Read Matthew 17:1-9: The Transfiguration

Mountains have always represented the nearness of God, known as thin places. Throughout the biblical narrative, they are spaces of encounter and revelation. All of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, tell the mountaintop story of the transfiguration, giving us a glimpse of who Jesus truly is.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain to pray. This is already striking. Jesus often withdrew to pray, but usually alone. This time, he brought his three closest companions, presumably to witness the events about to unfold.

Before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured. His face shone like the sun. His clothes become dazzling white. Soon, the disciples realized he was engaged in conversation, not just with an invisible God, but with two men whose identity they intuitively knew to be Moses and Elijah. Matthew does not tell us what they discuss, but Luke does: they are speaking of Jesus’ coming departure—his exodus—which he is about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

The word is important. Exodus. Moses, who once led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, now stands with Jesus, who will soon lead the ultimate exodus—liberating humanity from the bondage of sin and death, and ushering us into the true promised land: life infused by God’s daily presence, life in the grace-filled kingdom of God. Moses and Elijah both had mountain-top experiences of their own. Moses met “I AM” in a burning bush on Mount Horeb, and Elijah heard the “still small voice” of God while on the same mountain. Moses represents the Law. Elijah represents the Prophets. Together, they bear witness that all of Hebrew Scripture now finds its fulfillment in Jesus.

Peter, overwhelmed by the gravity of the moment, wants to preserve it. He offers to build shelters—to stay, to linger, to hold onto the glory. And who can blame him? Many of us know what it is like to experience God’s presence in a way we wish we could freeze in time.

But the mountain is not the destination. It is a threshold. In the liturgical calendar, Transfiguration Sunday is the final Sunday before the season of Lent. As Jesus descends from the mountain, he sets his face toward Jerusalem, toward betrayal, suffering, death, and ultimately resurrection.

As followers of Jesus, we know that we cannot cling to the mountaintop. The glory revealed here does not help us escape the valley, but prepares us to walk through it. “This is my Son, the Beloved,” the voice from heaven says. “Listen to him.”

In the biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek, the word listen carries a nuanced meaning that includes not only hearing, but responding in obedience. As disciples of Jesus, we listen to him as though we are receiving instructions, the “how to” guide for abundant living. We measure everything else against the sound of his voice. Does this sound like something Jesus would say? We lean in to listen, and then we move to obey.

Lent will ask many things of us: repentance, restraint, honesty, perseverance. But before it asks us to do anything, Transfiguration Sunday asks us to listen.

Perhaps listening itself is the first Lenten discipline—not rushing ahead, not clinging to glory, but attending to the voice of Christ as he leads us step by step.

As we prepare to enter this holy season, may we be still enough to hear him, and faithful enough to follow.

Deidre Franklin
Pastor, Spiritual Formation

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