Sunday is the Last Sunday before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Since the end of the Christmas/Epiphany season, we have been hanging out in this liminal space, this space in-between. We have been waiting for something to happen. Our gaze has slowly turned from the manger to the cross, and now, it confronts us.
This last Sunday before Lent begins is also known as Transfiguration Sunday and recalls not only Jesus on the mountain but also Moses on the mountain. These are special moments that are meant to remind us that God is present in the world, but not on some distant mountain top, but rather, right here with us in our everyday lives.
There are moments in life when the veil seems too thin, the veil that separates the ordinary from the holy. The stories of Moses on the mountain and Jesus at the Transfiguration speak to these sacred moments.
In the Exodus story, Moses is invited up the mountain into the cloud of God’s presence. In Scripture, the cloud is a powerful image. It reveals that God is there, yet it also reminds us that God cannot be fully explained or contained. Moses remains in that sacred space for forty days, dwelling in the mystery of divine encounter. When he descends the mountain, he is not the same person who ascended it. He carries with him the imprint of holiness and the responsibility to guide others toward covenant and faithfulness.
In the Gospel account of the Transfiguration in Matthew, we see another sacred encounter. Jesus takes his friends, Peter, James, and John with him, and there his appearance is transformed before them. Matthew says that Jesus’ face shines, his clothing becomes radiant, and for a moment the disciples see Jesus in unveiled glory. They witness a glimpse of divine light shining through human life.
Seeing this, the disciples feel overwhelmed and fall to their knees. Awe often comes with fear when we encounter something beyond our understanding. But through this awe and fear, Jesus brings comfort. He touches them and tells them not to be afraid. The divine light is meant to draw us closer, to remind us that God’s presence is both majestic and tender.
Where do we encounter mountaintop moments in our own lives? They may come through prayer, through worship, through receiving the sacraments, or through quiet moments of reflection. Sometimes they come in unexpected ways, in a conversation that brings healing, in the beauty of creation, or in acts of compassion that remind us that love is still alive in the world.
Yet the mountaintop is never the end. The disciples wanted to stay on that mountain top, and who can blame them? Both Moses and the disciples must come down the mountain. They return to their struggling, imperfect, and often fearful communities. We are reminded that spiritual experiences are not meant to separate us from what the world needs but to strengthen us for service within it. The light we encounter is meant to travel with us into the valleys of daily living.
There is also something deeply hopeful about the Transfiguration. It reveals that transformation is possible. The disciples see in Jesus a glimpse of divine glory that exists alongside human vulnerability. This reminds us that God is not waiting for us to become perfect before drawing near to us. Instead, God meets us where we are and gently invites us into deeper growth and healing.
In these uncertain times, many of us carry burdens: worries about our families, anxieties about the state of the world, grief over losses we have endured, and concerns about what lies ahead. The Transfiguration reminds us that these burdens do not prevent us from encountering divine light. In fact, it is often amid our vulnerability that we become most open to God’s presence.
The Transfiguration also reminds us that we are not alone in our journey. Just as the disciples experienced this moment together, we are called to walk the path of transformation in community. We support one another, pray for one another, and remind one another of God’s presence when it feels hidden behind clouds of doubt or fear.
The Transfiguration assures us that such “mountain top” moments are not illusions or wishful thinking. They are reminders that God’s presence continues to shine through our world and through our lives. The light revealed on the mountain is the same light that accompanies us in the ordinary and sometimes challenging realities of daily living.
We may not always stand on mountaintops, but we are always invited to carry the memory of divine light within us. As we walk through our days, we can become reflections of that light, through acts of love, words of encouragement, and gestures of compassion that quietly transform the spaces we inhabit.
In the end, the Transfiguration is not simply a story about what happened long ago. It is a living invitation. It calls us to trust that God continues to meet us, to transform us, and to send us back into the world bearing light for others. And in that sacred rhythm of encounter and return, we discover that transformation is not a single moment, but a lifelong journey into the radiance of divine love.
