “Christ enjoyed this splendor for a moment to encourage his disciples to endure the trials that were to come.” This is the divine foretaste necessary to continue to move forward. This is the hope that we must continue to enjoy in the midst of those trials that come our way because Christ has already won victory upon the cross and so we can endure.
Hopefully all the sacrifices that we have committed ourselves to during this Lenten season have a purpose. Hopefully they were not chosen just because of some perceived need to give something up, but because we realized the need to bring about a proper transformation within us. Through such a transformation we are able change our appearance to be more Christlike.
As Saint Paul puts it in his Letter to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” This is precisely what we ought to be setting out to do during this season of Lent. This season is here not in order that we may continue to trudge throughout life without a purpose, but that we may come to live for Christ.
Let us come to live for Christ as the Apostles would eventually come to live for Him. Through this glimpse into His Transfiguration they were given the hope to continue to move forward. Through such a glimpse may we continue to move forward each day placing our trust in the Lord and bringing about that transformation which is necessary for us.
