There is a whole industry around trans-figuration.  It seems that many of us are not happy enough with the figure that we cut.  People can go to great lengths to transform or transcend their figure.  If only I was a little bit taller, a few kilos lighter, less grey, darker eyes, and tanned skin.  Many of us dream about these transformations.  For some they are cosmetic changes.  For others they can delve into the very heart of our identity.  Transfigurations are often seeking to answer the questions who am I and where is my life going?  For indeed we are the figure that we cut.

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  The gospel gives us the account of Jesus taking Peter, James and John with him up a high mountain.  There, we are told, he is transfigured.  His clothes become dazzlingly white as his disciples behold his glory.  It is Peter who speaks up, ‘it is wonderful to be here,’ he exclaims, ‘let’s build some tents so we can stay here!’  Peter grasps that the transfiguration experience is the answer to the question, where is this all going?  He realises that Jesus is leading his disciples into the glory of God, the brightness of God’s presence, and the fullness of life, where all can live together in harmony and peace.  This is the place where past teachings (Moses) and all prophecies (Elijah) are brought together.  It is the place where hurts are left behind, where wounds are healed.  It is the place where hatred is overcome by love, where violence is put to rest and peace reigns.

For Christians, the transfiguration holds up the dream that God has for the whole world.  God’s dream is that the whole of creation is lifted up and transformed.  In the words of St Paul, ‘I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us.’ (Romans 8:18).  The Feast of the Transfiguration reminds us that this is not just a vain hope but a lived reality in and through the person of Jesus Christ.

A Christian community, therefore, is a community where hope reigns over despair; where welcome overwhelms exclusion; where darkness is overcome by light; where sickness and vulnerability are not feared; where deep and lasting transfiguration is held out to all.  The Christian community cuts the figure of Christ.

The disciples in this week’s account of the transfiguration had to come down from the mountain and walk on.  We too need to continue to walk the unknown path of life that is ahead of us.  The gospel is a call to walk that path with the figure of the risen Christ set before our eyes.  That figure shapes the moves we make along the way.

By Fr Brendan Reed